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Jean Childs Young MS Orchestra Handbook 2023-2024 Student Handbook and Syllabus

Visit our Website at www.JCYOrchestra.com

Mr. Anhvu Tran, Director

Mr. Ron Garlington, Principal

Jean Childs Young Middle School Orchestra 3116 Benjamin E Mays Dr. SW Atlanta, Ga 30311

Front Office: 404-802-5900

Orchestra Office: 404-802-5935

Director e-mail: anhvu.tran@atlanta.k12.ga.us

Welcome to Orchestra at Jean Childs Young Middle School!

Dear JCY Students and Families,

Thank you for signing up for the Young MS orchestra program. I am excited to be making music with you and showing the community what it means to play in orchestra at JCYMS! We have a lot of things planned this year that will help you develop your skills as young musicians and prepare you for the future as accomplished learners and students. To those of you returning to the orchestra program, I thank you for coming back and joining me on a new year and direction for the Young MS orchestra program! To those of you who are new, I welcome you to the orchestra family—and it is definitely a family. As you work through the handbook for Orchestra and read through the information about classroom procedure, concerts, instruments, and fees; keep this one thought in your mind and hearts:

We are a community

- Mr. Anhvu Tran, Director

"A caring, creative, and diverse community immersed in rigorous instruction that inspires globally aware arts advocates who will graduate ready for college and career" -APS Arts Vision

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About Us

The Jean Childs Young MS Orchestra Program is offered to students attending Young MS as a part of their connections course for the year. The program serves as a place where students can learn to play orchestral strings (Violin, Viola, Cello, or Bass) together with peers as well as participate in performance opportunities unique to our program!

The JCYMS Orchestra offers a fun and challenging music program to 6th, 7th, and 8th graders all year long. A year long program means that you will have friends and a school family that will stick with you throughout all of middle school and very possibly throughout high school at Mays HS as well. This means that you will at least always have a core group of friends that participate in the same activities together making music. For many people, Orchestra not only attracts the “best and brightest” of students, but learning an instrument and performing with a group in organized concerts will help create some of the most well rounded and brightest kids in the school.

Young’s orchestra students represent the Wolfpack community very well

Course Information & Syllabus

Instructor: Mr. Anhvu Tran

Google Classroom Codes

  • 8th grade: 7eq3w4v
  • 7th grade: r3t5ikc
  • 6th grade: ie3ifsa

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Yearlong Connections

Orchestra is a year-long connections class, which means that the student must sign up for the class in order to participate in the orchestra. The class takes the place of all four quarters of connections instruction and is a commitment that must be made by the student.

Orchestra Objectives
  • To instill into students hard working qualities and 21st century skills such as collaboration within a musical performance environment.
  • To show growth and understanding of music and its role in the community and history.
  • To demonstrate musical ability in line with the Georgia and National Standards for Music Education.
  • To provide performance opportunities to students both during and beyond the school day.
  • To involve the community and parents with supporting the program and developing ties with both the Atlanta community and the community at large.
Performance Ensemble Based

Orchestra is a performance ensemble based program offered to middle school students as a class during their Connections period. Orchestra focuses on the performance, reading, and understanding of the string family of instruments (the violin, viola, cello, and contrabass) through rehearsing and performing pieces of music written for string orchestra. 6th graders will begin to learn the fundamentals of reading music and sound production on their chosen instruments. 7th and 8th grades are continuation of skills and knowledge in music at an intermediate and advanced level respectively by rehearsing and performing appropriate levels of string ensemble music as well as showing an appreciation of the performing arts and understanding the role of music in both their own culture and the cultures of others around the world.

