Assignments

Dear Orchestra Students and Parents,

Please see the blog post below this one if you have not yet logged into CutTime before or have had trouble uploading assignments in the past. The first couple of assignments will not involve CutTime yet, but I want to make sure everyone can access the system when we do an assignment in CutTime later on.

ALL ASSIGNMENTS while we are not physically at school will be posted into the Durham Orchestra OneNote. The OneNote has sections for each grade level. Here is the link to the OneNote: Durham Orchestra 2020

The assignment for Monday, March 16 is posted there already for each grade level. I have also reposted the CutTime video there as well, in addition to a video about tuning and using the TonalEnergy app (which is recommended if you able to pay $3.99 for the app).

VIOLINISTS, please read so you know what parts to print:
8th Grade Violins: You will consistently play the same parts for the new music that you have for Pirates. Ex: If you are 1st on Pirates, stay 1st for Harry Potter, Avengers, and any other music.
7th Grade Violins: Play the same violin part for Rock Riffs that you have for Avatar, and play the opposite part for Beauty and the Beast. Ex: 1st on Avatar and Rock Riffs are 2nd for Beauty(left side of the room closest to the Orch office); those who are 2nd on Avatar and Rock Riffs are 1st on Beauty (right side of the violin section, closest to violas)

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email me or Mr. Crosby or send a Remind text. If you have not joined Remind, please join.
8th Grade Remind: text the message @8grorch to the number 81010
7th Grade Remind: text the message @7grorch to the number 81010
6th Grade Remind: text the message @6grorch to the number 81010

Email addresses:
jennifer,aikey@cobbk12.org
bobby.crosby@cobbk12.org

Thank you,

Jennifer Aikey and Bobby Crosby

CutTime Instructions

Please view the video below if you have had issues with CutTime or want to know how to do assignments. We will be using CutTime this week!

While We Are at Home

Dear Orchestra Families,

Please make sure you check the blog as we will be posting updates as we go along during our time off. I have sent registration emails to the 71 people who are in the system that are not registered for CutTime, so please click on the registration link in the email from CutTime if you received that today. Thank you,

Jennifer Aikey and Bobby Crosby

LGPE

Dear 7th and 8th Grade Parents,

Thank you all so much for your support and for sending your child prepared for LGPE! Both groups received ALL Superior ratings, with particularly high marks in sight-reading (8th grade receiving straight 1s in EVERY category of sight-reading - WOW!). I am so proud of them! They were well disciplined and focused, and that showed in their performances, which had improved from their concert last week. The listened to their professional recordings from LGPE today and yesterday, and I am grateful they were able to evaluate their performances as well. It has been awesome seeing the growth from where they were at the start of the year to now. 

I want to give a special shout out to our chaperones for their hard work and flexibility. It simply could not have happened without you! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I want to say another special thank you to Dr. Bristow for making time to attend both LGPE performances and to Mrs. Thorpe for being at the Pre-LGPE concert. It is truly wonderful to have administrators that are so supportive of the music department! 

Thank you again to Mr. Crosby for assisting and playing percussion, and to Mrs. Ivy Pirl for piano accompaniment.

Now that this busy time is complete, we can look forward to some fun music and activities for the spring to help enhance their skills and have a lot of fun! Thank you again,

Jennifer Aikey

Pre-LGPE, LGPE, and Remind

Dear Parents,

Please join our Remind if you are not on it already, and please have your kids join too if they have a device. Remind allows us to communicate via text about important updates while keeping everyone's phone numbers private:

6th Grade: text @6grorch to 81010

7th Grade: text @7grorch to 81010

8th Grade: text @8grorch to 81010

Here are important reminders form my January 17th email pertaining to 7th and 8th Grade LGPE. Please fully read if you haven't already!!

