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WMHFA Calendar
GR Schedule & Map

Announcements

Open House at WMHFA
We have an Open House this week at WMHFA! On March 14 and 21 in Kalamazoo and March 15 and 22 in Grand Rapids, we will invite prospective families to come check out our programs. If you know of any families who are interested in joining WMHFA next year, invite them to come see the fun! There is no special schedule. Families are welcome to observe any of our classes so they can see what to expect. Although we can take drop-ins, we would encourage them to sign up at https://forms.gle/o9j3ZCJZ26hv6cA2A​ so we know when to expect them. This will help with traffic flow and making sure they are greeted properly and someone is available to show them around. 

If you are looking for something to do to fill your work hours (or if you are hanging around anyway and would love to be a tour guide!) please let the people at the information desk know and be ready to be available during those dates. Students are also welcome to sign up to help with this!

Be ready to be good hosts to our visiting families. Be friendly and helpful, but please don't allow classes to be disrupted. The teachers do not have time in their schedules to meet all of our new families, but we do encourage them to talk to our parents! However, please keep discussions outside of the classroom and do not disrupt the teaching time by talking in the back of class. Even low voices can carry to the front and be disruptive.

GR Worship Center Usage - March 15
On the evening of March 15, Corinth Reformed Church is having a Pinewood Derby Race for their children's ministry. They will need to have the race track set up on the stage in the Worship Center during the day on March 15. Please make sure your students know that they are not to touch it. Parents, please help us keep an eye on it as well and be sure no students go near it. The church is allowing us the privilege of using the room even though they need to have it set up early, and we want to be very appreciative and respectful of that.

KZ - Keep our hallways clean!
Because of the mud in front of the building, please keep to the sidewalk. Mud is being tracked into the building, and we are having to mop the hallway mulitiple times in a day. Thank you!
​
Concert Program Advertising 
Earn 50% of every ad sale! – Deadline for us to receive ads is March 21.  Full, half, & quarter page and 2 line ads available for your favorite companies.  Ads appear in both Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids concert programs. Stop by the desk to request a form, or visit wmhfa.org/advertising-options​!

Instrumental Solo & Ensemble Saturday
Our Instrumental Solo & Ensemble is taking place this Saturday at Corinth Reformed Church. We could use some help if you are still looking for hours to fill for your family involvement. It's very easy work, and it is also a great chance to find out what this event is like and whether it is something your child should participate in for the future! If you have some free time on Saturday from 8 to 5 and want to come help for a few hours (or more!) email office@wmhfa.org. If you are participating and don't remember the schedule or need to double check the rules, be sure to visit 
wmhfa.org/solo--ensemble

Grand Rapids Senior Choir District Festival Thursday
The Grand Rapids Senior Choir will be performing at the MSVMA District Festival at West Ottawa Harbor Lights Middle School Performing Arts Center. Make sure you have your concert uniform ready to go. Bow ties and cummerbunds will be available once you arrive. Your room moms will need to pick those up on Wednesday and will bring them to festival. You need to arrive by 2:30. 

In Honor of Marge Jones
Last week, Marge Jones, a former member of WMHFA, went to be with the Lord. Over the last thirty years Marge had adopted 22 special needs children and together with Cheryl Johnson they had been foster parents to over seventy special needs children. In honor of Marge, please consider a contribution to the Jones-Johnson Family Ministry. The mission of the Jones-Johnson Family Ministry is to assist this family and other families with special needs children. The ministry also provides assistance to mentally and physically disabled adults. To make a donation in honor of Marge CLICK HERE
​

