From the directors
July 13, 2020
Dear Charger Choir students and parents,
I do hope you’re finding some time to escape from these tough times while remaining safe. We are thinking about you all the time and recognize how tough all this is! You and your parents are probably considering whether or not to register for Clear Connections or continue with the traditional Brick & Mortar education. I know you probably have many questions, including how your decision can impact your experience in choir. Please read to the end and complete the survey. You can also submit more questions below.
Will there be choir in Brick & Mortar (B&M) and Clear Connections (CC)? Yes!
1. If you are scheduled to be in the Concert Mixed Choir (nonvarsity) at Springs, register for 8596 Concert Choir at CC.
2. If you are scheduled to be in Chorale or Bella Voce at Springs, register for 8599 Varsity Choir at CC.
3. If you are ALSO scheduled to be in Rhythm & Blue at Springs, register for 8595 Choir Ensemble at CC.
Will there be region choir? Can I audition for region choir if I choose Clear Connections? Yes and yes. There will be region choir auditions, which will continue to the all-state choir. However, all auditions will be handled virtually, with students submitting video recordings of them singing the cuts. TMEA has wisely banned any region concerts for the fall, but we hope to have one in the spring. For those of you hoping to make it to All-State this year, there will not be a “Pre-Area” audition. The top five of each section at the region audition will advance to the all-state auditions in January. Sightreading will not be included in the process at any level. Please look at chargerchoir.com/TMEA for more information, especially if you’ve begun working on the music.
If I choose CC to start, will I be able to be in my assigned choir when I return to B&M? To the best of our ability, yes. We don’t have much control over scheduling, but it will be our expectation that you will be placed in the choir you were originally assigned to. You can change from one to the other after the first nine weeks.
What about concerts? Our ability to offer a concert in the fall and winter depends greatly on how our community controls the spread of the virus. If state, community, and district safety protocols allow us to gather as a group and sing in some fashion, then we will prepare some form of concert. Our first performances may be “virtual” in nature, streamed for viewing at home rather than in front of a live audience.
Will there be officers? Yes! We will do all we can to continue our choir family’s traditions. Officer elections will take place in the fall. Students who begin in CC will be allowed to apply to be an officer in their originally assigned choir. We will need your student leadership to help create a sense of community that includes all our students from both areas.
Bottom line: If you choose to enroll in Clear Connections, you will still be a member of the Charger Choir. We hope to have you working on the same literature and training we will do in the live classroom. You will be included in any form of social or team-building activities we have. You will remain a part of our family, whether you are coming to school or logging in to school.
We will keep you updated here as we learn more. If you have any questions we should consider, please use the form below to submit them. We’ll answer them as soon as possible by email and/or by adding them to an FAQ Page.
As with anything these days, nothing above should be considered a promise. If the rules are changed by any other entity controlling us, then we’ll have to make changes. We’ll update you regularly here. If you haven’t already done so, please sign up for one of the “remind” classes listed below. We’ll let you know if we post any updates.
Finally, STUDENTS, please complete the survey at bit.ly/chargercheck to let us know how you’re doing, and the direction your family intends to take regarding instruction in the fall, to the best of your ability.
We are constantly thinking about you, and can’t wait to see you when we return, either face to face or over a computer screen. You are important to us; you are loved.
Dear Charger Choir students and parents,
I do hope you’re finding some time to escape from these tough times while remaining safe. We are thinking about you all the time and recognize how tough all this is! You and your parents are probably considering whether or not to register for Clear Connections or continue with the traditional Brick & Mortar education. I know you probably have many questions, including how your decision can impact your experience in choir. Please read to the end and complete the survey. You can also submit more questions below.
Will there be choir in Brick & Mortar (B&M) and Clear Connections (CC)? Yes!
- If you choose B&M, you will be in a choir that will be working on literature appropriate for your level. We will obviously have to approach things differently, but we don’t yet know to what extent. There have been lots of concerns raised about how singing spreads the virus (due to the low breathing we keep teaching you to use), and we are waiting on academic studies to give us some guidance. Masks? Plexiglass dividers? Singing outside only? All these and more are under consideration. We may have to reevaluate which classes students have been assigned in order to make our larger classes a little smaller.
