Welcome to Shasta High Choir! Our choir schedule is as busy as ever and is summarized in the calendar on the back page of this newsletter. Auditions are sneaking up on us for our first amazing production – the Madrigal Dinner. Students will be auditioning for parts on September 27^th and 28^th, with rehearsals to begin on October 2. I hope you will find a way to be involved with your child’s life in the Choral Program in some way. There are many opportunities waiting for you in many different areas – Madrigal Dinner, Spring Musical, Choir Boosters, etc. We have a blast working together, developing friendships, and most importantly, helping our kids achieve greatness. Thanks for your support.

The following officers were elected at our first parent meeting before Back-to-School Night on September 6. Please don’t hesitate to contact any of them, especially your student’s class representative, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns:

Vice President: Donna Hunter 243-4632 Junior Representative: Lori Steele 241-6060

Secretary: Bridget Brickwood 241-2560 Sophomore Representative: Jeneva Roberts 246-1647

The choir has its own website at www.shastachoir.com. A current calendar of events is always available on the website. We also communicate information by group e-mail; we are currently making a change to our system but hope to have it operational within the next week or so. Please make sure you give us your e-mail – both parents and students – so you can keep current on what’s happening with choir. Once the system is up and running, you can add your name to the e-mail list from our website. This first newsletter is being mailed, but after that, newsletters are e-mailed or posted on the website unless you specifically request to have them mailed to you. Please contact Peggy O’Lea at 246-1446 if you do not have Internet access to make arrangements to get a printed copy of future newsletters. Thanks.

Fiddler on the Roof Pictures and DVDs

DVDs and picture CDs of last spring’s Fiddler on the Roof are available. The picture CDs are available at Crown Camera for $10. Please contact Kendra Nelson 351-1077 if you are interested in a DVD.

Choir students MUST have a choir shirt for their first performance on November 8. If you have not already ordered a shirt, please get an order form from Mr. Spencer or call Karen Woods at 247-1551. Thanks.

Formal choir performance wear will be distributed at the end of September. Please encourage your student to take good care of these uniforms. Girls must wear sensible black dress shoes and black hose. Boys must purchase a choir tux shirt (at any tux store), and must also wear black dress shoes and black socks. A white undershirt is encouraged under the tux shirt. The students are assigned a number to their uniform, and are responsible for replacing any article that is lost or damaged. Costs will vary, but range from $10 for a bow to $70 for a jacket. No student will graduate with an outstanding debt for any reason. When your student brings his/her performance wear home in the next two weeks, PLEASE READ THE ATTACHED INFORMATION CAREFULLY. Adhering or not adhering to the performance wear dress code will affect your student’s total points in choir and may affect his/her final grade. Please check to see if your student’s clothing needs hemming of any kind. This may include your daughter’s dress hem, or son’s pant hem or jacket cuffs. There will be names of cleaners and their addresses and phone numbers listed on the information if you should need to avail yourselves of that help.

Informal choir uniforms consist of the navy choir polo shirt and khaki pants for boys, or khaki pants, capris, or knee-length skirts for girls. Solid dark closed-toed shoes are required. Boys must tuck in their shirt. Order forms are available from Mr. Spencer. Cost for the shirt is $25; check is to be made payable to Shasta High Choir.

The “magic” of the Madrigal Dinner is upon us once again. The tradition of being a part of this wonderful dinner/performance adds so much to our holiday season. It is a tremendous pleasure to watch our students take part in such an awesome program. Shasta’s Choral Department has a great cast of talented students. As parents, let’s show our support for all the hours of hard work they put in the program and be supportive volunteers to help create this “magic” once again.

The performances this year will be December 6, 7, 8, 9 and December 12, 13, 14, 15, 16. In order for this long-running tradition to continue as well as it has in the past, we need the help of our new parents as well as our seasoned veterans. It is time for everyone to help by volunteering to sign up for one or more committees. You’ll find that it is a lot of fun and exciting to be an active parent in such an outstanding program. Each night’s performance requires approximately 50 volunteers. Listed below are the chairpersons for each of the committees. Look them over and see what area you might be interested in helping. We will have an organizational meeting at 7 p.m. on Thursday, October 12 in the choir room. You don’t have to have a student in the Madrigal Dinner to help. You can sign up on the volunteer sheets (available at the meeting on October 12) or call the chairperson and tell them you would like to volunteer. We also need freshmen or sophomore parents who are interested in co-chairing a committee this year, learning what’s involved, and assuming the chairmanship next year. The hours you donate will be converted to “points” which can be used to help fund your student’s 2008 Europe trip. The more hours worked, the more affordable the Europe trip becomes. (The point system is explained on page three of the newsletter.)

