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Scoggins Orchestra
Newsletters

See below for important Scoggins MS Newsletters and emails!

Aug. 13, 2025

Hello SMS Orchestra!

 

I hope you've all had a fantastic first day at school! Below are a few updates (already, I know!) about our orchestra program.

 

Handbook Acknowledgement Form

We discussed our Scoggins MS Orchestra Handbook linked HERE during class today. Our Handbook highlights all of our policies and procedures throughout our school year. The main point of discussion today was that of flexibility and communication. Generally, I am able to provide assistance to all of my students with grades, policies, attendance, etc. but I have to be notified in a timely manner to provide adequate assistance.

 

Please review the guidelines as detailed in the handbook and then submit a Handbook Acknowledgement Google Form HERE by Sunday, Aug. 17th. Students that have not submitted their Handbook Acknowledgement Form will not be able to participate in class until the terms have been agreed to. Please have your student log-in through their school FISD account to submit this form.

 

If you have any questions about the provisions laid out in the handbook, please contact Mr. Desai!

 

FISD Instrument Rental Contract

All students using an FISD Instrument must fill out the Instrument Rental Contract Form and pay the $50 per semester ($100 per year) fee. This fee covers usage of 1 instrument for the duration of the 25-26 school year and this form MUST be submitted prior to using school property. This are all Cello/Bass/Harp students that will use an on campus instrument during class rehearsals and any violin/viola students that would like to rent through SMS Orchestra.

 

Please remember, the SMS Orchestra instruments are limited and not of the same quality of the surrounding area rental shops. We do take care to maintain these instruments, but this is the reality. We also ask families that are able to afford rental at an outside shop to do so. Lastly, many shops in the surrounding area do rent-to-own programs! If your student continues in orchestra, their instrument will be paid off by the time they graduate!

 

I will have physical copies of forms for students to take home or you may print the form from a home printer if convenient. Please sign, scan the form, and upload through the Google Form OR return the physical form to Mr. Desai by Monday, Aug. 18th during class time. 

 

Instrument Rental Contract Form linked HERE

 

Private Lessons

Private lessons are the best way for your student to show considerable growth on their instrument. Private lessons are a 1-on-1 lesson with a professional at your students' instrument. Mr. Desai is only able to give individualized feedback in small amounts during class. Because of this, it can be beneficial to have 20 minutes of personal individualized feedback for your student. They will work on technique, scales, in-class repertoire, solo repertoire and any pieces of music your student may want to learn.

 

For students wanting to participate in private lessons - we ask that families commit to a year's worth of lessons. This will ensure that our teachers are able to sustain their living through teaching these lessons. This attracts talented teachers to our program and raises our performance standard over time!

 

If you are interested in taking private lessons, please fill out the Private Lessons Interest Form linked HERE by Sunday, Aug. 17th

 

All-Region Materials

Our All-Region Audition packets are here! Please use this link here to view, print, and practice the All-Region packets.

 

All-Region Orchestra is a prestigious orchestra in which students across Frisco, McKinney, and Prosper compete in an audition to form one region orchestra. This orchestra will contain the best middle school players in our regional area. Because this is a prestigious event, making the All-Region Orchestra requires consistent effort and practice. Students should start practicing as soon as possible! We have had many students in the past make this orchestra and I know there are many students in this program capable of making All-Region this year! This audition is open to all students in at least their 2nd year.

 

There are two separate orchestras your student can audition into. For 6th/7th graders, there is the "Concert" orchestra. This serves as an entry point for students interested in auditioning for All-Region, but concerned about the difficulty of the top audition.For ALL students 6-8th, there is the "Chamber/Sinphonia" audition. This is the biggest challenge in the All-Region process and will take much preparation for the audition. Students that have previously made the Concert Orchestra MUST audition for Chamber/Sinfonia.

 

All Chamber orchestra students will prepare parts of the audition material as part of our curriculum. All students that choose to participate in the audition MUST ATTEND a mock audition held after-school at Scoggins MS. Mock Audition dates will be announced in Mid-September.

 

All-Region Orchestra Audition date is Saturday, October 25th at Prosper HS in Prosper ISD. Your audition will take approximately 2 hours from the listed start time. Remember to arrive at least 30 minutes beforehand to warm up!

Aug. 11, 2025

Hello Scoggins MS Orchestra!

 

Welcome back to our wonderful Scoggins MS! I hope you've had a wonderful summer! As we kick off this school year, please see the following items for us to get started with:

 

Instruments

We will bring our instruments to school starting Friday, Aug 15th to get back into our playing routine. Wednesday/Thursday will be utilized to go over handbook practices, assign lockers, etc. If you need any help 

 

Handbook

Our Scoggins MS Orchestra Handbook is linked HERE. During our 1st class, we will go over the SMS Handbook, which will cover all concerns for orchestra in the 25-26 school year. After this time, I will link a Handbook agreement form, which acknowledges and commits all students to uphold the values in the handbook. If you have any concerns of the content, please feel free to reach out to Mr. Desai to discuss. 

