Congratulations to HHMS 7th/8th grade Spartan String Orchestra for receiving all 1 ratings at College of the Ozarks Music Festival!!! Outstanding!

ENJOY THESE PICTURES FROM OUR PHOTOSTREAM!

Saturday's String Festival Schedule!

ROOM 110:

1:00 Ajay, Jessica, Kendalyn, Isabella

1:05 Mi'Sheanna Harris

1:10 Korey Ristine

1:15 Zuzanna, Matthew, Cally, Allyson

1:20 Julia T, Sarah G

1:25 Jayde Stewart

ROOM 109:

2:15 Tiffany L., Zoe H., Myka M.

2:20 Noah Crouch

2:25 Gabe Cain

2:30 Juan Acevedo

2:35 Mariel Gartin

2:40 Preston Clubb

ROOM 108:

3:00 Liz W., Kaitlyn L.

3:05 Grace W., Deanna V., Kailey A., Chris H., Amanda K.

3:10 Claire E., Shelby N.

3:15 Calvin K., Daryan W.

3:20 Lydia M., Lydia S., Bella, JunBeom, Drew

Solo & Small Ensemble Contest: Saturday, March 10, 2012

The Springfield Public Schools District Solo and Ensemble Festival will be held on Saturday March 10th at Pershing Middle School. Pershing is located at: 2120 S. Ventura, Springfield, MO 65804

· This festival gives individual players a chance to perform solo or small group literature for a judge who will give each performance constructive comments and a rating.

· Students receiving a superior rating will receive a certificate.

· Students who choose to do a solo are required to have a private teacher or meet with Ms. Kamler to prepare their solo. A piano accompaniment is required for all solos, please see Ms. Kamler for details. Students who do duets, trios, or other ensembles are not required to have a private teacher.

· Individual times for solos and ensembles will be given at a later date, but there will be times available for Hickory Hills Students from 1:00-3:30.

· Unlike Federation or other competitions, students participating will need to sign up through Ms. Kamler, and not through a private teacher.

· Any student who signs up to play with a group must be in attendance for the event or they will receive five giant “F”s!!!

Warm up area will be in the cafeteria for ALL students. This is where you will meet Ms. Kamler to tune. There will also be a concession area, if students would like to purchase snacks.

Students should wear their white "Spartan Strings" polo shirts and black pants or skirt.

February Fundraiser

Dear Orchestra Parents, Last week, we began our annual Spring Cookie Dough Fundraiser for the Hickory Hills Music Department (Band/Choir/Orchestra). This is an important part of our yearly funding and helps to pay for music, equipment needs, transportation and repairs. Your help in making this sale a success is greatly needed and appreciated. Here are the details:

• Thursday, February 9th: Sale began and will run for the next week and a half. Just take orders – please do not collect money at this time.

• Tuesday, February 21st: All order forms (both yellow and white copy) will need to be turned in to the Orchestra room.

• Orders will arrive at the end of March, after Spring Break. We do not have an exact delivery date as of yet, but it will be during the final week of March.

• Cookie dough (pre-portioned) will then be distributed and money collected. Money will be turned in to Orchestra room by Tuesday, April 10th.

If you have any questions, please let me know. And, thank you for your support of the Hickory Orchestra program.

Practice Records due Friday, October 21st!

Just a quick reminder- practice records will be turned in THIS FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21st. Please make sure that your child is practicing 75 minutes a week!

Practice Records!

Students this year will be required to turn in "practice records"- students will need to log 75 minutes each week to receive full credit. (That's only 15 minutes, 5 days a week!) Practice records will be kept in the students' Orchestra binders. Students will have the opportunity to receive up to 5 minutes of practice time in class every day if they come to class and get started practicing (without talking) before we tune. Students may also use an "Orchestra Pass" to come in to the Orchestra room between 7:30-7:50 AM to fulfill their practice time requirements. I will also be available for tutoring during this time. Individual practice between rehearsals is of great importance if we are to provide a quality music experience for your students. I cannot stress this enough- individual practice is crucial to the success of our Orchestra! I hope you are ready for a great year of musical growth and performance!

Welcome Back!

