Here's this week's newsletter. Key points and new information are in bold type.
A link to each post will be sent through the choir Twitter and Facebook accounts, to whatever parent emails are listed in PowerSchool, and to the students through Google Classroom.
The beginning section will always be about curricular choir and the subsequent information will pertain to our many extracurricular activities, so you only need to read what applies to your student. The most updated and comprehensive calendar is always on bataviamusic.org.
- Wow! What an amazing concert! I'm so proud of all of our students. They sounded amazing, and carried themselves with poise and class on-stage and off-stage. I'm so thankful! Check out the recordings page to hear something again!
- Several classes have started MusicTheory.net assignments. These online assignments are not timed, allowing students to move at their own pace. Choir students have very wide range of prior knowledge, so by using an online trainer we are able to get support for the kids who need it while providing a review opportunity for students who are more experienced in music theory. MusicTheory.net assignments are accepted late without penalty. Also, students can always try multiple times to get a better score!
- A key point about MTN assignments came up during the P/T conferences. It's important to think of the MTN assignments as a Pre-test. If a student receives a bad score on on of those assignments, it doesn't mean that we've covered it and they still don't understand; it lets me know that this is an area that needs my attention. Most of the material assessed by MTN has been covered in previous choir classes in middle school and elsewhere. MTN gives me an opportunity to see where a gap in students' training exists. Once an area of difficulty is identified, we can work on it one-on-one or as a class, depending on how many students are struggling with that concept. Once we find the trouble spot, students can do the drill again )as many times as it takes) to improve the grade.
- Assignments: Our first assignment was simply to read the syllabus and show it to parents. In case that didn't happen, here is the syllabus!
- Check marks in the Gradebook: If your student has a check mark in place of a number for any given assignment, that means that the assignment HAS been turned in. Check marks do not affect the grade in any direction. If the assignment is missing, there will be a zero there. Zeros do affect the grade, quite strongly. Once I have had a chance to update the grades, I will move them from a check mark to whatever number is merited. I try to update MTN assignments every weekday. SRF assignments can go longer between updates. I also indicate (a little red L) if an assignments is late. SRF assignments are docked two points (about 6%) for being late. MTN assignments are not affected by being late. MTN's can always be attempted multiple times as necessary (See above).
- Difficulty level progress in SightReadingFactory.com (Updated 10/18): The average difficulty level for all 140 students is up to 2.58 after starting the year at 2.17! Very few students are at level 1 (though, I'm happy they are if it is the appropriate challenge for them!), and many students are regularly working at level 4 or even 5. SRF has 6 possible levels, so there's plenty of room to grow, even for our most advanced singers. Here are some breakdowns: The average for 9th graders are now at 1.68 (started at 1.14), Varsity is now at 2.17 (up from 1.83), Treble is now at 2.96 (up from 2.66), and Chamber is now at 4.41 (up from 4.10). Accuracy has been pretty flat at around 95%. This tells me that students are moving onto harder lines without sacrificing accuracy. Great work everyone!

- Planning is underway for the Festival of Carols, our annual Madrigal event!
- Please consider how you might help! We will definitely need help decorating the Congregational Church, and we will need people to help with food service as well.
- For details, check this out!
- Getting rusty on the show choir songs we learned in August? Come to the choir room after school on Tuesdays to practice!
- We've made slight adjustments (improvements, overall) to the weekly rehearsal schedule. Please check the calendar for details. Rehearsals start on Monday, November 7 with Swings at 2:45 and Legacy at 4:30.
- Planned competitions: We plan to attend four competitions this year. We have confirmed reservations at each.
- Feb 11, 2017: Manteno HS; Main Event
- Feb 18, 2017: Chesterton HS (Indiana); Trojan Classic
- March 4, 2017: John Hersey HS, Chicagoland Showcase
- March 11, 2017: Wheaton Warrenville South HS, Choral Classic
- Students paid a $75 deposit back in May. The remaining $225 in dues (for a total of $300) should be paid at the start of the season. There will also be a activity fee of $135 assessed through Powerschool.

- We never have enough pictures or video of our performances! I'd love to be able to share more pics & video on our website, social media, or YouTube.
- If you have pictures or video from our concert Wednesday (even if it is just candids) please send me a link to it!
- I could use one person who would help me collect & organize pics & vids from other people. Please contact me if you're able to help in this way.
All BHS choir after-school rehearsals, events, and performances will be posted and updated on the Batavia High School Music Department website, found at: www.bataviamusic.org. This is the best resource for staying updated on concerts, rehearsals, and other events for the music program.
2016-2017 Choir Events and Performances
(Attendance at performances/events are REQUIRED for all BHS choir students unless otherwise specified):
Tuesday, November 29 Kaleidoscope Concert Dress Rehearsal – During school day
Wednesday, November 30 Music Department Kaleidoscope Concert
Thursday, Dec 8 Festival of Carols Dress Rehearsal (TBA)
Fri-Sat. Dec 9-10 Festival of Carols (Chamber & Treble)
Tuesday, February 21 BHS Music Festival- Concert 1 (Chorale)
Wednesday, February 22 BHS Music Festival- Concert 2 (Treble & Varsity)
Thursday, February 23 BHS Music Festival- Concert 3 (Chamber)
Wednesday, May 10 Spring Choir Concert
2016-2017 Other Important Dates:
Tuesday, October 4 ILMEA Auditions (Chamber strongly encouraged to audition)
Tuesday, February 28 Showtime! (BFAC performance for show choirs and Chromatics)
March 28-April 2 Choir tour to Disneyworld
Tuesday, May 2 BHS Senior Music Honors Night
Concert Uniforms
All Choirs must wear Black dress pants or skirt, black dress shirt, black socks or tights with black dress shoes, which each student must provide. Some performances will include robes, which BHS will provide.