March 2009 Newsletter
We have arrived at that time of year – school year,
that is – when the pace quickens considerably.
A lot of things will start appearing on the calendar from now to the
end. Many of those things have been on
the ACME calendar since September.
I know some of you do little more than glance at these newsletters – because some have admitted it. In fact, you should have noticed that I did reformat the newsletter by dividing it into sections and listing a Table of Contents to help you go directly to what you think is most important to you. However, there are some things that the overall population of ACME families needs to know. It would be a waste of time and space to put that information repeatedly in the various sections. So you would be wise to still give the entire newsletter a good reading. Jot down the important things. The end result of those that don’t read all of it requires me to mail out separate letters and memos and such. I have found it difficult to visit with parents on class day because many are in a hurry to get home or to another destination or have other children to corral or I have students needing my attention. I love what I do, but will admit the clerical portion isn’t my favorite. I do grumble a little when I have to send out letters to specific groups of people who don’t read the newsletter. Besides, you never know when I might decide to have an incentive somewhere in here.
Oh yeah – and this is the first newsletter to be
issued solely online, except for those who requested hard copies. Families of the students of the month will
also receive a couple of hard copies.
There is a “Newsletters” link on the left side of the home page. February is also on there, even though it
came out in hard copy. Please let me
know if you have any difficulties accessing the newsletter. We may still have to work on some formatting. Don’t remember the web address? Look on the last page.
For those of you who actually read this far, write
your name and your favorite instrument on a slip of paper and hand it directly
to me and you will receive 10% of April’s tuition.
Shirley Faulkner
Director/Instructor
TUITION DUE
March tuition is now due.
There are a couple of families who requested scholarships in the fall but have not done so for the spring semester. Anyone needing to continue or apply for the first time for a scholarship of any amount will need to obtain, complete, and return to me a scholarship request form. If ACME doesn’t have a form on file for you, you will receive invoices.
Remember that the scholarship information is kept confidential.
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
Page
Students of the Month . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
General Information for
everybody . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Pre-K Music . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Elementary Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Band . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Orchestra . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. 5
New
Semester Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Contact Information . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
STUDENTS OF THE MONTH
ClaireAnna Harmon
K-2nd Grade
Elementary Music
“I like composing music on
Super Duper Music Looper.”
Myah Ray
3rd – 5th
Grade Elementary Music
“My favorite thing about
music class is having fun and making music.”
Mitchell Freer
Concert Band – Alto &
Baritone Saxophone
“I like the challenge of
being the best I can be on my instruments.”
Steven Forbes
“I like the instruments,
especially drums and bass, and I like dancing.”
T- SHIRTS!!
I have a
few new students in the performing groups for which I will be ordering
T-shirts. So this is your chance to get
your order in as this will be the last order until the fall.
T-shirts
can be purchased by any ACME student, their family, or simply a supporter. Cost is $10 per shirt. To order your shirts, you will need to complete
the an order form and return it along with a check (payable to ACME) to Ms.
Shirley as soon as possible. Order forms
can also be found on the information table or on the website under the
“Registration Information & Forms” link.
ACME CLOSED FOR SPRING
BREAK
All ACME
classes and performing groups will be cancelled for a spring break during the
week of March 23-27. Classes will resume
on Monday, March 30.
2009-10 BAND
& ORCHESTRA
Coming
this April and May, we will begin holding tryouts for beginning band and
meetings for beginning orchestra for the 2009-10 school year. Band instruments are flue, clarinet,
saxophone, trumpet, trombone and/or baritone, tuba, and percussion (drums and
such). Orchestra includes violin, viola,
cello, and upright (double) bass.
Band is
open to home school and private school students with no previous experience on
a band instrument and to the general public as an extra opportunity to play and
learn new music. Orchestra is open to
the general public.
Students
must be at least 10 years old by September 30 to be eligible for beginning band. Students must be at least 8 years old by
September 30 to be eligible for beginning orchestra. Adults are very welcome and encouraged for
both groups.
