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Course Description: Chorus is open to all students at Oakway Middle and Tamassee-Salem Middle and High School. Students will focus on healthy vocal technique, fundamentals of music theory, history, sight-singing, and the rehearsal of music. Most importantly, students will develop self-discipline and learn to work cooperatively. The most successful chorus students will strive for “excellence” both as individuals and as an ensemble. Chorus Supplies: 1. Students should have a three-ring notebook or a section for chorus in a three-ring notebook with loose leaf notebook paper available. 2. Students should bring pencils to class daily. 3. Students should bring their school assigned agendas daily. In addition, all students will be held responsible for any materials assigned to them, such as sheet music or uniforms. Sheet music is the most expensive part of the chorus curriculum. Students are expected to pay for the replacement of any damaged or lost music. Uniforms: Oakway: Young ladies will be fitted for a formal dress early in the school year. They will need to provide black dress shoes to wear for the concert. Young men will be assigned a tuxedo shirt, bow tie, and cummberbund. They are expected to provide a pair of black dress slacks and dark shoes and socks for the concert. Tamassee-Salem: Students need to provide an outfit for school concerts. This should include a solid white shirt and black slacks. The shirt needs to be a dress shirt, not a tee-shirt. Young men’s shirts need to have a collar. The black pants should be at least a cotton twill material (for example, Dockers or Duck Head) or dressier. Denim is not an acceptable material. Black or dark shoes that are not tennis shoes are also required. High school ladies will be provided with a formal dress to wear for senior awards’ night and graduation ceremonies. Outstanding eighth grade ladies may be asked to assist with singing in these ceremonies and will provided a dress for the occasion. High school men will be provided with a tuxedo shirt and accessories for the two ceremonies listed above and should wear their school concert slacks that they provide. Outstanding eighth grade men may also be asked to sing at these important occasions and will be provided the tuxedo shirt and accessories and should wear their concert slacks that they provide. Black or dark shoes are required – but the shoes should not be tennis shoes. Field Trips: Field trips are one of the most exciting parts of being in chorus. Please remember that field trips are a privilege. Students who do not meet chorus and/or school guidelines may lose that privilege. The chorus trip to competition at Carowinds is set aside as an incentive as well as a competition trip. Students must meet the following requirements to be eligible for this trip: 1. The student must have a cumulative grade of 90 or above for the year. 2. The student has attended all concerts or had an excused absence from the concert and has completed the assigned make-up work. 3. The student has not been referred to detention more than two times from chorus. 4. The students does not have more than one office referral from Mrs. Buell. 5. The student has not been suspended from school during this school year. Required Performances: Chorus is a performing arts program; therefore, students are expected to attend ALL performances. Concerts are a key component in every student’s grade. Parents and students should take the time to mark concert dates down in their calendars!! School and community: The choral department will present two school concerts with the band and orchestra this year. These will be evening performances held in the TSHS Auditorium. In addition, selected members of the seventh/eighth grade and high school choruses will be participating in the Oconee County All County Chorus in October. Students selected will be expected to perform in that concert. Also, one or more of the choruses may perform in and around the community. If the opportunity is presented, students may be selected to be rated in the annual solo and ensemble competition sponsored by the Music Educators of South Carolina. This competition is held in February on a Saturday. Absences from concerts/performances: Concerts are an integral part of any chorus program. There is no way to make up the experience if a concert is missed. Students are expected to attend ALL performances. All concert dates are provided early in the years so that families can avoid scheduling any conflicting appointments or trips on those dates. Excused absences: Illness; death in the family; other emergency situations; pre-arranged absences (i.e. religious reasons) where parent note is received at least two weeks prior to the concert. *In order to receive a passing grade for the concert, a student may be required to complete a makeup assignment. Please see below for instructions on how to earn points from a missed concert.* Unexcused absences: Students who have an unexcused absence from a concert will be awarded no points and will not be given an opportunity to make up the work. Unexcused absence from concert = ZERO POINTS How to earn missed points from a concert: A student must bring in a note signed by a parent or guardian to the chorus director within TWO class periods of his/her return to class. This is a separate note from the excuse that is given to the attendance secretary. If a student has a doctor’s note that must be turned into the attendance secretary, the students needs to request that the attendance secretary notify the chorus teacher of the doctor’s note and also the student must tell the chorus director that the attendance secretary has a doctor’s note for their absence. It is the student’s responsibility to make sure that the chorus director receives notice if they have a doctor’s note on file in the office. If a note is not received in time, the absence will be considered unexcused and earn no points. The parent note needs to include the student’s name, the reason for the absence, and a phone number where Mrs. Buell can verify the absence with the parent. There is no way to make up the experience of a chorus concert if missed. To make up the points, however, students who bring in a parent note will be assigned a makeup assignment of the director’s choosing. Upon completion of this assignment, the student will receive points based on the quality of their work. Please note that both the assignment and a signed note must be received in order for ANY points to be awarded. Behavior Expectations: Students are expected to exhibit self-discipline and a sense of pride as a member of the chorus department. Each member represents the choral program, as well as Tamassee-Salem Middle/High School and should behave accordingly --- in school and out. Students are expected to be respectful to other students, teachers, parents, and/or any adult who may be placed in charge. Any student, who exhibits excessive or severe misbehavior, whether during class, at a performance, or while at an off-campus chorus-sponsored activity, may be disciplined in one or more of the following ways: • Removal from the activity • Removal from the room • Parent phone call • Private counsel • Discipline referral • Parent conference • Detention referral • Suspension from choral events Hall Passes: It is my responsibility to use the entire class period for instruction. Writing passes disrupts activities, therefore, students are encouraged to use the restroom, schedule guidance appointments, etc. between classes; however, because no one is perfect, students are permitted three out of class passes each nine weeks. These passes include going to the office, going to the restroom, or going to their locker for something they forgot. Students are permitted to |