WMS 7th Grade Orchestra

Wow! It's hard to believe that this school year is close to ending and we're already thinking about next year! I wanted to send out some information about the 7th grade orchestra for our current sixth grade students.

The WMS 7th Grade Orchestra meets with the 8th graders every other day for about 40 minutes. The expectations and responsibilities are similar to sixth grade; however, it is expected that students who continue to participate in the program are becoming more serious about remembering their materials for every class, attending class regularly, and practicing if they are needing to do some individual reinforcement of skills. We will be playing more advanced music so it may require a little extra at-home practice. Students can also attend practice club.

Next year, we will also be experimenting with a different structure; for the first half of the year, we will focus primarily on chamber music and goal setting. Students will identify personal and group playing goals, and then work within a small group on music that will help support them reaching those goals. We will have more of a recital for our first concert compared to our typical large ensemble format.

The 7th and 8th grade orchestra takes a field trip every spring to the Music in the Parks (or similar) festival, where we perform for a score and feedback and then go to Six Flags to celebrate our hard work. Students who regularly forget their instrument, come late to class, or do not follow in class instructions may not be allowed to participate in this trip.

Students are graded based on whether or not they're meeting the various objectives in each grade level.

• O (Outstanding application and demonstration of skill)
• S (Satisfactory demonstration of skill with room for improvement)
• U (Unsatisfactory, limited demonstration of skill).

We do not have a lot of homework in orchestra, but, next year, there will be approximately 1 - 2 assignments to complete per month to check for understanding and give some guided reinforcement and students should be bringing their instrument home so they can practice consistently. Life gets busy and so sometimes practice is hard to fit in, but even a short session a couple of times a week can make a world of difference when it comes to making progress on the instrument. In terms of workload, if orchestra starts to become an overwhelming burden then something is being misunderstood about expectations; orchestra is not meant to stress the kids out so I would definitely want to hear from the student if this becomes the case.

Our current system is that we give guidance counselors the names of rising 7th grade students who participated in 6th grade ensembles. Below is an opt-out form if your child knows for sure they do not want to continue in 7th grade.

Please let me know if you have any questions about the WMS 7th Grade Orchestra!