​Hi!
We know that there is a lot of uncertainty around us right now. We've been spending our time over the last few days cancelling rehearsals and concerts but have received some questions on how to keep music-making part of your pupils' lives.  With that in mind we've prepared this newsletter featuring some ideas that might prove helpful.  We're happy to circulate another music round-up on a different topic next week.
We've tried to make suggestions of activities/ online resources that are suitable for a home setting, require no specialist equipment and are perfect for families looking for 'together' activities.


This week all our selected activities have something to do with...beat


Junior & Senior Infants

Warm-up Rhyme: Feet, Feet, Feet, Feet


This is a great warm-up to get the body moving. March around keeping the beat while saying this poem:


Feet, feet, feet, feet
Hear them marching down the street
Big feet, Little feet
March and stop!


Freeze on the word "Stop!" and make a silly pose or face. 
Start again, this time moving quietly: Hear them tiptoe down the street...


Repeat the poem, finding different ways to move eg. dancing, skipping, hopping, walking etc. 


Click on the button below for a fun piece to move to the beat with. This piece of music is called March Past of the Kitchen Utensils. Pretend it's night time and you are one of the spoons in the drawer that sneaks out while the humans are asleep to have a party with all the other spoons and knives and forks, then sneak back into the drawer before they wake up!


Listen carefully to the music and you will hear a loud banging sound. When you hear this, jump and clap, and change direction. You can have lots of fun moving in different ways to the music.

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1st & 2nd Class


Steady beat rhyme: Lemon Lime


Lemon Lime, keep in time
Make it neat, feel the beat
Not too fast, not too slow
Keep it steady - Go, go, go!


Keep the beat in lots of different ways while you say the poem. You can tap, click, stamp, clap, and try to find new ways to keep the beat.


Also try using different voices to say the poem, use your quiet voice, whisper voice, robot voice, squeaky voice, low voice, and thinking voice. See if you can still keep your beat steady while you change voices!


Click on the button below to keep your beat along with this fun video! Don't forget to try lots of different ways to keep your beat. Move on to the next level for more of a challenge!

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3rd & 4th Class


Steady beat rhyme: Coca Cola


Coca Cola went to town
Pepsi Cola knocked him down
Dr Pepper picked him up
Turned him into 7Up!


There are lots of different ways to keep the beat with this poem, clapping, clicking, tapping, stamping, marching... But if you are outside you could also bounce a ball to the beat while saying the poem. You can also keep the beat with a partner by bouncing the ball back and forth to each other to the beat while saying the poem.


Challenge: pass the ball between you and  your partner on the beat, EXCEPT when you say a drink - bounce the ball instead every time you say a drink eg. Coca Cola (bounce bounce) went to town (pass pass)
See who get's knocked out of the game first by forgetting to bounce!


Click on the button below for a fun video to practise keeping your beat with. Get yourself 2 chopticks, or pencils and tap along!

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5th & 6th Class


Body Percussion: Bubble Gum


Bubble gum, bubble gum chew and blow
Bubble gum, bubble gum, scrape your toe
Bubble gum, bubble gum, tastes so sweet
Get that bubble gum off your feet!


Every time you say Bubble gum tap this pattern to the rhythm (words): Right knee, left knee, clap hands.
On Chew and blow tap to the rhythm (words): Right shoulder, left shoulder, then head. Repeat these patterns for the next 2 lines.


The last line starts differently: Right shoulder, left shoulder for Get that and is followed by the patterns above: Bubble Gum (right knee, left knee, clap hands) Off your feet (right shoulder, left shoulder, then head)


See if you can come up with your own body percussion for this poem. 


Click on the button below to learn more about body percussion and for ways to compose your own body beat!

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Well that's our round up complete for this week.  We hope you found it helpful.  If you have any requests, suggestions or even recordings of your students giving the activities a go do send them on to us.
Until next time,
The MGOW Team

Here are some relaxation techniques for you to try 

​24 March, 2020 - Covid-19 Statement from the Department of Education and Skills
All schools, pre-schools and further and higher education settings will remain closed to students until 19 April 2020.
The decision has been taken following advice from the NPHET (National Public Health Emergency Team) as part of efforts to contain the spread of Covid-19.
All young people and children are urged to practice social distancing, and to minimise physical contact to keep themselves and others healthy and to limit the spread of infection. This should include minimising social contact, avoiding meeting up and keeping physical space of two metres between each other. Parents and guardians are urged to support young people and children to follow those simple guidelines.
Minister for Education and Skills Joe McHugh TD said: “This is an extremely difficult time for everyone, not least students and their parents.
“The decision to keep schools closed until after the Easter break is based on public health advice. It is a hugely important aspect of our continued effort to limit the spread of Covid-19.
“My message to students facing exams is that they should keep focused, keep working and try, as much as possible, to prepare as normal for the state exams. We are doing everything in our power to make sure those exams happen.
“Teachers and students have answered the call to remote learning with exceptional flexibility and adaptability. You are all a credit to the education system.
“I am also deeply conscious of significant work being done to ensure continuity of learning across our higher and further education institutions. The impact of emergency measures has not stopped education, it has inspired innovation and we are indebted to all those continuing to provide education in these trying times.”

Audible are offering access to their collection of books to help children continue to explore stories during this time. Click the link below:
stories.audible.com/start-listen

The INTO have collected plenty of ideas for working at home with your child during this time www.into.ie/2020/03/18/tips-and-tricks-home-learning/

RTE are planning to broadcast an hour of school on the television to support pupils and parents at home during the Covid-19 outbreak. It will run from 11am to 12pm Monday to Friday on RTE2 starting on Monday, March 30th. The programme will be aimed at primary school children from 1st to 6th Class.
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St. Philomena's N.S. will close at 12.00pm on Friday, March 13th as the teachers are having in-service on the new Primary Languages Curriculum.

,On Monday, March 2nd, the girls in Third and Fourth Class welcomed the author, Catherine Ann Cullen to St. Philomena's. She read stories and poems that she had written and the girls completed an art activity based on one of her books, The Magical, Mystical, Marvellous Coat. We really enjoyed the visit and hope to see her again soon.