Here's a brief look at some highlights from Tuesday's Middle School Christmas Festival Concert. We had a great time performing and celebrating Christmas together!  

MIDDLE SCHOOL CHRISTMAS FESTIVAL!!!

Don't miss our middle school celebration this Tuesday evening,

December 13,  in the school gym!

Lots of great and fun music for the holidays!

Program starts at 7 p.m.

Hey music department friends,


I just wanted to post a note and ask for your prayers for all of us and our students during this busy time of year in the ZCS music department. We're preparing groups for two different Christmas concerts, casting the acting parts for our elementary musical, and trying to get all our calendar for second semester nailed down. Our 8th grade vocal ensemble is just getting started, and we're trying to finalize plans for a spring 7/8 band trip. I'm meeting this week to begin talking about coaches for second semester flag and baton teams. And of course, this week I got a note in the mail about the spring Tulip Festival Parades:)  All of this to say I feel like it's one of those 'too busy not to pray' times around here, and your prayer support and God's strength are the only ways to accomplish all these things in a way that honors Him!


thanks


Mr. S.

Musical Forms

A note about the spring musical went home with the 1st-4th grade students last week. We need the bottom portion of this form returned to school as soon as possible. If you misplaced your copy please see Mr. Schonewill or Mrs. TenHaken for extras.
Thanks for helping us get these CD and t-shirts orders in soon!

The 8th grade vocal ensemble has been chosen!  We're calling ourselves ZC Singers, and we met for the first time Tuesday.  There are 22 talented singers ready to get going on learning some great music. We hope to be able to perform at least one song in the upcoming Christmas Festival on Dec. 13.  Our next rehearsal will be brief but important--FRIDAY, DEC. 2 at 12:15 in the CHOIR ROOM. See y'all then.

VOCAL ENSEMBLE NEWS:

Hey everyone,

If you're reading this post, you've probably wondered about 8th grade vocal ensemble.

It has become clear to me that some people didn't get their audition in before break, and so to be fair I will give them until 3 o'clock Monday to come and see me one way or the other. If you (they) have decided not to audition, that's OK, too. But I need to make my decisions so we can move on to  Christmas Concert preparations.I will post the group roster here by Tuesday!

Thanks!

Mr. S.

Our elementary students did a great job at the concert this past week. All week long I've been getting comments about how much the audience enjoyed the enthusiastic singing! Thanks to everyone who expressed their appreciation. I especially enjoyed our singing along with our parent and grandparents.  In class we've been looking at the video so we can see ourselves performing and celebrate a successful concert.

Grandparents Day

First through Fifth grade choir concert tonight! For more information click here.

The students did a great job leading worship for their grandparents on Grandparents Day!

For information about the choir concert click here.

I've posted a lyric by Natalie Sleeth that is one of the songs we will do with the 3-5 choir next week. It's probably the toughest one to memorize because of the poetry, but it's a beautiful paraphrase of that section of the gospels as well a great family devotional material. Enjoy!

Consider The Lilies

by Natalie Sleeth

ALL: Consider the lilies and how they grow, blossoming there in the field 

'Tis not for their labor they flourish so, flowers of beauty to yield. 

Through the grace of God above, tending all in constant love, 

Every want shall be supplied, for God the Lord will provide.

5th only: Consider a moment the birds in flight, everywhere filling the air. 

With never a worry they seek the height, nourished in bountiful share. 

Through the grace of God above, tending all in constant love, 

Every want shall be supplied, for God the Lord will provide.

4th only: Store not up in great array treasures for the coming day.

 In the Kingdom first believe, and all good things you shall receive.

ALL: For more than the lilies that bloom and grow, more than the birds of the air, 

Your Maker forever your need will know and feed you with heavenly care. 

Through the grace of God above, tending all in constant love, 

Every want shall be supplied, for God the Lord will provide.

God the Lord, the loving Lord will every blessing provide!

ELEMENTARY CONCERT COMING NEXT WEEK!

