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

A quick heads up re the timeline for the RVS Music Academy over the coming fortnight:

• Tuesday 5th Feb enrollment packs are coming home with students - first in first served so get those enrollments coming back quick!
• Tues 5th - Friday 8th Feb: Instruments hired last year (violins and guitars) need to be returned to the school office for check ups before being hired out again.
• Tuesday 12th is the cut-off date for enrollment forms to be returned to the school office
• Fri 15th to Mon 18th Feb: Confirmation emails with lesson times will be sent out 
• Week 4, Tuesday 19th Feb: Music lessons will start for Year 2 and 9 students
• Week 4, Wednesday 20th Feb: Music lessons will start for Rooms 5 & 6 students
• Week 4, Thursday 21st Feb: Music lessons will start for Rooms 3 & 4 students

Please Note:  Drum students  will start lessons in Week 5 as Mrs Harper will be away week 4.

Hi All,

Welcome to another year of wonderful music making!  A big thank you to all those who pre-registered their interest in this years lessons, that info has been very helpful in our planning.    Enrolment packs for the Music Academy will be coming home next week, but based on our current info, I can tell you the following: 

Room 7: There is currently lots of space for Room 7 students to take up lessons on the drum kit or guitar.

Rooms 5 & 6: There is currently a lot of room available for those who would like to begin learning keyboard. We would also like to see more students learning the Saxophone or Clarinet – if either of these instruments interests you, please see Mrs Ham quickly for information on how you can hire a Saxophone or Clarinet quite cheaply as this opportunity will disappear fast.

Rooms 3 & 4: If you can’t wait to get into Room 5 so you can have lessons on the drum kit, then we have a new opportunity for you! Students in rooms 3 & 4 can now enrol in a course that teaches you about rhythm and how to coordinate your arms and legs to drum on different things at the same time. During this course you’ll be learning to drum on anything you can find at home that mum is happy for you to use, and getting yourself ready to be an excellent player on the drum kit once you get to Room 5.
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