​Upcoming Dates: (See all dates at https://www.wmhfa.org/calendar.html​)
  • March 14/15 - Open House at WMHFA
  • March 16 - GR Senior Choir 2:30-4:30pm at West Ottawa Harbor Lights Middle School Performing Arts Center - District High School Choral Festival 
  • March 18 - Instrumental Solo & Ensemble at Corinth Reformed Church
  • March 21/22 - Open House at WMHFA
  • NO SPRING BREAK
  • March 24 - State High School Vocal Solo & Ensemble Festival at Allendale HS - 5:30-7:15pm (Chorale)
  • March 25 - Competition Guard - time TBD
  • April 4 - Kalamazoo Orchestra Concert at 7pm* (First Congregational Church in Kalamazoo)
  • April 5 - Big Band 1 - Concert at Holland Home - Breton Ridge 3:30 to 4:20pm
  • April 11 - Last day of class for Kalamazoo
  • April 11 - Kalamazoo Band, Choir, Colorguard Concert at 7pm*
  • April 19 - Last day of class for Grand Rapids
  • April 20 - Choir/Colorguard Concert at 7pm*
  • April 22 - Band/Orchestra/Handbell Concert 10am to 4pm (Orchestra 10-12; Band/Handbells 2-4)*
  • May 5, 8, 9 - State High School Choral Festival at Hope College - date & time TBD (for GR Senior Choir)
  • May 13 5pm - WMHFA Graduation
  • June 5-9 - Marching Band Camp!

Reminders from Last Week

Concert Uniform Pieces
Has your child grown? Please check to make sure all your student's concert uniform shirts/skirts/pants still fit! If you need to change up to the next size, please bring the old piece to the Information Desk and we will make sure we get you one the next size up!

Marching Band News
Don't forget to sign up at your parent portal! For more information about dates and rehearsals, go to ​wmhfa.org/marching-band-information.

Memorization tests have started virtually! We will be doing memorization checks via video recording this year. See wmhfa.org/marching-band-memorization for more information and to submit your video. Students who submit their memorization videos and pass by April 15 will earn the Early Bird Memorization Prize. Each Early Bird student will have their name entered into a drawing and a Grand Prize will be awarded to the student whose name is drawn.

We have a new director! We are blessed to have Mr. DeBone, our Grand Rapids Advanced Band, Big Band 2, and Brass Ensemble director, as our new NLMB director. Mrs. Silverthorne has been given a unique opportunity to play the bassoon in a special performance ensemble this summer. While she has greatly enjoyed her time leading the Northern Lights Marching Band, she wishes to hand the baton off to another director. Thank you, Mrs. Silverthorne, for serving as the NLMB director! We welcome Mr. DeBone as our new director and look forward to another great year of continuing the Northern Lights tradition!

We would like to invite you to participate in our Marching Band T-Shirt design competition! Students (and adults) are welcome to create a design for this year's marching band t-shirt. See more details at wmhfa.org/marching-band-information


Important Dates

See our Calendar.

Grand Rapids Symphonic Band Tickets
Dr. Harrison is a member of the Grand Rapids Symphonic Band. They have several performances throughout the year, and students get free admission with a voucher. Tickets for parents are $5. You can see the schedule and print a ticket voucher at their website at 
https://www.grsymphonicband.org/concerts--tickets.html​.

Important Information

Weather Policy
Grand Rapids - Classes will be cancelled if Byron Center Public Schools are cancelled due to weather.
Kalamazoo - Classes will be cancelled if Schoolcraft Public Schools are cancelled due to weather.

Email, Text, and Facebook posts will be sent out shortly after 6am to announce any cancellation of classes. Notices will also be posted on local television and radio websites. Please Note: WMHFA families come from all over West Michigan, therefore the weather in one area may be fine while another area may have hazardous roads. If classes are not cancelled, please use your discretion in deciding to make the drive. We want everyone to arrive safely!

Text Messages
We have a texting service for important notifications. You can adjust your texting options in your parent portal.
Parents: Go to Dashboard > Billing & Payments > Contacts > Edit > Basic Info > Contact Info, click to enable Allow text messaging? and click Save.
Students: Go to Dashboard > View (student name) > Edit (pencil) > Basic Info, click to enable Allow text messaging? and click Save.

