Hermanson's Orchestral Wonders

In order of date:

6-2 Class: Due tomorrow (Thursday): Three sentences about the structure of the Baroque Bow.

8th Grade Rehearsal Thursday has been CANCELLED. Students who would like to help me prepare for the end of the year are welcome to stay after, however. I will have snacks available for any helpers.

6th Grade Rehearsal: Monday, May 17th from 4:30-5:30. Parents and/or older string-playing siblings are asked to help with supervision and/or tuning. HS Students will receive volunteer hours for assisting if they bring the needed paperwork.

Spring Concert – Tuesday, May 18th, 7pm.

Reception to follow, so please think about preparing a snack or bring drinks to celebrate the end of the year, 8th grade’s transition to high school and my final concert with McClure.

Concert Report Times (i.e., time to be in your seat ready to play)

• Eighth Grade: 5:45
• Seventh Grade: 6:00
• Sixth Grade: 6:30 (tuning assistance appreciated!)

School Instrument Turn-In: After Concert on Tuesday, no later than Wednesday, May 19th.

All lockers and personal items should be removed from the Orchestra lockers and room after the concert Tuesday.

Dear Parents on students who are playing at the Rising 6th Grade night this Tuesday,

The meeting actually begins at 6:30 Tuesday. As we are playing for the children and parents as they arrive, we will need to be in position to play no later than 5:50. If you would prefer your student stays after school, that is fine with me. I will order pizza for those I KNOW will be staying so we can eat beforehand. Students need to be picked up by 7:00 Tuesday evening.

Dress is nice jeans and the McClure Orchestra t-shirt. If your child does not have a t-shirt, s/he may purchase one for $10 (and will get it the day of purchase) or s/he can wear a white shirt and I will give them an Orchestra shirt to wear over their own shirt for the performance.

Thank you so much for allowing your children to play for the incoming 6th graders! This is those students’ first specific exposure to our program and I know we will be well represented by their performances!

If your child will be staying after school and would like to eat pizza, please let me know by Tuesday morning.

If you have any questions, please let me know!

Happy CRCT Week everyone!

I have updated Pinnacle and assigned new SmartMusic assignments for all grades.

This 9 weeks SmartMusic will be recorded into Pinnacle under “Tests”, so it is vital that students complete each assignment. We will be rotating computer use in class, and the computers are available for use before and after school as well for those students who do not have a subscription at home.  If you want more information about SmartMusic, please visit their website: www.SmartMusic.com

6th Grade has a Home Learning Assignment over “Overlords”, measures 37-47 for Monday and Tuesday (depending on which hour you have, due to CRCT testing).

As always, please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions!

Good luck to Cailean R, Haley B and Miranda K at Honors Orchestra this weekend! I cannot wait to hear their performance!! If you would like to come out, Honors Orchestra will be performing Saturday afternoon at McEachern High School.

The long-awaited shirts are ready to be ordered! Shirts will be white with royal blue print – our school colors – and will be used for all casual concerts throughout MS – Jamboree, field trips, 8th grade performances, etc.

The design:

Orchestra0310prf

The Order Form (without the design on it): T-Shirt Order Form

Shirts are $10; please make checks payable to McClure Middle School.

We will be wearing this shirt to Jamboree Thursday – the designer has promised they will be ready to go for our concert!

If you have any questions, let me know.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

As you know by now, the 7th Grade LGPE performance is tomorrow at Lovinggood Middle School (3825 Luther Ward Rd, Powder Springs, GA).

Students should bring or wear their uniforms to school tomorrow -

• Nice white on top
• Black on bottom – skirts should hit below the knee when seated, black socks/stockings/shoes

Students will stay after school to rehearse and eat dinner, then ride a bus to Lovinggood MS.

We will perform at 7:00 and be finished by 7:40. Parents are encouraged to attend – the students have worked hard and you should see their results.

If you have any questions, please e-mail me. Permission slips are still sparse – you can find the form to download on an earlier post to print, sign and turn in tomorrow.

LGPE is upon us – 7th grade performs Thursday at 7pm at Lovinggood MS, located at 3825 Luther Ward Road, Powder Springs, GA.

Rehearsal for Wednesday, March 17th has been CANCELED. We are able to rehearse with the full group during class, so the after school rehearsal is unnecessary.

The following students have NOT turned in their permission slip to attend LGPE yet. The permission slip is available on an earlier post if you need to print it out and send it in

(Updated Wednesday Evening)

If you have any questions, please let me know! I look forward to seeing you at Lovinggood on Thursday!

Many deadlines are coming up this week:

All Grades: Honors Orchestra (mostly for 7th and 8th graders)

• Applications are due NOW
• $15 Audition fee due at time of application turn-in
• Auditions are Thursday, April 1st.
• I am happy to work with any student auditioning before school any day until the 1st.

7th Grade: LGPE Permission Slips were due Friday. We have only had 31 turned in (of 50 students!) Please download, sign and turn in the attached form if you have not turned them in yet:

7th LGPE Permission

Parents, if you are able to chaperone, please let me know. I currently have two offers, but would prefer a third.

6th Graders: Jamboree Permission Slips are due this Friday, along with $3 to cover food and transportation costs.

E-mail me if you have any questions!

This Monday, March 8th, Angela Baddock from Harrison High School Orchestra will be taking over my role at McClure – and I will be taking her role at Harrison – for the day.

This is a wonderful opportunity for the 8th grade students to meet one of our feeding schools and see how a high school director leads her class, as well as for the other students to work with another director. This is especially helpful just before LGPE given a new set of ears and eyes to experience students’ playing.

If you have any questions, please e-mail me.

On a different note, here is an interesting article about the Mozart effect and how our subject can positively affect the brain:

Playing along with the Mozart effect
If you want music to sharpen your senses, boost your ability to focus and perhaps even improve your memory, you need to be a participant, not just a listener.

http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-0301-brain-music-20100301,0,3251510,full.story

Attention all 7th grade members -

Your clinic is officially scheduled for this Friday, March 5th from 4:30-6:00 with Mr. Doke from Hillgrove High School’s Orchestra.

Please plan on attending this extremely important concert/clinic.

Cellists, please bring your instruments Friday.

Honors Orchestra audition materials have arrived! They will be available for pick-up Friday. All students are encouraged to audition!

Honors Orchestra is for Cobb County Middle School Orchestra students. Upon acceptance, you will get to rehearse and perform with the top players in the county with some wonderful music. There are two orchestras formed from auditions, both of which will be conducted by highly respected directors in the Atlanta area.

Auditions will be held on April 1st at East Cobb Middle School.Applications are due Friday, March 12th.

Honors Orchestra will be help Friday, April 16th and Saturday April 17th at McEachern High School, with a performance Saturday afternoon.

Please let me know if you have any questions!