Welcome Back Vocal Music!
Welcome back to all of the Vocal Music Students returning to GPFAA! Welcome also to those of you that are new to the Vocal Music Strand! Without a doubt, this will be the most unusual year in our history thus far! We do not know what the year holds for us in terms of rehearsals, activities, and performances, but the GPFAA Vocal Music Team is poised and ready for whatever situations come as the year unfolds. For the time being, we will focus on our Vocal Music community and staying ready for when we can all sing together again!
Let us begin by saying, you all have selected a wonderful, fun, and challenging strand. We are very excited about this unique start to our school year!
I bet some of you are wondering about the possibilities of vocal events/concerts? Dates? Forms to turn in? Fundraisers? Or even… who is the Vocal Music Guild and what do they do? Ms. Maughan and I are working on putting together a Vocal Music video/presentation. It will give insight and provide updates on what to expect from the Vocal Music Strand and the Vocal Music Guild this year. Stay tuned to your Reminds, Emails and the Vocal Music Website (gpfaavm.com) throughout the year for important updates and information!
Ultimately, we want to stress the importance of excellent communication between parents/guardians and directors. We will provide many reminders of vocal music information as they approach during the year. We have a fantastic website that is going to make your life much easier! Last year we debuted our awesome new website. Based on feedback we are making adjustments to our website to accommodate and make things much more user friendly. For those that do not know, this will be our HUB of communication.
Students, when we return face to face, your job is to keep us informed of any issues that may prevent you from attending rehearsals or concerts as soon as you are aware of them. In the rare event of a personal or family emergency, contact us as quickly as possible. Remember that choral singing is a cooperative effort, and we function as a team. We need all our team members together if we are to maximize our potential! This year, more so than in recent years, you will be able to connect with the tradition of beautiful choral music in extraordinary ways. Your efforts will write yet another chapter in our long, proud history.
Parents and students, with this being said, we must work together to ensure that your student’s classes, including their vocal music classes, remain on point. We all know classes will look different from last spring, and as of now, we will continue to work virtually until September 21st, 2020. We want to be sure that your students are getting all the support we can provide. We understand that each student works differently and may require different attention. I’m proud to announce that the Vocal Music Team has designed a great plan/lesson strategy for your students. We are working many hours to make sure they get THE BEST. Zooms are not required, but we ask that you please encourage your students to attend their zooms. We have seen that students thrive on zoom as they get to interact with their classmates and directors. They need it, just as much as we need it!
We, as your directors, are looking forward to an exciting and rewarding year. We want this year to be one of your fondest memories of middle & high school. We promise to continue to share the latest information, and we urge you to remember we humans are remarkably resilient! Whatever challenges we currently face, we know that we will see each other and sing together once again. That will be a sweet day indeed, and we will appreciate the gift of music like never before. Until that day, stay safe and take care.
Mr. Joel Duarte and Ms. Candice Maughan
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