Oakesdale School District -

Our 6-12 grade Agriscience Fair is underway. Photos will be posted throughout the day. Thank you to our judges: Mrs. Crow, Mrs. Roths, Mr. Lindgren, Mrs. Fleming, Mrs. Harp, Miss Abbie (as the students call her) DeMeerleer, and Mrs. Wagner. #NighthawkProud

Fun Fact: Happy #MIOSM! One of the highlights of the 2024 Grammy Awards was a duet of “Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs. “Fast Car” was written and performed by Tracy Chapman in 1988. Luke Combs made a cover of “Fast Car” in 2023. Compare the two versions of “Fast Car.” Get together with friends and family to talk about the differences in each version and the duet. #NCGME #MusicIsMe #NighthawkProud

Discussion Activity: Happy #MIOSM! The Color Purple, The Little Mermaid, Trolls 3, Waitress, Wish, and Wonka are some of the movie musicals that have hit theaters this past year. What is your favorite musical? What’s your favorite song from that show or movie? Compare your choices with those of a friend or family member. #NCGME #MusicIsMe #NighthawkProud

Join us for the Agriscience Fair Open House on Monday evening! In the gym, 6:30-7:30pm. You'll be impressed. #NighthawkProud

Activity: Happy #MIOSM! Let’s make a harmonica! You will need two popsicle sticks, two toothpick pieces the same width as the popsicle stick, a piece of popsicle-stick-sized paper, and two rubber bands. What to do: Place the strip of paper between the popsicle sticks. Wrap a rubber band around one side. Put a toothpick inside the rubber band. Put the other toothpick on the opposite end. Wrap the sticks with the other rubber band. Enjoy! #NCGME #MusicIsMe #NighthawkProud

Fun Fact: Happy #MIOSM! Yo-Yo Ma is a world-famous cellist. He plays often with pianist Emanuel Ax, a close friend from their days at Juilliard. Ma has also collaborated with other famous musicians such as The Goat Rodeo, Bobby McFerrin, Edgar Meyer, Mark O’Connor, Ennio Morricone, and Kathryn Stott. Musicians often collaborate with other musicians. What musicians would you like to see collaborate? Who would you like to collaborate with if given the opportunity? #NCGME #MusicIsMe #NighthawkProud

Fun Fact Happy #MIOSM! The “First Lady of Children’s Song,” Ella Jenkins, turns 100 this year. She was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on August 6, 1924. Growing up in the south side of Chicago, she was immersed in a rich musical culture. She spent more than 50 years performing and teaching children. What is your favorite childhood song? #NCGME #MusicIsMe #NighthawkProud

Hey Oakesdale High School Students! Do you need a tux for Prom? We've got you covered...Black Tie and Pearls will be be in Room 7 of the elementary school on Wednesday, March 27th for measurements and for you to choose what you want. #NighthawkProud

Fun Fact: Happy #MIOSM! Marching bands are an important part of our schools and communities. The University of Notre Dame's band started in 1845. It is the oldest marching band in continuous existence in the United States. They were one of the first to include pageantry, drill, and formations during performances. Thank your marching band director for their hard work! Today, find a video of a local marching band. What is your favorite part of its performance? #NCGME #MusicIsMe #NighthawkProud

Each year our NHS students take an overnight trip, this year going to Missoula. Spending time panning for gold, spelunking, among many other activities was just part of the fun. #NighthawkProud

Research Activity: Happy #MIOSM! Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels recently won a Pulitzer Prize for their opera Omar. Listen to one of Rhiannon Giddens’s songs while looking at a list of past Pulitzer Prize-winning musicians. Who is your favorite musician on the list? Is there a musician you would like to see on the list? Compare your choices with those of a friend or family member. #NCGME #MusicIsMe #NighthawkProud

Fun Fact: Happy #MIOSM! Last year, Samara Joy took home two Grammy Awards for Best New Artist and for Best Jazz Vocal Album, Linger Awhile. One of the featured songs is called “Nostalgia (The Day I Knew).” Nostalgia means positively remembering a certain time or place. Is there a song or music that makes you feel nostalgic? #NCGME #MusicIsMe #NighthawkProud

