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Are you ready for a SIMPLE LIFE?

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If you are looking for some great inspiration and new ways to enjoy life visit my blog!
MISSION
The purpose for this blog is to help inspire and provide motivation, by sending positive energy into the world. Are you dedicated to striving for happiness and success everyday, but often feel discouraged? I have to believe that WE all are. Life is Simple and it is time to LIVE it!


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Conductor Spotlight: Alastair Willis
                                                                           (conductor of Illinois Symphony ATM)
Here's a photo of Alastair Willis in action. #conductorsarecool
Alastair Willis grew up in 3 different countries: America, Russia, and the United Kingdom
He LOVES to use twitter and facebook
(pretty cool for a conductor!)
Willis was even nominated for a grammy back in 2009! He didn't win the award, but hey, neither has Leonardo Di Caprio. 
When he was younger, he didn't think it would be cool to conduct. He only wanted to play the trumpet. 
(lol, the irony) 


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COMPOSERS ARE PRETTY WEIRD.......
Mozart: 
Mozart was noted to be slightly obsessed with human feces. 
YUCK. 
Mozart also apparently loved to act like a cat- he would often meow and jump on surfaces during rehersals. 
Bach:
Bach was known to always carry a sword, just in case he needed it. 
He once got mad, drew his sword, and called someone a "nanny goat bassonist" 
HOW RUDE. 
Lizst: 
Lizst had the reputation of the heart throb of his time. Women became wildly obsessed with him, and were known to follow him around to where ever he had a performance! 
Maybe the Original Justin Bieber?
Beethoven:
Beethoven was actually deaf when he wrote most of his symphonies. 
He also had horrible self hygiene habits and received the insult of being a "homeless man" quite a few times. 
He sounds similar to a grunge musician!


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So... where do I start? 
Here's a list of fun and exiting classical songs that you might actually enjoy! All of these songs are dramatic and fun to listen to. Check them out!
1) Symphony no. 9 "New World Symphony" by Dvorak

2) The Planets Suite (my favorite one is Jupiter) by Holst 

3) St. Pauls Suite, also by Holst

4) Symphony no. 5 by Mahler

5) Anything by Shostakovich, but his string quartet no. 8 and jazz suite are awesome

6) Anything by Beethoven. 
(But symphonies 3,5, 7, and 9 are super cool!) 

7) Richard Wagner's marches

8) Flight of the Bumblebee, by Rimsky -
Korsakov 

9) Tchaikovsky serenade for strings in c major 

10) Simple Symphony by Benjamin Britton
Loook! It's Tchaikovsky, the man who composed The Nutcracker


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Film Scores: 
Everyone looooves hearing the theme to Harry Potter, Star Wars, Jurassic Park, musicals, disney music, and much more. This music doesn't necessarily have any words, but for some reason, the general public loves hearing film scores. 

Film scores are classical music, whether people like it or not. Big time composers such as John Williams and Hans Zimmer devote their lives into creating beautiful film scores. 

So why is it that people love hearing these scores, but dislike hearing scores that are not in movies? I think it has to lie around peoples memories with the music. People love hearing these film scores because they have positive memories and nostalgia connected with them. Therefore, people like some classical music songs. 
It's totally possible to like more of the classical genre too! All that's necessary is to create a positive listening environment to promote good memories. 

Another thing many people won't realize is that these common movie music themes sound very familiar to classical songs that have already been written. See? Without even realizing it, you actually do enjoy some classical. 
Here's a picture of John Williams, the man behind the music of Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Harry Potter, and much more. 


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Is Classical Music ... Dead?
       Classical music totally sucks. It's way too slow and there are no words. The symphony is just a bunch of old guys sitting around in suits pretending to actually like it. Why would ANYONE in their right mind want to listen to it? 

        Yeah sure, all of the claims above might make sense. Might. But honestly, they seem irrational and thoughtless. The real question here should be, why would anyone in their right mind not want to listen to classical music? 

       Firstly, labeling classical music as a genre that "totally sucks" is an illegitimate argument. Saying classical music sucks is similar to saying that Shakespeare sucks or that Charles Dickens sucks. You can say that you do not like these things, but you can't say that they suck. Classial music as a whole provides all of the musical theories, structures, and ideas necessary in creating any modern song. Pop, rock, hip hop, etc. All of these modern music genres stem from the 
framework and theories that classical music had already laid out. So yes, anyone can say that they dislike classical music. But saying that it sucks doesn't actually make any sense, considering that without classical, we wouldn't have any of the music that we have today. It would be completely different. 

