Atlanta Symphony field trip form

Dear Parents,

Here is an extra copy of the Atlanta Symphony field trip form.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jEdlQB_x3kALsVKW2uHYQ0z0j1Vu0pmO/view?usp=sharing

Weekly Updates Dec 10-15

We have quite the busy week ahead of us in Orchestra! 

All students' practice logs are due TODAY! Please make sure your child gets theirs turned in. We have extra copies in the Orchestra room if they need it. 7th and 8th Graders will also be completing a playing assessment/test in class today (in groups). 

Concert Details! 

6^th Grade Orchestra, Fiddlers, and Cello Choir

When: Wednesday, December 12^th, 2018

Time: Students Report by 6:30 PM, Concert is at 7:00 PM

Where: Durham Theater

Uniform for 6^th Grade: DMS Grey Polo shirt, Black Dress Pants/Floor Length Skirt, Black Dress Shoes

Fiddlers: Wear Green Fiddlers T-Shirt and Jeans

Cello Choir: Wear Blue Cello Choir Shirt and Jeans

7^th Grade Orchestra and 8^th Grade Orchestra

When: Thursday, December 13^th, 2018

Time: Students Report by 6:30 PM, Concert is at 7:00 PM

Where: Durham Theater

Uniform: Black Tuxedo Shirt, Tux Pants, and Black Tie (boys) and Black Top/Pants (girls), Black Dress Shoes

We could use some adult help at both concerts for monitoring students before the concert starts (Ms. Sanchez and I will be tuning and setting up!). If you can help us out, please sign up below! Thank you. 

6th Grade Concert Help Sign Up: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050D49AAAA2BA57-6thgrade3

7th/8th Grade Concert Help Sign Up: 

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050D49AAAA2BA57-7thand3

We are completely out of tissues and hand sanitizer. If we could get donations of those, that would be SO appreciated! (I plan to order some as well for the classroom...it's that time of year!)

Thank you all again for picking up and delivering the fundraiser items!! Each instrument section was able to have sectional coaches come in and work with them last week thanks to your participation!! 

Special thanks to all the Fiddlers for your awesome performance at the Art Station at Big Shanty!!

CONGRATULATIONS to Lucas Kim, Anissa Ibrahim, Zoe Mendez, and Dominique White for making it into District 12/Cobb Co. Honor Orchestra! They will represent Durham in March for the Honor Orchestra event. Dominique and Lucas will also be representing Durham at the second round of All State Orchestra auditions in January, and Dominique had the highest ranked audition for Honor Orchestra in the entire county! We are so proud of all four of these dedicated students for their hard work and achievements! Way to go!!

Please join Remind for your child's group! This will allow you to receive text messages for important updates and reminders. 

6th Grade: text @6grorch to 81010

7th Grade: text @7grorch to 81010

8th Grade: text @8grorch to 81010

Fiddlers: text @fiddle1819 to 81010

If you have any questions or concerns, please let us know!

Mrs. Aikey

Weekly Updates Dec 3-8

Dear Parents,

THANK YOU again to all of you who picked up your fundraiser orders tonight on the late notice. I am so sorry again that you found out as late as you did. Thank you all for supporting the music department!

CONGRATULATIONS to Lucas Kim, Anissa Ibrahim, Zoe Mendez, and Dominique White for making it into District 12 Honor Orchestra!! We are so proud of you!!

Practice Log/Playing Test: All students in all grades received a practice log today. They must write down the amount of time they practice during each session, with a minimum of 15 minutes per session. I have told them in class that they must answer the reflection questions on the practice log sheet and practice 4 separate days in order to receive a 100. However, I do understand that it is a very busy time of year. Please help your child obtain these 4 days of 15 minutes of practice this week if they can, and if that is not possible, please let me know so we can work it out. (I know this can be particularly challenging for cello/bass students who do not have their own instrument at home.) This practice log is due in class on Monday (Dec 10). All 7th and 8th grade students also received a playing test assignment that will be done in class Monday. Please encourage your child to specifically work on their playing test, which comes from their concert music. (I assigned them together in hopes that will help both things!)

