HOMS Chorus Cheesecake Fundraiser off to a Sweet Start!
PALM CITY, FLORIDA - On October 12th the Hidden Oaks Middle School (HOMS) Choral Department kicked-off their only fundraiser for the school year. The new
Cheesecake Fundraiser program will run Oct. 12 - 26 and items will be delivered Nov. 18th (just in time for Thanksgiving). The students are very excited about having the opportunity to offer great items like Reese's, and Chocolate-covered strawberry cheesecake, as well as cookie dough, and the popular pumpkin roll to the community AND raise much-needed revenue.
In past years, the Martin County community has kindly and generously supported the HOMS Chorus Department. This is the only fundraiser that is done for the award-winning HOMS Chorus Department, with your generous support; the students have been featured on WQCS NPR, and performed at; Festivals, Dedication services and Community Concerts. Funds will be used to ease the financial burdens of the parents of chorus students in providing assistance with music, uniforms, competition and festival entrance fees, transportation and many other expenses that the department has been forced to pass along to families with recent budget cuts in education.
Additionally, both the Jubilee Singers and the Vocal Jazz Ensembles regularly participate in District, State, and National Competitions. It is through the generous support of our Booster programs, parents, volunteers, sponsors, donors, and the community (like you), that we are able to pay for competition fees, equipment, music, transportation and other necessities to keep these high-quality programs available to our students.
Why do we need music education?
I believe arts education in music, theater, dance and the visual arts is one of the most creative ways we have to find the gold that is buried just beneath the surface. They (children) have an enthusiasm for life, a spark of creativity, and vivid imaginations that need training...training that prepares them to become confident young men and women. As I visit schools around the country I see a renewed interest in arts education and a growing concern about the negative impact of cutting art and music out of curriculum. The creativity of the arts and the joy of music should be central to the education of every American child.
(Source: Richard W. Riley, U.S. Secretary of Education)
- Music is Beating Computers at Enhancing Early Childhood Development. Music training, specifically piano instruction, is far superior to computer instruction in dramatically enhancing children's abstract reasoning skills necessary for learning math and science. Learning music at an early age causes long-term enhancement of spatial-temporal reasoning.
(Source: Frances Rauscher, Ph.D., Gordon Shaw, Ph.D., University of California, Irvine, 1997)
- Music Enhances Linguistic Skills. Music -- specifically song -- is one of the best training grounds for babies learning to recognize the tones that add up to spoken language.
(Source Sandra Trehubn, University of Toronto, 1997)
- America Is a Country Full of Music-Makers. 113 million, or 53% of Americans over the age of 12 are current or former music makers.
(Source: 1997 "American Attitudes Towards Music" poll conducted by the Gallup Organization)
- Americans Say Schools Should Offer Instrumental Music Instruction as part of the regular curriculum. 88% of respondents indicated this in a 1997 "American Attitudes Towards Music" Gallup poll.
(Source: Music Trades, September 1997)
- Student involvement in extracurricular or cocurricular activities makes students resilient to current substance use among their peers, according to a recent statewide survey of Texas Schools. Secondary students who participated in band, orchestra, or choir reported the lowest lifetime use of all substances.
(Source: 1994 Texas School Survey of Substance Abuse Among Students: Grades 7-12)
"Should we not be putting all our emphasis on reading, writing and math? The 'back-tobasics curricula,' while it has merit, ignores the most urgent void in our present system - absence of self-discipline. The arts, inspiring - indeed requiring - self-discipline, may be more 'basic' to our nation survival than traditional credit courses. Presently, we are spending 29 times more on science than on the arts, and the result so far is worldwide intellectual embarrassment." - Paul Harvey - syndicated radio show host
2006 Children's Music Workshop• info@childrensmusicworkshop.com • Official CMW merchandise
To support the efforts of the Florida Vocal Association, please see: www.fva.org. For more information about how you too, might become involved with the Hidden Oaks Middle School Chorus Boosters, go to:
http://homschorusmom.livejournal.com/, where all updates, announcements, etc. are posted. Membership is composed of students, parents and members of the community who wish to support music in our schools. To order your sweet treats, please contact any HOMS Chorus student, or contact HOMS at: 772-219-1655. Thank you for supporting our children. All notes, calendars, newsletters, flyers, and event details are posted in the Yahoo! messaging center files section in Word.doc for your convenience. Messaging center:
http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/homschorus/