The Nemaha Central Elementary School third and fourth grade held a Lyrics and Literacy night in the NC gym. They practiced playing songs on their recorders in music class, participated in king/queen challenges, and recorder karate to earn belts they hung from the bottom of their recorders. Each grade played four class ensembles, a few solos, and a few songs played in small groups. After the performance, students took their parents and guests back to their classrooms to show what they had been learning.
The third-grade program consisted of the tunes “Hot Cross Buns,” “Merrily We Roll Along,” “Down By the Station,” and “Au Clair de la Lune” by Sandy Feldstein as class ensembles.
The special performances featured the following students:
Eddie Niehues, Ethan Strathman, and Trey Stuke playing “Scale Song,”
Sawyer Lutz, Kaci Koelzer, Emersyn Novotny, Ellie Burkitt, and Ellie Strathman playing “Oats and Beans and Barley Grow,”
Kemper Scism, Grady Heiman, Graham Lueger, and Rowan Williams playing “Good King Wenceslas,”
Tatum Huerter, Avery Lueger, and Norah Ranieri playing “Ode to Joy,”
Remi Bergman, Lily Romney, and Karyn Graf playing “Jingle Bells,” and
RyLee Lemons, Jaxon Lockhart, Damien Frye, Jose Gauna, and Carlos DeLosRios playing “Go Tell Aunt Rhody.”
The solo performances were “Lightly Row” played by Adrianna Rider and “Jingle in Eighths” played by Piper Huerter.
The third-grade classroom showcase included Mrs. Katie Heiman and Mrs. Amy Larkin’s classrooms. They showed art projects as well as writing projects that celebrated their families.
“It was really good and it was really fun,” said Gabe Deters.
The fourth grade program included “Starlight,” ”Lucy Locket,” “Kagome,” and “Country Swing” by Denise Gagne as class ensembles.
The special performances featured the following students:
Tatum Snyder, Maggie Sudbeck, and Olivia Anderson playing “The Star Spangled Banner,”
Nicole Lambrecht, Callie Loveall, and Audrey Sudbeck playing “Jingle Bells,”
Emilia Monier, Ava Madrid, and Logan Honeyman playing “Aura Lee,”
Evan Bletscher, Levi Holthaus, Ethan Jost, and Heston Kramer playing “Jolly Old St. Nicholas,”
Kristian DeLosRios and Heston Kramer playing “Baby Shark,”
Will Martin, Landon Stallbaumer, and Abbot Sullivan playing “Iron Man,”
Aubrey Wood and Lillian Deters playing “Twinkle, Twinkle,”
Tatum Snyder and Maggie Sudbeck playing “Amazing Grace,” and
Olivia Anderson and Isabella Rohlmeier playing “Silent Night.”
The solos were “Oats and Beans and Barley Grow” played by Bracin Stallbaumer, “Coffin Dance” played by Korbin Schmelzle, and “Way Back Then” played by Gabriel Haverkamp.
The fourth-grade classroom showcase featured Mrs. Dani Reinecke and Mrs. Carissa William’s classrooms. Students shared some poetry and artwork they had been working on. The students also had a poster in front of the music room about what lifts them for parents to take pictures and read.
“It was good, but I was kind of nervous,” said Lillian Deters.
Learning the recorder in school provides students with early experience in how hard work and dedication can pay off. They learn how to persevere when learning something new and how to stick with something to the end. It’s a valuable resource for young kids and they have fun while doing it.
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