Rami Ivers settled herself on a blanket to watch the program which included her “grandbabies”—kindergartner Sloane, first-grader Emmie and third-grader Nevaeh.

 “We come every year to watch the performances,” she said. “It’s great to see their excitement with the music.”

 The children also were looking forward to getting their faces painted near where they could make a kite with the help of Midvale Mayor Marcus Stevenson or learn how to get a county library card or explore one of the other several booths.

 “We have great community partners here and our Family and Learning Center is painting kids’ faces,” Copperview Assistant Principal Raschell Davis said. “This event brings the community together to celebrate their students. They’ve been learning and practicing their performances for a couple months and then recently, we began rehearsals. Our after-school program has been practicing their dance performance since January after school, so they’re excited to perform.”

Copperview’s music performances, which are supported by the Beverley Taylor Sorenson grant, is a recent addition. The grant allows music teacher Kathy Morgan to hold lessons with each grade, 40 minutes per week prior to the year-end celebration.

The May program included songs which reinforced the students’ curriculum.

Kindergartners sang the folk song, “She’ll Be Coming Around the Mountain,” with words that solidified their learning about things happening in a sequence, Morgan said.

“We also worked with rhyming songs and how we can change the first letter of a word to become a second word, such as hat and cat or dragon and wagon,” she said.

First graders sang about the three states of matter—solid, liquid and gas—as well as “Do, Re, Mi,” so they could “listen and hear the scales,” Morgan said.

 Second grade performed “Peace Like a River” and “Favorite Things” while third graders learned about rhythm with wood blocks. They performed “Tomorrow” from the musical “Annie.”

 “I like that it was bright and happy; it’s a fresh new start. It gives them hope for their future,” she said.

 Fourth-grade students learned a song in Spanish, “La Bamba,” which Morgan said she chose since several students could relate to the language. Fifth graders sang “You can count on me.”

 “It was fun to see them put their arms around each other, help one another out; that song really sent a message to them,” she said.

 As Morgan teaches students the songs, it’s more than just the words and melody.

 “I want them to learn the rhythm, hear the pitches, feel the tempo and the beat,” she said. “They’re learning the note value and time signature and practicing their fractions at the same time. Music really does tie into curriculum. When they learn music together, they’re learning to listen to one another and support each other.”

 Morgan said through music, it’s unifying the school.

 “The kids are giving their all. This means something to them,” she said. “Music is really an important part of life and many of them are having so much fun, they’ll have the option of joining choirs in middle and high schools and even colleges.”

 Principal Colleen Smith agrees.

 “It’s a good way to showcase our students, to bring families together and to appreciate their hard work through their performances; we really have a great turnout,” she said.

 Community School Facilitator Jenna Landward said it’s a fun celebration at the end of the school year.

 “It’s a tradition our families know and love,” she said. “Our community partners are here and we’re here to celebrate the kids’ accomplishments through the joy of music.”