Yippee-ki yay! It’s May! It has been almost two months of online learning which is unfathomable. There was snow on the ground when we left school and now it is warm outside (sometimes). Despite being stuck at home, students are making the best of the situation.
This past Monday, May 3 was Music Monday! The advanced senior music class, which consists of Grade 10 and 11 students, found many ways to celebrate this day virtually. They participated in a joint collaboration with secondary music students from Lasalle Secondary School, Lockerby Composite School and Sudbury Secondary School to perform ‘Through the Eye of the Storm’ by Canadian composer Ryan Meeboer. MSS students recorded their parts of the song on their band instruments through Soundtrap while students from other secondary schools recorded their parts on Bandlab. Both Soundtrap and Bandlab are online software that allow students to record themselves playing their instrument while also having guide tracks available for them to listen to. The tracks were provided by teachers Ms. Meghan Sanderson from Lasalle Secondary School, Mr. Mike Jensen from Lockerby Secondary School, Mr. Chris Theijsmeijer from MSS and Mr. Mitch McIntyre from Sudbury Secondary School. Mr. Jensen put all the student’s tracks together to create one huge multitrack recording of the song. The final result was amazing! Check it out on YouTube at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tj2J-za3U_A and you can look at the video description to see the students that contributed.
The senior music class also did some music recordings of their very own too! They stepped away from their band instruments and grabbed some kitchen items to make music. Using plastic jugs, spoons, boxes of pasta, pots, pans, and hand mixers, they played the song ‘Cucina Bella.’ Mr. Theijsmeijer has put together a video of the music students playing their kitchen instruments as a way to celebrate Music Monday.
A music joke for you: Do you want to hear a joke about a staccato? Nevermind, it is too short!
This week, Monday, May 3 to Friday, May 7 is Education Week. For 2021, Ontario’s Education Week theme is ‘Stronger Together.’ The challenges of distance learning have not made school easy for anyone, but teachers, staff, and parents have come together to help students succeed. This week is dedicated to celebrating that effort of educators across the province.
Near the beginning of online learning, a COVID Companion Pet Photo Contest was held. Photos of companions ranging from cats to dogs to horses to cows were submitted. The winner for the staff contest was Mrs. Scott with her dog and the winner of the student category was Kyra Carpenter with her dog. Congratulations!
We are past the mid-term point in the semester, so you know what that means—it is report card time! Mid-term mark report cards should be arriving in the mail very soon. Keep an eye out for them!
Joke of the week: A musician wanted to change his main instrument. Not knowing much about other instruments, he thought he would go buy them in-person (non-COVID lockdown times). The musician walked into a music shop and said, “I’ll take that red trumpet over there and that accordion.” After a second, the shop assistant said, “Okay, you can have the fire extinguisher but the radiator stays.”
Upcoming events include the May long weekend in just a few more weeks!
Until next time, “Dream and Believe. Learn and Achieve!”