Parents & Students,

I am looking forward to another great year of Orchestra at Hickory Hills! I have sent the syllabus home with each Orchestra student. Enclosed in the packet is a tentative schedule for the year, as well as an order form for the Orchestra shirt. Please read over it together, sign, and return it by Friday, September 2nd. (You do not need to turn the entire syllabus in to me, just the last page.)

Please check back often to stay in tune with the Hickory Hills Spartan Strings!

7/8th Grade Concert Postponed

Parents,

First of all, I want to thank you all for getting your kids at school on time Friday. I know it was an early morning!! The Orchestra had a wonderful performance and got a 90% and an 86% rating from the judges. I hope we continue improving for our next contest that will be coming up on May 13! I also want to say that the kids were very well behaved at Silver Dollar City and did a great job representing Hickory Hills! It was great to be able to give them such a treat after all their hard work, so thank you for that!!

I wanted to inform you of a change in our schedule. Our concert that was going to take place tomorrow, May 3rd has been postponed due to the track meet that so many of our Orchestra students are involved with. I know this is short notice, but I hope it will work out better for everyone.

This is our updated Orchestra calendar for the remainder of the year:

Tuesday, May 10- 6th, 7th & 8th Grade Spring Concert - 7 PM
(Please have students arrive at the following times:

6:00- 6th Grade
6:20- 7th/8th Grade)

(Orchestra t-shirt and black slacks)

Friday, May 13th- All City 7/8th Grade Orchestra Festival @ Evangel University (Performance will be during school hours- I will send out an updated email when I get confirmation about our performance time)

Wednesday, May 18th - 6th Grade Orchestra Festival @ Drury University (During school hours- performance time will be 11:00 AM- parents are welcome to attend)

Thursday, May 19th- All City 5th Grade Orchestra Concert @ Glendale High School, 7 PM

Also, I just wanted to remind you, if you haven't paid for your child's Orchestra t-shirt, the cost is $8.00- checks can be made out to Hickory Hills. If you do not plan on purchasing a t-shirt, but your child borrowed one for the Silver Dollar City trip, please wash and return it asap.

Thank you for all that you do!

Please let me know if there are any questions about these dates!

Sincerely,
Marcy Kamler
mjkamler@spsmail.org
417-523-7055

Solo/Ensemble Contest THIS Saturday, Feb. 26!

Orchestra Parents,

For those of you who have children participating in Middle School Solo/Small Ensemble Contest this Saturday, I am so pleased that your child has decided to do this- it takes a great deal of hard work and dedication to participate in this event. (Hopefully this is not the first you’ve heard of the contest!!!)

I have attached sent home a schedule 3 adjudication rooms that we will be using at Pershing Middle School- all solos/ensembles will take place at Pershing Middle School. Your child’s name should be in bold writing. Please let me know ASAP of any time conflicts and I will do my best to accommodate you.

If you do not know how to get to Pershing Middle School, here is the address: the address is 2120 S. Ventura Ave.

Here are directions from Hickory Hills:

4650 E State Highway Yy, Springfield, MO 65802-7301

1. Depart SR-YY / E MO-Yy toward N Farm Road 1931.2 mi
2. Road name changes to E Division St0.6 mi
3. Take ramp left and follow signs for US-65 South / Schoolcraft Fwy2.8 mi
4. Take ramp right and follow signs for Sunshine St / SR-D0.2 mi
5. Turn right onto SR-D / E Sunshine St1.0 mi
6. Turn left onto S Ventura Ave<>
7. Turn right to stay on S Ventura Ave0.4 mi
8. Arrive at 2120 S Ventura Ave Springfield, MO 65804

The last intersection is E Alameda St. If you reach E Seminole St, you've gone too far

Pershing Elementary Middle

Please have your child at Pershing NO LATER THAN 20 minutes before their performance time. Your child needs to be wearing black slacks and a black or white top- no exceptions! If you are having trouble coming up with this attire, let me know- it will be the dress code for the majority of our performances.

If your child is performing a SOLO, they need to have an accompanist, unless they have made other arrangements with me (They have known this from day 1- please make sure arrangements are made for a pianist to play with SOLOISTS- duets/groups of 2 or more do not need an accompanist)

Please contact me with any concerns. I look forward to seeing you on Saturday and hearing some wonderful performances!

Sincerely,

Marcy Kamler

417-523-7055

Cookie Dough Fundraiser!

