End of the Year

Hi St. Augustine Families,

I can’t believe we are in our last few weeks of the school year. Awards night for Grades 4-8 will be held on Friday, June 10 at 6:30 in the Church. All Chorus members should be in their seats (the pews on the right hand side of the church) by 6:30. Band members should be in their seats with their music and instrument by 6:20. All chorus and band members should wear any combination of black and white (just like the May Show).

Thank you and Congratulations to all the children who performed in the May Show. You were truly fantastic!

Congratulations to the 8th Grade Class! You will all be greatly missed. And a special thank you to members of the AV Team. You were such a tremendous help all year! Good luck to all of you!

Very special thanks to all of the children and parents who sent cards, Mass offerings, and plants in memory of my Mom. I truly appreciate your kindness, thoughtfulness and generosity. I am so blessed and thankful to be part of this wonderful community.

Reminders:
Drama party: Tuesday, 1:45
Band Breakfast: Thursday, 7:45
*please bring your instrument and Pomp and Circumstance

Have a safe and fantastic summer!
See you in August!

Fun at the RI Festival of Children’s Authors!

Hi St. Augustine Families,
I just returned from my first visit to the RI Festival of Children’s Authors and Illustrators at the Lincoln School. What a fantastic day it was! I was able to meet Mark Teague (Pigsty) Chris VanAllsburg (Polar Express), Jules Fieffer (The Daddy Mountain), Kazu Kibuishi (The Amulet series) Helen Lester (Tacky the Penguin) and Mo Willems (Pigeon books and Elephant and Piggie Books). I had the chance to see presentations by Helen Lester and Mo Willems, and I was so impressed by their humor, energy and exceptional talent. I even had the chance to chat with all the authors and have my books signed. I can’t wait to share with everyone! If you haven’t been to this festival before, it is something I highly recommend! I will definitely be back next year.

Week of October 11

Hi Everyone,

We had a very successful week in the library and in music! With the very generous help of our parents volunteers, we have finished sorting through the non-fiction books in the library. I am just amazed at the progress that has been made. The children are already noticing how much easier it is to find books in the library, and they are very excited to see the changes. Next week we move on to the fiction books!

In music, our beginner instrument players had their very first instrument lessons this week! They learned how to assemble their instruments and how to produce a sound. Next week we will discuss the maintenance of the instruments as well as working on reading music notation.

In library classes, Kindergarten and First Graders listened to “What Happened to Marion’s Book” and a Smidgeon of “Pigeon”. We discussed the importance of taking care of books and the best places to read.

Thank you to all the children in grades 2 through 7 who helped out in the library this week getting all of the new and donated books ready for circulation. You did an amazing job!

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!

Instrument Rental

Instrument Rental will take place in the gymnasium at St. Augustine School on Thursday, October 7 at 2:30. If you have handed in a Beginner Instrument form, you will be able to pick up your instrument, lesson book and music stand at this time. If you already have an instrument to use, you can still come to the beginning of instrument rental to purchase a book and stand. I will be handing out lesson schedules to the children on October 7 as well. Lessons will begin on Thursday, October 14.

Week of September 27

Hi St. Augustine Families!
I just want to start off by saying how impressed I am with the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Graders who sing in Chorus. They are truly singing with all their hearts and souls. I am having a blast singing with them each week and I can’t wait to hear their beautiful voices at Mass on Monday!

This week in Library, our 1st and 2nd Graders reviewed the “Five Finger Rule” for choosing a book. They listened to “Goldie Socks and the Three Libearians”, I Will Surprise My Friend”, and “Tacky the Penguin”. (Be sure to ask your child how Tacky scared away the hunters!)

In Library, Grade 3 children learned about how fiction books are arranged alphabetically in the library. In Grades 4 and 5, children labeled books fiction or non-fiction after reading their titles and short descriptions.

In Music class, our Pre-K children sang “Johnny Works with One Hammer” and “Bottom of the Ocean”. We moved to “Shake My Sillies Out” and played rhythm sticks to the steady beat of “What’s in the Fridge?”

In Kindergarten and 1st Grade Music class, the children began learning about the difference between steady beat and rhythm. We tapped a rhythm pattern on sticks to the song “Buckets and Cans”. We also practiced the chorus of “Here I Am Lord” which we will all be singing on Monday at School Mass.

