We passed out the SwingFry Choir Parent Letter today. In the post below it shares the information in case your copy never makes it home. I encourage you to sign up for your SwingFry Volunteer positions as soon as possible so that you get the times and jobs that you wish to have. Again, here is the link: https://northridgechoirs.com/swingfry/

Dear Choir Parents, October 8, 2021  

Our first big show for all choirs will be the SwingFry Choir Fundraiser.  This will be the first time our full choirs hit the stage.  Swingfry is a concert/dinner/fundraiser all rolled into one!  The Middlebury Community really supports this fundraiser and thousands show up for a very big “party” on Saturday, November 13^th.  SwingFry takes place at Northridge High School.  We have every middle school and high school choir singing 3-4 songs, each show choir performs, as well as special soloists between each group.  This is an unconventional concert in that our audience comes and goes in between each group.  You can watch the groups that you want to watch and then duck out for dinner in the cafeteria.  The dinner that we serve for Swingfry is Dan’s all you can eat Chicken or Fish dinner along with homemade desserts.  (The pie is AMAZING)!!  Our choirs raise money from the number of dinner and concert tickets sold, along with a huge bake sale, a concession stand, and  a “to go” coffee shop.  All of the funds raised help the NHS Choirs and NMS Choirs function for the rest of the school year.

As we said, this is a huge party!  To pull this off, the high school choir parents volunteer their time in the early to late afternoon shifts, and the middle school choir parents volunteer their time during the early evening hours.  That way, each parent gets to watch their child perform and also volunteer their time to run this big shindig.   We are hoping that all of our middle school choir parents roll up their sleeves for an hour or two and chip in to make this party a success.   Before signing up, you should check the estimated performance time for your child.  Please sign up for a shift that doesn’t interfere with a chance to see your child! 

6^th graders will perform at 3:00 p.m

7^th graders will perform at 3:40 p.m.

8^th graders will perform around 4:00 p.m.

Just the Guys (all boys in Choir) will perform around 4:20 p.m.

Knight Light Show Choir will perform around 6:40 p.m.

To be prepared for SwingFry you will need to do the following.   

1. Go to https://northridgechoirs.com/swingfry/
2. Sign up for a volunteer position.
3. Locate the choir outfit for your son or daughter.

Outfits: (Picture examples can be found on the choir website www.nmschoir.org)

The girls will need: a black knee length skirt, a long sleeved white blouse that has a collar and buttons down the front, and black shoes.  They will be given a Rosette tie. 

The boys will need:  black dress slacks, black socks and black shoes, a long sleeve white dress shirt with a collar that  buttons down the front.  They will be given a tie.

Dress Rehearsal will take place after school on Thursday, Nov 11.  

1. Parents sending in treats or water for Dress Rehearsal should have their child drop them off in the choir room that morning.
2. Students will be either walking over to the high school, or riding buses, depending on the weather.  Students should bundle up for the short walk! After the rehearsal students will be dismissed to a specific door for pickup in hopes of reducing the waiting lines in the parking lot.

Concert Day, Northridge HS Auditorium Saturday, November 13^th!!

Choir Arrival and put on ties Warm-Up in Home  Room                 Perform

NMS 6^th Grade Choir 2:25 2:35 3:00

NMS 7^th Grade Choir 3:05 3:15 3:40

NMS 8^th Grade Choir 3:25 3:35 4:00

Just The Guys X 4:05 4:20

NMS Show Choir X X 6:40

****Students will be asked to watch at least two other choirs perform their set before going home.  Our choirs learn so much by watching other choirs perform! This will help them complete their written critique on Monday.*  If you can’t stay for them to watch the two 20 minute performances, we have a make up assignment that they can be given to complete at home.  A list of all NMS and NHS Choral performances may be found on the back of this letter. The groups that they watch are up to you, and your own schedule.  We encourage our parents to sit with their children to monitor their behavior and enjoy this experience together.   If you are working a volunteer shift or unable to sit with your child we would like our students to sit in the reserved seating made available for them so that they can be monitored.  

Volunteers:  If you volunteered for SwingFry on Sign up genius for treats, water, or chaperoning you will receive a phone call reminder a week before the event and specific information to help you perform your duty.  The Concert Day volunteers who sign up for slots via the enclosed link will receive reminder calls from their committee Chair Person.  Again we ask that all of our choir parents volunteer for one slot on performance day so that the high school parents can watch their kids perform.  The shifts are short and go quickly!  Sign up now so that you get the slot you want. 

Conflicts:  If your son/daughter has a conflict with concert day please read about the make up assignment they will need to complete to take the place of this mandatory performance.  Conflict forms are available at the nmschoir.org website or in the choir room.  These are due by Friday, October 22nd to be excused.  