Our fall choir concert is right around the corner! The students have been working hard and are excited to show you what they are learning in choir and music class. The concert is on Tuesday, November 8 at 7pm at Community Reformed Church in Zeeland. All 1^st-5^th graders need to be at church by 6:45; please do not drop them off before 6:35 Have your child wear a solid, bright colored top and dress pants to the concert (no jeans please).

Parents: Your child should have gotten a note home with this information. That note also had at least one song that needed a bit of memorizing work. Ask your student if he/she needs help. Also, we will be demonstrating some of the things we have been doing in our music classes. We think you'll find it interesting!

Thanks for making it a priority to have your student at the concert! 

Fall Festival of Music

Great job at the concert 5th-8th graders!

FALL FESTIVAL OF MUSIC

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

7 p.m.

Don't miss our FALL FESTIVAL OF MUSIC next week!  All of the ZCS bands AND the 6/7 Choirs will perform. Families, it's a great way to see the progress we've been making already this fall. Some details for students who forget:

DRESS: Uniforms for band. No hats, gloves. White side out

             Navy pants, dark shoes, NEW UNIFORM SHIRTS for 5 and 6 band

             Choirs (not in band)  Dress pants or skirt with dress shirt. No jeans or shorts, please

CALL TIME:  6:45 for everyone except 7/8 band. They can come at 6:55. Program begins at 7 p.m.

PROGRAM ORDER and LENGTH:

          6th Grade Band

          5th Grade Band

          6/7 Choirs

          7/8 Band

Program should not run past an hour in length.

LINE-UP STATIONS:  Bands in band room, Choirs in choir room.

SEE YOU THERE!

K-2 Choir Music- Listening Update

Many families have been having problems with the blog since I put music on it. Because of this, I have decided to take the music off until I figure out what the problem is. If you would like to sing some choir songs at home with your children you could look a few songs up on itunes. Here are a few things we have been working on...

-Shout by Yancy
-Shout Your Fame by Hillsong United
-I Love to Tell the Story (the hymn- vs. 1 and 4()

Hope that helps for now! Sorry!

K-2 Choir Songs

I have discovered a way to embed a few our of choir songs on the blog. This is a great way for students to practice the lyrics to the songs at home. Because I had to use a third party site to host the songs, I was a little limited to what versions of the songs I could choose from. The versions you are listening to may not be exactly what we have rehearsed in choir, but at least they will help you memorize the lyrics for our concert on November 8. If you don't want to listen to the songs while you are reading this blog then simply push pause on the bar at the bottom of the blog; you can also change the song on this bar. I hope this helps us prepare for our concert. Happy listening!

WAY TO GO, 7/8 BAND!

GREAT JOB IN THE

2011 PUMPKINFEST PARADE

SATURDAY!

PUMPKINFEST PARADE

Saturday, October 8, 2011--3 p.m.

The ZCS Middle School Band will be marching this weekend in the Pumpkinfest Parade.Our staging area will be on east Main Street and across the street from Bethel CRC. THIS IS FURTHER EAST THAN OUR 'USUAL' SPOT! Best access would be the side streets that run into main somewhere east of that position. Students need to be there and ready before 2:30.

Parade begins at 3 p.m. It will follow a route west on Main, South on State, and then back east on Central before making a final turn north on Maple. Students will be finished immediately behind Cityside. You can meet and pick them up there.

The ZCS band room will be open from 1-2 p.m. For any last minute problems, stop there and I will assist you.

I will take the percussion equipment, flags, and banner. Students should be IN PLACE, IN UNIFORM, and WITH THEIR INSTRUMENTS by 2:30 p.m. (NO CASES, please)

Looking forward to a great parade together!

Mr. Schonewill

I'm excited about the progress the middle school (6th and 7th) choirs are making this fall--we're off to a great start, singing with energy and enthusiasm. I wish I could bring you middle school parents into the classroom and see and hear what I'm pumped about. It makes me glad that we decided to change the format of our first concert of the year so you can hear the choirs as well. The FALL FESTIVAL OF MUSIC, in the ZCS gym on Tuesday, October 25 will give listeners a sneak peek into what we've been doing in all of our middle school music classes, including the 5th, 6th, and 7th/8th bands as well as the 6th and 7th choirs. All of the students in those groups are expected to attend and will help us treat the listeners to a sampling of our fall music. Join us at 7 that evening for a fun and encouraging night.

