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hour a week in the music room
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fun during class
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folksongs and dances learned each year
MISS FEIGE
Email: afeige@monfortschool.org
Phone:ext. 131
My name is Andrea Feige (pronounced “Fie-Jee”) and I am the elementary music teacher at Monforton School!
I grew up and attended college in Sioux Falls, SD (lovingly known as the “Upper Great Plains”) on the eastern side of South Dakota. I started playing trombone in 5th grade, piano in 6th grade, violin in 8th grade and mandolin in 9th grade. While in high school and college I played in concert bands, marching bands (high school only), pep bands, jazz bands, and chamber ensembles (like trombone choir). I love music and adore being able to share that love with students. I believe that music is more than just the stuff you hear on the radio or in the concert hall. I also believe that exploring other genres and ethnicities of music is a great way to travel the world while staying in Montana!
When I’m not teaching, there are a number of other things I could be doing: hiking, climbing, fly fishing, biking, cooking, baking, reading, travelling, camping, backpacking and generally enjoying life.
WAYS YOU CAN HELP MONFORTON MUSIC
- Continue to be an avid supporter of your child in any musical endeavor they wish to try
- Donate to Miss Feige’s DonorsChoose projects so that we can get our students more instruments and music making experiences!
- Keep up-to-date on new classroom information (alongside see really cool links to musical performances, information on music education, etc) on the Monforton Music Facebook Page
THE VALUE OF MUSIC EDUCATION
Parents, even though your son/daughter may not be a child pop star, perhaps their singing isn’t always perfect and they struggle patting along to the beat, know that these are learned behaviors. I have had students struggle matching pitch with the entire class up until their 3rd and 4th grade year. Music education is all about process, not product. If you want to know what you can do to support them at home, please ask! I am always available by email and always delighted to help you bring music into your home and your lives!
ABOUT KINDERGARTEN MUSIC
Kindergarten music is a time for students to start developing their very basic musical skills. Every class, we work on developing a sense of steady beat, finding the steady beat, and creating a steady beat. We spend time singing together and matching pitch, as well as exploring our own voices and figuring out how to get them to make the sounds and pitches we want. We sing as a class, but we also sing by ourselves. We play games and learn folk songs and nursery rhymes that have been passed down through generations. We start to play instruments and get to start describing how sounds are similar and different. By the very end of the Kindergarten school year, we start laying the foundation for reading notation, which we begin to explore in 1st grade.