       Another frustrating topic that comes up in the bashing of classical music is that it was just written by boring white men wearing powdered wigs. I guess it might be easy to look at a photo of Bach and think that he could have just been a boring old man, but this is not the case. Musicians in the present time have a reputation for being emotionally "messed up" or having some sort of mental health problem. Unfortunately, people view the misfortunes of SOME musicians as "cool" or interesting. Apparently to write music in the modern world, there has to be an emotional problem inspiring the musician in the first place. So why haven't many people realized that classical composers, too were like the musicians of the modern day? There were love triangles, bar fights, and countless insults courtesy of classical musicians. 
"The symphony is just a bunch of old guys sitting around in suits"
       Look around at your peers. Surely some of them take joy in playing an instrument. Perhaps the spunky cello player, or the hilarious trombone player that always makes the whole class laugh. These people ARE classical musicians. They are NOT lame. They are not pretentious. They are the same as you. The dumb stereotype of band geeks, orcha-dorks, and just overall that anything remotely classical is lame isn't justified. Every single band, choir, and orchestra contains vibrant and exciting personalities. These beautiful minds are what is producing the beautiful sounds of classical music. Think about the people playing the music, learn about them, ask questions. Understand that musicians are interesting and exciting people, regardless of whether or not they play pop or classical. 
       But is classical music a dying art? Are the people of this generation disregarding it? I really do not like to think of classical music as a dying art. There just needs to be a greater understanding of the performers, composers, and conductors in order for people to realize that they are just like any other musician. The complexity and beauty of every classical piece needs to be recognized and appreciated by younger people, to encourage them to take part in it as well. 
       Classical music isn't dead. Not yet. Hopefully it will never be dead or disregarded. Anyone can play. It's all inclusive. Realize how it's just like any other music genre, but more fun. Sense there are no words, the story can be up to you. Classical music is beautiful and is most certainly alive. 


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Instrument Spotlight: 
The Viola
     For some reason, the viola isn't nearly as widely known as it's other string family members. The viola contains the same strings as a cello: A, D, G, and a C string. It rests between the violins and the cellos, because it's not as high pitched as the violin and it's not as low pitched as the cello. 
       There are usually way less viola players in an orchestra than there are cello and violin players. This is most likely due to the lack of information regarding the viola.
        The viola is the instrument that has a sound most similar to the human voice. This is because the range of notes it can produce is nearly parallel to the human voice. Not too deep, not too high. The overall tone also gives the viola a sound similar to that of a human voice. 



Size Matters: 
The viola is slightly larger than the violin, as seen in the photo above. 
When someone does know what the viola is, they often just refer to it as a bigger violin. This is ridiculous because it's more similar to the cello!
Alto clef

The violas also use a different clef! (Musical language) No other instrument uses the alto clef as a dominant clef, making the viola super unique.


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Dissection of the Orchestra 
       The layout of an orchestra is designed simply to produce the best quality of sound from all of the players. Take a glance at the chart and you'll notice that all of the super loud instruments are towards the back, and all of the quieter instruments are in the front. 


            The Brass Family
Trumpets, French horns, trombones, and tubas all make up the brass family. These instruments are LOUD and sit in the back.  
          The String Family
Violins, violas, cellos, and basses all make up the strings family. These instruments take up the beginning sections of the orchestra and are not nearly as loud as the brass instruments. 

           The woodwinds
Flutes, clarinets, bassoons, and oboes are in the woodwind family. They are loud, but not quite as loud as brass instruments. This places them in the middle of the orchestra. 
             Percussion
There are many percussion instruments used in an orchestra, but the main instruments are the cymbals, timpani, and the piano. All of these are in the back of the orchestra. 
    The Conductor
The conductor stands on a podium infront of the orchestra. He uses his hands and/or a baton to conduct each player. 


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Houghman Herald 
Inaugural Edition
BLACK OUT BULLYING WEEK
January 27, 2016
Page 1
     Last week we had "Black Out Bullying Week" at Forest City Elementary and enjoyed many fun activities throughout the week. 
On Tuesday we all put a negative thought on paper and threw it into the "TOXIC WASTE BIN" as we entered the cafeteria for lunch. Wednesday, we made some new friends by partner-reading with children from other grade levels. On Thursday, we gave compliments and if a teacher heard the compliment the student got a Hootie that was worth five Hooties! Friday morning we wrapped up the week with an amazing pep rally. We got to sing songs and even learned a new one written by Mrs. Schouburgh. The best part was getting to see our school mascot "HOOTIE" dancing and waving. 
     Just because we had a special "Black Out Bullying Week" doesn't mean that anyone should go back to being mean.  Every week we all should act like it's "Black Out Bullying Week" and be nice to one another.  

Keep Calm 
     and 
     TBK
Credits: Joyce, Alexa, Sunjay, NaKayla, Aliyah, and Anderson 


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This is Dr. Holmes. Teacher of music, recorder, orff, and chorus. 
Dr. Holmes has been a music teacher for 33 years, 8 years in Mississippi and the rest in Florida. Her inspiration to become a music teacher was from one of her college professors. 
Recorder began meeting again last Wednesday, January 20th.  The following day chorus met Thursday the 21st, and orff met this past Monday the 25th . The next performance will be May 22nd and the theme is musical montage. Grades 4 and 5 can participate in chorus, 3rd graders are able to join recorder, and orff is exclusively for 5th graders. Dr. Holmes has sent letters home about these important dates.
These are the orff instruments.
This is the coach of Physical Education and Cross Country: Coach Hartman.
Cross Country is a club for students to practice running and go to other schools to race against other Seminole County students.  Practice is in the morning from 8:05-8:30. To attend these practices you must bring back a permission slip to Coach Hartman. All grades, Kindergarten through Fifth Grade, can participate. 
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Owl News Network brings Forest City students the news each morning.  There are many jobs to get the news on-air.  The jobs are: Anchor 1, Anchor 2, Special Corespondent, Sound Engineer, Video Engineer, Director, Media, Teleprompter, and Two Multi-Experts/Floaters. If you are in 5th grade you can apply at the end of each trimester.  Fourth graders can apply at the end of the school year. 
School Clubs
This is Mr. Schimmel.  He runs the Owl News Network. 
Math club is a very important problem solving class. The questions are very challenging for many of the 4th and 5th graders that attend math club.

