Mr. Fitzpatrick's Music Room

Hello, and welcome to my music room!

I am so glad to return to Providence for another year of music making fun and learning! I hope to implement various teaching strategies and activities that I learned over the summer that I believe your students will love! On this website you can find information about almost everything I do in my classroom. If something you're looking for is NOT on this page, please don't hesitate to email me at jfitzpatrick@dentonisd.org.

Here's to a new (school) year!

Biography

Born and raised in the great state of Texas, I spent the majority of my life chasing after musical excellence. From a young age, I showed great talent for music. And as I progressed through my schooling I was often the person who would spend their free time in the music room either conversing with peers or honing my craft.

After graduating high school with an honors in music performance, I enrolled into University of North Texas' award winning school of music performance and education. There I spent the next five years deepening my understanding of music and polishing my skillsets in hopes of accomplishing my goal of becoming a music educator.

Education

Everyone has to get their education from somewhere! For me that was UNT! I attended UNT for five years as a music education major with a focus in voice, where I became section leader for the UpFront! music educator choir, and eventually conducted my first choir.

In the summer of 2023 I attended MSU's Kodaly Educator Institute and completed Level 1 of my Kodaly certification.

Philosophy of Education

My educational philosophy is "everyone deserves an education" and to accomplish this goal, I use the Kodaly method of teaching in my music classroom. Zoltan Kodaly's sought to make music available to everyone, not just those who can afford music lessons, and I truly feel like his thoughts on music education embody that of my own.

“The most urgent task is to make the means of music culture accessible for as many people as possible, primarily through the schools.” - Zoltan Kodaly (1930 pg.27)

Along with Kodaly's methods I also implement elements from music learning theory. This enhances the learning process by sequencing the introduction of concepts in such a way that is easy to feel, hear, and see.

Specials Schedule:

Morning Duty 7:25 - 7:40

5th Grade 7:50 - 8:40

3rd Grade 8:40 - 9:35

Conference 9:35 - 10:40

4th Grade 10:40 - 11:30

Lunch 11:30 - 12:00

Kindergarten 12:00 -12:50

1st Grade 1:00 - 1:50

2nd Grade 1:55 - 2:45

Afternoon Duty 2:50 - 3:15

Choir (Mondays) 3:20 - 4:20

Notice:

If you would like to call me, please know that the only time I will be able to give you my undivided attention will be during my conference period. Any calls that are placed outside of this time will have no guarantee of me picking up, as I am either teaching a class, or preparing to teach a class. If you would like to recieve a faster reply, please send me and email at jfitzpatrick@dentonisd.org

Music Rubric.docx

Grading Policy

Yes! there are grades in music! On the left is the rubric that I use to grade every student that steps into my classroom.

Students will be assessed on concepts during class. However, there will never be individual grades for certain assignments or concepts in my classroom.

If you have any questions concerning my grading policy please email me at jfitzpatrick@dentonisd.org.

Calendar

To the right is my calendar! This calendar will detail every event, what time it will take place, where it will be at, if food is provided, the works.

If you have any questions about events on my calendar, please email me at jfitzpatrick@dentonisd.org.

Denton ISD 5th Grade Honor Choir

Starting August 22nd, 2023, 5th grade students will have an opportunity to sign up and audition for Denton ISD's 5th Grade honor choir. This choir is comprised of select 5th graders from every elementary school in Denton ISD.

5th Grade honor choir audition rehearsals will take place on Tuesday's after school leading up to the audition date: Thursday, September 28th, 2023. (auditions are afterschool)

Results will be released on October 21st, 2023.

If you believe that your student might be interested in joining the honor choir, please email me at jfitzpatrick@dentonisd.org OR have your student pick up a 5th grade honor choir interest form from my hallway.

5th Grade Honor Choir Calendar:

August 28: Audition interest forms due

September 5: Audition Rehearsal

September 12: Audition Rehearsal

September 19: Audition Rehearsal

September 26: Final Audition Rehearsal

September 27: Honor Choir Auditions

September 28: Honor Choir Audition Makeup (during school)

October 21: Audition results posted. parents and students will be notified

October 27: Honor Choir commitment forms due

November 7: Rehearsal

November 14: Rehearsal

November 28: Rehearsal

December 5 : Rehearsal

December 12 : Rehearsal

December 19 : Rehearsal

January 9: Rehearsal

January 16: REGIONAL REHEARSAL AT PALOMA CREEK (REQUIRED)

January 23: Rehearsal

January 30: Rehearsal

February 6: Rehearsal

February 13: REGIONAL REHEARSAL AT PALOMA CREEK (REQUIRED)

February 20: Rehearsal

February 27: Rehearsal

March 2: CHOIR CLINIC AND CONCERT AT RYAN HIGH SCHOOL (REQUIRED)

Providence Patriot Choir

Starting this year, the Providence Patriot Choir club! This club is open to 4th and 5th graders who love to sing and have fun! Rehearsals will take place on Mondays throughout the year! If you or your student believe that they would like to join, please ask Mr. Fitzpatrick for a physical copy, or print out and send in this form to jfitzpatrick@dentonisd.org

The due date for the choir contract is August 28th, 2023

Spots are limited, so please make sure to turn in forms as fast as possible!