January Newsletter
Hello Clements Choir Family!
Kudos to our 9 Area candidates who auditioned this past week. They were really incredible. We have 6 students representing us in the TMEA All-State choir next month- the most since 2015 and the 5th most in the state! Congratulations to Luca Marino & Sarah Gentle (Mixed Choir); Gia Ann George, Danae Romero Leal & Danica Smith (Treble Choir); and Kallin Wheatley (Tenor Bass Choir).
We are full steam ahead into UIL Season! The students have had some really wonderful rehearsals already! Of course, please feel free to email us with any questions.
Jade Blakey | jade.blakey@fortbendisd.com
Justin Shen | justin.shen@fortbendisd.com
Choir Recruitment/Retention
Can you believe its course registration time? Underclassmen families, we hope your student sticks around in choir. This year has been really wonderful and it is because of the individual students here who have made such a supportive and joyful community. To re-select choir, when you login to do your course selection, choose “Choir I-IV"- the number tells you how many years in choir you have in high school. So most sophomores will put “Choir II,” etc. Remember, we take new students whether they did choir in middle school or are looking for a fun place to join as a senior. Tell them to select Choir I! It is vital you enter your courses accurately when they open SchoolLinks. They base staffing decisions on the enrollment captured in Mid-February (This includes if we keep Mr. Shen on campus! We need 150 kids in choir to make it impossible for district to relocate him.) SchoolLinks opens on January 26th and closes on February 13th to do course selections.
Choir AAC starting Fall 2026
There is an exciting opportunity to earn an additional .5 GPA points through choir! Choir AAC is for students who want to go deeper into music-making and who have good practice habits outside of class. It is open to every student in the program because the “AAC” projects are all done outside the class day. Be careful when choosing to do AAC Choir. It’s a lot of work if you don’t enjoy it OR if you have never practiced regularly at home. The requirements are: Learning the first 2 rounds of the All-State music, learn 2 “Level I” solo pieces from the UIL PML (early college level in difficulty), writing a 5-6 page research paper on one of those selections, and attend 3 additional performances with a 1-page reflection over each of them. This is intense, extracurricular course work that will have additional fees attached. Please think carefully about balancing your other courses’ workloads with the considerable practice expectations needed to complete the Choir AAC coursework. We do not want kids to fail for not doing their homework!
Choir III & IV GPA Exempt
There is still the opportunity to exempt from the 4.0 GPA weight of choir after two years in the program. Students can choose to do a Pass/Fail for choir instead of getting a numeric grade that gets calculated into GPA when they are in “Choir III” or “Choir IV.” Who does this benefit? If students enroll in mostly AAC/AP Classes, a course that is weighted as a 4.0 could bring down the GPA. This affects very few students. Most benefit from the high grade that many have in choir!
If your student wants to be in Chamber Choir next year school year, they will select “Choir I-IV" in their regular course and put “Vocal Ens I” in their alternate courses. The Chamber Choir audition is April 21-22nd. Just a reminder that Chamber choir enroll in 2 periods of choir.
Volunteering for the spring:
Please sign up to help us out with our events this year! Many hands make light work!
Can you spare some time during lunch? We need parent help selling “Singing Valentines” the first week of February!
Course Fair | Thursday, January 15th 5:45-7:45pm @ CHS Competition Gym
We had so many students say yes to working Course Fair to represent choir to interested students! Do you have peers and family friends that you would like us to meet? Bring them by the choir booth! Remember to wear your polo & jeans, workers! Thank you to the following students who are volunteering: David Teoh, Aydin Akbarali, Shanon Mathew, Audrey Ma, Maya Aboughali, Sravya Alaparthi, Saesha Chawla, Joshua Yuan, and Julius Llacar.
The Sound of Music | Thursday, January 22nd-Saturday 24th @ CHS Auditorium
The CHS Fine Arts Department will be performing “The Sound of Music” next week! It’s going to be really wonderful! It is led by our own Sarah Gentle as Maria and Kallin Wheatley as Captain Von Trapp, along with many other familiar faces. It also features a live orchestra of all CHS instrumentalists. This is a wonderful, family friendly show. Come see the charming Von Trapp Children (Cast from Colony Meadows Elementary, Commonwealth Elementary, Sartartia MS and Fort Settlement MS) as they learn to love music amidst the backdrop of the Nazi occupation of Austria. It’s only one weekend, so don’t wait! Tickets are online or in-person. If you are buying in-person, please arrive by 6:40pm. Buy tickets here.
