Dear Parents of Shepherdstown Elementary School,

My name is Sarah O’Donnell, but your child will call me Miss O’Donnell. I am the music teacher at Shepherdstown. I wanted to let you know of all the exciting and fun times we will be having in our music class this year!

My philosophy of music education is that every person is capable of solo and social music making. Since only 10% of students go on to participate in musical activities after middle school, students should leave elementary school with the musical thinking skills to allow them to continue to be tuneful, beatful, and artful members of society in 30 years time. Tuneful people are able to keep songs in their mind, create short melodies of their own, and sing well enough that people don’t beg them to stop. Beatful (yes, that is how I meant to spell it) people can sway in time to music for their wedding and rock a baby to sleep with a lullaby. Artful people see beauty around them, seek out artistic experiences in life, and support their local artistic scene.

Music is a social art and I would like your help in building your child’s musical skills.  To do this, I’ll be sending home “Ask Me to Sing” sheets. These will be the lyrics to simple songs, rhymes, and fingerplays we’ve learned in class. These songs have all been passed down from parent to child for generations. I would love if your child would sing these songs to 3 different people (family members, neighbors, or even pets!) They can do this in person, over the phone, FaceTime, or Skype. Please help make music fun by making this a stress-free activity.  Share songs you learned in your childhood and make up songs with your child as well. This isn't homework, this is a growth activity.

You are always encouraged and welcomed to reach out with questions, concerns, insights into your child, and ways in which I can assist you in supporting them.

Here’s to a great year,                                                                              

Sarah O’Donnell