Spring trip 08, part 2 of 4

Kansas Calhoun shares her memories of our last spring trip to Houston.

SLEEP:

Well we didn't have too much of it...I wish I could say that due to the fact that we left town so early that everyone on our bus was completely knocked out was true, but unfortunately it's not... hardly anyone way sleepin... there was just so much talkin to do.. and so much eatin that need to go on...(haha). So on the way to Houston all in between and on the way back the titled "CHOIR BUS" did not sleep...well at least no more than 2 hours or so...

Now when it comes to bedtime in our rooms lets just say that was scarce to come by also... The first night we arrived at the hotel we were immediately addressed by our sponsors that the hotel had no water until 5 o'clock the next morning. As much as we all wanted to believe that our sponsors were lying we had to face the hard truth that they were actually tellin the truth... So off to our rooms we went... with absolutely no possible chance to take a shower and wash away all the sweat, dirt and BO. It was so disgusting cause we had been up for about 24 hours being active and having fun sweatin our lives out and then to find out NO SHOWER.. well that was like the worst possible deal ever... But not only was our showering effected... so was our water usage.... We couldn't get water out of the fountains if we were thirsty.. we couldn't brush our teeth and fight the on coming cavities.... heck worst of alllllllllll.........we couldn't use the toilet...well cause it wouldn't flush....so yeah this whole first night at the hotel was a nightmare... But I can say it was incredibly fun to watch what some of the students were doing in order to make up for not having water..... like getting ice from the machine to let melt so we could have water to flush the toilet... of use soda to brush their teeth... it was quite interesting just watchin them panic.... blah blah blah... so anyways back to the sleep issue. So as you can tell their was hardly any sleep the first eventful night but that changed slightly over the next 2 as we were offered more time to sleep, but had to choose if we would use it or not...!!! I don't know for sure about the other rooms but I do know that my room repeatedly keep getting in trouble for not going to bed.... so yeah... sleep was the last thing we did on this trip..!!!

MORE EATS / ACTUAL FOOD:

So as a group we went to the ever so popular Hard Rock Cafe... that was fun because it was a relaxed joint and it was inside.. There was plenty of room for everyone to sit... well except for the fact that my table seemed to have about 4 too many people crowded into it.... and that's too many when at this point in our day all we wanted to do was relax and eat.... So anyways we also went to Joe's Crab Shack... which turned out to be a first time experience for a lot of individuals... The food was amazing... everyone received huge portions that were impossible to finish and for those who did finish well they were the one's to pick off of the leftovers of the girls... hehe... What was fun about Joe's is they turned up the music and tons of students stood up on a platform and did the Macarena... yeah embarrassing but fun... We ate other places.. I just don't remember where exactly.. but I'm sure it was good food.. ha!!!!!

Spring trip 08, part 1 of 4

For the next few days, Kansas Calhoun, last year's choir historian, will share her memories of our spring trip to Houston.

MIXIN:

So the trip... well to start off I can say this is one of the first years that all the members of choir, band & orchestra decided to really do some mixin... everyone sat with everyone...we really had a good since of bonding going on... And bonding it sure was... I mean it really was an adventure to ride on the bus and get to know some of the most randomest students that you've never met before... and actually leaving the trip as if you were best friends before it all began!

FOOD:

I remember when we were getting ready to head out of town all the people sitting around me in my little group started pulling out their goody bags and showin off their snacks... And I do have to say.. my group had everyone on the bus beat... we had soo much food... the whole way to Houston... in-between each stop, in the rooms and on the way home all we did was eat.. we snacked snacked snacked.. and still never seemed to get rid of ALL our junk food.... There were even times when we passed out food to pretty much everyone on the bus.. and still we had about half the amount of food leftover from when we first came...

Region Camp

It's time once again for the annual Region Camp at Central HS. This is for students who are interested in learning the Region music for the Region auditions. I will be teaching at this camp.

Here is the schedule:

Monday, August 11, 6:00-9:00 PM, Central Choir Room
Tuesday, August 12, 6:00-8:00 PM, Central Choir Room

This is a free camp. Please arrive at 5:45 on the first day for registration. I will have music for you when you register.

Convocation

It's time to start getting ready for the Convocation performance which will be held August 19th. The rehearsal schedule is as follows:

• Tuesday, August 12, 8:00 PM to 9:00 PM, Central HS Choir Room
• Monday, August 18, 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM, Junell Center.Pizza will be provided after the rehearsal.
• Tuesday, August 19, 9:00 AM. Students should report to Junell Center at 8:30.