- If you choose CC, you should select the appropriate course as indicated below. You will have a daily choir class online, hopefully taught by one of us. Whether or not we get to teach you depends on the enrollment into CC. This is something still being worked out, but we’ll be fighting to teach you. One thing is certain: It will NOT look like what we did in the spring. We will be working on vocal technique, sightreading, and choral literature.
1. If you are scheduled to be in the Concert Mixed Choir (nonvarsity) at Springs, register for 8596 Concert Choir at CC.
2. If you are scheduled to be in Chorale or Bella Voce at Springs, register for 8599 Varsity Choir at CC.
3. If you are ALSO scheduled to be in Rhythm & Blue at Springs, register for 8595 Choir Ensemble at CC.
Will there be region choir? Can I audition for region choir if I choose Clear Connections? Yes and yes. There will be region choir auditions, which will continue to the all-state choir. However, all auditions will be handled virtually, with students submitting video recordings of them singing the cuts. TMEA has wisely banned any region concerts for the fall, but we hope to have one in the spring. For those of you hoping to make it to All-State this year, there will not be a “Pre-Area” audition. The top five of each section at the region audition will advance to the all-state auditions in January. Sightreading will not be included in the process at any level. Please look at chargerchoir.com/TMEA for more information, especially if you’ve begun working on the music.
If I choose CC to start, will I be able to be in my assigned choir when I return to B&M? To the best of our ability, yes. We don’t have much control over scheduling, but it will be our expectation that you will be placed in the choir you were originally assigned to. You can change from one to the other after the first nine weeks.
What about concerts? Our ability to offer a concert in the fall and winter depends greatly on how our community controls the spread of the virus. If state, community, and district safety protocols allow us to gather as a group and sing in some fashion, then we will prepare some form of concert. Our first performances may be “virtual” in nature, streamed for viewing at home rather than in front of a live audience.
Will there be officers? Yes! We will do all we can to continue our choir family’s traditions. Officer elections will take place in the fall. Students who begin in CC will be allowed to apply to be an officer in their originally assigned choir. We will need your student leadership to help create a sense of community that includes all our students from both areas.
Bottom line: If you choose to enroll in Clear Connections, you will still be a member of the Charger Choir. We hope to have you working on the same literature and training we will do in the live classroom. You will be included in any form of social or team-building activities we have. You will remain a part of our family, whether you are coming to school or logging in to school.
We will keep you updated here as we learn more. If you have any questions we should consider, please use the form below to submit them. We’ll answer them as soon as possible by email and/or by adding them to an FAQ Page.
As with anything these days, nothing above should be considered a promise. If the rules are changed by any other entity controlling us, then we’ll have to make changes. We’ll update you regularly here. If you haven’t already done so, please sign up for one of the “remind” classes listed below. We’ll let you know if we post any updates.
Finally, STUDENTS, please complete the survey at bit.ly/chargercheck to let us know how you’re doing, and the direction your family intends to take regarding instruction in the fall, to the best of your ability.
We are constantly thinking about you, and can’t wait to see you when we return, either face to face or over a computer screen. You are important to us; you are loved.
Student Check-in Survey at bit.ly/chargercheck
TMEA Region/All-State Audition Info Updated July 11
You can find everything you need on the TMEA page. Check it out now!
Receive Remind Updates!
Parents and students are invited to receive regular reminders on your phone via remind.com. Here are the codes:
Send the following message for your selected class(es) to 81010:
Send the following message for your selected class(es) to 81010:
- @cshschoirs (for reminders relevant to all nonvarsity choir members and parents)
- @3chorale (for reminders relevant to the Charger Chorale members and parents)
- @5bellas (for reminders relevant to Bella Voce members and parents)
- @go1330 (for students and chaperones of upcoming choir trips)
Welcome to the Choir! Here's what to do:
- Print and complete your forms. Click here.
- Update your Charms Account. (school code is "cshschoir"; password default is your student ID) Click here.
- Sign up for Remind updates! See below for specific codes.
- Turn in all forms and annual choir fee. (Choir fee can be paid online through Skyward)
- Attend our potluck dinner, preview concert, and parent meeting Monday, September 18!