Parents,

Our Spring fundraiser has begun! We will be selling cookie dough. Orders are due by February 28th. We should receive the cookie dough by March 16th- students will collect $ upon delivery. (The cookie dough is frozen- so it will need to go home with the student that day to prevent it from going bad)

Students are not requred to participate in the fundraiser, but I really appreciate the support- it takes a lot of money to run an Orchestra- buying music, repairing instruments, and entering music contests/festivals are all things that require $.

Thank you for helping support our Orchestra!

Concert Countdown Begins!!!

It is hard to believe, but we are a month away from our Winter Concerts!!! Here are the dates for both concerts:

HH 6th Grade Orchestra: Tuesday, December 14, 7 PM (Students need to arrive no later than 6:00 PM)

HH 7th & 8th Grade Orchestra: Thursday, December 16, 7 PM (8th Grade- come at 6 PM, 7th Grade, come at 6:15)


We are playing some very tricky music, so please make sure your students are practicing EVERY DAY.

Also, just a quick reminder- we are trying to wrap up our Fall Fundraiser, so please make sure your child turns in their $ if they participated. It needs to be in NO LATER THAN Friday, November 20.

Thank you!!

First Assignment-

Parents,

Please read over and discuss the syllabus I sent home with your student. Getting the syllabus signed is our first homework assignment and it is due no later than Wednesday, September 1st. It is important that every student knows what is expected of them so that they can be successful. If, at any time, you have questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.

Ms. Kamler

Welcome Back!

School will resume on Tuesday, August 24th. I can't wait to see you all again!

Enjoy the last remaining weeks of summer!

7th & 8th Grade SDC Trip THURSDAY, APRIL 22

Itinerary for Ozark Mountain Orchestra Festival Thursday, April 22nd


5:45 AM Arrive at Hickory FULLY DRESSED in black/white concert attire
Eat breakfast before you come or bring a snack

5:55 AM Bus leaves Hickory with or without you!!!

7:00 - 7:26 Rehearsal/warm up time

7:30 AM PERFORMANCE TIME!!! GOOD LUCK!

8:00 AM Take pictures

8:30 AM Change clothes and depart for SDC shortly!

10:00 - 3:15 Silver Dollar City!!! Have fun!!!!

3:30 PM Depart SDC

4:30 PM Arrive back @ Hickory Hills—please have rides waiting!!!


Thank you for all the fundraising you all did to help us go on this trip! I'm looking forward to a great performance!

LAST CHANCE TO SIGN UP!

Solo/Small Ensemble contest is just around the corner! (Saturday, February 27 at Pershing) This week will be the absolute last chance to sign up for solo/small ensemble contest! (Please let me know by Friday, February 5th)

I do encourage all students to participate- but this is not a mandatory performance.

There will be no cost for an accompanist!

As always, please contact me if you have any questions!

Solo/Small Ensemble Contest

Solo & Small Ensemble Contest is just around the corner!

If your child is interested in performing, please make sure they sign up by Friday, January 29. Sign up sheet is in the Orchestra room. I'd be happy to help students find solos, duets, trios, quartets, etc.

Once we have submitted students, I will inform students of what time they will play.

This is a great opportunity for the kids (and also an opportunity to "letter" in orchestra!)

Please contact me if you have any questions!

Ms. Kamler

Last concert at the old Hickory Hills Middle School Gym!!!

Concerts are this week!

Wednesday - 6th grade orchestras will be performing! Have your child here (Hickory Hills Middle School Gym) by no later than 6PM to rehearse. Show starts at 7:00


Thursday - 7th, 8th, & Chamber Orchestras will perform. All students need to be ready to rehearse at 6PM. Show starts at 7:00


Thank you, parents for encouraging your child to practice! I think it is going to be a great show!

Winter Concerts Scheduled!!

Winter Concerts are now scheduled for :

Wednesday, December 9th at 7 PM for all 6th grade Orchestra students.

&

Thursday, December 10th at 7 PM for 7th, & 8th Grade students.

All students need to be in the Orchestra room by 6PM.


More details to come! I hope everyone's winter is off to a great start!

T-Shirt Orders!!!

T-Shirt order forms have been sent home. Please turn in money and order form by Friday, October 16. T-shirts will be $8.95 and will look something like this:

Front:

Back: