Moorpark Day of Jazz

Please join us on Saturday May 5, starting at 10:00am as all of Moorpark's Jazz ensembles get together for the 5th annual Moorpark Day of Jazz.  Ensembles from Chaparral, Mesa Verde, Moorpark High, and Moorpark College will be performing right across the street from Mesa Verde at Moorpark Presbyterian Church.

Jazz B has a call time of 10:00am with a performance time of 10:30.  Dress code is regular concert attire.

Jazz A has a call time of 11:00am with a perofmrance time of 11:30.  Dress code is Jazz concert attire.

The doors will be open for the event; come early, stay late, have lunch and jam with the combo.  Donations are accepted at the door. 

SSHS Festival Debrief, TOHS Festival Info

Friday's Santa Susana Festival was a huge success for us!  Both groups performed very well given this stage in our preparation, and are poined for fantastic performances at our last concert festival coming up on Thursday March 22 at Thousand Oaks High School.  Back at Santa Susana, both groups received "Excellent" ratings in performance, "Superior" ratings in sight reading, and were exceptionally responsive and respectful in our clinics.  In addition, several parents and even directors from other schools had wonderful things to say about our students' etiquette in the audience.  Thank you to the chaperons for helping to make the day so great, and to all of you students for doing so well on the day.

Details for 3/22 are as follows:

10:00am - All students report to Music Room

10:15am - Load/Depart MVMS

10:45am - Unload at TOHS

11:15am - Chamber Strings Warmup

11:45am - Chamber Strings Performance

12:15pm - Chamber Strings Clinic

12:45pm - All students @ Lunch

1:45pm - All students in Auditorium

2:30pm - Wind Ensemble Warmup

3:00pm - Wind Ensemble Performance

3:30pm - Wind Ensemble Clinic

4:00pm - Dismissal/Load Bus

4:15pm - Bus Departure

At Dismissal, parents wishing to pick up their kids at 4:00pm are welcome to do so.  Please notify me ASAP if you plan to do this, so we can cancel a 2nd bus on the return trip if we don't need it.  Any remaining students at the time of Bus Departure will be brought back to Mesa Verde by bus.  We should be back home by 4:45pm.

This Week: Wind Ensemble and Chamber Strings

Good morning! 

We've got a busy week this week, so here's your reminder email of the particulars of each performance.

Our District Concerts will feature the top ensembles at Chaparral and Mesa Verde as well as all of the festival-bound ensembles at MHS.  Strings Night will also include the Moorpark Elementary String Orchestra.  We consider this an excellent chance to perform our judged festival sets for parents and family, since the actual festival performances take place during the school day.

March 7 District Band Night, Wind Ensemble only

Attire: Formal Concert Attire 

Call time: 5:30pm in MHS Music Room

Drum Line/Color Guard Showcase: 6:00pm in Small Gym (Parents welcome!)

Tickets: $5 student (non-performing), $10 adult at the door

Performance Start: ~6:30pm in PAC

Release: ~8:30pm in MHS Music Room

March 8 District Strings Night, Chamber Strings only

Attire: Formal Concert Attire 

Call time: 5:30pm in MHS Music Room

Drum Line/Color Guard Showcase: 6:00pm in Small Gym (Parents welcome!)

Tickets: $5 student (non-performing), $10 adult at the door

Performance Start: ~6:30pm in PAC

Release: ~8:30pm in MHS Music Room

SCSBOA Festivals are, academically, the pinnacle of our whole school year.  Much of what students have been taught over the last few years gets put on display, evaluated and rated on a scale from I-V, or “Superior” to “Poor”.  Some festivals also include a clinic with an adjudicator, as well as an also-judged Sight Reading session, where I have 2-3 minutes to prepare them to read a piece of music they’ve never seen before.  It’s a long day, but a fantastic culminating experience for our mostly-8th-grade ensembles.  During non-performing time, each student will observe closely and write about the performances they see using a set of guiding questions.  We still need chaperons, so if you’re free that day please let me know via email, ASAP.

March 9 Santa Susanna HS SCSBOA Festival, Wind Ensemble and Chamber Strings

Attire: Formal Concert Attire

Call Time: 9:00am in MVMS Music Room

Depart by School Bus: 9:20am

Warm Up: 10:15am (CS), 1:15pm (WE)

Perform: 10:45am (CS), 1:45pm (WE)

Clinic: 11:15am (CS), 2:15pm (WE)

Sight Reading: 11:45 (CS), 2:45 (WE)

Dismissal 3:15pm (all students)

Reminder: THERE WILL BE NO RETURN BUS TO MVMS. Pickup will be at SSHS between 3:15pm and 4:00pm.

