Trip Updates/ Thursday, May 21, 2009

Rehearsals
We have so much music to be ready for, and so little time left. Every rehearsal has to count. Please do your best to be in attendance at every single one. As of tomorrow, you will not be allowed in rehearsal without your folder. If you are missing any pieces, you must get them from me today. I have to do it this way because of the number of students coming to rehearsal every day without a folder has grown to a proportion that is just unacceptable. You need to be marking your score throughout rehearsal, being responsible for every artistic choice we make, and more importantly circling the parts you are getting wrong so you can put some time into them and fix them. It is discouraging when there is so much about to happen and so many of you are not only not working on your part outside of class, memorizing etc, you aren't even marking a single thing in your music in class. There is no such thing as the choral art without your own marked score.
In addition to the two weeks of in class rehearsal that we have left, we are having 2 added rehearsals for all tour participants. Monday, June 1, 6:30-9:00 and Friday June 12, 11:00-2:00. These are really important. If you cannot attend either of them, you will need to come in and sing your part individually for me so that I know you put in those practice hours on your own. You won't sing on the tour if you don't attend these and then do not sing for me individually as a make up.

Passports
Our tour company still does not have passport copies from the following. This is urgent and I would like the copy by tomorrow please.
Nick Yanofsky
Naomi Shomron
Sam Riley
Gabriel Rivera
Shivani Rustagi
Sam Putney
Sarah Powell
Erin Piper
Brooke Peckenpaugh
Kayla Neumeyer
Kit Miller
Alicia Michelson
Britania Light
Julia Li
Taylor Johnson
Sam Hayward
Ava Hawkinson
Clara Zahorsky
Ilana Magill
Mariam Helmy
Isaac Klapholz-Brown
Currency Information
Some really good info about currency from Mrs. Ellis.
"I went to Stanford Shopping Center today after school and visited the foreign currency exchange across from the travel store.
I inquired about purchasing $100. worth of Krouna = Czech Republic. The woman behind the counter asked about my visit and I mentioned that a group was going from this area. She is planning on having Czech currency at the store after June 1-13 with no charge to us. If the students or the chaperones want some Krouna to have when they arrive, it will be available there after June 1. To reserve the Krouna, call 321-3309 at Travelex. I know a lot of us purchased Euros for the trip to Italy there. The clerk would appreciate having a weeks notice for a pre-order about a week in advance of our departure."

PAUSD Insurance
I meant to explain this to you all at the trip meeting, but I forgot. The School District is required by their insurance carrier to charge us a small fee for the added insurance necessary to go on a school sponsored trip like this. It is not much, $3.20 per day or $32.00. I wish the Boosters could just cover this for you, but when you multiply it by 124 it is a lot. I will need a check from each participant for $32.00 made out to Gunn Choir Boosters. If we could all try to remember this right away it would be great (like tomorrow or Tuesday please).

Chaperone Groups
Just a heads up that these are still being tinkered with. I am trying to get everyone where they feel most comfortable. Please be aware that the experience is much more fluid in terms of who you are with than it looks on paper. Yes, you are on your assigned bus (but we are not on busses that much) and yes you will travel in those groups for city tours, but a lot of the time, especially in rehearsal and performances and meals, free time in the hotel etc, you are free to mingle just like any choir activity. I think it looks on paper like we are separated in to 10 groups all the time and the actual tour experience doesn't feel like that a lot of the time.

A Celebration of Life for Stephen Carothers will be held on Friday, June 12 at 4:30 pm in Mitchell Park. I know a lot of you know Megan well, and certainly a lot of us parents worked closely with Dulce over the last 3 years. I am sure it will be a wonderful celebration of his life. I hope you can come.

Problems? Contact me. This is a crazy time of year and there is a lot to take care of. If you need help getting it all done, ask. I can work with you on your part outside of class, or we can record parts you don't know. We have got the greatest bunch of parent boosters you could ever ask for, and they are ready to help you in any way. We just want this experience to be something you will remember your whole life, and in order for that to happen there is a lot of pre-planning and work that has to be done now in order for this to happen.

Best,
Bill Liberatore

P.S. SHOPPING: There are lot of sales going on this weekend. It might be the perfect time to study that packing list and think about pulling together the stuff you don't have, especially comfortable walking shoes!