Music Notes

Our Website is undergoing a Major Update

2010-07-01T11:59:00.000-07:00

I am spending some free time this summer break updating the website. Updating information, links and (the most fun part) the appearance of the pages. I am adding a little bit of the 3D look as well as some extra touches here and there to enhance the user experience. Please feel free to email me through the links on the site and give me your opinion as the changes take place.

Internet Browser Issues

2009-06-22T19:57:00.000-07:00

I have recently learned that the new Internet Explorer 8.0 (which just came out recently) is not compatible with out website. I am looking into the problem, but as of right now I have found no answers. There are a few ways to avoid the issue. First, you could always continue using Internet Explorer 7.0, which runs smooth and has no problems with www.mrvansclass.com. Another option is to use Mozilla Firefox. I use Firefox on a regular basis and it does work well with our site. You can download Firefox for free. If you have any issues with the site or your Internet browser please feel free to contact me and I will try to help in anyway that I can. But again, at this point, www.MrVansClass.com is NOT compatible with the new Microsoft Internet Explorer 8.0.

Sorry about this. I am actively looking for a solution to this problem.

Planning Ahead for the Next Season

2009-06-22T08:24:00.000-07:00

After a great school year and some great performances, I am finally finding time to update the website a little. The photo albums have been updated to include the recent Choir Spring Concert. I have to say that I am very proud of how well the choir performed. The audience enjoyed the choir's versions of some timless classics such as Route 66, There's a Place and some contemporary hits like Viva La Vida as well.(Soloists performing Beautiful by Christina Aguilera)

Now that the summer is here I am working on preparing for the new choir season. Starting, of course, with the winter program. I am not 100% sure on the selections yet, but I have big plans for the new groups of singers.

Please feel free to come by the website and check out our photos and video clips.

(Soloist performing Route 66)

Website Update Issues

2009-02-21T05:58:00.000-08:00

Recently you may have noticed the website was not functioning correctly. I cannot say that I know what was causing this, but I can say that after reformatting many areas of the website I seem to have been able to get it working smoothly again!

The main area that had people upset was the Recorder Karate page. I received many emails stating that the users could not get into the practice area...have no fear it has been fixed and now you can all get in to the Recorder Karate Dojo!

As always, if there is an issue with an area of the site please let me know as soon as possible so that I can make sure it gets fixed.

HAPPY PRACTICING!

Updates are coming

2008-11-30T17:21:00.000-08:00

Wow, with the school year flying by so quickly I have really neglected the updates to the music website. I plan to do better. This is going to be my homework for December.

There are a lot of events coming up soon. Our Winter Program is just around the corner. A New World Christmas will be performed on December 11th by the Koala Choir in our school cafetorium. Afterwards the Tanglewood Neighboord Associaition will be holding a Winter Celebration event across the street at the Tanglewood Park.

We also have round two of our "Chat with the Maestro" program coming up. This program allows classes to go online and have a conversation with Maestro Peter Bay, from the Austin Symphony Orchestra.

With all of the upcoming events and the fast pace of the events we have already had I just simply got behind on the monthly updates. Please feel free to look around the website. There will be many, many, many updates in the next few weeks.

An End to Yet Another Year

2008-06-09T14:08:00.000-07:00

The year has come to an end, and it was a great year. Being that it was my first year at a new school I was a little worried about what the year would present. Looking back on the past 10 months...I can safely say that I made a wonderful choose when deciding to come to Kocurek.

Now that I have finally finished closing down the music class room for summer I have a little more time to update the website.

I have updated the photo albums page with 3 new sets of photos (Recorder Fest, Music Memory and Choir Spring Program). Like always, please feel free to download and safe any and all pictures you would like. That is why they are there. I will be making some drastic changes to the website over the summer. These changes will (hopefully) make the site run a little more smoothly and provide even more resources to students and parents.

Keep checking back to see the changes. If you any ideas or suggestions please feel free to send me a message through the site and I will see what I can do. After all, it is NOT my site, but OUR site and your input is valuable to making it a better, more useful resource.

Until the next blogging!

My Planet, Your Planet

2008-06-03T10:37:00.000-07:00

The final choir show of the school year will be "My Planet, Your Planet" a celebration of our planet and what we can do to keep it in good shape. The show is scheduled for Tuesday, June 3, 2008 @ 6:30pm in the school cafetorium. Although this is our final show it is not our final performance. The Koala Choir will also be performing at our 5th Grade Promotion Ceremony on June 4, 2008 (the last day of school.)

4th Grade Program "Deep in the Heart of Texas"

2008-04-18T16:33:00.000-07:00

Due to the recent Music Memory tests and the upcoming TAKS tests, we have decided to reschedule our 4th grade PTA program for, Tuesday, May 6th. The program will happen during our campus Literacy Night.

More information will be sent home as we get closer to our new date. If you have questions about Literacy Night you can contact your child's classroom teacher. For questions regarding the PTA Program feel free to contact em anytime.