Anyone
with previous instrument experience who is interested in participating in the
band or orchestra programs are required to schedule an audition for placement
in the appropriate level of ability.
Attendance
at a band tryout or orchestra meeting is required for participation in either
of these groups. You must also
pre-register for the tryout or meeting you wish to attend.
The
tentative dates for those tryouts and meetings are listed on the ACME Semester
Calendar in this newsletter and also on the Calendar page on the web.
If
you would like more information about these groups, please contact Shirley
Faulkner.
SPECIAL EVENT
COMING IN APRIL
ACME will
be hosting our second annual guest artist series on Tuesday, April 14, at
Our
special guest this year is known as Ramblin’ Ray
Ricketts. Mr. Ricketts currently lives
in Broken Bow,
Ms.
Shirley and Mr. Brian met Ramblin’ Ray at Silver
Dollar City and had the pleasure of a brief visit and a chance to introduce him
to ACME. He was excited about the
possibility of being a guest artist for the ACME students.
Besides
sharing his talents with the public at Silver Dollar City, Mr. Ricketts has
performed at such places as Six Flags Over Texas; the Ozark Folk Center in
Mountain View, Arkansas; and has been a frequent presenter at the University of Arkansas. He is also a member of The Arkansas Arts
Council, as well as many organizations associated with folk music.
The
program will last approximately an hour and is open to all ACME
students and their families and guests.
Donations will be accepted, but not required, to help cover the costs
incurred by Mr. Ricketts.
If you
would like more information, please contact Ms. Shirley or check the website.
PRE-K MUSIC
We are still experiencing some instances of no students showing up for
classes without advance notice. If you
know your student(s) is going to miss music class, please contact Ms. Shirley
at 264-9107 or Mr. Brian at 970-3605 or email to shirley.faulkner@ac-me.org.
Even though there are only a few months left in the semester, new
students are welcome to join the classes.
If you know someone with a 2 through 4 year
old, invite them to visit one of the classes.
The classes are open to the general public.
ELEMENTARY
MUSIC
We are
composing!! And the students seem to be
having a lot of fun. We are currently
using a software program called “Super Duper Music Looper,”
which allows students to select from a variety of instruments and “loops” and
“paint” them into patterns and rhythms.
Several of the older students have expressed an interest in getting a
copy of this program for home. The
program originally costs $20 from Sony. However,
we have purchased 10 new copies from eBay for approximately $10 each (with
shipping). We will make these available
to our students for $10. It is just the
CD in a sleeve, but is brand new. If you
are interested in purchasing one of these copies, contact Ms. Shirley.
Aside from
composing with this software, students are also going to be working on writing
lyrics to a song. We will begin this
process this week. They will also be
introduced to composing using a keyboard that plugs into the computer and
allows them to see the actual written music of what they have played.
We hope to
have the spring concert songs posted on the web within the next week or
two. If you will need a CD to practice
with, please be sure to sign up for one when the list comes out.
BAND NOTES
The bands
are presenting a Mid-Semester concert Tuesday, March 3, at
Students
are to be ready to warm up and tune no later than
ORCHESTRA
NOTES
Orchestra
is going much better. The time spent in
separate classes has helped the younger students. Plus it gave the others a chance to sing and
dance. But that time is past. Starting with the first week of March all
students will remain together.
While
there has been some improvement in practice logs, there are still some who need
more than the minimum 120 minutes per week.
Remember, practice is not simply playing the exercises. Real practice may be repeating measures of
eighth notes or a rhythm or note changes that are extra challenging. It may mean the bow never touches the
instrument. Just playing exercises is
nothing more than playing. And since we
are coming to the time to concentrate more on concert material, there is more
reason to be diligent with perfecting techniques and fingerings and all problem
areas.
