Monday, April 8, 2019

Music in our Schools Month

“Music is a language that doesn’t speak in particular words. It speaks in emotions, and if it’s in the bones, it’s in the bones.” ― Keith Richards

Coleytown celebrated Music in our Schools Month throughout March. Students, staff, and parents shared their musical talents in our general music classes, chorus rehearsals, and orchestra and band lessons. It is inspiring to see the amazing musicians that we have at CES!

We ended the month with a special Town Hall Meeting about music and the Mood Meter. We discussed how music can affect our feelings/emotions/mood in many ways. This is due to the rhythms and tones we hear in the music. For example, when we listen to a slow rhythm, our heart begins to sync with it. A slow heartbeat tells our brain that something sad is occurring. A very fast rhythm can signify something exciting or joyful! We then played a game about music and our feelings that included musicians from CES.

Students, or groups of students, played a song in front of the crowd. Students and staff listened to the song and thought about where it put them on the Mood Meter. Ms. Ogilvy then asked for volunteers to put a post it on the Mood Meter and explain why the song put them in that quadrant. Students labeled their feelings and explained why a piece of music caused them to have these feelings. For example, “Ode to Joy” put a student in the yellow, because it made him feel happy. The Rocky theme song made Nurse Pappas want to get up and exercise! She was in the yellow because she had high energy and was very excited. A slow piano piece put us all in the blue. It was fascinating to see how music can really impact feelings and moods.

Thank you to Ms. Ogilvy, Mr. Andrews, and Mrs. Maisonpierre for facilitating this Town Hall Meeting. We are so fortunate to have this musical staff at CES.

Enjoy some pictures below from our Town Hall Meeting!