Special Area

Special Area General Information

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Why Music

Why Music?

Music is a Science
It is exact, experiential, and based in acoustic principals. A conductor's full score is a chart, a graph indicating various frequencies, intensities, volume changes, melody, and harmony all at once under the constant control of time. Each member gets a piece of the pie!

Music is Mathematical
Rhythmic subdivisions of time are fractions, calculated and acted upon instantaneously within the mind and subsequently, through the body. The kinesthetic and cognitive processes required by music are authentic.

Music is a Foreign Language
Music terms are in Italian, German, or French; and the notation is certainly not English - but a highly developed symbolic system, representing ideas and expressions. Music is the most complete and universal language.

Music is History
Music often reflects the environment/times of its creation, as well as the culture of the country from where it originates. Our music can be as diverse as the planet itself!

Music is Physical Education
It requires fantastic coordination of fingers, hands, arms, lips, cheeks, and facial muscles in addition to extraordinary control of the diaphragm, back, stomach, and chest muscles. These voluntary macro and micro movements respond instantly to the sound the ear hears and the mind interprets.

Music is all these things, but most of all,
Music is ART!
It allows a human being to take all these techniques, and with personality, use them to create beauty!

MUSICAL CLASS OBJECTIVES

Our Purposes are...

To learn to READ music, FEEL music, HEAR music, and to ENRICH lives through music!

For Ensembles...

To improve the quality of VOCALISTS in CHOIRS, INSTRUMENTALISTS in BANDS and ORCHESTRAS, and PERCUSSIONISTS in all forms of music.

And most importantly, For Individuals...

To become LIFE-LONG LEARNERS of music!

Schedule

Band Schedules 24/25 (updated in July, subject to change):

Full Bands & Instrument Sectional Rehearsals are all in the MORNING during Specials for the 24/25 school year. Every band student has at least two days of band class per week and attendance is mandatory.
- Brass instrument sectionals include trumpets, French horns, trombones, baritone/euphoniums, & tubas.
  - 5th Grade percussion sectionals have been combined with low brass (trombones & baritone/euphoniums) or with flutes (bells). If your 5th grader selects percussion on the registration form, Mrs. Dragomir will reach out to you, the parent/guardian.
- Woodwinds are divided into two sectional days: flutes on one day, and reeds on another. Reeds include clarinets and saxophones.
Sectional classes Monday-Thursday will rotate meeting days quarterly. Full Band rehearsals will be every Friday. Each band student will experience one quarter of 2 PE classes & 1 Art, one quarter of 2 PE classes & 1 Music, and two quarters of 1 PE, 1 Art & 1 Music class throughout the school year and the order of occurrence will depend on the student's homeroom class and sectional class.
Additionally, all band students are invited to practice BEFORE SCHOOL up to two times per week. Attendance is optional, yet highly encouraged.

1st Quarter Schedule:

TIME	CLASS	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY
Period 0	Before School Band	6th Grade Honor Band Studies	5th/6th Grade Band Club/Council
Period 1	5th Grade Band	Percussion & Low Brass	Trumpets	Flutes/Bells	Reeds	FULL BAND
Period 2	6th Grade Band	Percussion Only	All Brass	Flutes	Reeds	FULL BAND
Period 3	4th Grade Pre-Band		Rinderknecht	Boeckholt	Mihelic

Equipment for Success

Instruments, Equipment, & Learning Materials for 5th & 6th grade Band!
- The most important items include...
  - A QUALITY instrument with accessories in working order.
  - Tradition of Excellence Book 1 for the student's instrument.
  - A half-inch binder with page protectors.
- Beginning band instrument choices are flute, clarinet, alto saxophone (clarinet 1st semester), trumpet, French horn (trumpet 1st semester), trombone, baritone, tuba (baritone 1st semester) or bell-kit percussion (bells 1st semester + drum pads 2nd semester).
- Choices DO NOT include violins, guitars, piano or drum-set as these instruments are NOT regular members of a concert band.

Link to the document

PE Information

Welcome to the 2024-2025 school year at Copper Creek! This year we will be doing new and exciting activities that we know you will love! We look forward to getting to know each one of you!

