Brunswick Junior High School Music

Mrs. Tarleton’s E-mails Archived E-mails

Sent to Chorus families Nov. 6, 2019

Good morning! I have attached information for a very important fundraiser we have coming up for the BJH Music Department. The BJH Music Department established this fundraiser over 40 years ago, and it is a community tradition. We are looking for people to bake; people to volunteer to work; and students who will volunteer to sing at specific times during the event.

 
Please follow the links in the sign-up genius or email our wonderful co-ordinators if you have questions. And don’t forget our concerts coming up on Dec. 10 or Dec 17 at 7:00pm in the BJH gym! *See our Homepage or Facebook page for information on sign-ups to support our sale!

 

Sent to Musical families, Oct. 24, 2019

Good morning everyone and welcome to the supporting team of our musical this year, Music Man! I will apologize in advance for the length of this email. Please read this important information!

 
1.  Attached is the cast list! If something is wrong on this list, please let me know! We use it for our program!
2.  Would you like alerts for rehearsals? Sign up for them at this Remind classroom!  www.remind.com/join/66694a .   Thank you to those who have already signed up!
3. Rehearsal schedules can also be found on the Music Theatre website that is located on the Music Department Web page.  Link is here:  http://www.brunswick.k12.me.us/handerson/musical-theater/
4.  Our show is January 31 and Feb 1 at 7:00pm in the Coffin School gym. (This is a HUGE time change from years past!) . Please place this date on your calendar so we have all of our actors. 
5. Final rehearsals for this show will be the week of January 27–January 30. We will have evening rehearsals- probably from 5:30-7:30- every night and all actors must be there. 
6. Rehearsal attendance: We have had a soft start to our rehearsals. Fall sports are just finishing up and one of the reasons we moved the show was so that our athletes could participate. I appreciate those students who have already juggled practices and musical. When students are not at rehearsal, they miss a great deal of information and the opportunity to work with the other actors. They might miss a costume fitting or a change in choreography. When we are missing actors, I do substitute for them from students who are at rehearsal. Please do not come to rehearsal if you are sick. Please be aware of the rehearsal schedule as you create your own calendars.
7. This is an extracurricular activity and we are students at BJH first. Students must be passing in order to participate in this activity. 
8. HELP!  We do need parent help for this musical to be a success. We have an amazing choreographer but we are still working out details for a costumer. Can you do some PR? Create our program?  Have time to go through our prop room and find costumes and props? Want to paint a set?  You can contact me or wait until you receive a link to a sign-up genius. Parent support makes all the difference in the world!
9.  Looking for:  Small benches (for the train and then for the town); 4th of July decorations (banners, anything red/white/blue), a small bridge (something for Harold and Marion to stand on in the park), MIRRORS (Full-length and not glass if possible. You can get mylar ones at Walmart for about $5.00. We will use these during our rehearsals so we can see ourselves!), a small anvil.  There may be more but these are primary right now!
 
Thank you again. Wait until you hear this cast! Simply fantastic what they are already doing! I am so fortunate to be working with all of these amazing students!  
 
Shari

Sent to all Chorus students, May 28, 2019

Parents of Chorus students:

            Our final concert of the year is on Monday June 10, 2019. This concert has been scheduled for over a year and we work hard as a music department to make sure there are no conflicts in concerts throughout the district. I booked this concert in the BJH gym last May.

            We have been bumped from our space because they will be setting up for voting on this night. I appreciate the efforts of Mr. Perzanoski who asked the town if they could set up after the concert and this request was denied.

            I looked at booking Crooker Theatre but, as was the case last May, a community dance studio has Crooker booked for the entire week and we cannot use the space.

            Long story short, we will have our final concert on June 10 at HBS.  It will begin at 7:00pm in the HBS gym. We will also have our awards during this concert. If you would like to hear some great acapella music, come a little early and listen to our acapella groups. They will begin in the HBS gym at 6:15pm.