"Our students regularly participate in local, district, and statewide performances throughout the school year and use the course time throughout the year to develop practicing and rehearsal habits that are useful to skills outside of the Arts as well"

Mr. Tran's Class Schedule

  • 11:25-12:30 AM 8th Grade Class
  • 1:00-2:10 PM 7th Grade Class
  • 3:00-4:10 PM 6th Grade Class

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Grading breakdown

  • Classwork - 50%
  • Tests/Assessments - 40%
  • Participation - 10%
  • Homework - Extended Learning (No negative grade)

Grading Scale

  • A= 90-100
  • B= 80-89
  • C= 74-79
  • D= 70-73
  • F= Below 70

Classroom Expectations

Classroom Expectations

All students are expected to play each day in orchestra class. Students who do not play or who fail to bring required materials to class will receive deductions in their grades. Since orchestra is a community, when a student forgets their instrument or disrupts the class, the student is also doing damage to the instruction of his or her fellow peers. As such, the students are expected to have all material required each day and be ready for rehearsals.

Behavior Expectations
  • The student is expected to carry him or herself with the appropriate behavior as outlined in the JCYMS school-wide behavior plan.
  • Orchestra students will not leave their seats without permission, nor will they leave the room without permission and hall pass.
  • Chewing gum, eating or drinking in the orchestra room is prohibited (the only exception is clear, regular water).
  • Students will not talk back to the teacher, guest, or engage in any disrespectful behavior including, but not limited to, profanity, name-calling, fighting, intimidation, bullying.
  • Students will promote a positive learning environment and will applaud or "chair shuffle" classmates in classroom achievements and give positive feedback when their classmates have accomplished the learning sequence.
  • Students will join in the welcoming of guests into the orchestra room
  • Violations of behavior expectations whether by the orchestra classroom rules, or the school-wide rules will result in consequences handled according to the APS student handbook and Young Middle School's behavioral management plan.
  • Students placed in ISS or OSS are ineligible to participate in any Orchestra sponsored field trips or activities that day.

Rehearsal Preparedness

Students are expected to come into class each day prepared for rehearsals by being engaged physically and mentally for the material covered in class. The class experience is hands-on and participation is not only expected, but required. Students must have their instruments maintained in working condition (this is the responsibility of the teacher to instruct students on how to properly maintain their instruments and aid in repairs if needed). Students must also sit at rehearsal with all music, instructional materials, instrument accessories, and a pencil. These materials are required daily.

Participation = Regular Practice

Regular practice is necessary and required to learn the motor and cognitive skills required to contribute to the music making process in class. Points are deducted from a student's grade who refuses to participate in class and may lead to a progressive discipline plan from the administration.

Classroom Discipline Procedures

In the unfortunate case that a student violates JCY or classroom behavior rules, this section outlines a few extra procedures and consequences that will be levied in addition to school-wide behavior plans. Mr. Tran keeps a discipline file of each and every student in orchestra as a source of extra documentation that includes this signed handbook. Students that receive any consequences will have a copy kept in their file for reference by any parents or administrators. Destruction or forgeries of any of these files is at minimum a level 2 offense as outlined by the JCY Discipline plan.

Behavior Contracts: Students that show chronic disruptions in orchestra class may be put on a behavior contract that outlines exactly what the students excel and have deficiencies at in regards to behavior. These behavior contracts are unique to the student and require the signatures of the parent, the teacher, the student, and the administrator. Repeated disregard or failure to improve may lead to referral to tier intervention strategies at the school level.

Detentions: Orchestra detentions are given after repeated violations of classroom rules or obscene behavior. All detentions given by Mr. Tran always require the signature of the teacher, student, parent, and administrators. Detention slips are photocopied and then given to the student for a parent signature. Photocopies will be directly sent home if a student fails to get a signature on the detention slip. Detentions run from 4:00-5:30 in the orchestra room. Please be ready to pick up your child on days that they serve detentions.

Performances

Performances and concerts are NOT OPTIONAL.

Concerts are a large part of the students' grade and parents should make every effort to support their kids at each concert. Everyone should dress appropriately for concerts according to the specified concert attire agreed upon by the instructor (we usually wear a black polo and black pants). Students must stay for the entire concert. If a student is late, he/she might not be allowed to participate and will have to make up the concert with an alternative assignment or receive a zero for the performance. Pulling off a concert requires both set up and "tear down" procedures. Students may not leave until this process is complete.

Student Leadership

Want to be a part of the student leadership?

