Updates - Oct 29 - Nov 1

Dear Parents,

Now that our October concert has passed, we have been sight-reading new music this week! I want to congratulate all of the Orchestra students again for an excellent concert last week! They all did a wonderful job. 

For ALL Grades: Please help us make sure your child has a black binder with page protectors and their method book (6th and 7th Grade) as we use these items in class daily. We did a binder check late last week and several students were missing items. I will do another binder check tomorrow in hopes to see more students prepared for class. I do have some donated binders, books, and page protectors, so please let me know if that is a need for your family. They also sell black binders with page protectors in them in the school store for $5. 

Mark your calendars! Tuesday, November 19th is our scheduled delivery date for our fundraiser items. We will need some volunteers to help us sort items earlier that day, and pickup for those items will likely be from 4:45pm-8pm. Students who are eligible to receive wallets/prizes from the fundraising company can expect to do that drawing in class next week. 

6th Grade: The 6th Graders are doing an awesome job! We have been doing D and A string note review and learning new music concepts such as repeats, first and second endings, and bow lifts. We did a quick note reading worksheet yesterday to assess where students are with basic note reading, and will start small group sessions soon to help those who need extra practice with note reading. If you or your child feels they are struggling with note reading or with facilities on their instrument, they are always welcome to come to morning practice and there are several links on the right side of the blog under "Recommended Websites" where they can do note reading games/exercises to help them. 

7th Grade: We have been working hard this week on "Dance of the Toy Flutes" from the Nutcracker in class. This is a challenging piece and they have been putting in great effort on this music! We will be sight-reading more new music this week, in addition to learning minor scales in their method book. 

8th Grade: The 8th graders have been working on their sight-reading and shifting skills this week with a holiday piece titled "A Child for Three Kings". We will continue to work on their vibrato and shifting skills so they can be prepared for more challenges in the future! We will be doing a lot of sight-reading in the next couple of weeks, in addition to preparing music for the next concert. 

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

Jennifer Aikey & Bobby Crosby