Hi! My name is Dawn Rockwell, and I'm super excited to be starting my fifth year as the Music Teacher at Eastern Elementary School!  I’m extremely pleased to be able to continue sharing my 20+ years of experience with early childhood music to Eastern, and to share it with you and your students.  Over the Summer, I didn't do too terribly much more than teach piano lessons and Mommy-n-Me music classes as I usually do, so I'm feeling exceptionally relaxed and re-charged for the 2023-2024 school year!!

School year 2022-2023 had an amazing year with performances for both grade levels, and I expect nothing less - if not more - for this year! This year our entire first grade level will perform together at our Holiday Music Program, currently scheduled for Tuesday, 5 December, at 6pm; with a fundraiser of Pictures With Santa to begin at 5:00.  Our own Ms Walker will be snapping photos and creating prints for you to share with family and friends, or to frame and keep for yourself!  In the Spring, our county-wide fund-raiser concert, Steppin' Out, will be held on Thursday, 2 May, at 6pm at Washington High School.  At this event, many of our first grade students will perform together using their voices and instruments, and maybe even some dance moves!  Tickets will go on sale in April through BCS Central Office, so please reserve this date on your calendar - this is a concert you do NOT want to miss!  

This Fall, our newly-minted Kindergartners will be welcomed into the Music room with simple songs and games, reinforcing many of the nursery rhymes they will be learning in their regular classroom time for phonemic awareness; rhymes like Hickory Dickory Dock, Little Jack Horner, and the Itsy Bitsy Spider.  Practicing these rhymes in Music class serves dual purposes - reviewing classroom material, as well as building steady beat and unison performance techniques for beginning music skill competence. Soon after that, we will begin preparing for our Holiday School-Wide Sing Along held on Friday, 15 December. When we return from break, we will "dip our toes" into the world of rhythm reading, as well as all the different kinds of music around the world - from jazz to African & Irish step dancing!  When Music in Our Schools month arrives in March, we will begin learning the songs each class will sing at the Kindergarten Celebration on Thursday, 6 June.  

I’m looking forward to seeing everyone - again or for the first time - when the students begin on Monday, 28 August.  I hope to see you on campus - look for me dancing at car pool in the morning!! ~ Mrs. Rockwell