The Tri-M® Music Honor Society is the international music honor society for middle level and high school students. It is designed to recognize students for their academic and musical achievements, reward them for their accomplishments and service activities, and inspire other students to excel at music and leadership.

Tri-M student members must be enrolled in at least one music class for at least one semester, have a 2.0 GPA in their core classes, and a 3.0 in their music class(es), and be of strong character.

Students will receive a cord for graduation purposes as well as an official membership that they can use on their student resumes and can use to apply for music scholarships.

Teaching Leadership and Learning

We are a community that fosters positive learning! Performances are scary and take a lot of work, so we will always try to support each other despite any differences in levels. Many practices will be a combination of teacher-led and student-led both within the class and across grade levels 6-8. This leads to a leadership structure within the entire orchestra program. Aspiring students will have the opportunity to be a leader in the organizational process as well through the student leadership team

Tutorial days

Mr. Tran’s extra tutorial days are scheduled for after school Wednesdays 4:00-5:30pm. Please arrange for your child’s transportation promptly at the end of tutorial.

Guest lecturers and clinicians

In order to be a successful orchestra, the orchestra participates as much as it can in attending or hosting guest lecturers and enlisting the services of professional musicians in clinics. For example, we had Dr. Nancy Conley from Kennesaw State University at an LGPE field trip that included sectional work by 5 different professional musicians in the Atlanta area. Events such as these are held during the school time and do not require any extra part on the parent’s workday. These guests should be treated with the utmost respect by the students and are invited to promote academic rigor and challenge students. Students' best behavior and respect are required at these times as outlined in our behavior expectations.

Media Release

Orchestra performances may be video taped or recorded for archival and educational purposes. Guest conductors and college visits may also use classroom footage as a part of their educational purposes to help future teachers in the music education profession. These visits have the dual purpose of helping expand our children’s musical experiences and helping train future music teachers. The orchestra will never release videos, recordings, or images of students for anybody’s profit or without the expressed consent of all the parents.

Throughout the school year, APS and local schools will conduct activities that may be publicized through local or national news media.

This permission is effective as long as I/my child attends his/her/my current school or until I give further notice to his/her/my Assistant Principal in writing

By way of my signature on this handbook, I grant permission for my child/I to participate in any publicity activities for events sponsored by the District. Such activities may include but are not limited to: interview sessions with third party (non-District) news reporters; photographs for third party (non-District) newspapers or various District publications including newsletters, calendars, and brochures; videotaping for local and national television newscasts, cable programming, and School District promotional videos. I acknowledge the District's or District designee's right to crop, edit, or treat the photograph, video, or audio clip of me/my child at its discretion. I understand that although the District makes efforts to only engage students in positive media activities, the District has no control over how third party media use information from me/my child.

Any recordings, videos, or images taken will be used for educational, promotional, or recruitment purposes for JCY and APS ONLY

Orchestra rental policy

The take-home rental policy is that a student can rent an instrument for one day during the weekday provided the student returns the instrument the very next day BEFORE the first orchestra class period. Students who are not able to return the instrument the very next day may lose their ability to take home an instrument during the weekday. Students can take home an instrument over the weekend if they come to pick up the instrument on Friday or the day before a break. Students must return the instrument to the orchestra room first thing in the morning on the day following a break.

Students that take school-owned instruments without permission or lose the instruments are subject to fines levied by the school system according to the APS inventory.

In the event of financial difficulties, please contact the director and I will help in any way that I possibly can, but please DO contact me--DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE.

A quick note about instruments for parents from Mr. Tran

While we do have school instruments available for students at the school, these instruments are not 1:1. School instruments WILL be shared with students across multiple grade levels. In fact, in many cases over the years, we have barely had enough instruments for all students in a single grade level. While I am happy to provide this service for our students, there are obvious problems to this such as when one instrument breaks and affects multiple students.

