Today, the Shiraniks created beautiful music with our favorite recording engineer, Nick H. from Red House Studios. The lyrics that they wrote for "Light Song" (a parody of Fight Song by Rachel Platten) filled the air in our recording session right here in Room 204. The kids had a great time, and it went so smoothly that we were able to spend some extra time working on harmonies!
Nick and the Shiraniks
"This is our light song! Take back our rights song!..."
Setting levels
Listening to the playback
The mixing board
Working on last minute harmonies
"We'll keep our faith strong! Changing our beliefs is wrong!..."
Erin conducts
"Dropping in" part of the chorus
"Hey! That sounds pretty good!" Listening to the rough mix
After Nick sends us the final mix, we will use it to "lip sync" the lyrics when we begin shooting our video on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Please be sure to attend as many of the upcoming (weekday AND Sunday) sessions as possible in order to be in the video scenes! (We may be needing costumes and props, so check your inbox for requests!)
On Sunday, February 21 (this Sunday), we will be recording their parody song here in Studio Shira (our classroom) with a professional recording engineer. In the meantime, we all should be learning the lyrics, and singing along with the karaoke version of the song. Shiraniks, please practice at home as often as possible before Sunday!!
Also, please mark your calendars for the Junior Choir performance at the Reutlinger Home for Jewish Living in Danville on March 13th. Please go directly to the Reutlinger home by 9:30, where we will perform and have a reception afterword. Parents are welcome to attend, and we will be finished by 11:30 a.m. Dress code is clean, nice casual (please no jeans and t-shirts). Thanks! See you Sunday!
“LIGHT SONG” (Sung to the tune of “Fight Song”)
VERSE (sung by students in the present day)
Like a candle
In the window
Lighting the way
Into the past
Like a single band
Can break a great army
I might only have one match
But I can light the menorah
CHORUS PART A- (Sung by the Maccabees in the past)
And all those things we couldn’t save
A drop of oil lasts for eight days
We will arm ourselves tonight
So you’ll hear our voice this time!
PART B -
This is our light song
Take back our rights song
Prove we can fight song
We’ll keep our faith strong
Changing our beliefs is wrong
We’ll play our light song
And we won’t give up till the Greeks leave and let us be,
And we still believe ‘cause we are the Maccabees
VERSE 2 (present day)
Spin the dreidel and win the game
Eating latkes by the flame
Left to right
Light em left to right
(Maccabees)
And it's been three years
The oil’s gone
But there's a fire burning in my soul
I still believe
Yeah, I still believe
CHORUS - (Maccabees)
And all those things we couldn’t save
A drop of oil lasts for eight days
We will arm ourselves tonight
So you’ll hear our voice this time!
This is our light song
Take back our rights song
Prove we can fight song
We’ll keep our faith strong
Changing our beliefs is wrong
We’ll play our light song
And we won’t give up till the Greeks leave and let us be,
And we still believe ‘cause we are the Maccabees
(both Maccabees and present day):A lot of light left in me
BRIDGE (past and present together)
Like a candle
In the window
Lighting the way
Into the future
Like a single band broke a great army
I might only have one match (pause)
But I can light the menorah
CHORUS (PART B ONLY) - (everyone)
This is our light song
Take back our rights song
Prove we can fight song
We’ll keep our faith strong
Changing our beliefs is wrong
We’ll play our light song
And we didn’t give up till the Greeks left and let us be
And we still believe, because now we are all free
And we still believe because we had the Maccabees!
This week, the 5th and 6th graders gathered in the Beit Knesset for a very special presentation by volunteers from Wardrobe for Opportunity. In the weeks leading up to Sunday's Tikkun Olam project, we collected donations of like-new clothing that would be appropriate for people in need of job interview attire. The students watched a video about Wardrobe for Opportunity's clientele, then spent the rest of the time sorting and hanging the clothing that had been donated. , learning about the recipients of their families' donations.
