Winter Concert Info & Hy-Vee Sign-Up

Dress Rehearsal Information

Date: Fri. Dec. 9

Time: 3:30 - 5:30 pm

Personnel: TBA (orchestras will know on Wed if they need to report)

Concert Information

Date:  Mon. Dec. 12

Call Time: 6:00 pm

Performance Time: 7:00 pm

Dress:  Full concert uniform

Personnel:  All Orchestras

Refreshment Table

Pre-COVID the orchestras would have refreshments in the atrium after the concert.  We are attempting to bring that tradition back this year and are in need of donations of cookies, punch, and a few people that could help man the table that night.  Please click here to help us out with one of these items so that we might all be able to enjoy a little holiday cheer with one another following our concert.

Hy-Vee Bagging for Tips

We still have slots available for this Friday that really need to be filled.  Even if you aren't going on the trips, the money will come back to the orchestra program.  If you are going on the trip, feel free to sign up for any additional slots that you would like at this point.  Click here for sign-ups and instructions.

Boon Fundraiser Date Extension

Our fundraiser end date has been extended and now ends on December 9th at midnight. We are a little low on sales, so we've decided to extend the sale in case you'd like a little more time to meet your fundraising goal.  If you plan to go on either trip over the next two summers, the profits go directly into your account.

Please go to our custom page at https://bsply.com/1265498 to register for your sellers page. It takes just a few minutes to register.

Then, for best results for sales, make sure to:

SEND by clicking BOOST on your personal Boon selling page to send a minimum of 10 emails to family and friends that you think would be interested in supporting you on the fundraiser.

SHARE on social media with the simple tools Boon has provided.

SHOP at Boon Supply! They offer beautiful, eco-friendly items at an excellent value. You will love the quality and selection!

Extravaganza Pictures & Last Call for Hy-Vee Bagging for Tips

Mr. Jeff Christopherson took some great photos of the Extravaganza on Monday night - click here to see if you can find a picture of your favorite NCHS musician!

Last call for Hy-Vee bagging for tips dates before the list is opened up to choir on Monday.  If you have already signed up for a slot, don't be shy about grabbing another one.  All profits will be placed directly into individual trip accounts.

Fundraiser Pick-Ups and Extravaganza Wrap Up

Extravaganza Wrap-Up - thanks to everyone who donated and/or volunteered for this event!!!!  The kids did a great job in their performance, however the U5 Music Parents are still pretty far from achieving their goal for the evening.  If you would like to donate, there is still time.  Click here to support a worthwhile cause - your kids!!!

Beef House Rolls - don't forget that pick up will be immediately after school this Friday, Nov 18.  Please make sure that students have notified me immediately if their situation is not "picking up after school and has a ride home" (ie students riding the bus that would need to get out of 8th hour a few minutes early, sold too many to transport on the bus and have no ride, etc.).  All rolls must remain frozen and have to be picked up by 3:45 pm.

Poinsettia Delivery - we have just been informed that the delivery date will be Friday, Dec. 2.  Please make arrangements to pick up after school.  The plants are more delicate and bulky than a bus ride home would manage... 

Boon Fundraiser - ends Nov. 28.  Let your social media page do the selling for you for a super easy, online profit generating opportunity. 

Gill Street Dine-To-Donate - make sure that your calendars are marked for Nov 22nd for a night off from cooking!  Grab some orchestra buddies and make an evening of it :-)  We still need to get our reservation quota taken care of, so click here to simply add your name and ensure this fundraiser is allowed to continue.  It is NOT a binding agreement!

NCHS Orchestra Reminders

Many "irons" in the fire right now, so a few reminders of everything we currently have going on:

Extravaganza (aka the Spaghetti Supper) - click here for the blog post from last week with all information pertaining to dress, rehearsal and performance times, call times etc. for the Extravaganza on MONDAY NOVEMBER 14th.   We are still really in desperate need of volunteers for that night.  The volunteer SignUp Genius for the event can be found here.  Don't forget this is the U5 Music Parents biggest fundraiser and it provides funds to all of our ensembles in the district.  If you would still like to donate, click here for the website.