You could say it's been a very 'rhythmic' start to the school year for our 3-5 general music classes this fall. Or you could say we got started 'without missing a beat'. Either way, you would be mostly correct, for the focus of our classes this month has been rhythm--steady beat, rhythm patterns, beat groupings of 2 or 3. If you walk into class you'll probably see us signing, clapping and patting, moving, or chanting along with the beat patterns of songs. In 5th grade, we 're even more creative--we're writing our own rhythm ensembles and performing them in class. Ask your students to demonstrate what they've been learning. Unit quizzes are coming up in mid-October before we move on to our next fun topic: Melody!

UNIFORM UPDATE!! It's that time of year when we get all of our band uniforms organized and properly fitted so we can look great all year long! You've probably seen some news about uniforms--let me give you a quick update:

7th and 8th--Uniforms have been fitted and distributed. They should be taken home and tried on SOON because they need to be right by the Pumpkinfest Parade on October 8. Overlays were delayed at the cleaners and are coming soon! They are 'one size fits all' ...

5th and 6th--Along with our NEW BAND SHIRTS we hope to wear for the Fall Concert October 25, students must have a navy dress pant and dark shoes. I was reminded there may be used pants available at Ditto since we have done the navy pants for years. I also have a few pair of used if you care to stop and browse the music room boxes.

We're off and running with this year's 5th grade CADET BAND! This picture was taken on the first week we all played together--we were very excited to be starting to make music. By now each of the students has experienced the first few sounds/notes on their instrument and we're beginning to play simple tunes together. Tomorrow our PIZZA PARTY PRACTICE PROJECT begins--the students will be tracking practice minutes in order to earn a fun PIZZA LUNCH with Mr. S at school. Make sure your student is filling out his/her pizza practice form!

First Week

What a great start to the school year! I felt the presence of God in this place as we kicked off the year with a staff and board worship service Sunday night. It was also a blessing to worship again with the staff Monday morning. We got a chance to meet the new teachers and pray over them and then go over important information for the school year. Tuesday morning the hallways were once again filled with kids. We worshipped together at the all school chapel and then Wednesday we saw them in class as all the music classes started.

Thursday I was able to attend a music teacher's conference with teachers from the West Michigan area. Since this is only my second year teaching music, it was great to learn from others who have a lot of experience and expertise. I am excited to use the ideas and resources I got from the conference.

On another note, the Zeeland Christian calendar was just adjusted because of changes in the Zeeland Public calendar. A few Zeeland Christian concert dates may have to moved because of this; we are working on finalizing the schedule and we will post it soon.

Thanks for a great start to the school year!

-Mrs. TenHaken

WOW! I'm excited that the start of my second year is nearly here. We've got some great stuff planned for the year and I'm looking forward to building on the good start of 2010-2011. What a nice feeling for me to know most of my students by name as they year begins. Right now we're finishing up 5th grade band placement tests and we've got a nice group ready to begin as new band students the week of Sept. 5. For those returning instrumentalists, now that you are bored with summer, GET YOUR INSTRUMENT OUT of the closet, get it cleaned up, and spend some time playing.

There will be a LOT of information coming your way in the next couple of weeks about goals, schedules, grading, marching band plans, tryouts, procedures, etc. The BEST way to keep up to date is to get in the habit of checking back here OFTEN!

See you guys all soon--stop in and say HI when you're around!

Right Around the Corner

The 2011-2012 is right around the corner and we are busy preparing! We have been spending time picking out choir music, hanging bulletin boards, organizing rooms, scheduling performances, writing lesson plans and planning chapels. Only two weeks left until these rooms are filled with students. I hope you have a great rest of the summer; we will see you soon!

Tulip Festival 2011

The ZCS marching band did a great job at the Tulip Festival parade!

New Blog

Welcome to the new ZCS Music blog! This will be a great way for us to keep everyone informed on what is happening in the music world at Zeeland Christian. Check back often for updated information!