Concerts: Our December concerts are Wednesday, December 12 for 6th Grade, Fiddlers, and Cello Choir, and Thursday, December 13 for 7th and 8th Grade. Both concerts are at Durham with a student arrival time of 6:30pm and a concert start time at 7pm. 

Cello Choir and Fiddlers rehearsals are very important this week, as we have events coming up! The Fiddlers have a performance this Saturday at the Art Station at Big Shanty. Fiddlers who are able to perform will need to arrive at the Art Station at 1:40pm to be ready to play at 2pm. They should wear their Fiddlers t-shirt and jeans, and should definitely bring a jacket. 

Polo and Uniform: We should be getting the last polo and uniform orders this week. We will let you know the status ASAP. 

Thank you all of your continued support! As always, feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns. Sincerely,

Jennifer Aikey

Weekly Updates Nov 26-30

Dear Parents,

We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving break! 

All Orchestra students are rehearsing Holiday music as we prepare for our December concerts! Our December concerts are Wednesday, December 12 for 6th Grade, Fiddlers, and Cello Choir, and Thursday, December 13 for 7th and 8th Grade. Both concerts are at Durham with a student arrival time of 6:30pm and a concert start time at 7pm.

6th Grade: Your child should have ordered and received a gray polo shirt for their Orchestra concerts. If they did not, please let us know right away. Their concert uniform for the rest of their concerts is the Durham polo, black dress pants (no jeans) or a floor length long black skirt, black dress shoes (no tennis shoes), and black socks/tights (if applicable).

7th Grade: We just received the second order of boys uniforms and the girls size corrections late this afternoon. Hopefully, we have taken care of all uniforms at this point. PLEASE notify us ASAP if your child does not have a uniform by tomorrow night!!

8th Grade: A $200 Universal payment was due Friday before the break. Please make sure you have made this payment either via check to the school or online on My Payments Plus if your child is attending the trip. Please also make sure your child's uniform fits, and let me know right away if it does not!

There is NO FIDDLERS REHEARSAL this Thursday due to many members being away at the Beta convention later this week. Best wishes to the Durham Beta students as they compete this week! We will have Cello Choir rehearsal tomorrow at 8am.

Fundraiser: The Fundraiser delivery is projected to happen on December 10th. Please note that this is a tentative date, and it may be sooner! We will let you know as soon as we have a concrete date from the company.

Playing tests will be assigned soon for all grades. Please continue to encourage home practice to prepare for their upcoming concert, and we will let you know once playing tests have been assigned. :)

Thank you all for your continued support!

Jennifer Aikey

Weekly Orchestra Updates Nov 5-9

Here are our updates for the Week of Nov 5-9:

THANK YOU to all the parents who volunteered Friday afternoon for our fundraiser celebration and to all who participated in our fundraiser. We had a record breaking number of sales as a department! We are so excited to be able to further enhance your child's music education through clinicians/sectionals and supplies. THANK YOU!!! :) The items are scheduled to be delivered the first week of December. We will let you know when we have an exact date. 

All Orchestra students are rehearsing new music as we prepare for our December concerts! Our December concerts are Wednesday, December 12 (6th Grade, Fiddlers, and Cello Choir) and Thursday, December 13 (7th and 8th Grade). 

Ms. Sanchez and I are steadily catching up on grades, so look for more updates this week on your child's grade on ParentVUE. 

Thank you again parents for your support of the Orchestra program!

Jennifer Aikey 

Weekly Updates: Oct 29-Nov 2

Fundraiser: The Fundraiser Celebration for students who sold at least 5 items OR donated $100 is Friday after school from 4:30-5:45pm. All students that participating should have a ride to pick them up at Durham between 5:45 and 6pm. We will be providing pizza and water for those students, along with the silly string, director dunk tank, an obstacle course, and a bouncy bungee run. We need several adult volunteers if any of you are able to help! Here is the sign-up link for that: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050d49aaaa2ba57-fundraiser1 Please email me if you have any questions. 

Honor Orchestra sign ups for 7th and 8th grade were due yesterday. Today is the last day I can accept the paperwork. If your child would like to audition for Honor Orchestra and they have not turned in the $20 or paperwork, please send me an email TODAY!

