[HMS News] 3-25-05

[William Carozza]

HMS News 3-25-05

CORRECTION: A flyer went home announcing the PTA sponsored Fisher Cats 
game; the date was incorrect on the flyer. The correct date is Sunday, 
May 22nd. Thanks.

*****

PTA Family Night at the Planetarium
There is still space available on Saturday, March 26 for the PTA 
sponsored Family Night. If you have not already sent in your form and 
would like to attend, please join us Saturday night at the Christa 
McAuliffe Planetarium in Concord from 6-8 PM. There is no admission 
charge, we are asking parents to bring refreshments to share. There 
will be two shows, tickets are on a first come, first served basis. If 
you need further information, please contact Julie Morris at 746-4137 
or email the PTA at HopkintonSchoolsPTA at yahoo.com. We hope to see you 
Saturday night!

*****

Happy Spring from everyone here at HMS. It was truly a thrill to see 
the snow melt on my treacherous driveway before I even had a chance to 
clean it off. The sun is clearly in a warmer place in the sky and we 
can begin to think about putting our winter clothes away. Notice I 
said, “…begin to think”. We can all remember April snowstorms.

We have much to look forward to here at HMS, including PTA’s Fun Fair, 
(one of Hopkinton’s biggest events south of the Fairgrounds), the 
remaining sessions of “Reaching for the Stars”, our Second Grade 
Musical, and HMS Movie Night at Maple Street. This is also a great time 
of year for learning, when we see our students take leaps in their 
reading, writing, and mathematical ability.

Enjoy Edna Marie’s “Music Notes” on p. 2, keep in mind the date for 
placement letters to me (April 1), and have a great weekend with your 
families.

Bill Carozza

Principal

*****

 From Mrs. Henderson, PE

 This is my annual appeal for parent volunteersto assist in spotting 
students during their gymnastics unitin physical education classes. 
Students will be performing on the parallel bars, balance beam, 
vaulting horse, and climbing rope. I will need many volunteers to 
"spot" the children while they are moving on these pieces of 
apparatus.  Request sheets with dates and time blocks to be covered 
will be going home with students soon. Look for them in your child's 
back pack. Any help that you can provide is sincerely appreciated.

*****
 
MOVIE NIGHT
We invite all Harold Martin School families to attend our next 
PTA/ThirdGrade sponsored Movie Nightin the Maple Street School gym. The 
date is Friday night April 1, the time is 6:30 PM, and the movie is the 
Disney version of Robin Hood. The third grade will be selling 
concessions and our ticket price is $1 a head or $5 maximum per family. 
The donation goes to the Tsunami Relief Fund.

*****

HEALTH, WELLNESS AND SAFETY

Mrs. Conley, school nurse, and Jackie Kleiner, Guidance Counselor, are 
beginning the second year of teaching a unit on health wellness and 
safety.  Within the next few weeks all of the students will have 
participated in the health classes. 

The curriculum focuses on families, communication body safety, and 
healthy choices. If you have any questions please call the school to 
speak with either Mrs. Conley or Mrs. Kleiner.

*****

Notes From the Music Room     

                  In Step with March

In kindergarten and 1st grade, we began the month with a song about 
March coming in like a lion and going out like a lamb. I'm hoping that 
the kids' wonderful singing will influence our weather outcome! That 
song also tied into our 1st grade study of The Carnival of the Animals 
which begins with "The Royal March of the Lions." We will continue our 
listening exploration of the orchestral depiction of the animal world 
with related movement and coloring activities. The children also loved 
singing and moving along with the book, The Animal Boogie. In 
conjunction with our study of instruments, the 1st graders had a good 
time singing and "playing along" with the song MacNamara's Band.It 
features a variety of band instruments as well as the ever popular 
kazoo. The song Green, Green, Green is a fun celebration of the season 
and the Jelly Beanchant and the song, Tinga Layo provide some good 
rhythmic activities.

The kindergartners are doing a lot of movement activities related to 
songs about March winds and the baby animals of Spring. They are having 
a hopping good time. They have been dancing jigs and doing some 
interpretive dance to an Irish tune. The kindergartners really enjoyed 
making song and text connections between the song, The Wheels On the 
Bus and the book, The Seals On the Bus.

The 2nd graders are "getting into the act" adding dramatic facial 
expressions and movements to their songs in preparation of their 
upcoming musical, Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock.The children have 
begun voluntarily "performing" segments of songs for one another. This 
is a great confidence builder, providing each willing volunteer the 
opportunity to be the momentary "star of the class." It also encourages 
the children, through both observation and experience, to loosen up and 
develop some freedom of movement and expression. They are doing a 
fantastic job.

The third graders had a good time reviewing some rhythm patterns while 
playing along on some percussion instruments to the song, Play Me A 
Cowbell. They are decoding some word puzzles as a way of reviewing the 
names of the notes on the staff. The students took a great leap forward 
on the recorder with the addition of two new notes, "C" and "D," 
bringing their total up to five notes. These new notes are included in 
their new song, A Little Jig. Although every student is taught the 
fingerings for the song, the ability to identify the notes and finger 
them quickly is something that only comes with practice. (As mentioned 
in the information letter, children are not required to practice, but 
are encouraged to do so as their interest develops. Exposure and a 
basic understanding of reading music and translating it to the recorder 
are the primary goals of the lesson. The children receive sheets of 
music that contain more simplified tunes.) There is a recorded 
accompaniment for A Little Jig that the students can play along with in 
class, if they are up to the challenge. I try to accommodate a range of 
interest and skill levels.

           Finally, I wanted to mention a word of appreciation for the 
wonderful Artist In Residence program that we enjoyed last month. Jeff 
Warner did a super job of sharing a love of folk songs, instruments and 
games. The children loved his music and were particularly fond of the 
little wooden dancing man, often referred to as a Limber Jack.
_ _

Bill Carozza  | Principal
____________________________
Harold Martin School
271 Main St.
Hopkinton, NH 03229
p. 603 .746 .3473
w. www.hopkintonschools.org/hms/principal