I ask that parents have an honest conversation with their child about their motivations for playing in orchestra and discuss with Mr. Tran on options for purchasing or renting an instrument from a local music store. Renting can cost as low as $10-20 a month and is usually rent-to-own, which means you will own the instrument after making enough payments. These stores will many times also repair and maintain the instrument at no cost while under contract, which saves us the usage of our very low yearly repair budget. Please reach out (404-802-5935) to me if you even want to consider getting a personal instrument so that we get the best one for your child at the right price. Certain retailers may have improper set-up and could cost more than the purchased price in repairs if done wrong. My email is found in this handbook!

Student instruments can be stored at the school under lock, key, and always viewed with a security camera for safety. Finances aside, there are many advantages to having a personal instrument:

  • Students with personal instruments do not have to worry about other students touching or breaking their instruments even on accident.
  • Students will not have to wait to check out instruments or borrow unfamiliar instruments when they want to practice.
  • Practicing on the same instrument allows the student to remember and feel the motor skills needed to be successful.
  • Personal instruments are more sanitary since only one child will handle the instrument.
  • Having their own instrument will teach the student to be more responsible over time and will allow the student to build a connection with the instrument more than a school-issued one would.

Repairs and Replacement

Unfortunately, circumstances do arrive where a student will break an instrument or accessory beyond the cost of repair. A couple of things factor into this and are always confirmed by professional string makers before parents are notified. There are many inner workings and sealed spaces in order to make a string instrument function and a lot goes into the set up of the instrument so that they are in playing condition.

Please be aware that we are allowed a small repair budget from the school district, but are only enough to fix small problems. Repairs such as cracks in the wood require a professional to pry open the instrument and repair, which sometimes costs more than $70 or $200 for the bigger instruments. Our students can be responsible with instruments, but only if we the teachers and parents make it clear to them that playing in orchestra is a great privilege that not many people get. We are fortunate to have a full complement of instruments for our kids to use in school, but they are all shared between grade levels and when one breaks, it affects 4 other children as well. JCY discipline also states that damages totaling over $15 is a level 3 offense [administrative consequence] (please see the JCY discipline matrix for more information).

Fundraising

We engage in many fundraising activities in orchestra to help provide funds for the orchestra program and to help families that can not afford the shirts/dues, but wishes for the child to be in orchestra. Instead of paying dues, a family can sell two boxes of chocolate in our yearlong fundraiser. This will cover the costs of small repairs and instrument accessories and provide financial aid for families that are interested in orchestra. Seasonal fundraisers such as Holiday catalogues, carwashes, and funnel cakes will be organized by Mr. Tran and approved at the parent meetings.

Parent Meetings and Booster

Because the orchestra class partakes in events such as parties, picnics, trips, and performances at venues such as our Six Flags festival trip, a steady flow of communication between the parents and the teachers is crucial to providing a fun experience for our students. All parents and guardians of students in orchestra are encouraged to take a role in the orchestra whether small or big. As such, parents are encouraged to respond on whether or not a family can make it when a general meeting prior to any trips we may take.

Parents that wish to be more involved in the orchestra will be happy to know that we have a parent-teacher organization called a "booster club." This organization is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that helps fundraise and organize our extra orchestra events. The booster is the sole reason we are able to do all the fun stuff for the students. As such, I always ask of any willing parent to become a member of the booster club as either a member or part of our board because without the booster, we will not be able to do any trips or events without a lot of difficulty. Booster meetings will be held occasionally and meeting dates/times will always try to be respective of the parent's time and effort! Mr. Tran appreciates all the help parents have given him throughout the years and hopes to continue all the good work we have achieved throughout the years. When signing the handbook, please check off your level of interest in the booster club and I will give out information as the school year progresses!

Please also note that since the booster is a 501(c)3, we are available for charitable donations that are deductible! Please reach out to Mr. Tran for more information!

Handbook Verification

Please sign the form below for both parents and students in order to participate in the orchestra class. Reminder that orchestra is a performance class, which means that students can not opt out of any required concerts or performances without an excuse sent to Mr. Tran by the PARENT contact info. If you choose to opt OUT of the class, please send an email to your grade-level Assistant Principal and copy Mr. Tran on the email for schedule changes.

Credits:

Created with an image by Julio Rionaldo - "Strings Quartet"