Hermanson's Orchestral Wonders

Poinsettias will be delivered Thursday!

Please come by the cafeteria between 4:30 and 7:00 to pick up your order.

For those of you with large orders, you may want to consider bringing a tarp, tie-downs or trash bags to help get the plants home safely and keep your vehicle clean!

I hope everyone had a wonderful, relaxing Thanksgiving Break! Now it’s time to gear up for the final three weeks of 2009, which includes our Winter Concert! The following will also be sent home with students later this week, though please feel free to let me know now if you are able to help in any way!

Winter Concert Reminder

Concert: Thursday, December 10^th, 7pm, McClure Theater

Report Times:

• Full Orchestra: 5:30                                                  
• 8^th Grade: 5:50                                                           
• 7^th Grade: 6:10                                                           
• 6^th Grade: 6:30

Dress:

• Full/8^th Grade: All Black
• 6^th and 7^th Grade: Black on Bottom, White on top
• (Black socks/hose and shoes for everyone)

After School Rehearsals (4:30-5:30 in the Theater)

• 8^th Grade: Monday, December 7^th
• 7^th Grade: Tuesday, December 8^th
• 6^th Grade: Wednesday, December 9^th ~~~ If you are able to help supervise students during the 6^th Grade rehearsal, assistance would be much appreciated. ~~~

We have traditionally had a reception for all guests and performers after the Winter and Spring concerts. We are in need of a new coordinator for these events to have everything go smoothly, as our past coordinators’ students have graduated on to high school.

If you are willing to be the Reception Coordinator, please e-mail me at McClureOrchestra@gmail.com.

In addition to a coordinator, we will need many to help bring in food and drinks for us all to enjoy and reward the students for a job well done. If you are able to bring in something for the reception, please also e-mail me so I can put you in touch with the coordinator.

I hope everyone has a wonderful week off from school next week!

All students received new music today (Friday, 11/20). Students should learn their notes at home and come in on the 30th able to play through the entire piece. This is a very good in-the-car activity – they can say/think the notes, clap the rhythms and “play” their part on their right arm. This kind of learning can actually be more helpful than sitting with their instrument.

I also sent out an announcement via SmartMusic this evening. If you do not receive it, please let me know so I can add your e-mail to your student’s account. I will be sending many annoucements out this way so it is vital that we have the correct information for you and your students.

Don’t forget our upcoming concert! Thursday, December 10th for all grades. Each grade has an after school rehearsal planned that week. Please see the calendar on the “Orchestra Calendar” page for specific times and dates.

Please let me know if you need anything over the break. I will be sporadically accessible via e-mail.

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I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend – it was beautiful!

Congratulations to the members of the Georgia Youth Symphony Orchestra. I attended all three concerts this weekend and everyone played beautifully! We have many members from our orchestra gracing the stage with GYSO, current and alumni alike.

Updates for this week:

SmartMusic Update: The computers are finally fixed, which means we will begin having SmartMusic rotations during class for those without subscription access at home. If you have received an e-mail saying you had an assignment due, don’t worry about it at this point – they are automated messages, and you will be able to catch up in no time. The first several rhythm assignments are easy, and meant to get you used to the program. Please e-mail me if you have any questions about anything.

The Winter Concert is coming up soon! Thursday, December 10th, with after school rehearsals for each grade level in the days leading up to the concert. Make sure it’s on your calendar!

8th Grade: The after-school workday is rescheduled for this Thursday, November 19th. Please return signed permission slips to participate – only the first six will get to stay!

Disney Poinsettia Orders are due NOW – money should be turned in to the black box and the order form placed in your bin. To find additional order forms, please see November 4th blog post.

Seventh Grade: Keep working on the Carol of The Bells with your A melodic minor scales. Those G#s are important!

Sixth Grade: Due to my illness last week, your Ode to Joy tests were postponed until this week. Good for you, but not so good for me. Tests will begin today and finish tomorrow. More note-reading sheets will be going home today, as they were meant for last week, but I did not get to see everyone. You WILL have a snake over Thanksgiving – all the more reason to play for your relatives! Show them what you know already.

Hello Parents!

The Cobb County Fine Arts are being evaluated this year, and we need your input. I will be sending home surveys to a randomly selected group of students from each class today and tomorrow. Please complete the survey and return ASAP so we can get all the results tabulated. Your responses will be anonymous, and should take only a few minutes to complete the 16 agree/disagree questions.

Please ask your students about these surveys. I know how things tend to get lost in the bookbags, and we do not want this to happen to our program! If your student says they did not get one, that is fine – I do not have enough for every student/family to fill out.

If you have any questions, please let me know!

I hope everyone enjoyed their beautiful day off yesterday!

There are several things coming up for everyone this week:

All Grades:

Please check out the new links on the right side of your page:

MetronomeOnline is a FREE metronome accessible on the internet. Never be off tempo again!

StringSkills has all kinds of practice materials available for FREE, and is where the Rhythm Lessons we use in class came from – find the lesson you need if you lost yours!

SmartMusic – a link to the website and program we are using in class. Free to download, but to access the full range of music available, a subscription is required.

Eighth Grade:

-Disney Payment #3 ($125) is due this Friday.

-Disney Poinsettia Fundraiser begins tomorrow. We are selling red, white and Ice Punch (Red and white marbled) poinsettias from Home Depot. If you participated in the Music Dept. fundraiser you will earn $6 per plant sold. If you did not participate in the Music Dept. fundraiser you will get $3 towards the cost of your trip. Money and orders are due Monday, November 16th. Plants will be delivered the first week in December, most likely on Thursday, Dec. 3rd. If you have any questions, please e-mail or call me. Download another order form here: Disney Fund Raiser Order Form.

-Home Learning Assignment Friday: Rhythm Lesson Three, line 6, arco, QN = 92 (from www.stringskills.com)

Seventh Grade:

-Home Learning Assignment Friday: Beginning Counting Lesson One, line 5, pizzicato, QN = 92 (from www.stringskills.com)

Sixth Grade:

-11/6 snake now available on the Practice Snake page should you need it.

-Please be aware there are two assignments on the back of this snake, which are also on the PS page. These will count as a separate grade – don’t be left out!