Music News

Spring has sprung in the music room. We are singing, moving and playing instruments to the sounds of spring. Rain songs, rabbit stories and kite flying poems. Watch for Mallet Madness coming soon for 3rd, 4th, & 5th grade music classes.

You may also hear about a new person in the music room. We are pleased to welcome Miss Kness, our student teacher.

April is also the time for the Des Moines Public Schools All City Honor Chorus. Students must be in 4th or 5th grade in order to participate. Hanawalt has thirteen students who auditioned and also were part of the Hanawalt Chorus this Fall. They are; Isaac Anderson, Katie Baumert, Karsyn Beers, Jessica Bolten, Wyatt Johnson, Arielle Ozimek, Anne Percival, Ben Russell, Opal Rustad, Emma Shanahan, Rylee Sievers, Brooklyn Starkey, and Hailey Zugg.
The Honor Chorus festival takes place on Saturday, April 16th. Students practice all day with guest conductor Heather Nail and then share a concert at 3:00 with their families.

Music News

Congratulations to all the Band, String, and Piano students who participated in the Festivals. Your commitment to practicing and to excellence is to be commended. Well done! Thanks to the families for their support on this musical adventure.

We have one more Spring Music Program, Thursday, March 3.

Kindergarten, 1st & 2nd Grades – 6:30 p.m.
Merrill Middle School in the gym

There are plenty of seats with a great view of the students, for our concerts. The program will be done by 7:30 p.m.

Our next big event is The Day in the Arts on Friday, April 15th. Happy Spring!

Music News

February is a busy month for music students.

The Piano Festival is on Saturday, February 13th at Hoover/Meredith. Performance times will be coming home soon.

The Hanawalt Spring Programs are coming in February and March. The theme this spring is A WORLD OF COLORS.

The 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade program will be presented on Tuesday, February 22nd at Merrill Middle School, 6:30 in the gymnasium.

The Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade program will be presented on Thursday, March 3rd at Merrill Middle School, 6:30 in the gymnasium. All students and families are invited. There will be plenty of seating and parking.

Music News

Welcome to 2011 in the music room. We usually have some snow and cold weather during January, so we are singing songs about this great time of year. This includes songs in other languages, from other countries, and about different cultures.

All classes are also working on a unit about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his special place in our own history. We will all gather in the gym on Friday, January 14th to share our songs and poems. Fifth graders will do short readings in between each grade. We are calling this an “All School Sing for Each Other” program (sorry no room for guests or an audience.) This provides an opportunity for every child to sing in a program and to hear others sing.

We are also beginning to plan for the Spring Music Programs. These will be held in the gym at Merrill Middle School. The programs will begin at 6:30 p.m. and last about 1 hour.

Spring Music Dates

February 12^th Piano Festival

February 22^nd 3^rd, 4^th, & 5^th Grade Music Program

March 3^rd K, 1^st & 2^nd Grade Music Program

April 15^th A Day in the Arts

April 16^th All City Honor Chorus

Music News

December is a very busy month for Hanawalt musicians.
The 4th & 5th Grade Chorus Concert is Tuesday, December 14th in Weitz Commons (a.k.a. the lunch room) at 6:00 P.M. The 4th & 5th Grade Chorus Tour is Friday, December 17th in the morning, with a pizza party for lunch in the music room. The All School Sing-A-Long is Tuesday, December 22nd at 1:00 P.M in the Hanawalt gym. December music classes are filled with projects and singing. We will travel around the world and through time singing and dancing to celebrations during this busy month.

Magical Musical Tour Day - Week of September 27

The 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders will be starting Magical Musical Tour Day the week of September 27th. This is affectionately known as “Tour Day”. This special day happens 5-6 times a year. Students share music with each other during music class. There are 2 parts to Tour Day, performing and listening.

Performing – Students may; play a piece or song on an instrument, sing, read a poem, or dance. The piece must be performance ready (not just in the learning stage) and Mrs. Looney must OK dances (2 minutes). Students get a chance to learn how to be performers and how to be a good audience.

Listening – Students sign up to bring a CD, ipod, tape or record by a favorite group. The language and topic of the music must be appropriate. Students learn how to sharpen their listening skills. They listen for the type of music, the instruments playing, vocals, and much more.

Instruments and CDs may be stored in the music room for safe- keeping. Please do not leave instruments or CDs in the lockers.

Music Notes

February is a busy month for music students. The Piano Festival is on Saturday, February 13th. Location and times will be coming home soon.

The Band and String students also get in the act with the Solo and Ensemble Festival. Hanawalt Band and String students will share their solos on Saturday, February 27th at Callanan Middle School. When rooms and times have been determined, Mrs. Miller and Mrs. Looney will pass the information along to the students.

The Hanawalt Spring Festival is coming on Tuesday, March 2nd. This special music event will take place at Merrill Middle School. All students and families are invited.
Each grade level will sing 2 songs. It will be great fun to hear everybody sing in one program.