            Attire for this concert for 6thand 7thgrade is casual. It does not have to be all-black. All clothing must meet school dress code.  Attire for 8thgrade is what I will call upgraded casual.Since it is their last concert at BJH, 8thgrade students feel they would like to dress a little more upscale, but not formal!

            Again, our final concert is on Monday, June 10 at 7:00pm in the HBS gym. This concert will most likely last a little over an hour due to the awards. I hope to see you there,

 

Sent to all Chorus students, April 26, 2019

Thank you!  The concert last night was incredible. It is such an amazing experience for all of our choral students to have a chance to celebrate and sing together. This is the first time we have had this concert in the gym. (We outgrew Crooker Theatre! Wow!) I very much appreciate their time in a busy week. I appreciate the parents who ran athletes from games. I appreciate the parents who dropped of their students early and managed supper, concert attire and nerves! We cannot do our jobs in school without all of your support.

We have a few things we want to tweak for next year. I would love to hear any feedback you might have as well. Was the timing of the concert OK? Could you see and hear your student? (Already on our radar….)

Again, thank you! Our final concert is Monday, June 10 here at BJH and will include 6, 7thand 8thgrade, some acapella, and some awards! We will start at 7:00pm and end our year strong!

Shari

 

Sent to District 3 Honors Chorus, April 2, 2019

Good afternoon. Our D3 Honors Festival is this Friday and Saturday. You should have received information through a previous email and attached to the permission slip. This will be our final contact unless you have questions.

 

                Friday:  Leave BJH at 7:30AM. (Busses load at 7:15)

                                Dress is casual

                                Bring music, water, a snack and lunch.  (A $5.00 lunch meal deal is available at Cony if you prefer.)

                                Return to BJH by 4:00PM

                                Concert tickets are on pre-sale at lunch for $5.00 a ticket. They are also sold at the door.

 

                Saturday:  Leave BJH at 7:30AM (Busses load at 7:15)

                                     THERE IS NO BUS HOME FROM THIS FESTIVAL.

                                    Bring Music, water a snack and lunch. (The meal deal is repeated today)

                                   Wear Concert attire of all-black. Throw a hoodie or a sweater over it.

                                    Concert will begin at 3:00PM at Cony High School in Augusta. This concert will last about 1 hour.

 

  • I still need a permission slips from Fletcher and Robert please.
  • Our last 2 rehearsals are Wednesday morning at 7:10AM and Thursday after school until 3:15 pm.

 

See you there!!

 

Shari

 

Sent to Advanced Choir/Jazz Choir on March 19, 2019

Good morning!  This is a reminder that next Tuesday, March 19 we will be celebrating our “Music In Our Schools Month Extracurricular Concert” at BJH. The concert begins at 7:00pm and is free to the public. It will include selections from our Advanced Choir, Jazz Choir, Wind Ensemble and Jazz Band. Students should arrive at school between 6:30 and 6:40 in all-black concert attire. This concert will ost likely last a little over an hour. We will keep things moving as smoothly as possible and you will see an amazing concert with a lot of talent! See you next Tuesday!

 

 

 

Sent to musical parents 10-24-18

Good evening. I have a few musical updates for you and I wanted to get them out in a timely manner.

  1. Thank you for all of your support. I do understand the amount of work being done behind the scenes. It is appreciated.
  2. We have full cast rehearsals tomorrow (Thursday) and Friday until 4:00.
  3. Students should start to bring in costume pieces. I almost have 100% of the costumes I am providing.  The flower skirts are being made, the Cat costume will be done by Monday, and Tweedle’s shirts will be in. A few other late costume orders are also tricking in.  Students will have their first semi-dress rehearsal Monday.
  4. Speaking of Monday, we had talked about moving Monday’s rehearsal to the evening, but I am going to keep it after school but extend it until 4:30. This will allow us changing time and a few extra minutes to continue to clean things up.
  5. We will be auctioning off 5 “dinner theatre” tables for each evening performance and we need some food and beverages for these tables. Please see the link below if you can help.

