Welcome to the 2016-2017 school year at East Middle School! My name is Mrs. Caitlin Mihalko and I am happy to be your Orchestra teacher this year. For all of the new students to East this year, I am so looking forward to meeting you! For all of the returning students in 8th grade, I look forward to seeing you again! I am so excited for the coming school year and hope that you are as well. I have some fun plans for the year and am looking forward to making music with all of you. If you could take a moment to complete this information form in order to help me get organized for the first week of school I would greatly appreciate it.
This is a very exciting time to be a member of the East Middle School Orchestras, not only because we have a new program at East that is 6th-8th grades, but also because of the BRAND NEW ORCHESTRA ROOM!! They are still putting some finishing touches on our room, so I can't post any pictures of it yet, but I will try to do so in the next couple of days when it is a little more organized. I will tell you some of the amazing features that make this such a wonderful opportunity for us:
Trips
We have two exciting trips planned for this year as well. The 7th Grade Orchestra will be participating in the Performing Arts Cedar Point trip in the spring. The 8th Grade Orchestra will be participating in the Performing Arts Chicago trip April 26-28. Both are fun opportunities for students to perform for clinicians and have some fun experiences with their friends.
First Day
For the first day of school you will not need your instrument, but we will start making music on the second day of school. If you haven't done so already, make sure your instrument is ready to go for the school year. Check to make sure that it is in good repair, you have all of the items necessary to play your instrument (bow, shoulder rest, rosin, etc.), and bring whatever materials you still have from last year. If you have a method book please do bring that with you. You could also take some time each day to play your instrument for 10-15 minutes to get your fingers and arms back in shape.
I am sure that you have many questions about the school year and perhaps are even a little nervous. We will cover a lot of information in the first week by going over the class syllabus, which will include information such as classroom expectations, performance dates, materials needed for class, etc. We will also go over instrument storage and I can assist any students who may need help with their instrument or acquiring a new one either from a rental company or from the small supply of school instruments available.
Updates
I will post another update as we get closer to the first day of school and will try to post some pictures of the room. I encourage you to take a few moments to explore this website. It will be the primary source of information regarding Orchestra for students and parents during the school year.
If you have any questions please feel free to email me at [email protected].
Thank you for your time and I look forward to seeing you soon!
Musically yours,
Mrs. Mihalko
This is a very exciting time to be a member of the East Middle School Orchestras, not only because we have a new program at East that is 6th-8th grades, but also because of the BRAND NEW ORCHESTRA ROOM!! They are still putting some finishing touches on our room, so I can't post any pictures of it yet, but I will try to do so in the next couple of days when it is a little more organized. I will tell you some of the amazing features that make this such a wonderful opportunity for us:
- We have more than doubled the amount of instrument storage with brand new violin/viola storage shelving and a new cello/bass storage room!!
- The Orchestra room has two doors to help with the flow of instrument drop-off in the mornings and pick-up in the afternoons.
- We have more than double the amount of square footage in the room; it is huge!! We have so much room for rehearsal and other large or small group activities.
- There is a small practice room for students to record or perform playing assessments, practice duets, or practice after school.
- Did I mention that we have so much space to make music??
- The room has brand new carpet and freshly painted walls
Trips
We have two exciting trips planned for this year as well. The 7th Grade Orchestra will be participating in the Performing Arts Cedar Point trip in the spring. The 8th Grade Orchestra will be participating in the Performing Arts Chicago trip April 26-28. Both are fun opportunities for students to perform for clinicians and have some fun experiences with their friends.
First Day
For the first day of school you will not need your instrument, but we will start making music on the second day of school. If you haven't done so already, make sure your instrument is ready to go for the school year. Check to make sure that it is in good repair, you have all of the items necessary to play your instrument (bow, shoulder rest, rosin, etc.), and bring whatever materials you still have from last year. If you have a method book please do bring that with you. You could also take some time each day to play your instrument for 10-15 minutes to get your fingers and arms back in shape.
I am sure that you have many questions about the school year and perhaps are even a little nervous. We will cover a lot of information in the first week by going over the class syllabus, which will include information such as classroom expectations, performance dates, materials needed for class, etc. We will also go over instrument storage and I can assist any students who may need help with their instrument or acquiring a new one either from a rental company or from the small supply of school instruments available.
Updates
I will post another update as we get closer to the first day of school and will try to post some pictures of the room. I encourage you to take a few moments to explore this website. It will be the primary source of information regarding Orchestra for students and parents during the school year.
If you have any questions please feel free to email me at [email protected].
Thank you for your time and I look forward to seeing you soon!
Musically yours,
Mrs. Mihalko