Want to support in other ways?
Donate concession supplies: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080F4AA8AA29ABFE3-61283913-chstheatre#/
(Adult) Volunteer at the performances:https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080F4AA8AA29ABFE3-61336945-sound#/
“Choir loves Musical” Social | Friday, January 23rd 6:30-9:45pm @ CHS Auditorium
The choir officers are hosting a social to support the musical! After purchasing a ticket, meet on the right-hand side of the auditorium lobby. We will have a sign, take some photos, apply temporary tattoos and stamps- as well as meet up with any middle school choir friends that are joining! Do you have a friend interested in CHS Choir? Bring them along! This is a very inclusive social. We will sit together during the show and meet our choir castmates at the end of the show!
January Council Meeting | Tuesday, January 27th 3-4pm @ CHS Choir Room
Join us, students, for the first council meeting of the semester! We’re going to write letters to 8th graders, decorate for Valentine’s Day, and talk about our Raising Cane’s Night! Open to all CHS choir students wanting to grow their leadership skills! See you there!
After School Concert Chorale Rehearsals | Tuesdays, 5-6:30pm @ CHS Choir Room
Concert Chorale (5th period) rehearsals begin on January 27th! Mark your calendars and be sure you are on time. Points will be docked for tardiness.
Spirit Night at Raising Cane’s | Wednesday, January 28th 3-10pm @ Raising Cane’s @ 1529 Highway 6, Sugar Land TX 7747
Come get your dinner at Raising Cane’s to help raise funds for choir! Mention that you’re with us for us to get 15% of the net sale! Bring your friends and see you there! Parents, we’d love to see you and say hi! We have lots to brag about when it comes to your kids!
Solo Festival | Funds due January 30th
This is only required for students who have opted in to Solo Festival. Please log in to Presto and pay these fees, parents! Not sure? Ask!
Singing Valentines 2026
Concert Chorale will be delivering Singing Valentine Telegrams to 5th period classes February 10th-12th. If your family wants to buy one, they will be $5 cash taken at lunch February 2nd-6th. We could use parent help selling them. Sign up here.
Booster Club Meeting | Tuesday, February 3rd @ Choir Room, 6:00PM | Booster Club Members
This is for parents/guardians who want to get involved and be “in-the-know" about what’s happening next. We will be talking about Singing Valentines, Banquet, and more! It’s not too late to join the Booster Club.
UIL Season
Please look at the calendar in March and April for UIL Clinics. These double-major grade events are where we pay for a professional colleague to come in to give us feedback. They are vital to our contest preparation, and we need every person in the room. Everyone attends Pre-UIL (1 day of March 10-12) and UIL (April 8-10). This is our state-wide evaluation of each choir’s ability to prepare advanced literature and sightread. Please join us and cheer them on!
A Cappella/Cantiamo “Mega Choir” Rehearsals
Due to a variety of factors, we are combining 4th and 7th period for contest season in “Mega Treble” (do you hear the revving of Monster Trucks?!) When negotiating with the 63 students who are involved in this ensemble (many of whom choose non varsity because they are busy outside of choir), it was incredibly difficult to find a time that works for all. We have settled on dates and times. Please respond to this email with conflicts. Conflicts will be worked through and accommodations will be made as long as they are communicated in writing by January 30th. Please chat with coaches and sponsors. We can also make the accommodation to time share with other events.
Monday, February 23rd 5-6:30pm
Monday, March 2nd 5-6:30pm
Monday, March 9th 5-6:30pm
Monday, March 30th (Clinic) 4-5:30pm
Fee Update (paid through Presto Parent Account):
Please make sure to pay any outstanding fees in Presto Assistant. We currently have a $3,662 outstanding balance of fees.
Choir Website:
Please visit our website for the calendar, practice tracks, and other pertinent information! | clementschoir.org
Calendars:
There is an electronic calendar for all the major choir events for the year, choir leadership, musical, and all-state rehearsals. Please scroll to see all of them!
Donations:
There are a few things that we always need in the choir room. Please consider donating one or more of the following items, there are links attached for easy Amazon ordering! (any brand/amount is fine, we’re not picky!):
Upcoming Events:
Solo Festival Rehearsals- Schedule forthcoming
SHSU Invitational (Chamber only)- February 19th
Thank you!
-Mrs. Blakey & Mr. Shen