You can find more information and sign-up to help here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B084BACAF2DA64-bjhmusical1   

  1.  Please watch the schedule carefully. We are working around several other activities that impact our performance time and space such as Halloween and Voting. (We lose the gym the week of the show Monday night because they are setting up voting and Tuesday because of Voting.)
  2. Please help our young actors manage all of this. Grades are closing. District 3 7thand 8thgrade honors are coming up fast. Another round of colds is hitting us. We are a team and we would like all of our team members to be in top shape for our 2 performances.

 

Our show date is Friday, Nov. 9 and Saturday, Nov. 10. Curtain raises at 7:00pm.  Doors will open at 6:15 and tickets are only sold at the door for $10.00. As mentioned above, 5 tables will be auctioned at each performance to the highest bidder. Thursday, Nov. 8 is an open dress rehearsal. You are welcome to video any performance (I purchased the video license) as long as the videos are not sold for profit. Thursday is a great night to come in and set up to get a good recording. (*I will however, stop during dress rehearsal is something goes drastically wrong…..)

 

Thank you again for supporting our young actors and our program. Every detail help us get better and better.

Sent to 7th and 8th Grade Parents 9-18-19

Good morning.  Welcome back (or welcome to!) Chorus 7.  We have had 2 weeks of rehearsals and this group already sounds amazing! I can’t wait until you hear them in December!  I wanted to just touch base on our year in chorus.  I have attached the music calendar.  Please mark your calendars for the concerts that we have scheduled. You can also find the calendar on the music website.

 

Speaking of the music website, it is a great resource for all kinds of information. Not only is calendar there, but we archive emails, announcements and many other important things. Thanks to Ms. Anderson for keeping this up! Please bookmark the website and use it as a primary resource for information.  http://www.brunswick.k12.me.us/handerson/ 

 

Our extra-curricular offerings are getting started.  Advanced Choir is started for a few students today and will add more on Friday. We rehearse on Tuesdays and Fridays at 7:10AM. No audition is required for this group, but a commitment is required. 

 

The musical this year is Alice in Wonderland and rehearsals have started for that.

 

District 3 Honors Auditions will be coming up soon and I will be starting tutorials for these auditions next week on either Monday or Wednesday at 7:10AM to prepare our audition piece and practice sight singing.

 

Jazz Choir auditions for interested students will happen in October with rehearsals starting after the musical and running through the end of March.

 

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email.  If you would prefer to not receive emails, let me know and I can remove you from the list. Once again, welcome back! I look forward to a fantastic year!

 

Shari Tarleton

 

Sent to 6th Grade Parent 8-18-18

Good afternoon! I wanted to welcome you to 6thgrade chorus! We have had 2 weeks of rehearsals and the chorus is sounding great. I am really looking forward to seeing how far we will go in the next few years! I wanted to alert you to a couple of things that will help support your student in the ensemble performance class.

 

  1.  The Music Calendar.  I have attached a copy of the music calendar and I would ask that you place our concert dates on your calendar as well. Our class does include evening performances where we will share our music with you and connect our performance standards with an actual audience. You can find the calendar on the music website as well.
  2. We have a music website!  If you go to the BJH home page and choose department then choose music, you will find your best resource for information on all of our music ensembles. Ms. Anderson maintains this website and we work very hard to keep it updated.  http://www.brunswick.k12.me.us/handerson/    If you have questions, this should be your first resource for answers.
  3. BJH music is social!  Find us on Facebook! (Adults only, please.)
  4. Our performances do require that our students have the correct performance attire. At BJH we wear all-black for our performances. Students should have clothing of their choice that covers them from ankle to shoulder. Short sleeves are OK but they must cover the entire shoulder preferably to the elbow. Black shoes are great but do the best you can. It is difficult to keep our middle schoolers in shoes! Ties for our gentlemen (long or bow) also add a bit of pazzaz!