Hy-Vee - there are still plenty of opportunities left for Hy-Vee bagging for tips.  Sign up asap as these extra slots will be opened up to the choir next week. Money will be placed into individual student trip accounts.

Beef House Rolls - delivery will be November 18th (time TBA).  Mark your calendars as pick up for this product that must remain frozen is time sensitive and we do not have storage options.

Boone Fundraiser - we are partnering with Boon Supply for our next fundraiser that kicked off today.  They offer useful, eco-friendly quality products, as well as a unique platform that does most of the work for you! No order forms, counting money or distributing products.  All purchases are ordered online and delivered to the supporter's home, and the entire process takes no longer than 5-10 minutes.  All you need to do is just Register, Send, Share and Shop!   Click here to get started with the fundraiser.  More details are available in the parent letter.  All profits will be placed into individual student accounts. 

ILMEA District Orchestra - we have 13 students traveling with us on Saturday (Nov. 12) who were selected as members of the District 3 ILMEA Orchestra!!!  Students have been sent info on Google Classroom regarding the schedule, general info and map.  Please make sure they have provided us with their cell phone number on the spreadsheet.

Step-Up Day - Wed. Nov 16th the 8th graders from CJHS and EJHS will be joining Chamber Orchestra for most of the day.  Chamber students will be rehearsing, leading sectionals, and showing our JHS friends what high school orchestra is all about.  Students should have filled out their pizza order form (and brought payment).  The orchestra will provide chips and drinks and we are asking Chamber students to provide dessert. Please add to the family grocery list this weekend!

U5MP Musical Extravaganza Updates (formerly the Spaghetti Supper)

This fundraising event on November 14th involves direct donations via our fundrazr portal.  This is a huge fundraising effort by our Music Parents Association that helps provide all of our programs with valuable money used for so many of the supplies we need that are not covered by the school district.  Music, instruments, equipment, etc are critical to ensure the success of our students and this Extravaganza goes a long way toward helping ends meet for our ensembles.  Please consider donating by clicking here.  Sharing this link on your social media account would also be really appreciated - thank you!!!

We are also in need of volunteers for that night - if you could help us out, we would be extremely grateful!  Click here for the SignUp Genius list of jobs available.

All NCHS Orchestra students will be playing in this concert.  Please see the following information below:

Personnel:  All NCHS Orchestras

Dress:  New long sleeve orchestra t-shirt and jeans

Call Time:  Concert, Sinfonia, and Intermezzo orchestras will have a combined rehearsal directly after school and should plan on staying at school until the performance (wear the uniform or change into it); Chamber Orchestra will have a 4:45 pm call time.

Performance Time:  5:30 pm 

Fundraising Updates

Gill Street Dine-To-Donate

Thank you for your support of our Papa John's Dine-to-Donate this week!  As we continue to raise funds to support our Chamber Orchestra's performance at IMEC in January, your next evening free from the chore of cooking dinner will be at Gill Street Sports Bar and Grill on Tuesday, Nov. 22 from 11 am - 9 pm. Options include dine-in, take-out, and pick-up.  Please mark your calendars and help support our state-bound musicians!  We also need to generate reservations like we did with Papa John's, so please click here to ensure that our fundraiser is allowed to continue.  This is NOT a binding reservation, we just need to get names on the list.

Trip Fundraisers

Poinsettias and Beef House rolls have been ordered, and now we turn our attention to our Boon Supply fundraiser and Hy-Vee bagging for tips days.  Look Books for Boon will be available on Monday, and a number of new Bagging for Tips days have been scheduled.  Click here to sign up asap for Hy-Vee as these days will be opened to choir next week.  We have to get all slots filled and provide Hy-Vee a minimum number of people or they will cancel the event.  All profit from Boon will go into individual trip accounts and the total profits from Hy-Vee will be split equally among all shifts worked.  Parent chaperone money will be either be applied to the parent chaperone account or the student account if the parent will not be going on the trip.  Don't forget that these fundraisers can be applied to Memphis/Nashville this summer or Europe next summer.  

Hauntcert Wrap-Up, Pictures, and Huge Thank-You's

Thank You!