Music Notes

Welcome to 2010 in the music room. We usually have some snow and cold weather during January, so we are singing songs about this great time of year. We are also singing songs in other languages, from other countries, and about different cultures. All classes are also working on a unit about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his special place in our own history.

We are also beginning to plan for the Spring Music Festival. This will be held at Merrill Middle School on Tuesday,
March 2nd at 7:00. Come and enjoy an evening full of music!

Spring Music dates
February 13 Piano Festival
February 27 Band & String Solo Festival
March 2 Hanawalt Spring Music Festival
April 16 A Day in the Arts
April 17 All City Honor Chorus
May 18 3rd Grade City Wide Sing-a-Long
May 20 Band Concert 6:00 p.m.
TBA Band Concert – (for the school)

Music Notes

December is a very busy month for Hanawalt musicians. The String Concert is Tuesday, December 7th, Scheslow Auditorium at Drake University at 7:00 P.M.

The Hanawalt Band and 4th & 5th Grade Chorus Concert is Thursday, December 10th in Weitz Commons at 6:00 P.M.

The 4th & 5th Grade Chorus Tour is Wednesday, December 16th in the morning.

The All School Sing-A-Long is Friday, December 18th at 2:30 P.M.

December music classes are filled with projects and singing. We will travel around the world and through time singing and dancing to celebrations during this busy month.

Notes from the Music Room

Music classes have been hard at work preparing for our first All-School concert, “Celebrate”. The theme is “On Pitch with Character” and centers on the six pillars of character. CHARACTER COUNTS! helps students make good choices in their day to day life. This special day is the day before Thanksgiving, Wednesday, November 25th and was formerly known as VIP Day. Please see information on page 2 under “News from the Principal” for more information.

The Hanawalt 4th & 5th Grade Chorus have been rehearsing every Friday after lunch. The chorus has 3 special activities coming up. The first is a concert on Thursday, December 10th at 6:00 P.M. in the Weitz Commons, the second is a tour on Wednesday, December 16th and third, performing for the whole school (date – to be determined).

Magical Musical Tour Day

The 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders started Magical Musical Tour Day the week of September 28th. This is affectionately known as “Tour Day”. This special day happens 5-6 times a year. Students share music with each other during music class.

There are 2 parts to Tour Day, performing and listening. Performing – Students may; play a piece or song on an instrument, sing, read a poem, or dance. The piece must be performance ready (not just in the learning stage) and Mrs. Looney must OK dances (2 minutes). Students get a chance to learn how to be performers and how to be a good audience. Listening – Students sign up to bring a CD, tape or record by a favorite group. The language and topic of the music must be appropriate. Students learn how to sharpen their listening skills. They listen for the type of music, the instruments playing, vocals, and much more.

Instruments and CDs may be stored in the music room for safe- keeping. Please do not leave instruments or CDs in the lockers.

Music Notes

Music activities are up and running at Hanawalt this Fall. All classes began the year with Patriotic songs. Now, as we move into October, we will be singing and playing some seasonal Fall songs.

All 3rd through 5th grades are reviewing rhythms and composing short pieces. 2nd graders are starting to write their own music with “so and mi” and rhythms. 1st grade singers will revisit “I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly” and Kindergarteners are moving and finding their voices.

The first concert for all students will be on VIP Day, Wednesday, November 25th.

Many interesting sounds are being heard in homes as instrumental music lessons begin. Piano lessons with Mrs. Bierma, string lessons with Mrs. Miller, and band lessons with Mrs. Looney are all underway. The 4th & 5th Grade chorus is already working on their December concert music.

Music Notes

ALL CITY HONOR CHORUS

Congratulations to 10 Hanawalt chorus members who were chosen to be in the All City Honor Chorus. They are;. Jonathan Hays, Will Hedderich, David Ewing, Casey Anderson, Lauren Malcomson, Elaine Greiner, Maria O’Brien, Nina Vo, Vivian Le, Jordan Starkey, These students were all members of the Hanawalt Chorus this past fall. They took part in the festival with other students from all over Des Moines on Saturday, April 25th at Hoover High School, from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Families and friends attended a concert from 3:30-4:00. Rebbeca Gruber was our guest clinician and conductor.

HANAWALT 5TH GRADE BAND

We have 3 special activities left this year for the Band. The first is the Band Concert on Tuesday, May 19th, at 6:00 in Wietz Commons (aka the cafeteria). This concert is full of great music. Each section will share a special song that they have chosen. The program will last about 1/2 hour. Then the Band will play for the whole school on Tuesday, May 26th. And finally we will have the Band pizza lunch, also on Tuesday, May 26th.

May 19th -Band Concert – nice clothing, meet at 5:45, in the music room, to tune.
May 26th – All School Band Concert – 2:10 in the Gym
May 26th - Pizza Lunch – bring something to drink and $1.50 for each slice of pizza. (limit of 2) Meet and eat in the music room.

PIANO RECTIALS

The end of the year is almost here and it is time for a celebration of the progress the piano students have made. Piano Recitals will be held in the Music Room on four different days. They are scheduled for:

Tuesday - May 26
Wednesday – May 27
Thursday – May 28
Friday – May 29

Recitals will begin at 3:15 and end by about 4:15.