Math Club meets at 7:30 A.M. on Tuesdays. The students who attend Math Club meet in Mrs. Walton's classroom to start the morning with challenging math equations.

Students reveal their answers to the teachers and discuss if the answers are correct or incorrect. If the answers are incorrect then both teachers explain how to get the right answers. 
Mrs. Walton, 4th grade teacher and Mrs. Baptist, math coach, run the Math Club and help students when they are stuck on problems. 
Credits:  Jessica, Aliyah, Karla, and Adrian 


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Calendar and Events
January and February 2016 
EVENTS AND HAPPENINGS 

January 25  Literacy Week Kick Off
February 4   Dad's Breakfast
February 10  SAC Meeting 
February 15  No School Presidents Day       
February 19  Hootie Store Grades 2, 4, and 5 
February 24 End of Second Trimester  
February 25  Start of The Third Trimester
February 26 Hootie Store Grades K, 1, and 3; Hat Day 
Page 3
January 25th through January 29th students at FCE will be celebrating Literacy Week by participating in many exciting events about reading. Also, we will be learning about students that are in an orphange in Albania.  FCE students will be writing letters and sending books to these children far away from us. 
Coming soon ...in mid February!

Forest City will be kicking off the Jump Rope for Heart Fundraiser. This important event raises money for the American Heart Association.
     This is Literacy Week at FCE!

    "Literacy Changes Our World"
Credits: Danielle, Ashton, and James


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       Getting to know Miss Crum
Miss Crum: "Well, I’m very excited about it. The teachers and staff members voted for me so it’s nice to be recognized by the people that work with me.  Even if I don’t talk to them every day they notice that I’m doing a good job teaching so that means a lot."
Interviewer:  "How do you feel about being teacher of the year?"
Interviewer:  "What's your favorite part about being a teacher?"
Miss Crum: "My favorite part about being a teacher is to be able to help students learn. And if they start to have trouble with something and then start to understand it...it's that little light bulb that goes off and I think that is the best part about being a teacher."
Interviewer:  "How long have you been a teacher?"
Miss Crum: "That’s a difficult question, when I was in college I was in a lot of kindergarten classes.  I’ve only taught first and second grade levels. I enjoy teaching them all but second is my favorite."

Interviewer:  "What grade do you like teaching the most, and why?"
Interviewer:  "What grades have you taught?
Miss Crum: "This is my 12th year teaching."
Miss Crum: "Forest City is the only school I’ve ever taught at.  I’ve been here for 12 years."
Interviewer:  "Where was the first school you taught?
Miss Crum: "Like I said before when I was in college I did a lot of work in kindergarten classes, they call those internships. After college  I’ve only taught first and second grade."
Miss Crum: "Well, first of all, I could never see myself working at an office job and doing the same thing every single day, so I knew I wouldn’t like that. My aunt was a teacher and I was taking a class in college and one of the things the class was about was finding a  career... a career course. It was for students who didn’t know what they wanted to do and I fit into that category.   One of the projects we had to do was going to  go visit people in different careers. So I decided to go visit my aunt, the teacher.  For the whole day I  just sat and watched and I really thought it was something I could see myself doing. I really enjoy being around the students so I guess my aunt Tracy inspired me to be a teacher."
Interviewer:  "What inspired you to be a teacher?"
Credits: Chloe, Elizabeth, and NaKayla 

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Advertisments
PTA STORE
The PTA Store is open on Fridays from 8:05-8:45am. These are just some of the many treats for sale!
These yummy looking cookies are only 75¢. You can get them when you are purchasing your lunch.
The location of the Hootie Store is in the lunch room (the last double doors on the right) . The Hootie Store will be open for 2nd, 4th and 5th graders on February 19th and February 26th for K, 1st, and 3rd. The best part about the Hootie Store is that you don't have to spend any money!  Just earn those Hooties and go shopping! 
HOOTIE STORE
FCE RESTURANT
GREAT AMERICAN FUNDRAISER
Help raise money for our FCE PTA by participating in the fundraiser!
Page 5
Credits: Matthew, Chevenee, and Walter


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Cartoons and Riddles
Beginner: When Moon runs away and Sun comes up?
Medium: What has roots that no one sees, it’s taller than trees.
Up up up it goes and yet it never grows?

Brainiac: All things it devours. Birds, beasts, trees, flowers. Gnaws iron, bites steel, grinds hard stones to meal. Withers plant, ruins town and beats high mountain down?
Answers are on FCE Food and Restaurant page!
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Brain Teasers
Credits: Anderson, Bruce, and Jordon