Absences
Missing Your Work Shift
 
  • All workers must sign in at the Information Center when you arrive to work your assignment. If you do not sign in, it will be assumed that you did not show up for your assignment and will not count towards your minimum time. Those who are working odd jobs or offsite will need to sign-in online. Go to https://forms.gle/6oYVaCW8kcLKXYD96 to record the hours you are working. 
  • Call if you are scheduled to work and are not able to make your scheduled assignment.  
  • KALAMAZOO WORKERS: Contact Sandy Rose at (269) 657-2186 to let her know. She will contact someone to fill in for you. 
  • GRAND RAPIDS WORKERS: Contact Amanda Smith at (616) 431-1880 to let her know. She will contact someone to fill in for you. 
  • Give at least a 24-hour notice if you are going to miss, unless it is an emergency or unexpected,  
  • Be aware that you may be called to fill in for someone during a semester you are not scheduled to work.   
  • There is a $20 charge for not calling in. 
Student Absences
While we do take attendance in class, it is helpful for our instructors to know if your student will be absent and why. Absences can be reported through your parent portal. Under the menu, select Absences and Makeups. Our teachers will receive an email automatically if you do this, so there is no need to email them individually! ​

Sickness Policy
While we cannot enforce masks or distancing due to the nature of our classes, we do ask you to take all possible precautions to keep our kids healthy. 
  • If your child is sick, even with a cold, please keep them home.
  • Wash hands frequently.
  • Cover coughs and sneezes.
  • Don't touch other people's stuff.
​​Checking absences in your parent portal
You can check on your student's progress in class through the parent portal. We use the Absence feature to make notes about participation in class. You may notice your child has an absence for a day when you know they were actually there. However, if you look at the notes for that "absence" you will find more information. They may be marked as "IT" or "Insufficent Time." This means they didn't practice enough that week. You may find that their card wasn't signed by a parent ("NS" or "No Signature".) Or maybe they never turned their practice card in and were marked as "NC" or "No Card." If your child didn't get enough practice time but there was a valid reason, please write that in on the practice card and the room parents will note that on the record as well. Illnesses, vacations, or instruments in the shop would be examples of things that are valid reasons to not have enough practice time. 

Extra Performances for Advanced Groups
Our more advanced groups often participate in extra performances apart from the concerts. We expect all of our students to participate in these performances as well as the concerts. Our ensembles work together as a group, and when one member is missing, it affects the performance of the whole group. While there will be times when a student needs to miss a performance, it should be rare and only for extenuating circumstances.
  • Times when absences may be unavoidable - illness, family emergencies, major events that were scheduled prior to performance dates being published.
  • Times when absences would not be excused - regular classes at another organization, schedules too busy, activities scheduled after the performance dates are published.
By joining one of our more advanced groups, you are committing to that group and its performances. If you are not able to do that, you should not join that class. Missing performances without an excused absence may prevent you from enrolling in that class in the future. 
If you have any questions or concerns about your child's attendance at a performance, please talk to us about it.  Communication is key if there will be a scheduling conflict.

Advanced Groups which may have extra performances include:
  • Advanced Band
  • Concert Band
  • Big Band 1 and 2
  • Brass, Woodwind, & Flute Ensembles
  • Drumline
  • Advanced Orchestra
  • Symphony Orchestra
  • Fiddles, Pops, & More
  • Chamber Strings
  • Middle School Choir
  • Senior Choir
  • Concert Choir
  • Chorale
  • Aurora Handbells
  • Competition Guard

Dress Code
Please check over the dress code before coming to class. You can view that at https://www.wmhfa.org/dress-code.html​. As a reminder, boys' hair needs to be no longer than collar-length, girls are not allowed to wear leggings or other tight pants, and no jeans are allowed. In a nutshell, students must dress to be neat, modest, and uniform. 

