MUSIC

Our Program

Third Grade: Third graders have weekly music instruction for one half of the school year. This includes singing, listening, and playing recorders with the music teacher. Note reading skills are taught, as well as pitch recognition, and music appreciation.

Fourth and Fifth Grade: Students at this level have the option of signing up for instruction in a band instrument. These include the trumpet, flute, and clarinet. These students are pulled from the classroom twice a week for instruction with a credentialed music teacher. There are public performances at least three times a year.

What Happens Next?

Our students leave Oak Meadows with the basic musical skills needed to participate successfully in a superior middle school band program taught by award winning directors. In addition to this, all the band teachers from the various grade levels meet regularly and have recently written a set of district wide standards. These standards help us maintain a consistent program in a district that is growing rapidly.

Why Music?

Music has always played a major role in society. It exalts the human spirit and enhances the quality of life. One fundamental purpose of education is to transmit our cultural heritage, and music is a powerful means for communicating that message. Music in education provides both motivation and an opportunity for success for at-risk students. Because it is essential that every student succeed in school, music should be used as a means for enhancing self-esteem, respect for others, and good citizenship. Music can develop critical thinking skills in all students. By providing exercises in creative problem solving through composition, performance, and listening, music brings a proper balance to the curriculum.

David Bledsoe

I began teaching in 1978 in the Irvine Unified School District. I taught choral, band, and general music there before becoming a 6th grade teacher for about 10 years. I also worked as an English language arts mentor in Irvine before coming to Menifee. I have worked in Menifee Union School District for the last 20 years. The last 13 of those years have been spent nurturing the implementation of a music program at the elementary level. I am very proud to be working in a district that appreciates the value of fine arts education at an early age.