Randall School District
Junior-High Vocal Music Program
2015 - 2016
Mission Statement
The mission of the Randall Junior-High Vocal Music Department is to promote musical
growth in its students through vocal skills and choral participation as well as fostering a
feeling of pride in achievement through the art of music.
Organizations
The choral experience at the junior-high level at Randall is divided into the following
groups:
6th Grade Chorus (performs with 5th Gr. Chorus for concerts)
7th & 8th Grade Concert Choir
6-7-8th Grade Music Excel
The grade levels/divisions of these ensembles exist so that appropriate music may be
chosen according to the abilities of the groups.
Rehearsal Times
6th Gr. Chorus
Tues / Thur
(alternating) Mon / Wed / Fri
11:00 – 11:35 pm *
7th & 8th Gr.Concert Choir Tues / Thurs
(alternating) Mon /Wed / Fri
11:00 – 11:35 pm *
6-7- 8th Gr. Music Excel
4-wk Rotating schedule**
Wed / Thur
* Both 6th Gr. Chorus and 7/8th Gr. Concert Choir meet alternately on Mon,
Wed, Fri one week; Tues & Thurs the next week… and so on. Chorus and
Band alternate with each other so they both practice an equal number of
days. Signs will be posted in the hallway each week reminding students of
where they need to go.
** Music Excel schedule will be posted outside the music room as well as on
the doors to each wing. Copies will be available for anyone from Mrs. Diaz.
Grading
Chorus is a graded class that contributes toward a student’s grade point average. Grading
of chorus is determined by the following criteria:
50%
1)
Demonstrating the following during all chorus classes:
a) Respect for teacher, peers & property (PBIS)
b) Singing/working to the best of ability
c) Posture & usage of printed music
d) Being prompt to class… this means seated in
assigned seat with Randall music folder ready when the bell
rings
e) Staying focused on the task at hand. This means no
talking unless you have permission to do so.
50%
2)
Attendance & participation at all Choral Concerts and Shows.
This is a participation course. Attendance at all concerts and dress
rehearsals are equally as important as being in class during the
required times. A student not in attendance for a performance will
have their grade lowered – since it counts for 50% of the trimester
grade. Occasionally, circumstances arise that are out of our control.
Missed excused performances will require a make-up assignment to
be obtained from me before the excuse is processed or immediately
upon return after an emergency absence. This is a substantial makeup assignment, since the concert is 50% of the trimester grade. A
signed parental note is required upon the student’s return to school.
Emergency circumstances will be dealt with on an individual basis.
Please try to notify me if an emergency arises that prohibits you from
attending a performance. My email is diazkat@randall.k12.wi.us and
my phone number at work is 262-537-2211, ext. 127.
Uniforms
The uniform dress for all choral students:
1. Randall Music Shirt (If you are new to the choral program and you need a music
shirt, more info on how to purchase one is available from me. Please email me
at diazkat@randall.k12.wi.us.
2. Black pants
3. Black shoes / black socks
Please plan accordingly to get / buy / borrow whatever is needed well before the concert.
Absences, Tardiness & Discipline
Absences, tardiness and discipline will be handled according to the student handbook.
Excessive unexcused tardiness, talking during class, damage to property (including choral
sheet music and folders) or harassing other students will not be tolerated and are grounds
for removal from the choral program. For 6th, 7th and 8th grade students, the Randall
Incentive Program will be used as in all jr-hi classes.
Calendar of Choral/Musical Events
This handy calendar is provided below as well as separately on this website in case you’d
like to print it out and post it in a convenient spot in your home (like the refrigerator.)
Please refer to it now and again as we get closer to the holiday season… things have a way
of cropping up during the weeks leading up to the December concert… as well as in the
springtime.
Adding/Dropping
If a student would like to add Chorus or Concert Choir sometime during the year, they are
most welcome to do so, provided there is enough practice time left before concert (this is
determined at my discretion.)
Dropping is not allowed. Once a student has completed the first two weeks of school, they
are enrolled in that class for the duration of the 2015-16 school year.
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Rhythm & melody enter into the soul of the well-instructed youth and produce there a
certain mental harmony hardly obtainable in any other way.
-Plato
Music, of all the arts, stands in a special region, unlit by any star but its own, and utterly
without meaning… except its own.
- Leonard Bernstein
In art, and in the higher ranges of science, there is a feeling of harmony which underlies all
endeavor. There is no true greatness in art or science without that sense of harmony.
- Albert Einstein
The woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sing the best.
- Henry David Thoreau