After our fun concert last week, we all have been sight-reading new music and will soon be preparing holiday music! :)

Thank you,

Jennifer Aikey

Weekly Update - Oct 22-26

Hello Durham Families! Here are our updates for the week of October 22nd:

CONCERT:  Everyone's first concert of the year will be held at Allatoona High School this Thursday, October 25 at 7:30pm, all students must arrive by 7pm. This is a fun TV and Movie Music concert where students can wear costumes! :) We ask that all costumes be in dress code and for no gory, inappropriate, or offensive costumes. If your child has a folding music stand, please make sure they bring it and that it is labeled with their name! Your child will receive a flyer in class today containing all this information as well. The concert is free of charge. :)

Bass and Cello Transportation: Once I confirm who is using what instrument and who has their own instrument at home, I will send out the instructions for transporting cellos and basses to the Allatoona concert. Cello and bass parents, please be on the lookout for that email later today. 

Honor Orchestra forms and $25 audition fee is due October 30th (though turning in by Friday is ideal!). Auditions are December 1 at Sprayberry HS. I will set up audition help session times later this week.

The Fundraiser Celebration for students who sold at least 5 items or raised $100 in donations is after school on Friday, November 2nd. Please make sure if your child is attending, that they have a ride by 5:45pm. 

6th Grade: Our 6th grade students have been busy rehearsing Jaws and Middle School Story for their concert next week, and they are doing a great job!  Please make sure your child is loosening their bow and taking off their shoulder rest (violin/viola) when they are done practicing. 

7th Grade: The 7th Grade is working hard on Batman and Somewhere Out There. They are doing well, and please continue to encourage them to practice at home. They have a playing test due Wednesday (tomorrow) in class. 

8th Grade:  8th grade is working hard on Mission Impossible for our concert this week. Please continue to encourage your child to practice. :)

If you have any questions, please let us know!

Weekly Update - October 15-19

Here are our updates for October 15-19:

Fundraiser: the Music Department Fundraiser is due this Thursday! (18th) If your child is in 1st, 4th, or 6th period, they will not see me on Thursday due to the Conference Week schedule and can turn it in Friday if needed. Please help us with the final push for sales so we can provide more for your child (and so they can have an awesome time on Nov 2)!

Concert:  Everyone's first concert of the year will be held at Allatoona High School on Thursday, October 25 at 7:30pm, all students must arrive by 7pm. Please make sure you have this night on your calendar! This is a fun TV and Movie Music concert where students can wear costumes! :) We ask that all costumes be in dress code and for no gory, inappropriate, or offensive costumes. 

Congratulations to Lucas Kim and Dominique White for passing the first round of All State Orchestra auditions! This is an extremely difficult audition process and we are very proud of them. All students who auditioned from Durham did a great job and made me proud! Way to go!!

Honor Orchestra audition information is attached for any 7th or 8th grade students (or 6th graders with at least a year of private lessons experience) interested in auditioning. If your child enjoys playing, please encourage them to audition. I'd love to see a big representation of Durham students, because they are awesome! :) The form and audition fee is due October 30th. Auditions are December 1 at Sprayberry HS. I will set up audition help session times next week.

6th Grade: Our 6th grade students have been busy learning Jaws and Middle School Story for their concert next week. We are holding auditions for the narrator in class this week. Please make sure your child is loosening their bow and taking off their shoulder rest (violin/viola) when they are done practicing. 

7th Grade: We are learning a LOT of new things in our books and music! We are working hard on Batman and Somewhere Out There, along with learning those pesky flat keys! They are doing well, and please continue to encourage them to practice at home. 

8th Grade:  The next $200 payment for Universal is due this Friday. If you are chaperoning, please go ahead and turn in your deposit/first payment and second payment if you are able. 8th grade is rocking some awesome music and rising to the new challenges presented to them! We are working hard on Mission Impossible for our concert next week. Much to their amusement, we also have been doing shifting exercises using Baby Shark. :)

These are all the updates we have for now! As always, please let me know if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Aikey

NO FIDDLERS 10/11

There is NO Fiddlers rehearsal this morning.

