Middletown Public Schools

Elementary

Instrumental Music

Art & MusicMiddletown students have the opportunity to learn to play a band instrument in 4th and 5th grade. Band classes consist of small group lessons and large group rehearsals once a week. More than 75% of 4th and 5th graders take an instrument in the Middletown Public Schools.

Band students use the book Accent on Achievement which gives students a solid foundation to pave the way for their future band experiences. Additionally, all band students perform at winter and spring school concerts as well as the annual All-City Music Festival.

In Middletown, teachers instill a love for music at a young age and they strive to inspire our young musicians to want to continue their musical careers into the Middle and High schools years.

Bielefield Farm Hill Lawrence MacDonough Moody Snow Spencer Wesley

Our Elementary Schools:

Middletown Public Schools311 Hunting Hill Avenue, Middletown CT 06457

The Elizabeth Swaim After-School Program for students in grades 1-5. Students have the option to take violin, viola, or cello. Students perform in winter and spring concerts and also participate in the All-City Strings Festival.

Students involved in this program work on intonation, rhythmic accuracy, and especially on good sound production. Additionally, they develop correct playing posture, quality timbre, and bow control to accomplish a good tone essential for musical expression. String performers show musical expression through a variety of repertoire, representing diverse genres and styles.

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Our TeachersSteve D’AmatoCindy Peterson

Amy ChrzanowskiDave DaddarioPinar Gosterisli

Our TeachersSean CallihanMegan Martin

Allison KayKinga Fernandes

Katrina Engelhardt

General Music

In art class, the students in kindergarten through grade five learn about a variety of art styles, artists, cultures, art history and art making techniques this. They study famous artworks in depth through class discussions, and through critical analysis about individual works of art.

The students also are given opportunities to view actual artworks in a museum setting to enrich the art experience. Grade four students visit several art exhibits at Wesleyan University in the fall, and grade five students visit the Wadsworth Atheneum in the spring.

Famous works of art are used as inspiration for most art projects, and students use their knowledge about an artist’s work as a springboard for their own creativity. The culmination of student artwork from kindergarten through grade twelve is exhibited in a district wide art show at Wesleyan University each spring.

There are eight elementary schools in Middletown, and each school shares the same music curriculum taught by professional, trained teachers. Class sizes range from 15-25 students and each class meets once a week for 45 minutes.

The Middletown Schools philosophy is to engage students in learning a wide variety of music and expose them to musical styles from within our culture and around the world.

The elementary music curriculum uses a variety of methods to teach music skills. We use a combination of method books such as Share the Music, GamePlan, Recorder Karate, Conversational Solfege, and our own collected materials. Through singing, playing instruments, moving, listening and creating, students meet expectations set forth by our music curriculum.

Each school puts on at least two performances each year including a winter and spring concert. Additionally, each school has an after school or before school chorus that performs along with the recorder ensemble at the annual All City Music Festival at Wesleyan University.

At Spencer and Snow Schools, about 50 students in grades three-five have the option to perform in Drama Club as an

after school program. Past performances include “December Lights, December

Nights,” “Clowns,” “My Marvelous Magical Sleigh” and “Snow Day.”

Our TeachersFarah DeAngelis

Jeannine WestbrookHallie SorensonCharlotte Stopa

Liza SiegelAmy Chrzanowski

Visual Art