I Don't Think We Are In Kansas Anymore Toto!!!!

Looking for some fund entertainment this coming weekend or next?

Blow in to the Fairfield High School Auditorium for this years Spring Musical....

The Wizard of Oz

This production will feature talent from Fairfield High School, Fairfield Middle School and elementary students from Libertyville and Washington 4th Grade Ensemble as well as the 5th Grade Ensemble.

Join Dorothy as she gets caught up in a twister and decends into Munchkin Land.  Here she will begin her journey home to Kansas, but it will not be easy.  With the help of the Scarecrow, Tinman, Lion and Glinda the Good Witch of the North, will they smite the efforts of revenge from the Wicked Witch of the West?  Only OZ knows for sure.

Come and enjoy your students, friends and neighbors!!!

Rockin' wih the Stars!!

Have you ever wanted to have a chance to sit down and ask questions of your favorite singer or band member? Did you want to ask them if they eat bologna sandwiches and mac ‘n cheese?  What do you have to do to have a chance to do this?  The answer to the last question is simple……be a 5^th grade student at Fairfield Middle School!

Even though not everyone in each class will get to meet their favorite musician, they will have the chance to ask some of those questions of a famous musician that they have always wanted.  

 On Thursday, March 1^st, the students in Mr. Grunwald’s music class will have a special guest in class.  Through the use of modern technology, the students will hear about the career of Tommy Farese, former member of “Trans-Siberian Orchestra” and now one of the founding members of “The Kings of Christmas”.  Through his career he has performed with many well-known musicians from many different genres.

The purpose of his “visit” is to talk about and answer questions about his career as a musician.  Through his touring, he has worked with managers and agents, record labels and their companies, concert promoters as well as other performers.  He can discuss many of these music careers with our students so that they can see how they can have careers in music even if they are not keen on performing.  Hopefully they will also see, through discussions of his childhood, that you don’t have to be born into greatness to be great.  You don’t have to be born in to fame to be famous.  All you need to do is find something you really enjoy doing and work positively towards that final goal.

I hope the students will have an awesome experience with Mr. Farese and be inspired to chase their dreams, no matter how far away they may seem.

Success!!!

Sun, Sand, R and R.......Elves?......PIRATES????!!!!????!!!!

Yes, Pirates and Elves!!!  They all came together last night in a great show presented by the 3rd and 4th grade students from Libertyville Elementary and Washington Elementary.  With lots of work over the last month and a half and some expert help from the staff at both buildings, the show went really well for a full house at the Sondheim Center last night.  There were even people having to sit in folding chairs.

If you weren't able to attend, I will hopefully post some pictures and even some video in the next few days.  You will be able to relive the sun and sand, the rest and relaxation, the snoring and growling, and yes, even relive the "Interlude Dance"!

Thank you to all who helped, the students and you, the parents for a great show!  Keep checking back for updates in photo and video.

~Mr. G

Libertyville and Washington Winter Program 2011!!!

Calling all Parents, Friends, Neighbors and relatives!!!!!

The time has come for the Libertyville and Washington Elementary Winter Program!!!

The theme this year is "A Pirate Christmas".

Come see and hear what happens when Santa gives the elves a little time to relax on the beach in the Caribbean when they come across a group of scallywags.  These pirates mistake the elves for pirates with bags of treasure and Santa as the legendary pirate - White Beard.

The pirates and elves all travel to the North Pole to try to get the entire story straight.

This program will be presented by the 3rd and 4th grade students with a couple songs by the 4th Grade Ensemble.

The program will be on the stage at the Sondheim Center at 7:00 PM.  Please bring your students beginning at 6:30 pm.  The program should be done before 8:00 PM.

Hope to see you all there!!!

~Mr. G

Compromise through modern technology

Mr. Owen and I share vocal music duties at the Middle School.  This year a great thing has happened for our students.  Last year the students had music every other day for a semester.  This year, the vocal music students have choir everyday for the entire semester.  This is positive due to the fact that our students now receive twice as much class time in choir than in previous years. This concentrated amount of class time has allowed the students to prepare more music in a shorter amount of time.

Mr. Owen and I had a discussion one time at the beginning of the year about the extra time with the students.  We joked about "Karaoke Fridays" every week.  The next thing we knew, we had decided to implement this idea on Fridays.  One reason for this was the basic thoughts of young, middle school choir students.  They always seem to sing out with volume and confidence as they sing along with the radio, yet when we are in class, they seem quieter while singing and not a sure of themselves.  By implementing "Karaoke Fridays", it allows the students a little time each week to sing popular songs and give them a chance to sing as if they were in the car.  This also brings some relaxation and additional "fun" to the classroom.  To give the students a little more ownership in this idea, Mr. Owen has set up a survey in google that the students can access and vote for songs each week.  Besides voting for songs on a list, they can use the form to suggest songs of their own.  Each week, we sing the top voted song each week for "Karaoke Friday".

Along those same lines, with the extra time to work on extra songs, we have decided to try to ad some of the more "popular" music to our class that the students will be more familiar with.  Just taking suggestions from students could be messy.  Again, Mr. Owen came through with a technological suggestion.  He set up another form that the students can access through their school e-mail.  This form lists many songs that were suggested by our students.  The list is very long, so the students will first be able to log in and choose their top 10 songs.  Then the top vote getters will be posted and the students will be able to vote once again. Through this method and the technology we have available at school, the students can help to choose music for the concerts and also have a say in some extra, fun songs each week.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!!!

Make plans to attend the Broadway Players of FHS's production of 

THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK.

Friday, October 28 at 7:30
Saturday, October 29 at 7:30
Sunday, October 30 at 2:00
in the FHS Auditorium.

Updated 5th Grade video

Here is the updated video of the 5th Grade Ensemble singing the National Anthem at the Fairfield High School Varsity Volleyball game on 10/11/11.  Check it out...