 

We also have an active Booster Organization that helps support our program. Our first Booster meeting is Monday, Oct 1 at 6:00pm in the Band Room. We will be welcoming new people, new ideas an organizing our Annual Tree, Wreathe and Multi-Cultural bake sale! We hope you can join us.

 

Once again welcome. Please feel free to email me if you have any questions. I look forward to meeting you at Open House and our first concert in December.

 

Shari Tarleton

 

Sent to Chorus Parents, Wednesday, Feb 28

Good morning.  Our All-Town Chorus Concert will be Wednesday, March 7 at 6:30 in the BHS gym.

All students are asked to:

  1. Arrive to be ready to sing at 5:45 in the gym. (We need to practice the combined pieces.)
  2. Wear all black (or black and white if that is what you have!)
  3. Gym doors will open to parents hopefully by 6:00… dependent on how quickly the songs come together and if we can start on time.
  4. The concert will begin at 6:30pm. (We are using an elementary start time to accommodate our HBS choral students!)

Thank you for your support.  This year, you will experience choral music from grades 4 through grade 12.  Each chorus will be singing 1 song and we will be performing 2 as an “All-Town Chorus” at the end of the concert. We have moved the concert into the gym because we have not had enough seating in Crooker the past 2 years for grades 6-12 and we are adding 4 and 5 this year.  This concert is free to the public.

Shari

*Please allow time for the extra traffic flow. We estimate there will be approximately 500 students singing in this concert!

 

Sent to Jazz Parents Monday,Feb. 26

Our Jazz Festival is this Thursday, March 1. We will be leaving BJH at 2:45 to travel to Falmouth High School.  All permission slips should be handed in already. Performance attire is all-black for this event.  Students will have a brief time to change after school if they choose to not wear their attire all day.

Students should bring water. They should bring supper or money for supper. (It is easier if they bring supper, but there will be pizza and baked goods for sale at the venue.) Students who are also in jazz band will not have time to go to the food area before jazz choir warms up so bringing support is imperative.

We are performing at 6:30 in the Music Room.  You are welcome to attend this festival. The cost is $5.00 to get in for those 18 and older. Our BJH Jazz Band is performing at 5:10 in the theatre and you can see them as well!

Tomorrow there is a rehearsal after school until 3:30 that is mandatory for all students attending the festival. We will fine-tune our songs and take care of any last -minute details.

We should get back to BJH about 7:45. If you would like to receive a text with more accurate time and information, please use the link below to sign up for REMIND.  When you sign up, you are in my Jazz Choir classroom and you will receive a text from me when we leave Falmouth and when we are in Freeport.

I am looking forward to this festival. The students have worked hard!  We will continue to rehearse until after our MIOSM concert March 20 and then we will be done as Spring athletics will begin.

This year I’m using Remind to send updates about important class information
To sign up for Jazz Choir notifications, please visit
https://www.remind.com/join/8c38eh

Thanks again!

Shari

Sent to ALL Chorus Parents on Thursday, February 15

We are excited to announce the annual BJH Music Boosters’ “Basket Raffle”. This year, the raffle tickets will be sold during the month of March with the baskets on display at our March performance events! Funds raised from this raffle will be used for Music Camp Scholarships and to help provide supplemental financial support for our performing groups for items such as music, equipment, supplies, MusicFirst subscriptions, etc… and to provide our musicians with special opportunities like guest clinicians, commissioned works, concert trips, etc….

We are asking for band and chorus families to contribute to this important fundraiser by providing an item(s) for are theme baskets. We’ve tried to “streamline” the process this year by asking for some SPECIFIC items: 

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b084bacaf2da64-basket1

We’ve tried to include a variety of item requests and a wide range of price points. If you’d prefer, there is an option for a cash donation to be used as needed AND the opportunity for your family to donate a COMPLETED basket with the theme of your choice or a “stand-alone” item or service to raffle separately.