Music Memory Finals Are Complete!

2008-04-18T16:28:00.000-07:00

After a massive stint of testing we have come to the conclusion of our Music Memory Finals! Each school in Austin ISD is allowed to select 2 teams of students to represent their campus at the annual AISD Music Memory Competition, one team for 3rd/4th grade and one for 5th/6th grade. Each team can consist of 6 students from the appropriate grade levels.

For the past 6 schools days we have tested each of our 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students to find our team for the 2007-2008 competition and our search is finally over. The 12 students selected were informed of their success this afternoon (4-18-2008) and will begin team preparations after the TAKS test that is coming up.

Congratulations to all of the students who qualified for the “Hubba Hubba Hard” Test. You are all winners! I wish we could take everyone to the district competition. Here are the 6 top scores that were selected to the teams.

5th Grade Team
Oceanna Pontejos
Stephanie Stringer
Joel Solorzano
Deja Thomas
Caitlynn Cervantes

Elissa Lindquist-Sher

3rd/4th Grade Team
Allan Alvarez
Denae Ravago
Jose Navarro
Boulder Sheffield
Maria Zaragoza
Dylan Frye

The final AISD District Music Memory Competition will be held on Saturday, May 10, 2008. These are both KOALITY Teams and will represent our school with pride!

For information on the members of these teams or for information on how the teams were selected, please contact me anytime or visit the music room website, http://www.mrvansclass.com/.

Deep in the Heart of Texas

2008-04-03T20:03:00.001-07:00

4th graders can now practice for their upcoming program online at MrVansClass.com.

The songs that you need to memorize have been posted and are now available to practice. You will, however, need a UserID and a Password. These can be obtained from me. You should have recieved an instruction sheet from your homeroom teachers which has your ID and Password on it. If you have forgotten the information or lost your sheet you can email me through the music room website to get the information sent to you through an email account.

The materials all load at different speeds due to file size and the speed of your home internet connection. If the files do not load right away....BE PATIENT! Give it a time to fully load.

If you have any questions, again, use the email links found around the music room website and I will do my best to get back to you with an answer as quickly as I can.

Photos Uploaded to Website

2008-03-30T15:48:00.000-07:00

I have uploaded all the photos from the recent show, KIDZ ROCK! They can be accessed from the music room website menu or by clicking here! Some of you may notice that the photos from your act were not included. For those of you who do not see your pictures online at this time, I need to get a Parental Release Form from each parent first. This forms states that I have permission to post images with you in them onto the internet. Without that form I cannot post any of your pictures. The form that I need filled out can be found here. After you get this form filled out and returned to the music room I will be able to upload any images that you can be clearly seen in. Sorry, but rules are rules. For everyone else, please feel free to browse the photos and remember that you put on one amazing show!

As soon as I finish editing some of the video I will be uploading that to the site as well. Keep checking to see when it is finished.

KIDZ ROCK...the follow up!

2008-03-25T18:51:00.000-07:00

Well, it was a long and exciting night for the 5th graders of Kocurek Elementary school. We had a great time putting on our talent show, "KIDZ ROCK!" The show was a success! The students had the audience clapping, tapping, rocking along witht he songs. In some cases there were parents dancing and singing along as well!

These students put on one FANTASTIC show. If you were unable to see it you missed a wonderful display of student talent.

WHAT A SHOW! Congratulations to all those who performed. I am very proud of each and every one of you! You are all stars in my book!!!!

KIDZ ROCK!

2008-03-22T20:20:00.000-07:00

The fifth grade classes of Kocurek Elementary School will be holding their talent show on Tuesday, March 25, 2008 at 6:30pm. The show is free of charge and will feature many individual students acts as well as a grand finale that features all of the 5th graders.

Students performing in the talent show should arrive to the school no later than 6:15pm.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me anytime.

Changes to the Music Room Website

2008-03-16T11:43:00.000-07:00

For those who visit the website on a regular basis you might have noticed some changes. The Server Host that I use for the Music Room Website has made some changes to their servers and as a result I have had to make some changes to the site in order to keep everything working. Don't worry...all the changes have been minor and to most people, won't even be noticed.

The biggest changes so far are the addition of this blog and the change in the form used to send me email comments and suggestions. Although the Feedback form has changed it has been tested and still works.

The addition of this blog will make it easier for me to update the Music News items without be required to republish the entire website every time I add some news. It is simply a time saver! I will try to make sure all of the important news is hosted on the blog as well as the "Music News" link on the website.

As I make more changes I will update this blog and the music news page to make sure everyone is aware of any changes and how the changes will create a BETTER music room website!

Blogging about Music

2008-03-10T18:40:00.000-07:00

I am trying this out to see if it is beneficial to those who use the music room website (MrVansClass.com). I hope to use this as an easier means to update the news and events that are happening within our school and most importantly the things going on within our music rooms.

This first post is simply a test. I will add more after I finish playing around with the tools and hope to keep it updated regularly basis.