Opera isn't dead!

Remember the story about Paul Potts? Well, it seems that he has an American counterpart. Neal E. Boyd got the same response as Paul when he also sang opera. I don't think he sang as well as Paul, but I still love it!

Click here to read the story and watch the video.

Spring trip picture (click on picture to enlarge)

Good-bye, Seniors

Graduation night is always bitter-sweet for me. I finally feel relieved about the end of the school year, but it's always hard to say good-bye to the Seniors. This year was especially hard, maybe because this group of Seniors was the first class I had at Lincoln when I also started teaching there.

Varsity Women's Choir, your performance of "You Raise Me Up" was amazing. We know it wasn't perfect, like we all would like for it to be, but it was very inspiring and very beautiful. I've heard lots and lots of comments from teachers, parents, administrators, and former students and their parents about how well you sang and how much they enjoyed it.

Rest up this summer. August will be here before we know it!

Graduation rehearsal

The seniors will have their commencement practice Saturday morning at 10:30. We will rehearse for our graduation song immediately after that, probably around 11:30. We're almost there!

Important end-of-year dates

Wednesday, May 28th, 7:50-9:50, 2nd period final exam. This will be our final rehearsal for graduation until Saturday morning.

Thursday, May 29th, 7:50-9:50, 1st period exam.

Saturday, May 31st, 11:30, Final rehearsal before graduation @ the Coliseum.

Don't forget to pay all your fees and fines ASAP, especially if you are a Senior.

Banquet

We had a great time at the choir banquet last night. I think we set a record for attendance! Thanks for your work in getting it ready, choir officers. Thanks to everyone who spoke for your very nice comments. Also congrats to the following students:

Outstanding Freshman: Brooklyn Dendle
Outstanding Sophomore: Christina Moses
Oustanding Junior: Rachael Dumas
Oustanding Senior: Marissa Huerta
Overall Outstanding Choir Member: Jonathan Shouse

Summer choir camps

June 18 – 21, University of Texas Longhorn All-State Choir Camp, www.longhornmusiccamp.org ($350)

June 22 – 25, Texas Tech All-State Choir Camp, www.ttu.cdu/MusicCamps 806/742-2225 ($350 by June 1)

June 29-July 2, University of Texas at San Antonio All-State Choir Camp, http://music.utsa.edu/choircamp $250 ($275 after June 2)

July 14 – 17 , Hill Country Choral Camp: Texas State University, San Marcos http://www.finearts.txstate.edu/music/index.html ($255 -- $75 deposit due by June 15)

July 13 – 16, Tarleton State University Choir Camp (Stephenville)
Contact holley@tarleton.edu or call 254-968-9133 ($206)

July 13 - 16, Texas Christian University “Purple” All-State Choir Camp
July 16 - 19, Texas Christian University “White” All-State Choir Camp, www.music.tcu.edu/summer_events.asp ($280)

July 16 – 19, University of North Texas All-State Choir Camp; Dr. Z. Randall Stroope, Clinician: www.untchoircamp.com ($295)

August 11 - 12, CHS Region Choir Camp: Choir Room; 5:30-9:00 p.m.
(August 12 only) Convocation rehearsal at 8:00 p.m.

August 18, Convocation rehearsal: 11:30 a.m.

August 19, Convocation: Junell Center, 9:00 a.m. (arrive at 8:30)

Other camps available include Baylor University (already full for girls), Del Mar College, Mary Hardin Baylor in Belton, Sam Houston State in Huntsville, Stephen F. Austin in Nacogdoches, Texas A & M in Commerce, and the University of Texas at Arlington.

Spring Trip

Our spring trip to Houston is right around the corner. We leave in two weeks, so we're right in the middle of preparing for our performance. That's why it's very important that you don't miss any of our after-school rehearsals which are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:45-4:45.

More information about the spring trip will be posted soon.

UIL Contest 08

Recorded at the Region 6 UIL Contest in Andrews on April 10, 2008

UIL Week

It's UIL week. We go to UIL contest on Thursday, April 10th, so it's important that everyone stay focused and work hard toward the same goal. We have two after-school rehearsals left: Monday, 4-7, from 5:30 to 7:30; and Tuesday, 4-8, from 3:45 to 5:00.

On Thursday morning, we leave for Andrews at 5:45. That means you have to be at school at 5:30! That's early, so get to bed at a decent hour the night before.

UIL Concert, JV Choir

Listen to the JV Choir at Tuesday night's concert.