We will need all donations at BJH no later than Friday, March 2. We will also need volunteers to help put the baskets together and wrap them for display. Our Basket Raffle Work Session is scheduled for Monday, March 5 at 6:30 PM in the BJH Band Room. 

Please take a moment to visit the sign-up link above and select an item to donate. If you like to shop online and would like to have your donation shipped directly to the school, please have your item sent to “BJH Music Department, Brunswick Junior High School, 65 Columbia Ave., Brunswick, ME 04011”. Be sure that the item will arrive before March 5.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT OF OUR YOUNG MUSICIANS!

Sent to 6th Grade Honors Parents on Monday, Feb 5, 2018

Good morning! Our 6th grade honors festival is fast approaching!  This Friday, we will meet after school at BJH to have some great fun and do a lot of singing!  I wanted to touch base with you for some final details.

 

  • We will begin after school at about 2:45.
  • Students should plan to bring an afternoon snack and a water bottle.
  • Mrs. Albert – BHS choral director – and about 15 high school choral students will be our festival director and support.
  • Dress is casual.
  • We will share our music with you in the chorus room at 6:30. This should last about 25 – 30 minutes.
  • We will be providing supper for our participants. The menu is:

Pizza – pepperoni and cheese. (We will have a gluten free crust option)

Fruit and Vegetables

Lays Potato Chips and Snyders Gluten Free Pretzels

Water

A Tray of delicious cookies from Wildflower Bakery (gluten free)

 

I am very excited for this festival. The students will be working on a wide range of vocal skills including warm-ups, 3 song selections, some acapella instruction and whatever else we can fit in!

 

Just a note: Family Art night is also this Friday. Students who wish to go down after the Festival are more than welcome. It goes until 7:30pm.  We will have some very tired and very happy students!

 

Thank you again for your support.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask. I will see you all on Friday.

 

Shari

 

Sent to Chorus Parent on 11-30-17

Hello,
 
The annual BJH Music Boosters Christmas Tree & Wreath Sale and Multicultural Bake Sale is Saturday, December 9. This is one of BJH Music Boosters biggest fundraisers and a Brunswick tradition. We estimate that this event, benefiting our student musicians, has been going on for 30 plus years! We need your help for another successful sale! Please see the following messages from our Tree & Bake Sale Coordinators to find out how you can help!
 
From Becky Wilkoff, Tree & Wreath Sale Coordinator:
Please visit: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0c48aaa822a31-annual to sign up to work a shift (or two) selling trees and wreaths on Saturday, December 9!
 
From Darcee Pantaz, Bake Sale Coordinator:
Please visit: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0b4dabaa29a13-tree to sign up to work a shift at the bake sale table.

~To all music booster parents:

It’s the most wonderful time of the year again, baking season!! We need everyone’s help to make this years BJH Music Boosters Tree & Wreath Sale the most successful one yet!!! We are not doing a sign up sheet for baking, we just need everyone to bake! This is a great opportunity to practice those new holiday recipes you’ve been pinning all year;)
 
Popular items in past years have been breads (especially “savory” breads, cinnamon rolls, holiday “specialty breads”), whoopee pies, and candy. We will be doing a cookie buffet—customers will be able to fill containers with an assortment of cookies—so we needs LOTS and LOTS of cookies! We’d also like to have some gluten-free options available.
 
Please label your baked goods and let us know if they contain nuts. Cookies/brownies and candy do NOT need to be wrapped for individual sale—the bake sale coordinators will put together some smaller “plates” for purchase and customers will select their cookies/candy of choice from the buffet to fill their buffet boxes. All other items: whoopee pies, breads, etc….SHOULD be packaged for individual sale. You don’t need to price anything.
 
Please plan on dropping your baked goods off at school on Friday, December 8 (main office or band room) or bring them by early on Saturday. The sale begins at 8:00 AM on Saturday, December 9. Set-up begins at 7:00 AM.
 