Wardrobe for Opportunity is a wonderful local organization that is always in need of donations. There are several drop off sites in the East Bay. For more information about how you can donate to, or volunteer for this worthy cause, visit:
Earlier in the week, the Shira students began pre-production on their music video. We had fun scouting locations for the Maccabees scenes (Looking for places around the Temple grounds that kinda sorta looked like the hills around Modin, or the Temple walls!) Here are a few of the location shots taken by Erin of our possible scenes:
Last week, the Shiraniks wrote a parody on the tune Fight Song. On Sunday, February 21, we will be recording the song here in Studio Shira (our classroom) with a professional recording engineer. In the meantime, we all should be learning the lyrics, and singing along with the karaoke version of the song. Shiraniks, please practice at home as often as possible before the 21st!!
“LIGHT SONG” (Sung to the tune of “Fight Song”)
VERSE (sung by students in the present day)
Like a candle
In the window
Lighting the way
Into the past
Like a single band
Can break a great army
I might only have one match
But I can light the menorah
CHORUS PART A- (Sung by the Maccabees in the past)
And all those things we couldn’t save
A drop of oil lasts for eight days
We will arm ourselves tonight
So you’ll hear our voice this time!
PART B -
This is our light song
Take back our rights song
Prove we can fight song
We’ll keep our faith strong
Changing our beliefs is wrong
We’ll play our light song
And we won’t give up till the Greeks leave and let us be,
And we still believe ‘cause we are the Maccabees
VERSE 2 (present day)
Spin the dreidel and win the game
Eating latkes by the flame
Left to right
Light em left to right
(Maccabees)
And it's been three years
The oil’s gone
But there's a fire burning in my soul
I still believe
Yeah, I still believe
CHORUS - (Maccabees)
And all those things we couldn’t save
A drop of oil lasts for eight days
We will arm ourselves tonight
So you’ll hear our voice this time!
This is our light song
Take back our rights song
Prove we can fight song
We’ll keep our faith strong
Changing our beliefs is wrong
We’ll play our light song
And we won’t give up till the Greeks leave and let us be,
And we still believe ‘cause we are the Maccabees
(both Maccabees and present day):A lot of light left in me
BRIDGE (past and present together)
Like a candle
In the window
Lighting the way
Into the future
Like a single band broke a great army
I might only have one match (pause)
But I can light the menorah
CHORUS (PART B ONLY) - (everyone)
This is our light song
Take back our rights song
Prove we can fight song
We’ll keep our faith strong
Changing our beliefs is wrong
We’ll play our light song
And we didn’t give up till the Greeks left and let us be
And we still believe, because now we are all free
And we still believe because we had the Maccabees!
An important aspect of our class is making music. This year, the Shira students have had many opportunities to sing, from "kumsitz" camp-style sing-alongs with our song leader Maya, to writing parodies with me, to rehearsing liturgical music with Cantor Korn. Here is a short video compilation of the many songs that we learned in the first part of the school year.
Shalom Shiraniks! What better way to start the secular new year than with a journey of discovery? The Shira students kicked off 2016 by learning what it is to truly be a mensch. What, exactly, is a mensch, you ask? According to dictionary.com, a mensch is a "decent, upright, respectable person." Okay, fair enough. Most of us think we qualify. But what does our Jewish tradition say about how one becomes a mensch? That's the question we have been tackling, and the students have learned that to be a mensch, one must study the middot, or Jewish virtues (values). Each of the middot expresses a way in which we, as Jews, can interact kindly with others, and create a positive environment. There are actually 48 different middot, and each middah (sing.) can guide our actions. For a complete list of the middot, see: Reform Judaism - Study the Mitzvot
Our recent Middot activities have included games like Pictionary, In the Manner of the Word and Three Headed Professor...
We have also been watching music videos from various artists, and determining which of the Middot each song represents. An interesting example is Tim McGraw's "Humble and Kind," which we had a great discussion about. The students were split as to whether it was a "Jewish" song, but they all agreed that it represented the universality of the Middot!
Finally, the Shira students led a reader's theater production of a short skit with the other classes, illustrating how we all have a Yetzer Tov (good inclination) and a Yetzer Hara (bad inclination) that influence our decision to do the right thing.