Ticket order forms will be mailed out the last week of September. If you do not receive a letter and order form, please call Carolyn Mecham at 246-2917. The orders are due back by October 20. Extra tickets can be purchased at general public ticket sales from 9 am – 12 noon on November 4 and 11 at the Shasta Learning Center. Tickets are $30 each, with a limit of 4 per customer. We cannot guarantee the same night as your original order or that seats will be together; picking a mid-week performance might make it possible. The date by which orders are received determines the seating charts so please get them mailed back to Carolyn Mecham ASAP! Thank you.

OUR GOAL: The point system was introduced to encourage parent involvement in choir activities, to help families pay for choir trips, and as a way to distribute earnings fairly to our hardworking students. The Choir Boosters was established to give our students the best experience we can. It is run by a Board elected at a general Parent Meeting. We are all volunteers.

Points may be earned by parents and students by working on choir activities such as the Madrigal Dinner or the musical. Generally, one point is credited for each hour’s work. Points will be assigned a monetary value and credited toward trip expenditures for the European trip.

Points have a monetary value only when used for the Europe choir trip. They do not constitute money in the real world and are non-refundable. Money equal to students’ unused points remains in the choir account to fund choir expenditures such as microphones, tuxedos, or computer equipment.

HOW ARE POINTS EARNED? Parents may earn points only when working on a project that benefits the entire group and not for such things as making your own student’s costumes. These points may be applied to the account of any of their children who are enrolled in choir. They may earn 1 point per hour when working on choir projects or when serving in the following ways:

A student can be credited with a maximum of 120 points each year, which may be earned in any combination by the student and his/her parents. There is a maximum cumulative total of 300 points for each student.

If you are going on the Europe Trip and you have not been able to earn points over a three year period because you were a transfer student or a sophomore the year of the Europe Trip, you may request Board review of your point status. This review must take place by the November board meeting of the Europe Trip year. Call the Points Chairperson to schedule the review.

WHO MAY EARN POINTS? Parents, or approved adults, may earn points for only their own children who are currently enrolled in choir. Children cannot earn points for themselves until they are in a high school choir, even if they are cast members. Points earned by a student in the music program cannot be transferred to a sibling or a fellow choir member. Points may not be earned by sisters and brothers, cousins, grandparents, friends, etc., nor offered to anyone outside the immediate family. Although we welcome the help of these people, the value of points would be greatly diluted if we allowed too many people to collect them. Parents who are employed by the music department do not earn points for time spent at their paying jobs, but may join committees to earn points.

HOW ARE MONETARY VALUES OF POINTS FIGURED? The total number of points earned for the year by all students will be divided into the total net income from the Madrigal Dinner and the musical. This will establish a fixed value for the points earned that year. The amount each student has earned toward the cost of the European trip is calculated by multiplying this value times the student’s total points for that year. Points and their values will be fixed at the end of each year and cannot be changed at a later date. Point values will differ from year to year depending on the number of students’ and parents’ hours and the success of the musical. (The Madrigal Dinner is always sold out.) Points are only used towards the cost of the European trip. Freshman students who can attend two trips during their high school years will be allowed to use their first year earned points (120 points maximum) for the freshman year trip. They will also be allowed to earn another 300 points maximum toward the senior year trip.

FUND RAISING PROJECTS: Fund raising projects must have prior approval from the Boosters Board when the Shasta High Choir Boosters or a particular trip is mentioned in the advertising for the event. Monies collected will be deposited in the Choir Boosters’ account, in the individual student’s name, to be used toward choir trip expenses only. The person in charge must furnish the Treasurer with a list of students who earned money.

RESPONSIBILITY: It is the responsibility of every parent and child to use the sign-up sheets provided at each activity. This is the only way your points can be reported. It is the responsibility of the chairpersons to provide sign-up sheets, tally total hours worked by each volunteer and turn in these points in a timely manner.

All appeals for change in points must be addressed in writing to the Choir Boosters Board. Questions about your account’s current status may be addressed at any time during the year to the Student Points Coordinator or at any Parent Meeting. If you suspect that there has been an oversight, be sure to take care of it during the school year in which you worked.

2 Madrigal Dinner rehearsals begin 15 Mixed Choir Festival at Mormon Stake Center

Rita Simpson will be scheduling a work party to organize the musical costumes in the tower at the Shasta Learning Center. If you can help, please call Rita at 355-7599. Thanks!

We still need a chairperson for the Cooking Dough fundraiser that is scheduled to start October 5. We will not have this fundraiser if we can’t find a chairperson. This is a great fundraiser for students going on the Europe trip in June 2008 and a way for you to earn points. Please contact Peggy O’Lea at 246-1446 if you are interested in chairing this fundraiser.