- Mrs. Aikey

Fundraiser

Dear Durham Orchestra Parents,

We have kicked off our annual fundraiser today! This fundraiser helps us with various costs throughout the year, including instruments, repairs, music, supplies, clinicians/sectional coaches, concert accompaniment, and more.

We have sent home more information with your child, but we wanted to hit some big details here:

1. Any money collected should be made out to YOU, the parent, and then ONE final check will made to Durham Middle School at the end of the fundraiser.

2. We will have a special Fundraiser Celebration Night on Friday, November 2nd right after school until 6pm for any students who sell more than 5 items. We will have a lot of games and activities in addition to the ones listed below. Here's how the prizes break down:

5 items sold (or $100 in donations): Students will receive one shot to dunk their director at a dunk tank

8 items sold: Students will draw out a wallet to receive prizes such as money or other items

15 items sold: Students will get to use a FULL can of silly string on the director of their choice

We will also have games and other fun activities for the students to participate on that evening. 

Our band director, Mrs. Rickard, has also agreed to dye her hair some crazy colors we sell $45,000 or more as a department!

3. The delivery date should be sometime before the Holidays, TBD. 

4. Our fundraiser ends on Thursday, October 18th, two weeks from today. 

If your child wants to participate in the fun events on November 2nd, but do not want to sell the items on the fundraiser, they can participate with $100 of donations as well. :) 

If you have any questions, please let me know!

Jennifer Aikey

Final Braves reminders

Dear Parents,

If your child is attending the Braves game field trip, please make sure they come to school dressed in their t-shirt, jeans (no rips, no shorts), and closed toe shoes Monday. They need to bring a snack for after school and at least $20 for dinner. Check out will be from 8:30-8:45pm in section 147. Please make sure you are signing out your child only with me if you are signing them out. They cannot be signed out by a chaperone...I need to know for sure who is riding back with us! Thank you to those of you who responded to the email about transportation; it definitely helps to have that heads up! :) Again, the students cannot leave their chaperone group/trip until 8:30pm, for safety reasons.

If you are taking your child home, remember that they must take their instrument back to your vehicle after the performance to take it home. Bookbags can be picked up between 4:30-5:15pm at the Durham theater OR they can leave their bookbag in their locker if they do not need to take it home. We have your child's ticket, so you should have only received the family tickets, and your child's ticket will be kept with their chaperone until it is time to enter the stadium.

Chaperones: we will meet at Durham at 3:30pm on Monday in the theater.

We hope to see many of you at the 6:30pm performance at the Battery and are looking forward to a fabulous Monday night! :)

Thank you,

Jennifer Aikey

Braves Game Details

Dear Parents,

If your child is attending the Braves game trip this coming Monday, September 17, I wanted to fill you in on several important details:

First, the students will receive the tickets for their family and friends tomorrow. I have reiterated the importance of them being responsible with these tickets, but PLEASE make sure you get the tickets from them tomorrow as soon as they get home from school, and that you received the correct amount of tickets. Your child's ticket will NOT be included, as their ticket will stay with their chaperone group and will be given to your child after they perform. 

Check Out Procedures: if you are planning to check out your child at the designated check out time (8:30), you will need to be sure of a couple of things; one, you may pick up your child's bookbag from Durham any time from 4:30-5:15. We do not have room on the buses for the bookbags, nor do they allow them in the stadium. If you do not pick up your child's bookbag from during that tiem, you will have to wait to come back to Durham at approximately 10pm when we arrive back to the school from the stadium. Second, you would need to take your child's instrument as soon as they are done performing to your vehicle, as they cannot bring them into the stadium as well and the buses will be locked after the performance. Our performance is from 6:30- 6:45-ish, so there should not be a problem getting the instrument back to your car before the game starts at 7:35. :)

Students who are NOT being checked out and staying for the duration of the trip will put their instrument back on the bus after the performance, and will ride the bus back to Durham where they can drop off their instrument and grab their bookbag upon leaving the school. ALL STUDENTS MUST HAVE A RIDE BY 10PM!

Students should receive their t-shirt for the performance by the end of the week. They will wear the performance t-shirt and jeans to school on Monday for the performance.

