March 1, 2020

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Congratulations to Orchestra Students!

Congratulations to the Advanced and Intermediate/Experienced Beginner Orchestras for BOTH receiving straight Superior Ratings at MPA, the district Music Performance Assessment event.

Save the Date!!! Arts Festival April 17-18th Our entire Howard community should plan to attend our amazing Arts Festival! This festival will serve as the Spring Concert, Recital, and Art Show for all Visual and Performing Arts classes. Attendance is required for students during the times they are performing. Art students are also required to attend a portion of the Illuminations show. More details on call-times will be available soon. For the first time ever, we will provide a Premier Showcase event where the Central Florida community is invited to see some of our amazing student performances and artistic creations.This is a ticketed event with prioritized seating. Stay tuned for ticketing details.

April 17

● 5:00 Orchestra ● 7:00pm Dance

April 18

Illuminations Art Gallery will be open throughout most of the day on April 18, so that families can attend a performance and also view some of our fantastic student artwork!

● 9:00-9:45am Piano ● 10:30-11:30am Chorus ● 12:30-2:00pm Band ● 3:00-4:00pm Guitar ● 4:00 All galleries close until showcase event

The Premiere Showcase is a separate ticketed event, taking place on Saturday evening, April 18, at 5:00pm. This fundraiser is being sponsored by the Howard Foundation. More details to come!

Orchestra Performances & Solo Festival

Upcoming Orchestra Dates:

❖ Thursday, March 12 – Beginner Solo Recitals during class. More information coming home this week.

❖ Saturday, April 4 – Middle School Orchestra Solo and Ensemble Festival at Lake Nona Middle School

❖ Friday, April 17 – 5 PM ORCHESTRA CONCERT at Howard Arts Festival! All classes! ❖ Tuesday, May 5 – 7 pm Advanced Orchestra, Orlando Philharmonic, Edgewater HS

Orchestra Collaboration Concert at Edgewater HS, 7 pm. No tickets required.

Experienced Beginners, Intermediate, Advanced Orchestra Solo Information Students received information regarding the OCPS Middle School Solo and Ensemble Festival on Saturday, April 4, at Lake Nona MS. Check with your student for a hand out. Here are school pay links for your convenience: Solo: https://www.schoolpay.com/pay/for/Orchestra-SOLO-and-Ensemble-Festival-Fai/STKLHB Ensemble: https://www.schoolpay.com/pay/for/Orchestra-Solo-and-ENSEMBLE-Festival/SbEhbe HOWARD MIDDLE SCHOOL SPRING ORCHESTRA DATES AND EVENTS Thursday, March 12

Period 3 and Period 6 Beginning String Class Recitals and Select Students - Parents invited!

What to wear: Dress up, look nice OR concert clothes NO jeans, no color requirement

Week of March 30 - Solo Festival practice with piano accompanist, schedule TBD Saturday, April 4 OCPS Middle School Solo and Ensemble Contest for Intermediate, Advanced, Exp. Beginners and select Beginners. Students will perform a solo with piano accompaniment for a judge.

Ratings: Superior w/Distinction, Superior, Excellent, Good, Fair.

Friday, April 17 5:00 pm SPRING ORCHESTRA CONCERT AT HOWARD

Students remain at school, bring concert clothes (BLACK SHOES, please!) Ticket information to come.

FYI: The dance recital is at 7:00 pm that evening, we are aware students are in both orchestra and dance. Concert Tickets for parents/family members attending both events are TBD. Saturday, April 18 CHAMBER ORCHESTRA performs at the Gala 6:15 pm. More details to come Advanced Orchestra dates: Sectionals with Orlando Philharmonic. April 27 (Monday) 4:15 to 5:30 Violins April 28 (Tuesday) 4:15 to 5:30 Violas April 30 (Thursday) 4:15 to 5:30 Cello and Bass Tuesday, May 5 3:45 pm Adv. Orchestra students go by bus to Edgewater HS 7:00 pm ADVANCED ORCHESTRA/ORLANDO PHILHARMONIC/EDGEWATER HS

COLLABORATION CONCERT Location: Edgewater High School

NO tickets Students must be picked up from concert Parents and families invited to attend! Mary Lubaroff mary.lubaroff@ocps.net

School Spirit - Chicago Bulls vs Orlando Magic

Howard Academy of Arts School Spirit Night! Game 32 - Chicago Bulls

Thursday, March 12, 2020 @ 7:00 p.m.