Sincerely,  Mrs. Armington and Mr. Norwood

We are one month from our first Choir Concert! (gasp, taking deep breath). We will be sending you many details in the next week, but in case the concert is not on your family calendar it will take place on Saturday, November 13th. Times will be announced soon! Each choir will sing throughout the afternoon on their own.

All conflicts will need to be turned in by Oct. 22. Slips are available in the choir room or on the choir website.

One thing you may want to get started on is shopping for the choir concert outfits. For boys they will need the following: black pants, black shoes (tennis shoes are fine), white dress shirts that are long sleeved and button down from the collar. (see picture)

The girls will need: Black knee length skirt, white blouse that is long sleeved and buttons down from the collar, and black shoes. (see pic)

Here are a few pics to give you an idea of what our students wear at concerts!

In the parent letter link below you will find information about the upcoming fun events we have planned for all choir kids. The first one is called “Just The Guys”. This is a mandatory event for all choir guys. The next events are a Rollerskating Party for Grades 6 and 7 Choirs, and a costume/scavenger hunt party for the 8th grade choirs. These two events are not mandatory. We hope all kids can be involved because it will help all of us get to know each other better and have a great time. Here is the info. Please click the link below —>

All $25 choir fee money is due Wednesday. If you need additional time, just send in a note. Thank you!

We have received a lot of parent volunteers this year! Thank you! We do, however have quite a few open spots that need to be filled this year. I’ve gone through the lists and made a note of them here. If you could fill any of these spots it would be so greatly appreciated. Just go to the sign up genius tab on this page and register your name and email. Thanks in advance for lending a hand to make these shows extra special (and safe) for your kids. Sincerely, Mrs. Armington

Volunteer Needs as of 8/23/21

Grade 6

SwingFry Dress Rehearsal Chaperone (2) needed

SwingFry Locker Decorations (1) needed

Christmas Concert Chaperones 2^nd show  (2) needed

ISSMA Locker Decorations (1) needed

Final Blast Locker Decorations (1) needed

Final Blast Show 1 Ushers (2) needed

Final Blast Show 2 Ushers (2) needed

Final Blast Dinner Crew (6) needed

Tear Down Crew (3) needed

Final Blast Photographer (1) needed

Grade 7

Swingfry Dress Rehearsal Chaperon (2) needed

Swingfry Photographer (1) needed

Christmas Dress Rehearsal Chaperones (2) needed

Christmas Concert Show 1 Ushers (2) needed

Christmas Concert Show 2 Ushers (1) needed

Christmas Tear Down Crew (2) needed

Christmas Concert 1 Chaperone (2) needed

Christmas Concert 2 Chaperone (2) needed

Christmas Photographer (1) needed

Issma Contest Chaperone (need 2)

Final Blast Locker Decorations (need 1)

Final Blast Usher Show 2 (need 3)

Final Blast Tear Down Crew (need 2)

Grade 8

Swing Fry Dress Rehearsal Chaperone (2)

Swing Fry Concert Chaperone (1) needed

SwingFry Locker Decorations (1) needed

Christmas Dress Reh. Phone Mom (1) needed

Christmas Dress Reh. Chaperones (2) needed

Christmas Water Donations (1) needed

Christmas Usher Show 1  (need 2)

Christmas Usher Show 2 ( need 2)

Concert 1 Chaperone (3) needed

Concert 2 Chaperone (3) needed

ISSMA Concert Phone Mom (1) needed

ISSMA Locker Decorations (1) needed

ISSMA Chaperones (2) needed

Final Blast Dress Reh. Phone Mom (1)

Dress Reh Water (1)

Concert Water (2)

Final Blast Dress Reh. Chaperones  (3) needed

Final Blast Concert Phone Mom  (1) needed

Final Blast Locker Decorations (1)

We are excited to get the 2021-2022 school year rolling! This will be the site that you go to when we get close to concerts and special rehearsals. We post parent letters here. If you sign up to follow our page (Right side of screen) every letter we post will go directly to your email. Many parents find that helpful because Middle School students aren’t the best at communicating between school and home 🙂

You will also find tabs that include signup genius (for volunteer slots), calendar events, and rehearsal tabs for singing and choreography, and the Locker Decoration tab. We would appreciate it if you could make our website a “favorite” on your computer so that it will be easy to find. We also post a lot of pictures here and on our Facebook site. To go directly to our Facebook page just click the FACEBOOK icon on the right hand bottom of your screen.

If you need to reach us at anytime, Mr. Norwood’s email is norwoodc@mcsin-k12.org, and Mrs. Armington’s email is armingtonj@mcsin-k12.org.

We are grateful that you let us “borrow” your kids for awhile, and look forward to teaching them how to sing!

Sincerely, Mrs. Armington/Mr. Norwood