Mary of Lourdes Catholic School
Little Falls, MN
Preschool - 8th Grade
Music & Band
Madison Lahr
madlahr@molschool.org
Hi, My name is Mrs. Lahr.
I am the new elementary music teacher at Mary of Lourdes.
I recently moved to Little Falls after getting married in April. Although I am new to the area, I have met many wonderful people and families, and have enjoyed getting to know the students here. I appreciate that the staff and MOLS community take their Catholic identity seriously, and desire to incorporate living a Christ-centered lifestyle into daily life.
It is such a joy to sing about Jesus, and to incorporate the riches of our church's music into what we do in the music classroom!
Curriculum
MUSIC
The music curriculum at Mary of Lourdes seeks to build on foundational skills which continue to be practiced (though at a higher level each year) throughout the entire course of the program. It is a very active approach that aims at learning through doing. While topics like music theory and history are studied (especially in middle school) they are explored through the music that students are making themselves.
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The first couple years of general music focuses on basic aural and movement skills. These include matching pitch, keeping a steady beat, melodic memory and repetition, and spatial awareness. Students continue to practice these skills at increasing levels of difficulty and complexity each year.
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From second grade on, students also begin music literacy, and folk dance. Our literacy program focuses on training the ear and the eye simultaneously, so that students can both sound out what they see, and also write what they hear. The traditional style group dances we learn help to build the students’ sense of steady beat, and teach them to hear musical phrasing.
In third grade students begin to work on part singing, this starts with rounds, and partner songs, and moves on to bass lines and other more complicated forms of part singing by the time they are in 6th grade.
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BAND
Our main curriculum for grades 4-8 is Essential Elements Band method, books I,II, and III.
If and when students have mastered the skills learned in those books, they progress into the Rubank band lesson book, with the exception of percussionists, who study the Alfred's Drum Method, book II.
Instruction in grade 4 band is augmented by Standard of Excellence, book I.
Students in grades 5-8 also study "Skill Builders" and "Rhythm Busters"as a group.
Students in grades 6-8 also study "Great Warm-ups For Young Bands'', by Bruce Pearson.
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