 

School Supplies

All students will need the following supplies for orchestra. These may be purchased/rented through a local music store or may be purchased on Amazon. DO NOT purchase an instrument through Amazon - these instruments are low quality and will hinder your students progression on their instrument. For students using a school instrument/low string students, you will have to rent an additional instrument for use while at school. The fee for rental through FISD is $50 per semester ($100 per year).  I will send an additional email with information on how to register for school instrument usage.

 

  • Instrument/Bow

  • Shoulder Rest (upper strings) or Rock Stop (low strings)

  • 1 in Black Binder (provided by SMS Orchestra)

  • Rosin

  • Habits of a Successful Middle Level String Musician - There are many variations of this book, please ensure you purchase the correct version!

  • Tuner/Metronome combination.

  • Rosin Cleaning Cloth

 

Booster Club Activity Fee

Our Scoggins Orchestra Booster Club supports the Scoggins MS Orchestra by providing social-emotional learning events, t-shirts, clinicians, concert hospitality, general supplies, festivals, subsidizing 6 Flags/Andretti's social events, etc. The Booster Club is an integral part of our community. The fee for our Booster club is $80 per year and pays for the above mentioned items. All students participating in orchestra are required to pay this fee. This fee will be available to pay after the start of the school year.

 

Scheduling

We are currently working through many items regarding student scheduling concerns. If you are not placed in the correct class - chances are that I already know about this and am working to have your schedule change. If you cannot participate in orchestra due to a conflict with another class, please come talk to me when the school year starts. We will be able to change schedules for a week or so into our school year and you will NOT be denied a placement in orchestra due to scheduling concerns.

 

I thank you for your patience while we take care of these issues! 

 

All-Region

All-Region is a competition for students to audition to be part of an orchestra made-up of the most talented students across our local communities of Prosper, McKinney, and Frisco. The audition process is intense and students that are selected for this orchestra are high level musicians. Students in the SMS Chamber and SMS Symphonic Orchestras are required to audition as per the expectations of their orchestra. Additionally, I highly encourage all students looking to push themselves further in orchestra to audition, at least for experience! Audition packets for All-Region will be released soon - stay tuned for more information when it comes out!

 

There will be an FISD All-Region "Start Your Regions" Bootcamp hosted by Roach MS and Pearson MS on August 25th and 27th from 5:00pm-7:00pm, respectively. The cost to attend each camp is $15 per day you choose to attend. You can attend one or both of these camps as needed. The focus of these boot camps will be early access to bowings, fingerings, and musical phrasing for you to utilize through the audition preparation process. I recommend attending at least one session if you plan to audition for All-Region. Please see the attached PDF to this email for more information about this event or click the Roach MS Booster Club Cheddar-Up linked HERE.

 

Concerts/Schedule/Dress

Orchestra events can be found through our online Google Calendar linked HERE. Reminders will be sent through e-mail for important events/deadlines; however, it is the students' responsibility to keep track of important events/dates/times that they will participate in. This calendar is subject to change, with notifications sent to parents when this happens. This calendar will also be accessible through our new Wortham/Scoggins Website - stay tuned for more information about these web-pages!

 

Scoggins Orchestra dress for concerts is Concert Black. In essence, it is all black dress clothes. Black socks, shoes, belt, shirt, pants, dress are all required as per our handbook guidelines. Please start arranging now for clothes suitable for our concerts as this is the students' responsibility for purchase/rental. If you have any questions or concerns with gathering these materials, please reach out to Mr. Desai and we can arrange to help you find appropriate wear.

 

SMS Orchestra Officer Program

Our SMS Orchestra Officer program is a chance for students dedicated to the SMS Orchestra program to be volunteers and help our classroom grow! Students in this program are self-motivated, complete tasks without follow-up, positive influences to people around them, and are hard workers. These students help plan events, design artwork, set-up concerts/events, and are general helpers for the SMS Orchestra program. These students are held to a higher standard and are considered model students for our program. If these qualities sound like you- consider submitting an application through this link HERE. Deadline to submit application is Sunday, Aug. 17th.

 

8th grade officers that have already submitted an application and been accepted to our Officer Program will have a meeting Friday, Aug. 15th at 7:45am. 

 

T-Shirt Design Contest

This year, we are holding a T-Shirt design contest for our 25-26 SMS Orchestra t-shirts! If you consider yourself an artist, submit a t-shirt design this year! All designs should feature, in some form, Scoggins Orchestra. You may be as creative as possible in creating your design; however, all designs must be school-appropriate! Scan and upload your T-Shirt design through the Google Form linked HERE. If you need help scanning your design, please come see Mr. Desai. The winner of our design contest will win a $25 Visa Gift Card and a special mystery prize!

 

Deadline to submit is Sunday, Aug. 24th at 11:59pm.

 

Booster Club Volunteer

Volunteers are vital to our Scoggins Orchestra Booster Club program and they need YOU! They provide so many opportunities for our students to connect and engage with the orchestra. Volunteering is a small commitment with a huge impact. If you would be interested in donating your time to help this organization, please fill out the Google Form linked HERE. By filling out this form, you are submitting your information to our Booster Club program to contact you regarding any events or needs they might have. I urge all parents/guardians to join this organization to help out whenever possible. 

©2025 by Scoggins Orchestra

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