Hello Choir Families,

The Beach Party last week was sooooo fun.  The waves were incredible and the kids had a blast.  Thank you all who attended.  I hope you met a few new people and made some connections.  We’ve added a couple new dates to the calendar so be sure to scroll down and update your calendar.  Now is a good time to check student grades.  We have a few assignments in and some students who are missing things.  I do accept late work for full credit so get that done! 

See you at the beach again tomorrow for our largest Seal Beach Art Fair performance yet.  We have 80 students attending and we will be doing an epic all group number together along with several small groups and solos. 

Seal Beach Art Fair tomorrow!!!

We are so excited for the art fair tomorrow.  The kids are doing a great job and have learned a ton of material in a very short time.  If you will be attending, please arrive by 11:00 and meet Kylie by the bathrooms under the pier.  Parking is difficult so you might want to drop your kid first and then go park.  Covered seating is very limited so bring sunscreen, a hat, or an umbrella.  

Students will wear their choir t-shirt with jeans or jean shorts and tennis shoes.  No sandals please. 

Desserts with the Director

On September 23 we will be having a choir parent night.  We will be hearing from the booster board about the volunteer opportunities in choir, eating desserts, and having a mini choir experience so you can get a glimpse of what your kids are doing in class.  This is a parent only event, but we have a couple of 8th graders who can entertain your littles in the choir room if needed. Those who attend will get first dibs on volunteer sign-ups.  

Lip Sync Battle

Each year the choir hosts a lip sync battle for McAuliffe.  Students put together acts and we have judges, audience voting, and online voting!  The winning group will receive $100 and we have several other smaller prizes depending on how much money we raise.  This year we are inviting parents, family, and friends to join in the act.  We have an informational meeting next Friday at lunch.  

Fix it Tickets

The arts department has started something called “Fix It Tickets”.  This is a precursor to a detention.  If your child receives one, it is an opportunity for them to reflect on their behavior and turn things around before it becomes a problem.  It is also an opportunity for you to have a conversation with them-without giving consequences-and discuss better courses of action and impulse control.  We are hoping this helps students to reflect on how their behavior is affecting others and learn to take personal responsibility without fear of demerits or grounding.  

Raise Right

Hopefully you are all signed up on Raise Right! If you haven’t started yet, today is the day.  

Get Started with Raise Right  

Download the app 

Choose McAuliffe Choir Booster Club and add your child’s name

Enter Code Number: 466LFB8664558  

Enter your bank or credit card info:  bank purchases are $.29 per transaction and credit cards are more expensive as they take a percentage of the purchase.

Start buying cards everywhere you shop.  Be sure to only purchase e-cards, we do not do physical gift cards.  E-cards can be emailed to recipients for gifts FYI

Mark Your Calendars

Sept 6-Seal Beach Art Fair 11:30-Optional Performance

Sept 23-Desserts with the Director-7:00-8:30parents only

Sept 12-Lip Sync Battle info meeting, both lunches

Oct 6-Lip Sync Battle audition videos due via Google Classroom

Oct 14-Lip Sync Battle Dress rehearsal-McAuliffe MPR 

Oct 15-Lip Sync Battle-McAuliffe MPR 3:30-5:00

Nov 3-Dress rehearsal at McGaugh 4:00-6:30

Nov 4/5-Broadway Show 6:30 McGaugh Auditorium

Hello Choir Families,

Week 2 was a good one!  The students are plugging along and doing some great work!  Today we had a little competition with the choreo we’ve been working on.  The kids were awesome and have made some really great improvements in a very short time.  I’m working on setting up my gradebook now that all of the schedule changes are complete, and will be updating everything next week.  We have several things coming up so be sure to read on.  

Get to Know Me Assignment

This week’s assignment was to figure out how to make a video and attach it to Google Classroom.  Students with Chrome books did their assignment in class on Thursday.  All of our singing tests and many of our auditions will require this skill so it’s important that they figure it out.  Please do not email videos or attach Youtube videos.  They need to access the camera on their device and attach it directly to the assignment. They can also use a phone as long as they can sign into Google Classroom.  

McAuliffeChoir.com

If you have not already done so please go to McAuliffeChoir.com and set up your account.  This is how you will receive booster communications, purchase merch and tickets, view the calendar, and donate to the program.  It’s also a grade for your student so be sure to get that done.

Permission Slips

Once you register on McAuliffeChoir.com you will be asked to complete a permission slip.  We do this once for the year so you don’t have to do this every time we go somewhere.  Please make sure this gets taken care of right away so we are not scrambling the week before a trip.

Donations

You will be asked to complete a donation commitment form as well.  There is no money due at this time, but completing the form helps us budget for the year.  The more donations we can collect, the fewer fundraisers we have to do.  If you are unable to donate the full amount, you can still add it in your cart and just donate what you can.  I am a parent too and I know how taxing this time of year is.  So, I just put my donation in the cart, and each month I go there and donate what I can until it’s all paid off.  You can also send checks to the school.  I have a secure collection box in my classroom.  Be sure to label your donations with the student’s name and choir.  

Raise Right!

This is the best fundraiser we do!  It’s FREE MONEY on almost every store, restaurant, or business you shop.  You can purchase e-gift cards in the store and use them to pay for your purchases.  The business then gives the choir a percentage of the sale.  Each purchase costs you 25 cents!  You can load up on grocery cards, Starbucks, Home Depot, etc. and those businesses give back to your kid!  I had a parent who did a remodel one year and paid for all of her choir dues with money from Home Depot and Best Buy!  I bought a dryer a couple of years ago and earned $45 for my child’s account!  

To get started, you will first contact our Raise Right chair at McAChoirScrip@gmail.com and download the app to your phone.  You will get a code to verify your connection with McAuliffe and once your account is set up you can start shopping and earning.   

Beach Party!!!! August 29

We wanna kick things off with a fun beach party where the kids hang and the parents get to know each other a bit.  We are going to meet from 3-6 on August 29 near the Seal Beach Pier.  This is a minimum day for the kids so they will have plenty of time to get themselves down there.  This is a family event and each family is expected to watch their own kids.  They will not be supervised or looked after by the booster parents.  Everyone just brings some snacks to share and we hang out in our chairs and watch the kids play.  

Seal Beach Art Fair

Each year we get asked to sing at the Seal Beach Art Fair.  It’s a great outdoor event and the kids enjoy it.  It will be optional and all of the choirs are invited to be a part of it.  We will perform “Sun Roof” and several of our students will perform solos while we cheer them on.  Mark your calendars for Sept. 6th 11:30.

Solo auditions for this event are posted on Google Classroom.  Students wanting to sing a solo will submit a video of themselves singing the whole song using a karaoke track.  They may also do a dance or play an instrument.  Submissions are due next Friday 8/29 and will be announced on Tuesday 9/2.

Mark Your Calendars

Aug 28-Back to School Night-minimum day

Aug 29-Beach Party 3-6-minimum day

Sept 6-Seal Beach Art Fair 11:30-Optional Performance

Oct 15-Lip Sync Battle-McAuliffe MPR 3:30-5:00

Nov 3-Dress rehearsal at McGaugh 4:00-6:30

Nov 4/5-Broadway Show 6:30 McGaugh Auditorium