FUNDRAISER DELIVERY INFO!

Dear Parents,

Our fundraiser delivery is this Tuesday from 5 - 8pm. PLEASE do not attempt to pick up these items during car line. We will wait until 5 for any pickups for car line and busses to fully clear. Please make arrangements to pickup your orders Tuesday if you have not already, as these items are perishable and will need to be either delivered immediately or immediately put back in a freezer after you pick them up. 

We could use some help Tuesday during the day with unloading and organizing these items, and after school with the sign out. If you can help us below, that would be great!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050D49AAAA2BA57-fundraiser4

I also would like to remind 8th grade parents that the November $200 Disney payment is due today. 

Thank you all so much, and we hope to see you Tuesday when you pick up your fundraising items. 

Jennifer Aikey

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

FALL CONCERT

Dear Parents,

I wanted to send a reminder about next week's concert on Tuesday, October 22nd.

Where: Allatoona High School Gym (park on the football field side)
Time: Students arrive at 7pm, concert starts at 7:30pm and should last an hour
What to wear: Students should wear a costume, as this is a fun TV and Movie themed concert. If they do not want to wear a costume, they can wear whatever they wore to school that day. They do NOT need a formal uniform or polo shirt for this concert. (They will need the formal uniforms for their December concert.)

This concert will showcase short pieces from 6th, 7th, and 8th grade Orchestras at Durham, along with a short piece from each of the Allatoona Orchestras, then one final piece we all play together. It is a great concert that will show you all the progression from beginning string players through advanced levels!

Cellos and Basses: If your child uses a school cello or bass, they should expect to get the instrument after school and transport it to Allatoona. They should bring the instrument back in the morning after the concert. If you have a major logistics  issue with this, please let me know. I will send a more detailed email as soon as I fix a couple of issues with my list tomorrow, but please go ahead and plan for instrument transportation.

For everyone: PLEASE remind your children next Tuesday to bring their instrument home from school!! Since the concert is off campus, it is imperative that they take their instrument home.

If you have any questions, please let me know. Thank you,

Jennifer Aikey

This Friday - Fundraiser Celebration

Dear Parents,

Our Fundraiser Celebration Night for any student who sold 5 or more fundraising items is this Friday after school until 6pm. All students should have a ride by 6pm Friday if they are participating. 

We need some parent help! If you are able to volunteer, please click on the link below to sign up. Thank you!  https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050D49AAAA2BA57-fundraiser3

At the celebration night, we will have pizza and water, a dunk tank that each music director will take turns sitting in, a bungee run bouncy obstacle course, a basketball bouncy course, corn hole toss, and our silly string station. :) It's sure to be a lot of fun! Your child will receive a wristband in class Friday if they sold enough items to participate, and that wristband will be their entry into the fundraising night. If you have any questions, please let us know!

Thank you!

Updates - Sept 9-13

Dear Orchestra Parents,

We are currently working on getting everyone updated in the CutTime system and will let you know when everyone is able to get logged in!

We kicked off our fundraiser this past Friday and are excited to offer both desserts and candles this year! This money from the fundraiser really goes a long way to providing more individualized instruction and materials for your child. 8th Graders can also fundraise towards their trip, so I hope they participate! :)

8th Grade students received their trip packets this week. Please have those signed and returned by September 20th. If you are interested in chaperoning, you must come to our prospective chaperone meeting on Thursday, September 19th at 7pm in Chorus room, or please make other arrangements with us.

7th Grade students have a in class playing test on Thursday, Sept 19. They are playing Rondeau from their Essential Elements book. We have worked on this for some time now, so they should feel nice and prepared. :)

6th Grade students are doing an excellent job! We are currently working on learning all of our D and A string notes, and also learning Twinkle. Twinkle Little Star and Jingle Bells.

If you have any questions, please let us know!

Student- Parent Info Form

Weekly Updates - August 12

Dear Parents,

If you have not already, please fill out this form on the link below so I can get all students into our new management system for playing tests.

bit.ly/OrchInfoForm19

Here are updates for each grade level:

Small Groups: Our first Fiddlers rehearsal for both new and returning members is this Thursday at 8am. NO audition is required! The only requirement for Fiddlers is that students must have at least one year of experience on their instrument and have a willingness to learn and memorize fiddle tunes! Come join in on the fun! The fee for joining Fiddlers this year is $20, which includes their t-shirt. (All Fiddlers will receive new shirts this year.)

Chamber Orchestra is a new group starting here at Durham, with auditions being held Monday, August 19. Here are the audition requirements:
1. 2 one octave major scales with arpeggios (such as D Major, G Major, etc) OR 1 two or three octave scale. (More points awarded for two and three octaves)
2. A short excerpt of music of their choice (only 30 seconds or so)
3. Sight-reading (they will be given 30 seconds to sight-read an 8-10 measure excerpt)

I will post results from the audition by Tuesday, August 20 at dismissal, and we will conduct our first rehearsal on Monday, August 26. The fee for students who are accepted into Chamber Orchestra will be $20, which includes a t-shirt.

8th Grade: All students should have their binders in class tomorrow. They are doing great work in shifting (playing higher up their instrument) in 3rd and 4th position and have started a new piece called, "Night Shift." Their first playing test will be exercise #10 from the worksheet given to them in class, and they will do this playing test in class on Thursday, August 29th. They have plenty of time to practice. :) They really are doing great work!

7th Grade: All students should have Essential Elements book 2 for their instrument, along with their binder, on Monday. We are almost complete with our review exercises in the book, and will soon be working on learning new notes and rhythms. I will hand out "Somewhere Out There" for their fall concert to 7th grade sometime this week!

6th Grade: All 6th grade students will be receiving information about the materials needed for class this week. We will be learning about the parts of the instrument, setting up lockers and cubbies, and learning some basic music literacy/music theory this week as we wait for everyone to get their instruments and supplies. All instruments and supplies are due in class by Monday, August 19.

Should you have any questions, please let us know!