Click here for tickets: Get Tickets

The Final Chance to pre-order yearbooks, along with name engraving is approaching fast. The deadline is March 31st. This is the only way to guarantee your child will receive a book, since we did sell out last year of the extras ordered for post-sales. There will be no exceptions to final date. The date for Ads has been extended to March 1st, and there can be no exception on this date either… as this was already an extension. The cost of Yearbooks is $35, you may purchase 2 ways: 1. Online through Herff Jones http://yearbookordercenter.com Job 0542 2. Through Mrs. Valerie King, cash or check made out to HMS in Room 108H. Ad prices: ALL ads are made directly through Herff Jones on their website. Full: $175 Half: $90 1/4: $50 1/8: $25 Dance Recital- Howard Arts Festival- Friday, April 17th!

As mentioned in the dance handbook that was given out at the beginning of the school year, we will have our end of the year dance recital on Friday, April 17th! Please save this date as this is a performance grade for all students. We will be working on choreography this month as well as ordering/organizing costumes. If your student is unable to attend this recital due to any previous engagements, please let us know as soon as possible via email. Students who are unable to attend the recital will be given an alternative assignment.

More details regarding the recital will be provided as we get closer! Please also make sure that your student is prepared with the correct attire/shoes. We are looking forward to showcasing our fabulous dance students and showing their friends and families all of the skills that we have been working on throughout this school year!

Samantha.hudson@ocps.net Alissa.coombs@ocps.net

ATTENTION ALL CURRENT INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED DANCERS:

We will be holding OPTIONAL placement auditions for the upcoming 2020/2021 school year. Attending this audition does not guarantee advanced placement but will be an opportunity for current students to get additional exposure to be placed in the appropriate level. There will be 25 slots available per audition day. Once all of the spots are filled, there will be no space for extra students. A SignUpGenius link has been sent out via Canvas. Students must wear their appropriate dance attire and hair must be secured into a bun. The auditions will be held on Tuesday, February 25th from 4:00-5:30pm and Wednesday, March 11th from 3:00-4:30pm. Once the audition is finished, students should be picked up at the front of the school.Please email Ms. Hudson or Mrs. Coombs with any additional questions or concerns.

Samantha.hudson@ocps.net Alissa.coombs@ocps.net

Modern Woodmen School Speech Contest

The Modern Woodmen School Speech Contest will take place on March 12, 2020 beginning at 8:30am. The 2020 Topic is: “What Freedom Means to Me”. Participation in this contest is optional. Students can access information through an announcement on Canvas. There is a detailed description of this year’s topic and speech requirements, resources about writing and delivering your speech and even tips for public speaking. In order to participate students must submit a paper copy of their speech to their Language Arts teacher for approval by February 28, 2020. Students will be notified by March 3, 2020 of their participation in the contest. Please contact our Instructional Coach, Sarah Yelensky at Sarah.Yelensky@ocps.net if you have any questions or concerns.

Howard Love Pantry

Howard is officially a Love Pantry school! This means we will be able to provide immediate food supply to our families in need. The goal is to eliminate hunger as a barrier to learning.

Big thank you to Celebration Church for being our sponsor and providing Howard families with the Love Pantry. We are so grateful!

Gradventure Parent Chaperone Meeting-March 2, 2020 at 8:45 a.m. Mr. Coley will be hosting a Gradventure Parent Chaperone meeting on March 2nd, 2020 at 8:45am in the Media Center. This meeting is only for parents that have been approved through the ADDitions platform and received an email from Mr. Coley.

Below is the link where you will be paying your fee for the Universal Gradventure trip. The total cost of this trip is $120.

School Pay Link for Gradventure Payments (Links to an external site.) Below is the payment schedule:

● 3rd Payment of $30.00 due March 7, 2020 ● Final payment of $30.00 due April 3, 2020

You may also pay the entire cost a one time before January 7th, 2020 to reserve your spot.

THERE WILL BE NO REFUNDS AFTER FEBRUARY 27th, 2020

Behavior Expectations Any student that receives a level 2 and/or level 3 referral will NOT be allowed to participate in the Universal Studios Florida's Gradventure field trip. If you have any questions or concerns please contact me using the information below. Altamont B. Coley III (altamont.Coley@ocps.net)

Fine Arts Summer Institute The Howard Middle School Summer Arts Institute has returned for this summer! Please visit http://howardcamps.myfreesites.net for more information. FAN GRAM!

