September
First Day of School
Click on the link for Interviewing questions, a Mad Lib and a Scavenger Hunt!
What Do I Wish I Had Had on the First Day of School?
The files below are the ones I used successfully over the years to start the school year, in person :) If, by creating this website and sharing this information, I can make just one Choral Director's life a bit easier, I will have done what I've set out to do!
Check out the SANDBOX for Lesson Ideas and Activities and Icebreakers!
In the PDF below:
The Notes that I read to the ensemble classes on the First Day of School.
A syllabus
An Info sheet-mandatory. It was collected and placed in a notebook for reference throughout the year. It was also linked to a Google Sheet which created the department database. (So yes, they completed the info twice!) It became their first assignment and first A+ grade!
A handwritten assignment. Can they write? Spell? Use proper grammar? You'll see once you collect this assignment!
A school mandated permission slip signed by parents or guardians granting permission to contact students via text or email.
Another handwritten assignment.
TEN LITTLE CHOIR MEMBERS...I read this poem as a RECRUITING tool every first day of school for decades. It was usually followed by a reading of letters from recent grads who were writing to those left behind in high school!

A copy of the Laminated Flier the Section Leaders would place around the building for the first two weeks of the new school year.


JOB DESCRIPTION = Month-by-Month
As the Ridge program grew, I created a monthly job description which I amended every month so I would be sure not to forget anything! While this will be specific to the activities I ran every year, you can use it as a framework to create one for your program. Highly recommend!