Hi Choir, below are the songs we need you to learn off by heart by week 5 please.

We are excited to announce that Suzanne Prentice will be coming to Blenheim and hosting our 2019 Music Festival with all the Marl. Primary School choirs this year!  The shows will be held in Week 8 of Term 3, and the songs have just come out so our Choir will now be busy learning 15 songs off by heart.  Pencil those dates in your diary - you won't want to miss it!

Tonara put out a big update a fortnite ago, which caused some login problems and prevented some apple devices from being able to update and use the app.  These issues have now been fixed. 

Apple devices (iphones, ipads): You will now be able to update the app and start using it again, so please go ahead and do that.

Login issues: The login bugs are now fixed, so please try again.  If you are still having issues, please contact your music tutor - they can advise you off your username, and if necessary reset your password so you can login.

If you are having any other issues with the app, please follow these instructions:
1. Go to Advanced Settings and Clear the Cache
2. If Clearing cache hasn't fixed the issue, please bring your device to school and see Stephanie Ham in the music pods behind the library (after school Tues, Wed, Thurs is best time).  
3. Or, you can message "Lily" on your Tonara App - give a full description of the issue and Tonara will get back to you shortly with an answer.

Homework delays
The recent update has made big changes to the Teachers version, allowing us to now program homework in advance.  If you were experiencing delays in receiving homework before, you shouldn't be now - homework should be available the same day you have your lesson so you can start practicing immediately.

We are really blessed to have this app available to us, and those who use it regularly are making fantastic progress in their music lessons.  But it is not a magic bullet, children still need to have or make the time to practice a minimum of 3 times a week.  Parents please make practice a priority at home so that you are getting the most out of your investment in music lessons.

Firstly, congratulations Choir on a wonderful performance last Friday at the Principals Assembly!  Senior choir - we're looking forward to your performance this Friday at the TEMPO concert - see the TEMPO notice below for details of when and where you are performing.

Please note that Choir will now be held on Tuesday lunchtime in Room 7 (not the auditorium).  Juniors need to arrive at 1:05pm - do not enter the classroom until the seniors have left for lunch and Mrs Ham is there!  Seniors join us for choir at 1:15pm please.

New Song to learn: We will be starting off this term learning "Lean on Me" as performed in the TV series "Glee".  Below is a youtube clip for you to practice at home with.

For those music students who would like to perform something they have learnt in front of a very appreciative and encouraging audience, the next TEMPO concert is this Friday night.  Registrations to perform must be in by Wednesday - email: tempoconcert@gmail.com
​See the flyer below for more details.  I look forward to seeing some of you there!

Senior Choir Members please note we have been learning the Peace Song to perform at this concert, so please take note of the time and place as outlined in the flyer below:

We are just loving having the benefit of the Tonara app for our music students to practice with!  So far we have most of our guitar, ukulele and vocal students using the app and we've seen a definite increase in motivation and progress from these students.  Our Keyboard tutors plan to get underway using the app in term 2.  Reports from parents have been that this app was the best idea we've had yet, and they are no longer having to push their kids to practice, the kids want to!  Students are saying they like how the app claps for them after they've practiced, and they really enjoy the competition of trying to be top of the leader board for doing the most practice in the last week.  

If your child is not yet using the Tonara app for their music practice, please contact your tutor for their login details.  For those unsure what this Tonara app is all about, please read the info sheet below.

This term the choir has been having a lot of fun learning to sing in parts - both one after the other and also at the same time.  Week by week the choir has been improving steadily and we are currently working on a song to perform at assembly in Week 1 of Term 2.  The Orchestra is also practicing this song to perform with the choir.  

The Seniors are also working on learning another song, written by a New Zealander, to perform at the TEMPO concert (for NZ Music month) on Friday 10th May.  Please put this in your diary now, concert starts at 7pm.  

Below are links to youtube versions of these two songs for choir members to practice with:
O Happy Day (Whole Choir)
Peace Song (Seniors only)

We are very sad to see that Ken Ham's music store is closing down.  They have been a great supporter of our Music Academy.  We suggest you get in quick for all your music requirements and make the most of their closing down sale specials!  

If you are struggling to find any instruments or other music items you need, please do not hesitate to ask Stephanie Ham to use her contacts to help.  You can email her at: music@rvs.school.nz