Again, our performance at the Battery has been moved to 6:30pm! The Battery is open to anyone (you don't have to have a ticket to enter the Battery). so please come and support your child's performance! 

I hope this answers any questions you may have! Please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns.

Jennifer Aikey

September Updates

Hello Orchestra Parents! We wanted to give you an update on what all the grade levels have been working on...

8th Grade: 8th grade just completed an assessment on 3rd position/shifting. All students received a passing grade, with most doing really well!! Mrs. Aikey is so proud of their progress, as many students have shown a great deal of improvement! We are finishing up preparation for the Braves game next week and are starting to rehearse Night Shift and the Mission Impossible theme!

7th Grade: 7th graders will be completing an assessment on #47 (Rondeau) in their Essential Elements book. This quiz covers their knowledge of dotted quarter rhythms. The rubric that will be used to determine their grade has posture and position, bow usage, tone, intonation, bowings (bow direction), and dynamics as grading categories. They have chosen to do their assessment in small groups of 4-5 students playing together. We are excited to use this team-building strategy with them and to hopefully reach more students individually during this process! They are doing a great job and have been working hard on the Braves game music and the theme from Batman!

6th Grade: The 6th grade is off to a great start! They have successfully learned their D string notes and are working on learning their A string notes! Once they finish an assessment early next week on the D Major Scale, they will begin using their bows! Parents, you should NOT see them using bows right now. Please continue to encourage your child to wait until we give them instruction on their bow grip so that they can start with the best technique possible; we want to set them up for success! They should, however, receive music for their first concert and be using their bow by Fall Break.


If you have any questions, feel free to contact us! Make sure you've filled out the form below this blog post if you have not already.

Thank you,

Jennifer Aikey and Selena Sanchez

Welcome back!

Welcome back students and parents! Please fill out this form and be sure to press submit when it is complete! Thank you, Jennifer Aikey and Selena Sanchez

Orchestra End of Year

Dear Parents,

The year for Orchestra has essentially come to a close, as your children have Olympics this week during Connections. We wanted to make sure everyone knew what would be going on here at the end of the year!

Orchestra Lockers: All students must bring home their instruments no later than Monday, May 21st, which will be locker clean out day for Orchestra students. They will NOT allow instruments on the bus on the 22nd or 23rd. 

School instruments: If they use a school instrument, I have a designated place for them to leave their instrument in the locker room (violins and violas) or the cello or bass room. If you would like your child to check out a school instrument over the summer, please email me back so I can send home a check out form. This is on a first come, first serve basis. 

WE NEED HELP! If your child would like to earn Beta or other community service hours, they can come straight to the Orchestra room at 8:15am Wednesday through Friday of this week. (Tomorrow is our Fiddlers and Cello Choir celebration.) We have to do several things before the end of the year, such as wrapping up instrument inventory, music library, room organization and clean up, etc. 

The last two days of school will be fun days in the Orchestra room, as we will be pulling out all of our awesome electric instruments for students to play, and will do some Orchestra related activities. Students WILL NOT need their instruments again at school at this point. If they took their instrument home, it should stay home unless they are participating in the SmartMusic Competition Thursday for Olympics (which is only a handful of students). Thank you so much!

Jennifer Aikey and Selena Sanchez

Final Concert

Dear Parents, The final concert for 6th Grade, Cello Choir, and Fiddlers is MONDAY NIGHT! Please make sure your child has the following uniform ready to go:

6th Grade: Durham white polo, black dress pants (NO BLACK JEANS OR LEGGINGS!), black dress socks (if needed) and black dress shoes
Fiddlers: Green fiddlers shirt and jeans (no shorts please)
Cello Choir: Blue cello choir shirt and jeans (no shorts please)

Arrival time for all students is 6:30pm for tuning and set up. All students should come to the orchestra room first to sign in. The concert will promptly start at 7pm.

Fiddlers: final rehearsal Monday at 8am
Cello choir: final rehearsal Monday at 8:30am
The Small Groups (cello choir and fiddlers only) breakfast celebration will be Tuesday, May 15 at 8am. Thank you parents for your continued support!!

How to Use Charms and Why!

See the Powerpoint below for the lesson on how to use Charms!

