Ray Marsh Newsletter
Dec. 17, 2018
Upcoming Events at Ray Marsh
Dec. 19th
- Family day at Fritz's. Tell them you are with Ray Marsh and 20% of your purchase price will be gifted back to the RM PTA
Dec. 20th
- Winter Band/Choir/Strings Concert in gym 10:15a
- Winter Parties 2p
Dec. 21st
- Early Dismissal 12:30p
- Choir concert at Immaculate Conception Cathedral 7:30p
Dec. 24th-Jan 6th
- Winter Break-No School
Jan. 7th
- Beginning of 3rd Q-All students back
Your Child's Mental Wellness and You - Jan 15th
Dodgeball PTA Tournament Jan. 25th
Choir Concerts/Rehearsal Information from Ms. Winney
CONCERT ONE: THURSDAY MORNING, DECEMBER 20TH
Where: Ray Marsh Elementary Gym
When: 10:00 am
What do kids wear: Festive Holiday Clothing (They may wear anywhere from fun holiday sweaters to wearing festive colors like red and green).
Can parents come: YES :)
Do the students still have rehearsal after school Thursday, Dec. 20th: YES! This will actually be a very important rehearsal since we will be going over final details of what to do for the concert the next evening. If at all possible, please make sure that your student does not miss this rehearsal.
CONCERT TWO: FRIDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 21ST
Where: Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception 416 West 12th Street (at Broadway) in Kansas City, MO. Students will need to provide their own transportation to and from the concert.
When: Kids MUST be there at 6:00 sharp. It is imperative that they are there on time. They will have to rehearse with the other choir, run their pieces, and figure out how to get on and off their space. Singing in a new place takes time and practice to figure out logistics and to adjust to a different sound. Parents are welcome and encouraged to stay while we warm up and get ready, but not required to stay. Concert will begin at 7:30.
What do kids wear: Solid white top, solid black bottoms, solid black closed toe shoes. The kids looked great last concert, so whatever they wore to Festival for their last concert works just fine!
What do kids need to bring:
Students will not need anything except their black folder with music. Please do not send them with purses, bags, etc as we will have limited space for these things. Also, please, please, please triple check that your student does not set foot in the cathedral with any gum in their mouth or candy in their pockets. During Festival, a few of my students made it on stage with gum and it was very noticeable. It is a safety hazard for students to sing with gum in their mouth, changes the sound when they sing, and it is also distracting to audience members. I had a few comments from other teachers on how great the students sounded, but how they were distracted by the gum chewing. I will remind them too and will be checking, but your extra reminder will save me a lot of time asking them to spit it out. Thank you in advance!
Students have asked if they need to bring their folder and the answer is yes. ALL students must bring their music with their all black folder! Even if they tell you they have the music memorized (as many amazingly do), they must still bring their folder so that we all look uniform. Students have also asked me if a dark blue folder or something close to black works and my answer is no. If your student does not have a black folder and you know you will be unable to get one before the concert, please email me. I will find a way to get a black folder for them.
Can parents come: OF COURSE! Please come see your awesome singers! Students were sent home yesterday with two free tickets to this concert. Please check with your student and make sure that they give them to you, as you will need them to get in. If they get lost I, unfortunately, will not be able to provide extras. However, if you would like to invite others, tickets can be purchased online at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/candlelight-carols-cathedral-william-baker-festival-singers-tickets-47829807241
Where will parents sit: I spoke with the director of the other choir and he agreed to reserve seats for the parents near the students. They should be some of the best seats in the house! When you arrive, please see an usher and they will guide you to your seat.
How long is the concert: The concert will start at 7:30 and will last 90 minutes. The students are performing with the William Baker Festival Singers and the Kansas City Bronze Bell Choir. The Ray Marsh Choir students will sing four songs total, the Festival Singers will be singing around seven, the Kansas City Bronze Bell Choir will ring one to two pieces, and there will also be readings of the Christmas story from the Bible in between some pieces. The number of pieces/readings for the other groups may change, but our kids will sing four no matter what.
Can my student leave early: Students MUST stay for the entire concert! They will be singing the beginning and ending pieces.Please, please, please do not leave after your student has sang their two pieces in the middle of the program, as they are also singing the last piece on the program.
What is this concert: Your students were invited at the beginning of the school year to be featured at the William Baker Festival Singers Christmas Concert. They are a professional chorus based in the Kansas City area and have toured all over the world, including countries like England and Germany, have released many albums over the years, and own the largest choral music library in the United States. One of their recent performances includes their concert in October where they performed at the National Cathedral in Washington D.C., as well as the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.
Upon moving to Kansas City this summer, I auditioned with them and was selected to be an intern with the organization. When I showed the director an audio clip of our students singing during rehearsal, he was so impressed that he invited us to sing on the Christmas program. To my knowledge, they have invited professional children’s choirs such as Kansas City’s Allegro choir before, but rarely a public elementary school choir. What a huge honor this is for the kids! I am very excited for them to have the opportunity to sing and work with these professional musicians.
Lastly, thank you for letting me work with your kids! They are all a joy to teach and I have so much fun getting to know them in school and in choir. I am very proud of all the work they have put in this year so far. I am excited to see them progress as choir goes on for the rest of the school year! We will start rehearsals again on our normal Tuesdays and Thursdays the week we return from Winter Break.
See you Thursday and Friday for TWO awesome concerts!
Niccole Winney
Choir Teacher, Ray Marsh Elementary
Ray Marsh Elementary
913.993.3488
Please call to report your child absent.
Email: kaseyweishaar@smsd.org
Website: marsh.smsd.org
Location: 5642 Rosehill Road, Shawnee, KS, USA
Phone: 913.993.3400
Twitter: @kaseyweishaar