If you have questions, please contact Darcee Pantaz (adpantaz@myfairpoint.net) who is chairing this portion of our annual sale.
 
Thank you so much for your help!!
 
BJH Music Boosters
Find us on Facebook: Brunswick Junior High School Music Boosters

Hello,
 
The annual BJH Music Boosters Christmas Tree & Wreath Sale and Multicultural Bake Sale is Saturday, December 9. This is one of BJH Music Boosters biggest fundraisers and a Brunswick tradition. We estimate that this event, benefiting our student musicians, has been going on for 30 plus years! We need your help for another successful sale! Please see the following messages from our Tree & Bake Sale Coordinators to find out how you can help!
 
From Becky Wilkoff, Tree & Wreath Sale Coordinator:
Please visit: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0c48aaa822a31-annual to sign up to work a shift (or two) selling trees and wreaths on Saturday, December 9!
 
From Darcee Pantaz, Bake Sale Coordinator:
Please visit: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0b4dabaa29a13-tree to sign up to work a shift at the bake sale table.

~To all music booster parents:

It’s the most wonderful time of the year again, baking season!! We need everyone’s help to make this years BJH Music Boosters Tree & Wreath Sale the most successful one yet!!! We are not doing a sign up sheet for baking, we just need everyone to bake! This is a great opportunity to practice those new holiday recipes you’ve been pinning all year;)
 
Popular items in past years have been breads (especially “savory” breads, cinnamon rolls, holiday “specialty breads”), whoopee pies, and candy. We will be doing a cookie buffet—customers will be able to fill containers with an assortment of cookies—so we needs LOTS and LOTS of cookies! We’d also like to have some gluten-free options available.
 
Please label your baked goods and let us know if they contain nuts. Cookies/brownies and candy do NOT need to be wrapped for individual sale—the bake sale coordinators will put together some smaller “plates” for purchase and customers will select their cookies/candy of choice from the buffet to fill their buffet boxes. All other items: whoopee pies, breads, etc….SHOULD be packaged for individual sale. You don’t need to price anything.
 
Please plan on dropping your baked goods off at school on Friday, December 8 (main office or band room) or bring them by early on Saturday. The sale begins at 8:00 AM on Saturday, December 9. Set-up begins at 7:00 AM.
 
If you have questions, please contact Darcee Pantaz (adpantaz@myfairpoint.net) who is chairing this portion of our annual sale.
 
Thank you so much for your help!!
 
BJH Music Boosters
Find us on Facebook: Brunswick Junior High School Music Boosters

 

 

 

Sent to Chorus Parents on 9-29-17

Hi!  If you are receiving this, you are a music parent!  Welcome. We are glad you are part of our program.

First – please make yourself familiar with the BJH Music website. It is located on the BJH Home Page – Departments – Music.  This website is updated often and you will find all pertinent information here.  http://www.brunswick.k12.me.us/bjh/music/  

Second – We are having a music parent night this Tuesday, Oct. 3 at 6:30 pm in the band room. We do have 2 events coming up that need supported.  The first is District 3 7/8th grade honors auditions. We will be hosting about 500 students from 30 other schools as they audition for a spot in the honors groups for the MMEA District 3.  We also have our annual Tree, Wreath and Multicultural Bake Sale coming up in Dec.  The trees and wreaths have been ordered. We simply need to discuss set-up, baked good and tear down for both of these events.   The Music Parent night is also a great night to meet other music parents and ask any questions you may have.

If you wish to “opt-out” of chorus email, please just let me know and I will remove your email. Also, if you need a different email or would like to add an email, please let me know.

I hope to see you at our music parent night this Tuesday.  If you cannot make it and still would like to support our music students, respond to this email and I will keep you in the loop.

Thank you again and I hope to see you Tuesday evening!

Shari Tarleton