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- Will my student be judged on how well they sing?
- Are my student's grades being graded by their behavior?
- Will my student have an opportunity to play an instrument?
- Is it alright to drop in and talk to you about my child?
- Why don't we sing country or rock songs in the Mass?
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Will my student be judged on how well they sing?
YES! But NOT on whether they have an American Idol voice. Their grades
will be based on coming to class with a positive "ready to try it" attitude,
and participation. So in a way, they will be graded on how well they sing,
because they do need to open their mouths and try. Also, I will be giving
them vocal tips so I do expect them to make their best effort and not goof
around singing in a raucous or outdoor yelling voice.
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Are my student's grades being graded by their behavior?
In music class, a large portion of a student's grade does depend on
participation. If a student is not paying attention, is distracting other
students, or otherwise is not participating fully, he or she will not
receive full points for participation, and this can affect his or her
grade.
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Will my student have an opportunity to play an instrument?
Music classes will provide opportunities for your student to be exposed
to a variety of musical styles as well as encourage and develop their own
musical talents. We do not have a band program at St. Joseph; however, we
do have a variety of rhythm instruments that we are able to use, including
Orff xylophones, and some classes may be introduced to the recorder. I will
send letters home to all students learning recorder, so that parents may
have the opportunity to purchase their own instruments for their child. The
first part of the year, though, we will focus heavily on singing.
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Is it alright to drop in and talk to you about my child?
Parent conferences can always be arranged; however, these must be scheduled
so as to avoid disrupting the students' classtime, and ensure I have time to
adequately prepare for all classes. Please call the office or e-mail me if
you would like to talk about your child's progress or participation in Music
or Happy Hearts.
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Why don't we sing country or rock songs in the Mass?
The Mass is the celebration of the holy Eucharist - a sacred and solemn
occasion. We are allowed at a children's Mass to use music that encourages
full and active participation, thus, we use simple refrains and many songs
that can be easily memorized, at least in part, by our younger students.
Still, everything we do during the Mass should lead our attention upward
towards Heaven. The music should help us keep our thoughts on the sacred,
not the secular world or rock, pop, and country stars. Thus all of our
liturgical music should be sacred not only in text, but also in style, that
is, set apart from the secular world and directed toward the holy.
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