Charms Assessment

Disney Trip Info

Please see the following attachment and follow the instructions if your child is attending the Disney Trip this year : https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cSTgn5l2YfrpgDt8uQ4Xu55wpj_Gf8qc/view?usp=sharing

If your health insurance changed from last year (since forms were filled out in August 2017), please send us either a copy of your insurance card or send us the name of the insurance company, policyholder, Policy ID, and Group number ASAP! We have to make sure all health insurance information is accurate and up to date for all students. 

Here is a link to the full itinerary for the Disney trip: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1B4_y9sWC4avM31L5Zr0kj2d0aa8zsJwP07qqxCrRHCo/edit?usp=sharing

Thank you,

Jennifer Aikey

Disney Parent Meeting

Dear 8th Grade Parents,

The mandatory Disney parent meeting is Thursday, April 26th at 7pm in the Durham Theater for all parents. Students may attend also. One of our Assistant Principals, Shannon Thorpe, will be attending the meeting (as well as the trip) along with our travel agent, Mark Drury, to discuss important information. We will also make sure that everyone is squared away with paperwork, along with handing out an itinerary, packing list, etc. 

DISNEY CHAPERONES: your meeting is the same day an hour earlier at 6pm in the Chorus room. Students are NOT allowed to attend that meeting. If you are bringing your child, they must wait outside of the chorus room until the general meeting starts at 7. 

Thank you!

Jamboree 6th Grade

Dear 6th Grade Parents,

Your child's Jamboree concert at Harrison is Tuesday! Please make sure your child brings the following items to school Tuesday:

1. A folding music stand if they have one ~ labeled with their name

2. Instrument ~ labeled with their name (Cellos who have their own instrument need to bring their cello tuesday morning to school!)

3. Rock stop (cello and bass only) and shoulder rest (violin and viola) ~ labeled with their name 

3. Music Binder

4. DMS Music Polo, nice Jeans, and closed toe shoes (Please wear this to school, tennis shoes are fine) 

Chaperones, please arrive at Durham by 3:45 for a brief meeting, and make sure you have a way to get back to your car! Students will depart from Durham by county transportation after school. This is a one way trip to Harrison. You will need to provide transportation after the performance. Rehearsal for the concert begins at 5:30 p.m. in the Harrison High School gymnasium. There will

be a short supper break from 6:30 until 7:15. The concert will start at 7:30 p.m.

Parents: Please arrive no later than 7:20 p.m. so you may hear our performance. Please

allow plenty of time to find parking. If your child is using a school cello or bass, you will be responsible for returning the instrument back to Durham after the concert Wednesday morning. (if you need to return an instrument Tuesday night, please email us back.)  ALL STUDENTS MUST HAVE A RIDE AT HARRISON BY 8PM! Please come attend their concert if you can! :) Email us if you have any questions or concerns. 

Thank you so much!

Jennifer Aikey and Selena Sanchez

LGPE Information

LGPE will be hosted at McEachern HS on March 12^th and 13^th

2018 LGPE Itinerary for the day of your evaluation  Homeroom: Bring instrument and Formal Uniform to school (and lunch if not ordering CFA). (Remember to label)  7th Grade: Monday, March 12 10:30am Depart Durham 11:00 Unload 11:30 Eat Lunch/Change 12:40 Unpack and Tune 1:00 Warm Up 1:30 Perform 2:00 Sight-reading 2:30 Depart McEachern 3:15 Arrival at Durham 8th Grade: Tuesday, March 13 11:00am Depart Durham 11:30am Unload, eat lunch 11:40 Eat Lunch/Change 1:35 Unpack/Tune 2:00 Warm Up 2:45 Perform 3:15 Sight-reading 3:45 Pack and Listen to 2 groups 5:00 Depart McEachern 5:30 Arrival at Durham            Things to consider: 1.  Students should get a good night of sleep the night before evaluations. 2.  Make sure instrument cases and uniforms/garment bags are labeled. Keep a record of your instrument’s serial number (located on the inside of the instrument). 3.  Encourage your child to practice at home!  We are counting on every member of the orchestra to do his or her part in being prepared for our evaluation.