G GET

Y YOURSELF

M MOVING

Please make sure your child wears the appropriate clothes and sneakers on the days they have PE! Crocs, sandals, boots, high heels and flip flops are NOT appropriate PE shoes.

Meet the Special Area Teachers

Welcome to music! My name is Morgan Ambrose and I will be teaching music and choir at Copper Creek Elementary. I am looking forward to working with you and your child in the upcoming school year. I graduated from Grand Canyon University in May of 2015 and will begin my eighth year of teaching. As a graduate of Deer Valley High School, I am excited to be working in the school district I attended from K-12th grade. If you have any questions, please contact me.

Mrs. Tiedeman- Art

2024-2025

This will be my 11th year teaching in the Deer Valley Unified School District. I have taught art for nine of those years and two as a first grade teacher. I am looking forward to a wonderful year at Copper Creek!

My Teaching Philosophy
I intend to instill and illuminate a passion for learning and personal discovery in all of my students. I can accomplish this by approaching education through collaborative and creative methods that engage, support, nurture and challenge all who enter the classroom.

I will encourage and assist students in reaching their full potential and utilizing each individual’s extraordinary talents.

As a teacher, I will aid my students in exceeding the expectations of the curriculum, as well as creating an environment that encourages excitement around learning, community and a sense of personal pride.

I will foster a classroom where respect and kindness are of high value.

It is imperative that all students, parents and educators are involved and openly communicate with one another to achieve this lasting partnership; one that actively and productively pursues academic success and individual happiness.

I look forward to inspiring creativity and fueling students’ curiosity through exciting personal discovery, inquiry, and academic exploration.

I sincerely aim to provide an exemplary educational experience for students where their classroom is the highlight of their day and where they may share their findings around the dinner table; creating a life- long learner.

Outside of the Classroom

I enjoy photography, painting, gardening, camping, and travel. Most of all, I love curling up with a cup of coffee, reading an enticing book and spending quality time with my husband and kids.

Mr. Tiedeman- PE

My name is Jeff Tiedeman. This will be my 18th year teaching PE and health in DVUSD. I'm excited to start my first year at Copper Creek! I try to stay as active as I can. Most of my students know I play a lot of basketball and exercise and I practice what I am encouraging them to do which is be active and fit for life.

I'm from Seattle so I'm a huge fan of the Seahawks, Mariners, UW and still hoping the Sonics return some day. My family is the most important thing to me. I love spending time with my wife and kids.

Mrs. Potts - PE

HI! My name is Mrs. Deann Potts and I am very excited to be a part of the Bobcat team! I earned a bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education from Grand Canyon University. I am certified in K-12 Physical Education and Health and have been teaching for 22 years and 21 of those years in the DVUSD. I also teach Fitness Center for the Aspire Online Academy during the summer session.

I have been married to my amazing husband for 26 years! We have three children; 2 daughters (25, 23), a son-in-law (25) a son (19), 1 yellow lab (Casey) and a new puppy who is a French Pointer. When I am not teaching, I enjoy spending time with family, attending my kids' various activities and traveling, as well as being in the outdoors. I look forward to a great year at Copper Creek!

Mrs. Dragomir-Band

Mrs. Alycia Dragomir is very happy to be the band director of Copper Creek Elementary for the 5th year! As a professional musician, saxophonist and educator, she has a passion for performing and teaching a variety of genres, cultures, and sounds through instruments and voice. Her musical studies began at a young age in and around her hometown of Fargo, North Dakota, with professors from state universities, colleges, and international music camps, including Interlochen Center for the Arts. She earned her bachelor’s degree in music education from Arizona State University in 2010 and has had the honor of performing around the United States and Europe amongst world-class musicians.

Mrs. Dragomir's husband is Mr. Abel Dragomir, the director of choirs at Mountain Ridge High School. Besides collaborating in the Fine Arts programs of DVUSD, they also direct and perform with various vocal and instrumental ensembles at their church. They have 3 young sons, David, Isaiah, & Abel, who love to sing, play soccer and go swimming!

Mrs. Alycia Dragomir is thankful for the opportunity to work in beautiful A+ school communities and looks forward each day to making quality musical moments!