Category: Uncategorized

Here is a video for our students, parents and school community from the Confederation Park Staff. We miss you!  We had a lot of fun making this for you!  Enjoy!

May 4th is Music Monday!  Launched in 2005 by The Coalition for Music Education, “Music Monday” is one of the world’s largest single events dedicated to raising awareness for music education. Each year, hundreds of thousands of students, educators, and music makers celebrate with events from coast to coast, and participate in the collective singing of the Music Monday Anthem, an original song written by a Canadian artist. The 2020 anthem is the iconic Hymn-to-Freedom by Oscar Peterson and Hariette Hamilton, in a new bilingual translation.

In honour of Music Monday, the Burnaby Music Teachers have created this video.  It is dedicated to all of our students.  I miss you and look forward to being back in the class room with you.  Until then, keep a song in your heart!  (Can you find me in the video?)

You can choose to sing or play the melody on recorder or ukulele, or follow the choir and piano arrangement of this song.  There are lots of options.  Feel free to play other songs too, and create music any way you like.  I’d love to hear about your Music Monday experience.

By raising our voices and instruments in support of Music Monday, we make a powerful statement to all Canadians about the importance of equitable access to quality music education for all students.  Check out the Coalition for Music Education website to see music celebrations streamed from 6am – 6pm.

Guide – Oscar Peterson: A Canadian Icon

Lyrics     Music – voice, recorder, or ukulele

Choir Music – SA and piano    Accompaniment track

As we continue with our theme of “I am a story” this year, I would like to share this powerful quote by Richard Wagamese.  “We are story.  All of us…When we take the time to share those stories with each other, we get bigger inside, we see each other, we recognize our kinship – we change the world, one story at a time…”

Please visit my youtube channel playlist to find some wonderful “musical” stories.  In the meantime, enjoy the trailer video clip of “I am a story”.  The full story can be found on my youtube channel playlist.

Earth Day is April 22nd of every year.  The theme for Earth Day 2020 is climate action and it also marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day!  How might you continue making every day Earth Day?  Perhaps this video will remind you what we are working for.

For more information check out EarthDay.org

At a time when we all need music to give hope and comfort, I would like to share two videos with you.

The first one is by the great Italian tenor, Andrea Bocelli who gave us a moment on Easter Sunday that seemed to rise above everything else happening in the world.  The live-streamed concert took place from an empty Duomo cathedral in Milan, accompanied by the cathedral’s organist Emanuel Vianelli.  It was the largest simultaneous audience for a classical live stream in YouTube history.  After 24 hours, 28 million people had watched the concert.

The second one is “Memories” by Maroon 5.  Such a joy to see young people singing and building community!  Enjoy!

Let’s start this long weekend by dancing The Bunny Hokey Pokey!  You may even want to try it with your family.  

Here’s one more fun song “B-U-N-N-Y”

Why don’t you try an Easter Hunt for musical sounds in your house?  How many can you find?

Best wishes to you and your loved ones!

I have been thinking about all of you a lot and am missing your smiling faces!  I will be posting music and dance activities on this blog and possibly through your class teams.  Stay tuned for further updates. 

In the meantime, you can continue to explore musicplay online and check some of the websites in my blogroll. Feel free to reach out to me if you like at bonnie.ishii@burnabyschools.ca. 

For now, I share with you this fun upbeat song that you can dance along to at home.  I certainly did! 

“Get Back Up Again”

Here is a wonderful resource to keep those music vibes going!  Click on the link below.   

MUSIC PLAY WEBSITE

Our grade 2 and 3 students are excited about participating in the upcoming District Primary Days of Music on Thursday, March 12th at University Highlands School.  We are enjoying our songs and can hardly wait to share them with everyone!  Students, wear your school spirit wear or something blue on this special day!

Click here for more information

Our upcoming Winter concert, “Candy Cane Lane” is on Thursday, December 12th at 1:30 and 7:00 pm in our school gym.  “Candy Cane Lane” is a-buzz with festive holiday preparations with candy canes, reindeer and why even the evergreens are sprucin‘ up. But there is trouble brewing! Which candy cane color is better, red or green!?!  Better call out the Color Guard to save the season! 

This delightful show includes all students from Kindergarten to Grade 3, as well as featuring the extra-curricular Intermediate Choir. 

Click here for the Costume Letter