General Information
Orchestra Handbook At-a-glance
Daily needs:
Sharpened pencil, folder containing music, method book, scale sheet, etc. Instrument and any supplies necessary for making your instrument play. 8th grade students will be issued Black concert folders. Loss or damage to this folder carries a $25 replacement fee.
Instrument and Folder storage:
Instruments and folders will be stored in assigned lockers or spaces. Students are expected to have their cases clearly marked with an identification tag. The orchestra room is open every day before the beginning of school and at the close of each school day.
School-owned Instruments:
Full size cellos and school-owned basses will be issued at the beginning of the year. All instruments have been professionally cleaned, adjusted, and repaired where necessary. Students using these instruments will need to fill out, sign, and return an instrument contract. Additional information and policies regarding these school-owned instruments are outlined on the Instrument Contract that is issued as these instruments are checked out.
Standards Based Grading in Orchestra:
A list of the learning standards for orchestra as well as a grading rubric will be posted in Google Classroom for parent and student reference. Ratings are as follows: 4 - Mastery of learning standard, 3 - Proficiency of learning standard, 2 - Progressing toward learning standard, 1 - Does not meet learning standard, 0 - No attempt at learning standard.
Concert Attendance:
Attendance at all performances is expected because it is vital to the orchestra's success. When a musician is absent, important individual parts are missed affecting the entire group's performance. Absences will be excused at the director's discretion for the following reasons: Illness, death in the family, immediate family wedding, and conflicts with school-related events. Every effort is made to schedule performances where there is not conflict. In most cases, school-related can be resolved by the coach/sponsor and the director. Unexcused absences from a performance will negatively affect a student's grade. Please contact Mrs. Stalter ( stalteas@unit5.org ) as early as possible to resolve any school related conflicts with performances.
Concert Dress:
All 7th and 8th grade orchestra musicians are required to wear the following uniform to all performances unless otherwise stated.
- BLACK TOP - ALL Black black polo to be purchased from Mrs. Stalter. Shirts must be tucked in.
- BLACK BOTTOM - Black dress pants/slacks or floor length skirt. (Ladies, black leggings are not considered to be "pants" and are not considered to be appropriate concert attire.)
- BLACK FEET - Solid black, close-toed dress shoes, black crew/calf length socks/trouser socks or hosiery. (No-show and quarter length socks are not appropriate)
All 6th grade orchestra musicians are required to wear the following uniform to all performances unless otherwise stated.
- WHITE TOP - ALL WHITE polo, button down dress shirt, or blouse (short OR long sleeves).
- BLACK BOTTOM - Black dress pants/slacks. If a students wishes to wear a skirt, the skirt must fall below the knees for modesty purposes. (Ladies, black leggings are not considered to be "pants" and are not considered to be appropriate concert attire.
- BLACK FEET - Solid black, close-toed dress shoes, black crew length socks/trouser socks or hosiery. (No-show socks are not appropriate)
All 5th grade orchestra musicians are asked to wear the nice clothes as their concert uniform.
The Unit 5 Music Parents Organization:
This organization meets once per month (usually the last Monday of each month) Parent representatives from each organization act as a liaison between the school director/performing organization and the parent group. Typically, two or three parents represent the PJHS Orchestra so each person only has to attend two or three meetings per school year. Please contact Mrs. Stalter (stalteas@unit5.org) if you would be interested in serving in this very importance capacity. You can visit the Unit 5 Music Parents website at this web address https://unit5musicparents.wordpress.com/