Fun Fact: Happy #MIOSM! Opera is a form of performance art that combines classical music and singing to convey a story. Opera singers usually do not require microphones to amplify their voices. Sumi Jo, a South Korean opera singer and Grammy Award winner, is known for her soprano voice, which has an impressive high range. You can listen to her impressive vocal skills in her rendition of the "Queen of the Night" aria from Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute). #NCGME #MusicIsMe #NighthawkProud

Fun Fact: Happy #MIOSM! Did you know that Ella Fitzgerald, an American jazz singer also known as "The First Lady of Song" or "The Queen of Jazz," was particularly famous for her scat singing? Scat singing involves improvising with the voice in a song using nonsense syllables. Listen closely to her scat singing in the song "It Don't Mean a Thing." Try scat singing yourself, and make up any melodies as you go! #NCGME #MusicIsMe #NighthawkProud

Group Activity: Happy #MIOSM! Choose a country that interests you, and learn about their traditional instruments. Work in small groups or as a whole group to research the instruments, listen to them together, and create a poster. While doing so, share the similarities and differences between these instruments and any other instruments you may already know about. #NCGME #MusicIsMe #NighthawkProud

Activity: Happy #MIOSM! Form is a musical pattern. This pattern can either remain the same or change throughout a musical piece. Musicians represent form using letters, such as AA, AB, ABA, ABC, etc. For example, the song "Frère Jacques" consists of four phrases with an ABCD sectional form. As a group, try singing “Frère Jacques” using different forms, such as AAAA, ABAB, ABCC, and ABAC to create variations of the song. Then experiment by singing in various other orders. You can add bourdons on barred instruments as an option to accompany the singing. As an extension activity, form small groups, and select another short rhyming song. Analyze its sectional form and recreate it by singing it in a different order! #NCGME #MusicIsMe #NighthawkProud

Yesterday, Oakesdale students traveled to Washtucna for the county's annual Speech, Spelling, and Math competition. It was a great day with great academic challenges in, you guessed it, speech, spelling, and math. Nearly all schools in Whitman County send students in grades 5-8 who qualify to compete. This year, as always, Oakesdale students made us proud, here are the winners of contests from Oakesdale: Evelyn Goyke-8th grade Impromtu Speaking Megan Crider-8th grade Persuasive Speech Cash Niehenke-7th grade Spelling Logan Couch-7th grade Impromptu Speaking Thank you Washtucna for hosting and great job to all of our kiddos who competed yesterday. #NighthawkProud

Group Activity: Happy #MIOSM! Play the piece "Adoration" by Florence Price, an American classical composer. Get into groups of four and stand in a diamond pattern facing the same direction. The person in front improvises nonlocomotor movements in response to the music while the rest of the group shadows them from behind. The leader will turn to the right and make eye contact with the next leader when they are ready to end their motion and pass it off. The diamond should shift in a new direction, and the cycle repeats until the music ends. After the activity, discuss as a group how the elements in the music affected your movement choices, and take some time to learn about the composer! #NCGME #MusicIsMe #NighthawkProud

Last week our Math team competed at Eastern WA Univeristy at the Regional Competition. As our students always do, they made Oakesdale proud. Here are their results: I. Team Problem (giant story problem) Tie for 1st *Daxton/Grace *Dane/Jake 3rd place *Grant/Charles II. Topical problem (more typical problems) 1st *Dane/Jake III. Know Down (kind of like spelling bee that goes math) *Grace came in 4th, making her the state alternate, and she will go and compete. State will be at Central WA University in April! Congrats! #NighthawkProud

Group Activity: Happy #MIOSM! Found object music is a fun and creative way to make music using everyday items as musical instruments. You can use various items such as plastic bottles, kitchen utensils, buckets, tools, and cardboard boxes! To get started, divide into small groups and create a short repeated pattern (ostinato) using the found objects in the room. Once each group has created their ostinato, come together as a whole group and perform it. Discuss how it went and if any changes need to be made. Rehearse, refine, and perform again! #NCGME #MusicIsMe #NighthawkProud