Oakwood Orchestra News
April 2016-6th Grade Edition
From Ms. Read and Mr. Urban
It's hard to believe that the end of the school year is two months away! Last week the students had a lot of fun playing through possible pieces for their Spring Concert on May 24th (see below for more information). In addition to new concert music we will continue to develop scales, vibrato, and shifting. By the way, your students have learned a total of 10 scales in orchestra which is quite an accomplishment! They will be showing off their scales through Scale Karate which is going on throughout the month of April.
Upcoming Events
March 31-April 29: Scale Karate
- All students are required to "pass off" four scales
- Pass offs can be before or after school or during class
April 6: Trip Payment & Permission Slip Due
- Trip letters and balances were distributed two weeks ago
- The first trip payment is due April 6
- All students must return a signed permission slip by April 6
- See below for more information about the trip
April 12: Solo and Ensemble Contest @ 4:15-7:15 pm @ Oakwood (Optional)
- Individual slots have been assigned
- Ask your student for the gold letter they received last week
April 26: AMCHS Orchestra Concert @ 7:30 pm @ AMCHS Auditorium
May 4: Final Trip Payment Due
Solo & Ensemble - April 12 (optional)
Spring Concert - May 24
Field Trip - May 25
Students received a bright yellow letter two weeks ago giving some details about our day-long field trip to the Pride of Texas Music Festival on May 25. If you haven't already done so, please read over the letter, sign it, and return it with your student. Payments are due April 6 and May 4. The trip is completely optional, although it is always a lot of fun and a good opportunity for 6th graders to compete in an orchestra contest. We will be needing a handful of parent volunteers to chaperone. We will be sending out a chaperone sign-up and more information about the trip as it gets closer.
Practice Records
We want to take this opportunity to remind you about the practice record procedure. Students are supposed to enter their practice time in the online system by Sunday AND turn in a parent signature slip as confirmation on Mondays. We only check Essential Elements Interactive if a student turns in their parent signature page. We record the student's grade and return the parent signature page to them so that they can use it again. We use the same parent signature page for the entire six weeks.
Parent signature sheets are due on Monday but we accept them on Tuesday with no penalty per the school's policy. Starting Wednesday, the highest grade a student can make is a 70.
If you experience computer trouble and your student is unable to record their practice online, please have them record what they practiced and for how long on a piece of paper. They can turn in the paper with their parent signature slip and still receive full credit.
You can find extra copies of the practice record on the orchestra website and in the resource section of Essential Elements Interactive.
We will also be reviewing this policy in class but we wanted to clarify our expectations. Thank you for helping your students keep up with their practicing!
Ms. Jillian Read
Email: jread@csisd.org
Website: oakwoodorchestra.weebly.com
Phone: 979-731-2671
Spring Concert - May 24
Mark your calendars! Our Spring Concert has been set for Tuesday, May 24 at 7:30 pm at A&M Consolidated High School. We will hold the performance in the same gym as our Winter Concert. Please remember that concerts are a co-curricular event meaning they are a required part of orchestra class.