WMHFA Mobile App
You can access your WMHFA account on your mobile device by downloading the WMHFA App from Google Play or the App Store. Search for WMHFA to find the app.

Hallway/Social Hall/Study Hall reminders
  • Students must be in Social Hall or Study Hall. No wandering, running, or sitting in the halls.
  • Please keep the noise level down in the area around classes, especially the HUB or Chapel Lobby in Grand Rapids, when classes or lessons are in session. In Grand Rapids, go around the HUB when colorguard has a class. Please do not walk through the class. 
  • Food & drink only in designated areas. In Grand Rapids, this is the Gym and the Cafe.
  • The nursery is only for parents with small children. Older children should be in the study hall or social hall.​
  • Students are not to use an empty classroom for group practicing without getting permission from the information desk. If permission is obtained, a parent must stay with the students at all times. Students are not to be in any area without adult supervision.
  • ​No students are to be outside unsupervised. If you are supervising children outside, please keep them away from windows where lessons or classes are taking place.

Fundraising Information
Concert Program Advertising 
Earn 50% of every ad sale! – Deadline will be a few weeks before winter and spring concerts.  Full, half, & quarter page and 2 line ads available for your favorite companies.  Ads appear in both Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids concert programs. Stop by the desk to request a form, or visit wmhfa.org/advertising-options​!

Scrip Table Hours:
Tuesdays @ LAMP Homeschool Center between 9:30 am - 1:30 pm
Wednesdays @ Corinth Reformed between 9:30 am - 1:30 pm


Summer Marching Band hours are at the Grand Rapids location:
Wednesdays, June and July
9:00 am - 10:30 am 

Want to start Scrip now? Simply go to your computer, go to www.shopwithscrip.com,
click on "Join a Program" and enter our ONE TIME enrollment code 9D8AF44A1551 
Create a profile and read and accept the terms. Start saving money!


Amazon Smile
You can make a difference while you shop Amazon. Simply shop at smile.amazon.com/ch/81-0626181 and AmazonSmile donates to West Michigan Home School Fine Arts Association Inc.

Lunch Information

​Grand Rapids Lunch 
For your convenience, WMHFA makes a pizza lunch available every week for a very reasonable price.  
Lunch may be purchased as follows: 
$4 Meal Deal (Pizza, 2 sides, and beverage) 
$1.50 per slice of pizza 
$0.50 per side, snack, or beverage  
A Ten Meal Punch Card may be purchased for $36 

Kalamazoo Lunch 

All families are invited to participate in Kalamazoo's Potluck Lunch. You can also choose to bring lunch for just your family as well. Participating families are asked to bring
1 main dish + 1 side dish each week they participate.

In addition, please bring one kitchen/table service item per semester to facilitate the potluck. See list in the Kitchen on Tues for needed items.

**Please note: ALL potluck items must be cooked/prepared beforehand. Electrical outlets & a microwave are available for food warming. NO REFRIGERATION is available at this time. 

​

Thank you to our program sponsors! These organizations support West Michigan Homeschool Fine Arts. Let them know you appreciate that as you give them your business!

Grace Home School Association

The Homeschool Building -  HSB Announcements

ServiceMaster of Kalamazoo

Reformation Heritage Books

Boerkoel Painting, LLC

Grand Valley State University Music, Theater, and Dance

Susan M. Dennis DDS

Just Take a Bite LLC

Kalamazoo Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery

Kalmazoo Valley Community College

CranHill Ranch

Kalamazoo Chamber Music Workshop

WMU College of Engineering and Applied Sciences

Montell Construction

Code Studio Strings

David Crandell, DDS

Hallgren Orthodontics

Amish Furniture and Gifts Warehouse

Homeschool Performing Arts

Cornerstone University

Bair Lake Bible Camp

David Stricklen - Author
West Michigan Homeschool Fine Arts | (616) 540-3699 | office@wmhfa.org