Thank you, and I hope to see you at least once this week!

Kurt Gray

Spring Trip Scholarship Essay Winners

Greetings Parents and Students,

First of all, I’d like to thank you for your part in the submission of the essays.  Whether you’re a student who took the time to reflect on the prompts and articulate your thoughts and feelings, or a parent who encouraged your child to do so, getting to sit down with each of you through your words was eye-opening and inspiring for me, and made me truly grateful to stand in front of my all of my students every day.  Each of the eight essays I received were heartfelt, poignant, and well-written.  Again, thank you for your sincere effort!

As you might imagine, the students who wrote essays are all self-motivated, disciplined, and passionate students, which made it very difficult to choose just two winners.  Fortunately, a donor who prefers to remain anonymous has come forward to offer a 3rd half-scholarship.  I was asked to include financial need as one of the factors for this scholarship, in addition to the quality of the essay and body of work since 6th grade.

In alphabetical order, I’d like to congratulate Mikayla Flores, Reagan Lockwood, and Rachel Strausman on their winning essays.  Your heart, maturity, personality, and dedication shines through your work every day in class, and I couldn’t be more proud to award you all this scholarship.

Details regarding payment are currently being worked out with MTC.  We’ll be in contact with the winners when more information is available.

Thank all of you so much for your participation and enthusiasm.  You represent the very best of our community, and you make Mesa a wonderful place for your teachers, coaches, and fellow students.

Musically, 

Kurt Gray

MV Music

Spring Trip - Still Time to Sign Up!

Hello 7th/8th Grade Music Families,

Spring Trip Sign-Up is happening!  If you’re interested in signing up for the trip, follow these instructions:

1. Go to www.musictravel.com
2. Click on TRIP LOGIN in the UPPER RIGHT
3. Click on Register as New User
4. Fill in all information and click Create Account
5. Enter your email address and password
6. Go to Register a Traveler and fill in the requested information
7. Your trip number is: 1804-3-57
8. Select Make a Payment to pay your deposit 

Be advised that even though the November 10 sign up deadline as passed, it is not too late to sign up, and there are no late penalties at this point.  Please, however, sign up as soon as you can so that we have an accurate picture of the kids who will be on the trip.  It is difficult to plan for a trip like this if we have people waiting until the last minute to sign up.

If you missed the kickoff meeting a few weeks ago, please see the attached PDF of the documents handed out that evening.  This includes a trip itinerary, payment schedule, and a little bit about the company organizing the trip.  We’ve used MTC on trips to Disneyland, Knott’s, and even San Francisco in the past with great success!

Here are a few questions that came up at the meeting:

How will roommates be decided?

For the most part, the kids will decide for themselves.  We will go 4 to a room, no exceptions, and I reserve the right to break up a room at any point before the trip.  if I think behavior is a potential issue.

How will chaperon groups be decided?

We will use roommate group as the basis for our chaperon groups.  It’s easy to make exceptions, so if you want your son/daughter with a particular chaperon, don’t hesitate to let me know so I can accommodate your request.

We will strive for an 8:1 ratio of chaperon to student.  District policy is 10:1.  The only day we will be split up is Saturday, within the confines of Knott’s Berry Farm.  We will have hourly, by-phone checkins with chaperons, with two physical meet-ups at times to be decided.  Students will be required to be in groups of 3, minimally, always with someone who has a cell phone.  

More detailed information about procedures and behavioral expectations will be available closer to the date of the trip.

What is the cost for chaperons?

Refer to the table on the attached PDF.  All students will pay the quad rate, but chaperons can choose to room alone or with up to 3 others for the quad rate.  The final price depends on the number of people coming on the trip.

Can my son/daughter room with me?

Absolutely!  No other students will be allowed to sleep in your room, however.

How will my son/daughter’s dietary restrictions or medical needs be met?

Communicate all dietary needs with MTC.  Medicine will be handled through me, and ultimately administered chaperons.  It’s important for you to communicate one on one with your child’s chaperon once that’s been decided.

Contact info for further questions:

kgray@mrpk.org - Mr. Gray for rooming, chaperon, medical, music, or general “kid management” questions.

chris.forsythe@music-travel.com - Chris Forsythe for payment, trip logistics, dietary, or general business questions.

Thank you so much for reading!

Kurt Gray