Author: thatguydanbaker

Due to many factors, including: another music event in our building, traffic flow (moving in one direction due to air flow), holding of students during our concert, athletic and other activity conflicts, and not wanting to cut additional music from our concert for time constraints, we have made the difficult decision to not perform our show choir shows at our spring concert. 

Many of our students have expressed their gratitude for being able to perform those show choir shows as much as we were able. Although it is sad, we are grateful they were able to perform those shows back in February.

There will not be show choir rehearsals next week. The calendar will be updated as soon as possible. NLO members playing in “Bohemian Rhapsody” will be contacted regarding a rehearsal during the school day next week. Light Works Crew members are encouraged to help us for our concert as we will need some help with several moves on stage.

Call times for the spring concert will be communicated soon. Thanks for your patience.

Tonight’s parent meeting is delayed until next Monday. Thanks for your understanding.

Due to the overwhelming requests for extensions, we are postponing the audition application DUE DATE TO MONDAY! All applications will be due BEFORE NOON on MONDAY! This gives you that one last chance to submit an audition application for show choir and the new choral ensemble. Have a good weekend!

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE

Our state music association, ISSMA, released all scores and results for the Solo & Ensemble contest. Congratulations to all of the students that participated! We are proud to announce that the following students received a gold (first division) rating:

Kora Beasley

Nicholas Beaver (Vocal & Piano Solo)

Aubrey Byers

Josiah Cross

Riley Fain

Nathan Gibson

Nicholas Gorden (Ensemble & Piano Solo)

Chelsea Hickman

Jenifer Robinson

Ashlynn Rogers

Drew Stahly

Tonight’s MMPA Parent Meeting has been cancelled. The next scheduled meeting will be May 3rd at 6:30pm.

If anyone has questions about auditions or would like to audition for next year’s show choirs and new ensemble, please go to www.northridgechoirs.com/joinchoir for more information. The deadline to submit is THIS FRIDAY!

Go to www.northridgechoirs.com/joinchoir for details!

To give you the most accurate information I have decided to send this message as soon as possible. The following is an excerpt from an E-mail I received from Mrs. Allen:

I am sure you and Sandy are feeling the repercussions of the quarantine issues that have arisen from the Beech Grove Show Choir Invitational.  Due to the number of kids and adults who are quarantined and/or have tested positive, I am sorry to tell you that I am going to withdraw our request to the Elkhart County Health Department to have the NHS Choir Invitational on March 27 and canceling the NHS Choir Invitational.  There could still be parents, kids, and even staff who are affected by the trip this past weekend even that far away.  The hardest part of this for me is the disappointment for you, the kids, MMPA and all of the work all of you have done to make it happen.  
I am very sorry.

In my reply, I asked about our participation in contests March 20th, Mrs. Allen replied:

The issue is now that I fear we are still not finished with choir kids testing positive who are currently quarantined.  We are still waiting for test results from students and adults who were on the trip.  Every time someone new tests positive, all of the kids and adults who would be close contacts with any of them will have to quarantine even longer. The risks are too great for travel like this at this time.   Consequently, I cannot approve the NHS Show Choir March 20 trip.  I am so very sorry, Dan.

​Since I’ve known her, Mrs. Allen has been such a huge support to our programs. She simply would not make these decisions to punish us, but instead to keep us safe. Not to mention, this prevents us from infecting our contest or any venue we would visit turning them into super spreader events.

I am still attempting to process all of this, and I do not have words to say regarding what happens next. One thing that comes to mind, is that I would like to thank you all for your hard work and dedication. My wish right now is that we respect the quarantine and stop this spread within our organization. If you are ill and even if you are just quarantined, stay home; I am praying for health and peace for all of us. 

Thank you for reading this and respecting the decisions our administrators must make for our school’s safety.

Yours in song,

Mr. Dan Baker

I hope you all are having a good evening. Like many of you, this year has seemed like one setback after another. I never thought my last time in person this week with students was to be in rehearsal Monday night telling them, “Things don’t happen to you, they happen for you.” Although it is not my quote, I feel it even stronger now. 

Below is the official announcement from our school system and information:

Hopefully by now you are all aware of the difficult decision made to quarantine all show choir students/staff.  This decision came after we were made aware that several individuals who attended the competition on Saturday have tested positive for COVID-19.  While we are fairly certain that we had quarantined all those individuals who had exposure to the initial positive person, nothing is foolproof, unfortunately, and with a few more individuals having positive test results this week, we decided to do the safest thing and eliminate any risk of additional exposures.

Unless your student has already been contacted about an exposure from this week, your student may return to school on Monday, March 15. 

Again – if the school had already contacted you about a specific exposure that happened this week at school, please reference the return date from that exposure. All others may return on the 15th.

Thank you so much for your patience and understanding during this chaotic time. Please know that the safety of our MCS students and families is our #1 priority. If you have any questions regarding this matter, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Dana Clark Director of HR Middlebury Community Schools

574.822.5324 clarkd@mcsin-k12.org

Also, due to the number of quarantines and cases, all rehearsals and performances will be cancelled next week. We will begin again Monday, March 15th. This is for the safety and health of not only our students, but also the hosts of the contest we were to attend. I want to make sure when we are back, that we are 100%. 

That being said, earlier today I contacted contest sites on March 20th to see if we can add a contest in addition to Carroll. I am happy to report Bishop Dwenger has shifted their schedule and are adding both show choirs to their performance list. Our contest season is not done and we will not stop fighting for our students and to give them opportunities for excellence.

Thank you for your patience and understanding. Yes, this is a rough period, but we simply will not give up as long as we can have safe performances. Have a great night.

Yours in song,

Mr. Dan Baker

Good evening!

I wanted to update you, as soon as I was able, on what we are working on for our invitational. We have secured our building for a MARCH 27th contest, and are planning to move forward with a similar or identical schedule on that day. We hope you are able to join us on that day, and I am very thankful already for your flexibility. This is pending approval from our administration and also from the Elkhart County Board of Health. Not to mention the visiting schools, judges, etc…

Thanks for your patience, and more to come soon!

Yours in song,

Mr. Dan Baker

I hope you all are well. I simply cannot express to you the nature of my heavy heart as I write this message. I will skip right to the point: This morning we learned Mrs. Manglos tested positive for the COVID-19 virus and yesterday we learned Mr. Cox had also tested positive. Despite showing no symptoms, I am required to quarantine at home for the rest of this week and possibly next due to working in close proximity with Mrs. Manglos for 15 minutes or more at a time. We also are learning of possible choral student infections today as well. As a result, there have to be many changes to our schedule this week.

Starting with the biggest change, Mr. Wood and Mrs. Allen made the difficult decision to cancel this weekend and postpone our choral invitational this Saturday. I will begin looking at dates after spring break or virtual solutions to allow our students opportunities for performance. This evening’s rehearsal with Starlights and dress rehearsals Thursday will also need to be cancelled. All of this is to allow anyone that may develop symptoms time to be tested and to not further infection. We need to keep everyone as safe from infection as possible. Not to mention, keeping visitors, parents, and students from other schools safe as well!

Knowing how much time and energy so many people have invested, my heart breaks for not only the students, but also the parents and volunteers. I have spent the last few hours on the phone this morning with many of you who have expressed support and undying love for our students to make this happen. I am hopeful a reschedule will happen. 

Please know if you are receiving this you are loved by many. Nothin’ but love.

Yours in song,

Mr. Dan Baker