Donors Choose Project: Playful Percussion

Dear Bryant parents, family and friends--

Yesterday, I posted a project to a website called DonorsChoose.

DonorsChoose is a wonderful online organization for teachers and schools in need of new supplies that will help enhance the education of students across the country. Teachers all over create accounts and post projects on the website, hoping that others will donate to their project. If a project is fully funded by the community, the resources that were requested (pencils, books, instruments) are then purchased by Donors Choose and sent to the school (How cool is that?!) All donations through DonorsChoose are tax-deductible.

In this project, we are hoping to get 5 small drums and one large gathering drum for rhythmic exploration and community building. Here are pictures of the items... 

If you are interested in learning more about my project, click the 

link below, or the link on the upper right-hand side of this blog. You can read about the impact these instruments will have on the students at Bryant.

****IF YOU DONATE IN THE NEXT 7 DAYS, EVERY DOLLAR WILL BE MATCHED BY DONORSCHOOSE, DOUBLING YOUR DONATION! JUST ENER IN THE CODE "INSPIRE" AT CHECKOUT. (Matching expires Feb. 3rd)****

MS. RITTER'S DONORS CHOOSE PROJECT LINK:http://www.donorschoose.org/ms.ritter

Please pass the word on to anyone you might know who would like to donate to this project. These instruments will last for many 

years and benefit students at Bryant for years to come! 

Happy MLK Day!

Thank you to everyone who came out last Tuesday for our school's annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. celebration assembly. It was great to see the gym packed with Bryant parents, teachers, friends and students and I was very proud of all of the students who participated. It was also very special, because we were able to have our assembly on Dr. King's actual birthday! (January 15th)

In music class, we have had some great discussions about Dr. King and what he, along with many others, did for our country. We read a story called "Let Freedom Sing" by Vanessa Newton, which illustrates many famous civil rights leaders and pairs their stories with the song "This Little Light of Mine." The main things we talked about were kindness, perseverance, equality, fairness, peace, non-violence and caring--all things that our Bryant students do and demonstrate on a regular basis. 

On this day where we have time to recognize and celebrate the immense impact of Dr. King, I thought I would share one of my favorite pictures of Dr. King and his family. Can you guess why I like it so much?!

I Love Bryant School VIDEO: Bryant's 1st Harambee

Want to know what over 350 Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd graders sound like when singing together? Well, check out the video of Bryant students singing their new school song at our very first Harambee assembly. This past Friday, Bryant staff and students gathered in the multi-purpose room for an all-school assembly called Harambee, which is Swahili for "all put together." Once a month, our school will be coming together for these school-wide gatherings to promote a positive school culture at Bryant. Friday's Harambee began with some musical fun, as Bryant students got to sing their new school song together for the first time! They did a fantastic job and my favorite part was when the song was over, I heard more than one student say, "can we sing it again?!" and "encore, encore!" Now, with our new song, each Harambee will begin with our students singing about positivity, kindness, working hard, and doing their best. What a better way to begin a gathering!

Following our school song, Mrs. Heyward read a story to the students called "These Hands." The students really enjoyed the story! Overall, our first Harambee was a great success. I hope you enjoy the video!

Looking for Bryant Parent Musicians!

Calling all Bryant family musicians! I know that with all of this snow, spring seems very far away, but I am currently planning the music for the Kindergarten, First and Second grade Spring Sing concerts and I would love your help! If you play a musical instrument and would like to play a song or two with us on one of our concerts, we would really appreciate it! During the performances, especially with younger students, I am needed up in front of the group and it can be very difficult for me accompany the students and direct at the same time. So, that’s where you come in! If you play an instrument (piano, drums, bass, etc.) and would like to join us, the students and I would love to have you! Don’t worry if you cannot read music—we are not looking for professionals! Most of our songs are in familiar forms and have simple bass lines, and I would give you music, recordings or whatever else you needed. If this in any way interests you, please contact me and we can talk more about it. I look forward to hearing from you and learning more about the many talents of our Bryant parents and families!

My email address is....ritter@aaps.k12.mi.us

2nd Grade "Music Fest"

The week before winter break, the 2nd graders had their first "Music Fest" in class. Music Fest is an informal, voluntary time where students can share any music-related activities that they do outside of school with the rest of the class. I always enjoy Music Fest because the I get to learn more about the many talents of our Bryant students, and the class often learns something about a student that they did not know before. Music Fest is also a way for our students to build confidence in front of the class, and to share their many talents, and interests with their peers.

For our first Music Fest, I was very impressed with how many students chose to participate. We had a range of performances, including piano, recorder, keyboard, dancing, singing and much more. The students had a great time performing and being audience members and are already looking forward to the next fest in the springtime. Here are a few pictures of some of the students who performed for us during this past Music Fest. Great job, everyone!

"Sugar Plum Fairy" on Glass Harp

I hope everyone had a nice and relaxing winter break and got to have some fun in the snow! I had a very nice break with family and friends, but I am looking forward to seeing everyone on Monday!

Over break, a friend of mine sent me this video and it made me smile, so I had to pass it along....enjoy!

1st graders, do you recognize this song? What do you know it from?

2nd graders, how do you think they are making the music? What are they doing to the glass to make it produce sound?