Grades 2-5 children sang our Hymn of the Month and danced to the “Cha Cha Boogie”. Thank you to all of the children who shared their musical talents with the class this week. I am so proud of you for putting so much effort into your performances!

Our Drama Team shared short improvisations this week working in groups of 2-4. I was so impressed with the amount of creativity, effort, and quick-thinking that went into these projects.

Fantastic work everyone!

Week of September 20

Hi Everyone,
Thank you so much to all of the parents who signed up to help reorganize the library! Once my email account becomes active this weekend, I will be sending an email to everyone who signed up to help.

We had another fantastic week of music, drama and library!

I had so much fun singing with the children in Chorus on Thursday. The children are singing with lots of enthusiasm, and they are really getting into the feeling of the music.

Advanced Band is off to a great start too! Band members received a large packet of music as we are already looking ahead to the Christmas Concert.

In Pre-K, K and 1st Grade music classes, the children are working on singing, playing instruments and moving to a steady beat. In grades 2-5 music, we learned about piano prodigy Emily Bear and sang “Lean on Me” and “Don’t Stop Believing”.

In K and 1 library, we talked about choosing books from the library and trying to find a book that is “just right” for their reading level using the 5-Finger Rule. They also listened to the stories “Too Many Frogs”, “Going On a Book Hunt”, and “Pigeon Wants a Puppy”.

In Grade 2 library, the children learned about book titles and authors and located the title and author’s name on a book of their choice.

In Grades 3-5 Library, children learned about authors, illustrators and publishers and looked up information using a Table of Contents.

In Drama, our Team used creative thinking to play the games “Charade Telephone” and “Different Seats”. We also started working on Improvisation Scene Starters which we will continue to work on next week.

Please remember that Beginner Band sign-up forms are due on Tuesday, September 28.
Have a great weekend everybody!

RI Festival of Children’s Books and Authors

Hi Everyone,
I just read online that Mo Willems (author of the Pigeon books and Knuffle Bunny), Chris Van Allsburg (Polar Express), Mark Teague (Dear Mrs. Larue) and others will be presenting and signing autographs at the RI Festival of Children’s Books and Authors on October 16 at the Lincoln School. Tickets are $5 and are available at the door. More information is available online at www.festivalofchildrensbooks.org

Week of September 13

Hi Everyone,

What a great week in Music, Library and Drama!

In music, we all practiced our Hymn of the Month, “Here I Am Lord”. We sound better and better each week.  And the 4th Grade class was entertained by Advanced Band members who demonstrated the instruments of the band.  Children in grades 4-8 who would like to take band lessons this year may sign up for the program next week.  Forms will be going home in Tuesday’s Family Envelope. Thank you Advanced Band members for your time and help!

In library, Kindergarten and First graders continued to talk about what kinds of things we find in the library. They also listened to one of my new favorite stories, “Can I Play Too” by Mo Willems.  We shared many laughs throughout that story! Children in grades 3 and 4 explored the non-fiction section of our library.

Thank you to all of the parents who signed up to help with the reorganization of the library.  Together we can create a fantastic library for our children!

In Drama, we talked about ideas for the Christmas Concert and started to work on improvisation. Working with a partner, everyone tried “Open Scenes” in which they repeated the same lines to each other in a predetermined situation.  I was so impressed with the amount of concentration, effort and team work demonstrated by all members of the Drama Team! Great work everyone! I can’t wait to see you again on Tuesday!

Christmas Concert Dates

The Christmas Concert dates for 2010:

Grades Pre-K, K, 1 and 2 –    Thursday, December 9 at 6:00pm in the Gymnasium

Grades 3-5 Chorus, Dance Team and Advanced Band – Thursday, December 16 at 6:30pm in the Gymnasium

St. Augustine School Music Rules

Hi Parents,
Here are the music rules that your children have helped to create:
1. Be Respectful to everyone.
2. Take good care of all school materials (such as musical instruments).
3. Try your best!
All the children who attend music class have agreed to follow these important rules. If your child has difficulty following the rules, you will be notified so that we can work together to help your child be successful.