The 7^th and 8^th Grade Pre-LGPE Concert is (in 2 days!!!) Tuesday, February 25^th at 6:30pm. Students do NOT have to wear their uniforms for this concert (to keep them in good condition for the LGPE event) and they will arrive back at the school at 6pm after going home as they normally would at 4:15. They are NOT staying after school. Please remind your child to sign in on the clipboard in the Orchestra room to receive credit for the concert. We could use a couple of parents to help facilitate this in the Orchestra room. 

The 8^th Grade LGPE Event is Monday, March 2 at North Cobb High School. Their performance time is 3pm, with an arrival time of 1:45pm. They will need to bring their uniform to school to change into. They will leave Durham by 1 via school bus. They will head back to Durham via bus at 5:15pm. They will need a ride back at Durham by 5:45pm. 

The 7^th Grade LGPE Event is Tuesday, March 3 at North Cobb High School. 7^th Grade students will need to be in uniform with their instrument at Durham by 8:00am. We must leave Durham by 8:30am at the latest in order to meet our arrival time of 9am with morning traffic. Their performance time is 10:30am. They will be transported back to Durham via school buses for lunch at school. 

We still need more chaperones for both 7^th and 8^th Grade LGPE. If you are able to chaperone, please reply back to me and let me know! 

6th Grade Jamboree forms are due March 7th. Please send those and the $10 for transportation and dinner as soon as you are able. 

There are a handful of students that still need to turn in a blanket permission form. I have given some of those students 2 additional copies. If I do not receive them, I will be emailing them out. We are required to have these forms signed in order to take a student off campus.

As always, we greatly appreciate your support, and I look forward to seeing many of you at the 7th and 8th Grade Concert Tuesday night. Thank you,

Jennifer Aikey

Weekly Update - 1st Week of February

Dear Parents,

It’s hard to believe we are now in February! We have been working hard on our LGPE (7/8) and Jamboree (6^th) music to prepare for those events.

7^th and 8^th Grade students have an in-class playing test today, and have one due on CutTime next week on Tuesday, Feb 11. Please see my last email/blog post if you need the playing test instructions.

6^th Grade will be starting assessments on CutTime soon, so 6^th Grade parents, please check your email for the invitation link to CutTime and please sign up if you have not already. I sent those out a couple of months ago and can resend it if you cannot find the email.

Upcoming Dates:

Saturday, Feb 8 - Honor Orchestra Auditions at Palmer MS

Friday, Feb 14 – Disney Payment Due ($200 per person)

Tuesday, Feb 25 – 7^th and 8^th Grade Pre-LGPE Concert – students arrive at 6pm, concert starts at 6:30pm

Monday, March 2 – 8^th Grade LGPE

Tuesday, March 3 – 7^th Grade LGPE

Tuesday, March 31 – 6^th Grade String Jamboree Concert at Harrison

If there are any issues with your child’s concert uniform (7/8) or polo (6), please let me know ASAP. I know there were a couple of folks who still needed help and I wanted to make sure any issues were resolved. I hope to have grades fully updated by the end of the week. For the most part, the students have done a really awesome job with the playing tests! 

Thank you so much,

Jennifer Aikey

LGPE, Spring Date Changes, and Playing Tests

Dear Parents,

I wanted to let you know that we have received your child’s LGPE schedule and what those details mean for performance times. Students have also been assigned playing test. This email is long (so sorry!) but hopefully detailed enough to answer any questions you have. We will not have Fiddlers rehearsal this Thursday as I will be out of town for the Georgia Music Educators Association conference. We also will not hold Chamber Orchestra rehearsal this week.

We wanted to take an opportunity to inform you of some calendar changes for the end of the year concerts.  We have decided to sponsor a Spring Spectacular Concert for 8th Grade and that will replace all current spring concerts on the school calendar, including Chorus Variety Show.  Each grade level will still have a spring concert in each discipline, but they will all be separate to alleviate overcrowding in the auditorium and parking lots.  