Our Howard Faculty and Staff are fantastic! Help us celebrate their dedication and commitment to our students. Please use the QR Code or this link FANGRAM to leave a message for a teacher that has impacted you in a positive way. Thank you!

BOX TOPS FOR EDUCATION  

Keep those Box Tops coming!! We currently have 220.00 and our goal this year is 1000.00 Thank you for your support!

Beta Club Sponsors Spirit Week March 9th - 12th Monday 3/9 National Nap Day - Pajama Day Tuesday 3/10 National Day of Awesomeness - Show your pride 6th grade Blue or White 7th grade Yellow or Purple 8th grade Red or Black Wednesday 3/11 Johnny Appleseed Day - dress country in jeans or overalls and flannel (fill out an apple showing appreciation for your teacher before school and during lunch) Thursday 3/12 - Wear Green Show your your St. Patrick’s Day Spirit Friday 3/13 - teacher workday student holiday

Above And Beyond Mentorship Club Above and Beyond Mentorship Club will be hosting its end of Semester Seminar Next week Thursday March 5, 2020. Entitled 2020 Vision Seminar, will be from 4:15 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. in the Media Center. There will be several guest presenters from varied backgrounds of media art, restaurant ownership, small business owners and outreach. NJHS Community Service Opportunities NJHS Community Service alert!!! There are 2 opportunities to give tours of Howard to our incoming students and families--1) Saturday February 29th from 9:30-11:30am and 2) Tuesday March 3rd from 5:30-7:30pm. Please sign up on Mrs. Ramsey’s door if interested. We need about 20 students for both days. Next NJHS meeting is Thursday March 5th from 4-4:45 in the Media Center!

Dance A Thon NHSDA will be hosting a Dance-A-Thon on Friday March 6th from 5-9pm. Any student currently enrolled in dance is invited to attend. Students will collect pledges and dance at least one minute for each dollar collected. Students should be picked up from the Gym door on Robinson when being checked out of the event. All students will need to be picked up by a parent/guardian/approved adult. NHSDA Meeting

NHSDA will be meeting in Mrs. Coombs classroom every Tuesday morning at 8:30am to continue planning our Dance-A-Thon fundraiser which takes place on March 6th. All

members are encouraged to attend if they are available to help with finalizing details to have a successful event. Any parents of current dance students who are interested in chaperoning this fundraiser after school hours on March 6th, please sign-up here: Dance-A-Thon Only current ADDitions approved volunteers can chaperone. The opportunity to sign-up will close on Tuesday March 3rd.

Start Date Event Location Start Time End Time

Mar. 2,3,4 Track & Field Tryouts HMS Track 4:00 PM 5:15 PM

Mar. 4 No Early Dismissal.

Mar. 5-7 Band MPA

Mar. 6 Jeremiah’s Ice Fundraiser HMS Lobby 4:00 PM 4:15 PM

Mar. 6 Dance-A-Thon (Dance Fundraiser) 4:00 PM 9:00 PM

Mar. 10 Piano- Beginners Daytime Recital PAC 9:30 AM 4:00 PM

Mar. 12 End of 3rd Quarter

Mar. 12 Orchestra Beginner-Classroom Recitals

Mar. 12 Oration Contest PAC 8:30 AM

Mar. 12 HMS School Spirit Night Orlando Magic vs Chicago Bulls Amway Center 7:00 PM

Mar. 13 No School for Students

Mar. 13-15 Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival

Mar. 14-22 Spring Break

Mar. 23 Start of 4th Quarter

Apr 1 Long Wednesday. No early dismissal!

Apr 1 Track & Field HMS vs Glenridge Glenridge 5:00 PM 7:00PM

Apr 3 Jeremiah’s Ice Fundraiser HMS Lobby 4:00 PM 4:15 PM

Apr 3 Spring Musical-Shrek, Jr. PAC 7:00 PM

Apr 4 Spring Musical-Shrek, Jr. PAC 7:00 PM

Apr 8

Track & Field HMS vs Ren. Chickasaw & Audubon Park HMS 5:00 PM 7:00 PM

Apr 15 Track & Field HMS vs ACE ACE 5:00 PM 7:00 PM

Apr 17 HMS Arts Festival Orchestra & Dance PAC 5:00 PM

Apr 18

HMS Arts Festival Illuminations Art Gallery Piano, Chorus, Band, Guitar, PAC & Gym 9:00 AM 4:00 PM

Apr 18 HMS Arts Festival Premiere Showcase PAC 5:00 PM