On behalf of the students and myself, we simply can't adequately express our gratitude for everyone's help with the show last week!  Our 2nd show definitely goes down as one of the greatest in Hauntcert history, and we couldn't have done it without the help and hard work of everyone.  If you volunteered and have any thoughts, suggestions, info to add to volunteer instructions, etc. please drop me a line while things are still fresh in your mind so that we can adjust for next year. 

Hauntcert Pictures & Video

Click here to be directed to a Drive folder containing pictures and a video recording of the performance.  The fabulous Tirza Wolf took some fantastic shots of everyone!

Hauntcert Lost & Found

There was a blue tooth ear bud case left at the concert.  Identify it to claim!

Can You Help Make Our Lives a Little Sweeter?

We are still in desperate need of candy donations - we have a full load of volunteers to distribute it, but will really fall short for kiddies coming to the 2nd show.  If you have already signed up to bring in bags (THANK YOU), please make sure that you have signed up on the list so that we have an accurate count of what we have.  If you would like to help us out and add to our list we would be eternally grateful!!!  Please have all candy to school no later than Tuesday, Oct 25th.  

Don't Forget About Papa John's Dine to Donate October 31st

On Monday, October 31st the delicious and generous Papa John's (1407 N Veterans Pkwy) is donating back 15% of Dine-In, Takeout, Delivery & Pick up orders to support a great cause -- Normal Community High School!

On behalf of Normal Community High School you’re invited to join us and eat out, not only in support of the organization, but to show one of your Bloomington restaurants some love too!

We ask that you RSVP here: https://grouprai.se/e236032 (even if you’re not completely sure) so Papa John's knows roughly how many orders to expect & so you have access to all the event details.

We hope you can make it, and please feel free to forward this invitation to your friends and family. Thanks in advance for your support!

Volunteer Instruction Sheets

If you signed up for one of the Hauntcert jobs (THANK YOU!!!  and it's not to late to sign up if you haven't yet...) please click on this link for a more detailed description of the job.  As this is a Google Doc, you will be able to see any edits and updates, which will be highlighted in yellow from this point forward.  Trick or treating instructions for those volunteers are also there if you or your student signed up to work.  Thanks again for volunteering - we are eternally grateful!!!!

Student Well-Being Next Week

As we prepare for next week, please remind your student to "lay low" this weekend.  Covid numbers have seen a small spike and two years ago I watched one of my son's orchestras decimated when 8 of the 13 first violins had to be quarantined.  We will be spending a lot of time together in close quarters next week and want to keep everyone healthy.  PLEASE do not allow students who aren't feeling well to come to school unless they have been tested.  Also help your student be mindful of keeping up with their academic commitments and planning ahead.  This is a long week and we want to make sure our students stay both physically and mentally strong!

Please Help Us!

We still have only about half of the candy and half the volunteers necessary for Hauntcert's indoor "trunk or treat", are missing some key positions on the Hauntcert volunteer list, and have very few borrowed items like decorations and power strips/extension cords.  Please consider helping us out as we put on our biggest production of the year that not only spreads community goodwill in the age of looming referendums, but is one of our biggest recruitment tools for enticing future orchestra rock stars!  Click here for sign up information on all of these events.

Schedule for Next Week

Monday, Oct. 24 - Hauntcert rehearsal with percussion (3:30-6:00 pm) 

Tuesday, Oct. 25 - Hauntcert dress rehearsal (6:00-9:00 pm)

Thursday, Oct. 27 - 28th Annual Hauntcert (musician call time 5:00 pm; shows at 6:00 & 7:00 pm)

Friday, Oct. 28 - Poinsettia and Beef House fundraisers due

Monday, Oct. 31 - Papa John's Dine-to-Donate night

***Dress for Hauntcert is FULL concert uniform. NO uniforms for the dress rehearsal however (in the musician's life, a dress rehearsal simply indicates the last rehearsal before a concert - uniforms are not required unless specifically requested for a picture, a final run through with an audience, etc.) **

Hauntcert Publicity

Hauntcert fliers are now available for students to take home and post/distribute in the community. Please let your student know to pick some up if you have the opportunity to hang or distribute them.  But please remind students to only post these items with permission.  Click here to access an electronic version of the flier if you have the means to post to any electronic bulletin boards at work, on social media, etc.  With two shows now, we would love to pack both of them!