Each student will be assigned one of these dates. Please check with your student for their special day! We will try to schedule as close as possible to the last lesson. If there is a conflict, please call me at 279-0709 or 289-6053 and we’ll adjust.

Summer lessons are available in June if you’re interested. Please plan to come and be amazed at all the talent and dedication. - Mary Bierma

Music News

Spring has sprung in the music room. We are singing, moving and playing instruments to the sounds of spring. Rain songs, rabbit stories and kite flying poems.

The 3rd, 4th & 5th graders are focusing on music symbols. They are each making a Symbol Book to review and learn many music symbols. We will be playing symbol games and finding them in the songs.

In preparation for the visit of Opera Iowa, on The Day In The Arts (April 3rd), all classes have been studying about George Washington Carver.

Band Note – the spring concert date has been changed to May 19th at 6:00 P.M. in Weitz Commons.

March - Hanawalt's Day in the Arts - Friday April 3rd

We hope you can join us Friday, April 3rd. If you cannot spend the entire day, stop by for part of the day. This is a wonderful opportunity to volunteer and we could use your help! If you are available to assist a guest artist please contact one of our co-chairs this week:


Kay Creger kay.creger@wellsfargo.com 556-2448
Alissa McKinney alissamckinney@msn.com 710-7794


Thanks to our PTA, we have many guest artists offering a variety of creative experiences for our students, staff and parent community! Workshop sessions will be throughout the morning, from 8:30 until 11:30, with an afternoon 1:45 all-school performance by Opera Iowa. Please stop by and enjoy the day, thinking, imagining and creating!


Sincerely,
Julia Burton, Principal
Sally Ann McKenzie, Art Educator
Carol Looney, Music Education

March - Music Notes

Congratulations to all the Band, String, and Piano students who participated in the Festivals. Your commitment to practicing and to excellence is to be commended. Well done! Thanks to the families for their support on this musical adventure.


Spring programs are happening on Thursday evenings in Weitz Commons. (aka - the cafeteria)

• Kindergarten – 6:00 March 5th
• 2nd Grade – 6:45 March 5th

There are plenty of seats with a great view of the stage, for our concerts. The first program will be done by 6:30. Families and students attending the 6:45 programs should plan on arriving after the other program is done. This will allow time for the parking lot to empty out a bit.


Our next big event is The Day in The Arts on Friday, April 3rd. Happy Spring!

Feburary - Music Notes

February is a busy month for music students.


The Piano Festival is on Saturday, February 14th. Location and times will be coming home soon.


The Band and String students also get in the act with the Solo and Ensemble Festival. Hanawalt students will share their solos on Saturday, February 28th at Callanon Middle School. When rooms and times have been determined, Mrs. Miller and Mrs. Looney will pass the information along to the students.


February is also the beginning of the grade level concerts.


4th and 5th graders will share their Informances on Thursday, February 19th.


The 4th graders perform at 6:00 p.m. and the 5th graders at 6:45 p.m. in Weitz Commons (the cafeteria).


February 26th is the night for 1st and 3rd graders. 1st graders at 6:00 p.m. and 3rd graders at 6:45 p.m. in Weitz Commons.

January - Music Notes

Welcome to 2009 in the music room.

We usually have some snow and cold weather during January, so we are singing songs about this great time of year. We are also singing songs in other languages, from other countries, and about different cultures. All classes are also working on a unit about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his special place in our own history.

We are also beginning to plan for the Spring Music Informances (programs).
Each class Informance will last about 20-30 minutes with a short break in-between to allow us time to change audiences and concert presenters. The concerts will be held in our own Weitz Commons. The students will enjoy being up on stage and you will enjoy being in our home school setting. So, save these dates on your family calendar.

Spring Music dates

• February 14th Piano Festival
• February 19th 4th Grade Informance 6:00
• February 19th 5th Grade Informance 6:45
• February 28th Band & String Solo Festival
• February 26th 1st Grade Informance 6:00
• February 26th 3rd Grade Informance 6:45
• March 5th Kindergarten Informance 6:00
• March 5th 2nd Grade Informance 6:45
• April 3rd A Day in the Arts
• May 5th Band Concert 6:00
• TBA – May 27th Wed. Band Concert – 2:00 (for the school)

Parents of 4th Grade music students


4th grade students will be learning to play the recorder in music class this year. Each student will have a class room recorder to use during this unit. Their recorder is identified with their full name. Your child will be the only one using his/her recorder. The classroom recorders will stay here at school. There is no cost to your student.

If your student would like to play at home, a recorder may be purchased from a local music store. They range in price from $4.00 to $10.00. It is NOT required to have a recorder at home.

Learning outcomes for introducing the soprano recorder include:
• Life long enjoyment
• Learn staff notation
• Aids in ear training
• Enhances musical instrumentation

The students will be sharing several songs that they have learned to play on the recorder, during their Spring Concert.