ASO opportunities. A
reminder that the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra will be in concert at Arkansas
Tech University in Russellville Saturday, April 25, at 8:00 p.m. If you have never been to see the
As a
bonus, if you truly would like to go but are unable to afford the ticket,
There is a
sign-up list on the counter, so hurry and get your name on the list. The sooner, the better.
On a final note. We
have had some issues with space vs. people.
As with all ACME classes, guests are welcome in the
classroom. However, due to the
small size of the room and the large size of instruments, we may need to limit
how many can come in a class. If you
plan to sit in on class, there are some things to remember.
First of
all, you must be quiet. That includes
other children and CELL PHONES. Next,
you need to wait until all students are seated and class is about to begin to
enter the classroom. You must sit at the
back of the room in a location that does not interfere with the students.
For those
that are just dropping off and picking up or staying but not in the room, we
must ask that you remain in the foyer.
You may, of course, cross into the hall to use the restroom, but we ask
that you try to do so before class is dismissed. We will no longer allow non-students to enter
the classroom upon arrival and dismissal time.
There just isn’t enough room, and there have been close calls with
instruments on the floor or bumping into people due to lack of space.
We apologize
for the inconvenience and hope you will help us work as efficiently as possible
with what we have to work with.
NEW
Journal Writings. The
students have been given a due date of April 15 for their journals. Their last assignment is being worked on in
class and at home in the song writing portion of our lesson. As soon as the songs are finished, students
can finalize their journals and begin turning them in.
They must
be complete. You can find the complete
list of assignments in the order they were given on the web site under their
respective class pages. Students are
also given the opportunity to verify against a list during music class.
Upcoming lessons. We
are composing!! And the students seem to
be having a lot of fun. We are currently
using a software program called “Super Duper Music Looper,”
which allows students to select from a variety of instruments and “loops” and
“paint” them into patterns and rhythms.
Several of the older students have expressed an interest in getting a
copy of this program for home. The
program originally costs $20 from Sony.
However, we have purchased 10 new copies from eBay for approximately $10
each (with shipping). We will make these
available to our students for $10. It is
just the CD in a sleeve, but is brand new.
If you are interested in purchasing one of these copies, contact Ms.
Shirley.
We will be
compiling a CD of all the students’ compositions on this software once the
project is complete. Each student will
receive one copy of the CD and the school will also receive one copy. Any students or families desiring extra
copies may request them for the price of $1.50 per CD in paper sleeve.
Aside from
composing with this software and writing song lyrics, students will be
introduced to composing using a keyboard that plugs into the computer and
allows them to see the actual written music of what they have played.
Upcoming opportunities. This
is to remind you that all New Life students are welcome and encouraged to
tryout and participate in the
As
mentioned earlier in this newsletter, band tryouts and orchestra meetings will
be held starting in April. See the
calendar below for scheduled dates.
If you
would like more information about the either program, please visit the web site
at www.ac-me.org or contact Shirley Faulkner at 264-9107 or shirley.faulkner@ac-me.org.
UPCOMING
March
Location to be announced
March 23 – 27 SPRING BREAK
April 14
Ramblin’
Ray Ricketts
April 16
April 23
May 13
May 14
May 19
May 31
June 13
Graduation Ceremony –
Auditorium in Russellville
(Location of all band tryouts and orchestra
meetings will be announced in the March newsletter. Additional tryouts and meetings will be
scheduled in July and early August.
Beginning Band will start August 18.
Beginning Orchestra will start August 19.)
COMMUNITY
CALENDAR DATES OF INTEREST
April 14
by Russellville Music Club - Witherspoon
April 16
April 25
April 25
at Witherspoon Auditorium – tickets $10
see Ms. Shirley if interested
May
May 8 & 9 YellFest in Dardanelle
May
May 15
Concert – Witherspoon
May 18
CONTACT
INFORMATION
Shirley Faulkner, Director/Instructor - 479-264-9107
www.ac-me.org
shirley.faulkner@ac-me.org