First Concert for Kindergartners at Westgate

Kindergarteners recently had their very first music concert at Westgate Elementary in Arlington Heights. Nervous excitement was felt by both the students and their parents. The morning concert was directed by Westgate's part time music teacher Rachael Scherer, and the afternoon concert was directed by Westgate's music teacher Jerry Berger. Both concerts incorporated the students from the classes of Nancy Abruscato, Karen Jones, and Lauren Cory. The basic concepts of high/low, fast/slow, long/short, and how songs come together in musical form is what is taught at the kindergarten level.

About half of the songs were the same for both of the concerts. Family favorites were the song "Gitsigakomim" where students played a "gathering" drum to the beat of the song. With its adorable words, another song that always gets a laugh is "Mumble Grumble." For the song "ABC/ZYX," parents are told their child can now sing the alphabet backwards. They are quite amused when their child simply turns around and sings the song "backwards!" Written by the Dryden Art Teacher Tricia Fuglestad many years ago, "The Kindergarten Song" was the last song at both concerts. The song is always a tear jerker, and a beautiful way to conclude their first music concert, as students sing about their days as a kindergartener and how they are now graduating to first grade.