Harrold Middle School
Chorus
Mr. Lauritzen, Director of Choruses
Harrold Phone: 724 850 2301
Email: lauritzend@hasdpa.net
Dear Parents/Guardians,
Sept. 29, 2013
On Saturday, May 17, the Honors Chorus is going on a field trip to Hershey Park with
the Harrold Wind Ensemble and Harrold Jazz Band to participate in a Music Festival. There
will be other choruses and bands from around the state represented at this festival. Each
chorus will be judged by professional judges and given a rating of gold, silver, or bronze,
along with written and recorded comments of their performance. The Honors Chorus has
earned a Gold rating for 13 out of the last 16 years. If we achieve Gold this year, it would
make it eight in a row. I believe that this festival is important for the students in that it will
foster a sense of teamwork, pride, and self-esteem. It will also be a way for our chorus to
obtain professional constructive criticism for improvement. Following the festival, the Honors
Chorus will proceed to nearby Hershey Amusement Park for a day filled with fun!
At least 20 parent chaperones and 2 teachers will be on the trip. All 6th grade students
will be in groups of four or more and will be with a parent chaperone at the park all day. All
7th and 8th graders must be in groups of four or more at all times, but they are free to go off
on their own.
The cost of the trip is $125.00 per student. This will cover the cost of round trip
motor coach, festival fees, snacks on the bus, and Hershey admission ticket. This is $15 more
than last year. Hershey Park is a bit more expensive, and it will also include an Honors
Chorus t-shirt that students will be receiving before December and will wear on the trip.
Fund-raising is an option for all students. We are using New Choice Fundraising again
because they have been great for 11 years running. They have a great variety of items, 100%
satisfaction guarantee, and a 1-800 number for customers to call if they are unsatisfied in any
way. New Choice products sell very easily. The products are all consumables such as pizzas,
cheesecakes, cinnamon rolls, cookie dough, lasagna, chicken strips, snacks, and much more
Students need to sell approximately 22 items (priced $15.00 through $24.00) to pay for
the entire trip. Students can fund-raise for all or only part of the trip if they wish. New
Choice Fundraising will tally the individual profit earned from each student and you will
receive an invoice showing how much has been raised and how much is still owed.
The fund-raising kickoff is Wednesday, October 16. It will continue until the Turn-in
Day, which is Tuesday, November 5. This includes three weekends. Students will need to
collect the money when taking orders. The delivery date is 2 days before the Thanksgiving
Break. It is on Monday, November 25 at 2:00 p.m. Most students will be able to check their
orders and take them home on the bus, but some students with very large orders may require
pickup from a parent.
Students also have the option of not fund-raising at all and simply paying the $125.00
if they wish. If you choose this option, please pay on or before January 3, 2013. Make
checks payable to “Harrold Middle School.” Also, if the $125.00 will cause undue hardship
at this time, please let me know and I will see what we can do.
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Here is the schedule for the Hershey trip on Saturday, May 17, 2014:
5:30 a.m.
Leave Harrold Middle School
10:30 a.m.
Arrive at site outside of Hershey for choral adjudication
10:40 a.m.
Warm-up in back room
11:00 a.m.
Honors Chorus performance
12:30 p.m.
Arrive at Hershey Park
9:45 p.m.
Leave Hershey Park
2:00 a.m.
Arrive at Harrold Middle School
Since students will be at Hershey Park most of the day, all festival participants will be
dressed very informally. The students should wear their Honors Chorus t-shirts and
comfortable, casual clothes.
Thank you for your time, support, and helping your child participate in this fun,
learning experience.
Sincerely,
D. Lauritzen, Chorus director
Please hang this on your refrigerator or another handy place to remind you of all these dates
and other information.
Important Dates:
Oct. 4 –
Turn in permission/fund-raising/medical form
Oct. 16 –
Fundraiser kickoff
Nov. 5 –
Turn-in Day for fund-raising order forms and fundraising money
Nov. 25 –
Delivery of fund-raising items to Harrold – huge orders may require pickup
Jan. 3 –
Non-fundraising money due ($125.00 cash or check made out to H.M.S.)
