WMS 6th Grade Orchestra

Wow! It's hard to believe that our 5th grade students are moving up to the middle school next year.

As students start to get information about the middle school, the classes they'll be taking, details about lockers, homework, and more, I want to share some information about the WMS orchestra program.

The WMS Orchestra program is broken up into two classes: 6th grade orchestra, and 7/8th grade orchestra.

Class is guaranteed to meet twice a week; some weeks ("A" weeks) this is Monday/Wednesday and some weeks ("B" weeks) it is Tuesday/Thursday (it alternates back and forth every week).

On "A" weeks, they also have orchestra on Friday (a flex block) if they have not already been signed out by another teacher to make up an assignment or get extra help with something in class. So, guaranteed twice a week, though on "A" weeks they may have orchestra three times (M/W/F). On the days they're not in orchestra they can sign up for chorus or are in a resource block, WIN, and/or SOAR block.

Class meets during a WIN block. The WIN block occurs in the morning, from 10:20 - 11:04. Students will have their long lunch block after WIN. Students who are not in band, orchestra, or chorus participate in iReady prep and other structured activities. Students are not missing class time to be in ensembles.

The elementary orchestra/string teachers are also the middle orchestra/string school teachers, so it's always exciting to see the kids come back in the fall and to recognize them all. In a sea of new faces and names, it can be nice to see a familiar one!

Students are graded based on whether or not they're meeting the various objectives in each grade level. These may be letter grades or standards based. Grades are based off of in-class assessments and some assignments that may be requested for home completion.

We do not have a lot of homework in orchestra, approximately 1 - 2 assignments to complete per month to check for understanding and give some guided reinforcement, but students should be bringing their instrument home so they can practice consistently, even 1 - 2 times a week.

Ideally, all of our students would continue playing in the orchestra. I always recommend they try it for at least the first trimester to see how it fits in with the rest of their schedule. Our current system is that we give guidance counselors the names of rising 6th grade students who participated in 5th grade ensembles.

Below is an opt out form if your child knows for sure they do not want to continue in middle school. It is easier to remove the names from the list now rather than once we get to school in September, so please consider filling out the opt-out form ahead of time if your child does not wish to continue.

Please let me know if you have any questions about the WMS 6th Grade Orchestra!