Eighth grade will participate in a new SPRING SPECTACULAR.  Band, Chorus and Orchestra will combine for this eighth grade event.  It will be hosted outside on the Field, “pops in the park” style.  

Sixth and Seventh Grade will continue their normal spring concerts.

Here is the Spring concert schedule for all grade levels:

All Concerts begin at 6:30pm

April 21           6th Grade Chorus 

April 22           6th Grade Band

April 23           7th Grade Chorus

April 27           7th Grade Orchestra

April 28           7th Grade Band

April 29           6th Grade Orchestra

April 30           8th Grade Spring SPEC

May 4              8th Grade Spring SPEC Rain Date

Thank you so much for your support of our Fine Arts programs here at Durham.  We are always striving to create the best programs possible for our students.  

The 7^th and 8^th Grade Pre-LGPE Concert is Tuesday, February 25^th at 6:30pm. Students do NOT have to wear their uniforms for this concert (to keep them in good condition for the LGPE event) and they will arrive back at the school at 6pm after going home as they normally would at 4:15. They are NOT staying after school. 

The 8^th Grade LGPE Event is Monday, March 2 at North Cobb High School. Their performance time is 3pm, with an arrival time of 1:45pm. They will need to bring their uniform to school to change into. They will leave Durham by 1 via school bus. They will head back to Durham via bus at 5:15pm. They will need a ride back at Durham by 5:45pm. 

The 7^th Grade LGPE Event is Tuesday, March 3 at North Cobb High School. 7^th Grade students will need to be in uniform with their instrument at Durham by 8am. We must leave Durham by 8:30am at the latest in order to meet our arrival time of 9am with morning traffic. Their performance time is 10:30am. They will be transported back to Durham via school buses for lunch at school. 

We need chaperones for both 7^th and 8^th Grade LGPE. If you are able to chaperone, please reply back to me and let me know!  J

The 7^th and 8^th Grade students are busy preparing for LGPE, and in doing so, have been assigned 3 playing tests this quarter. Only ONE playing test, the final one assigned, will be submitted in CutTime. I did not feel comfortable assigning 3 items in CutTime due to volume and because we are still figuring our way through issues with CutTime. The first 2 will be done in class and are more of a quick assessment of how they are progressing on the music. I have written out details with names of pieces and measure numbers for their playing tests below. (mm. stands for measure marking/measure number)

Playing Test #1 – IN CLASS Tuesday, January 28

8^th Grade - Spartacus

Violin I	mm. 11-18
Violin II	mm. 42-49
Viola	mm. 62-70
Cello	mm. 71-end
Bass	mm. 71-end

7^th Grade – A Bach Fest

Violin I	mm. 42-53
Violin II	mm. 42-50
Viola	mm. 18-25
Cello	mm. 18-26
Bass	Pickup 11-17

Playing Test #2 – IN CLASS Tuesday, February 4

8^th Grade – Fantasia on a Theme from Thailand

Violin I	mm. 96-105
Violin II	mm. 32-40
Viola	mm. 50-76
Cello	mm. 20-31
Bass	mm. 77-91

7^th Grade – Sahara Crossing

Violin I	pickup 49-58
Violin II	mm. 35-42
Viola	mm. 35-42
Cello	mm. 43-51
Bass	mm. 43-51

Playing Test #3 – DUE ON CUTTIME Tuesday, February 11

8^th Grade – Ashokan Farewell

Violin I	mm. 33-44
Violin II	Pickup 45-52
Viola	mm. 52-62
Cello	mm. 33-44
Bass	mm. 17-25

7^th Grade - Storm

Violin I	mm. 25-40
Violin II	mm. 93-104
Viola	mm. 17-32
Cello	mm. 63-78
Bass	mm. 63-78

I know this is a lot of information, so if you have any questions, please let me know. As a reminder, the Orchestra room is open for early morning practice on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays should your child want help with their test or just want an opportunity to practice with friends at school! :) Thank you for your continued support. Thank you,

Jennifer Aikey