May 17 –
Trip to Hershey Park (I’ll send a reminder 2 weeks before this date)
Payments can be cash or check made out to “Harrold Middle School.”
Please fill out both sides of this sheet, rip it off, and return it to
Mr. Lauritzen by Friday, October 4.
Fundraising
Name of Parent __________________________
Name of Child ___________________________
To fundraise $125.00, a student would have to sell about 22 items from the fundraiser.
Please check the appropriate box and submit only this sheet to Mr. Lauritzen by the morning
of Friday, October 4.
____ My child will be fundraising for at least part of the trip.
____ My child does not need to fundraise for the trip, I/we will pay the $125.00
needed. (Please remit payment by January 3, 2013)
____ My child cannot go on the trip due to another obligation.
____ My child is in either Jazz Band or Wind Ensemble. (In this case, your child will fundraise
with the band, and all payments will go towards the band. Your child will still perform
with the Honors Chorus at the festival. See “T-shirts Orders” for shirt information.)
Medical
Important information regarding Hempfield medication policies:
Due to policies in the district, I will need you to initial one of the following.
If your child is able to go, please indicate if your child will need to take any medication while
on the trip. It is not permissible for your child or myself to dispense any medication. Only
the parent of that child or a nurse can dispense any needed medication. We are taking a
parent chaperone who is a nurse on the trip to dispense medication if needed. If your child
uses an inhaler and needs it on his/her person for the entire day, then please obtain a
doctor’s excuse stating so and have your child give it to the school nurse.
Initial one
1) ________ My child will NOT take any medication on this trip.
2) ________ My child will take medication on the trip, but his/her
parent/guardian can go along to dispense it.
3) ________ My child will need to take medication sometime during the day at
the park and I allow the district-approved nurse to dispense it.
4) ________ My child uses an inhaler, which he/she will need to carry at all
times. I will supply a doctor’s excuse to the school nurse to permit this.
Parent signature ________________________
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Chaperones
The cost of the Hershey Park trip for chaperones is $60 to cover the cost of the park
admission ticket only. Your motor coach fare and lunch are covered. Please check a box if
this interests you. I am always looking for chaperones, especially for 6 th grade students since
they need a chaperone with them at the park at all times. The parents of 7th and 8th grade
students are usually free to go off on their own for most of the day. If we have an abundance
of chaperones (rare), we will do a drawing.
The new Hempfield policy requires that chaperones have their Act 34, Act 114, and
Act 151 clearances, as well as an updated TB test before chaperoning ANY trip in the
district.
Check all boxes that apply:
 I would like to chaperone….Please list a phone #: (______) - _______ - __________
 I already have clearances
 I will get clearances
 My spouse would ALSO like to chaperone – Name of Spouse _______________________
 Spouse already has clearances
 Spouse will get clearances
 I/we are considering driving to Hershey Park separately (student will still need to pay trip expenses)
T-shirt Orders
Each student will receive an Honors Chorus t-shirt sometime in November. These shirts will
be worn at any community shows throughout the year (Overly’s, New Haven, Twin Lakes,
etc.) and on the Hershey trip. Students may also wear them to school, or wherever,
throughout the year if they wish.
Students in Jazz Band or Wind Ensemble can purchase an Honors Chorus t-shirt for $10. For
the Hershey trip, they can wear the band shirt for the entire day, and put the Honors Chorus
shirts over top of the band shirt for the performance only. They may leave them on the
motor coach when we proceed to Hershey Park.
Please indicate which size t-shirt your child needs:
 Adult S
 Adult M
 Adult L
 Adult XL
Jazz Band or Wind Ensemble students: When you turn in this form, you can remit $10 in cash
or a check to “Harrold Middle School” to receive your Honors Chorus t-shirt. The t-shirts will
be delivered in November.