Oregon society for general Music

of jazz and Mardi Gras, music activities for students to do at home, and a listing of the National Standards for Music Education. Each of my 600 students, all of my school board members, and all district administrators receive a copy of the newsletter.

Bring Your Parent to Music Day: During March “Music In Our Schools Month” celebrations, I hold a “Bring Your Parent to Music Day.” Parents and other adults attend music class and participate in our activities. I carefully plan to include many aspects of the curriculum on that day. Students read rhythms and melodies, play instruments, compose short melodies, and folk dance. Parents often are amazed at the skills their children have developed.

Web Page: I have a music page on our school’s website. I have also found excellent music pages on other school websites. The music pages may include activities for students andinformation about performances and curriculum, or information that chronicles special music events. Search the Internet for other schools’ music web pages to gather ideas for your own. (When building your music web-page, check your district policy regarding student photos on the web.)

Newspapers: Local print media usually are anxious to cover special music events. Be sure to give the editor advance notice of your performances. Special classroom/academic units also might be of interest to the local newspaper. Activities that are unusual and focus on curriculum is excellent information to share with the media.

School Bulletin Boards: I take every opportunity to construct hallway bulletin boards with a focus on music. Each bulletin board highlights elements of our curriculum. All around the school, I often place seasonal cutouts with music information, such as autumn leaves with rhythm patterns, Christmas trees with notes to read, and tulips with instruments to identify. The main purpose of these reminders is to reinforce music learning, but they also help adults in the building notice that music learning is an ongoing process.

The National Standards for Music Education: In every concert program I list the National Standards for Music Education. The standards also are prominently displayed both on the wall of the gym during our performances and in the music room during open house.

Please share your communication ideas with other elementary music teachers by emailing them to fuller@columbia-center.org. I will post all of your ideas in the Oregon Society for General Music area of the Oregon Music Education Association (OMEA) website (www.oregonmusic.org). You can access this information by joining OMEA and then OSGM. Membership in OSGM is only $1 for OMEA members. Check the OMEA website for membership information.

I encourage you to communicate and to be a highly visible part of your school and community. Let everyone know what you teach and how valuable that is to the students— and to them.