MUSICA E TEATRO
Wow! What a fantastic start to the year we have had in Musica e Teatro. It has been a lovely opportunity to get to know all of the students across the school and to discover talents that they may not have the chance to share in their classroom or in the yard.
In Foundation, we have begun the year by focusing on two goals: Instrument Care and Following musical instructions.
Our lovely percussion instruments (which include maracas, shakers, triangoli, bongo, campanelle e clave) need to be taken care of so they are easy to find. Embedding the care for instruments into our practice early helps to reduce cognitive load later on.
Learning and responding to musical instructions while we play is key to making beautiful music together. We began by freely playing our percussion instruments and learning to pause when the music stopped. It can be very tempting to tap the rhythm sticks just a few more times!
This week we began to experiment with the song “5 scimmiette”. Songs which include numbers allow students to practice their number fluency in fun ways without realising they are also doing matematica. Students experimented with rhythm sticks, shakers, bells and glockenspiels too all while singing in Italiano.
In Grade 1/2, all classes have been working a fun chant called “Ciocco-la, Ciocco-to” which includes hand actions too. It has taken all of our concentration to remember to sing while doing the hand movements or to do the hand movements while singing!
This activity is a fantastic way to involve many different motor skills and to connect musicality to our Italian language too.
Of course, the highlight of Musica e Teatro was the whole school learning the Wominjeka song so that it can be sung at assembly. In Week 4, all students from G1 to G6 sang it together during the ¾ assembly and they sounded incredibili! We are looking forward to adding in some gradual orchestration throughout the year.
At home:
You can support your child/children’s learning in Performing Arts by encouraging them to perform, and to enjoy what they share with you. During Primary School, musical skills involve many parts of the brain and developing these skills take years, so, as a student, knowing you have a supportive audience at home makes all the difference.
If you would like to sing together, here are our songs:
FOUNDATION
Cinque (5) Scimmiette
Cinque scimmiette
Saltavano sul letto
Uno cade giù!
Ora sono quattro.
Quattro scimmiette
Saltavano sul letto
Uno cade giù
Ora sono tre.
Ecc.
GRADE 1/2
Ciocco-la, Ciocco-to
Ciocco, Ciocco, la
Ciocco, Ciocco, to
Ciocco, la
Ciocco, to
Ciocco-la-to!
Donating instruments
If you have any instruments at home that you aren’t using and would like to consider donating to the school, please send an email to the school to my attention with a photo of the instrument.
Grazie!!
Kylie Doust
Performing Arts Teacher
