Waukee Wrap Up
Dear CSI Parents:
What a wonderful weekend in Waukee! I was so incredibly proud of the consistent improvements I had seen since Dinner Theatre and I was so anxious to get the kids up on the stage. We finished the weekend placing THIRD IN CLASS 4A, making finals, and placing SECOND RUNNER-UP overall in finals. Also, congratulations to Elise Castro for winning BEST FEMALE SOLOIST for all of the performing groups! Further, thanks to PIT NATION for continuing to improve their show and play the best I have heard them all year! Keep going pit!
One of the things that most impressed me last weekend was the way the ensemble followed directions and made great decisions all day! They were fully in costume when I set their homeroom call, I told them where to start in the warm-up room and they were set to rehearse when I walked in the room, they remained quiet in the afternoon warm-up, they chose the people to represent them for the awards ceremonies, they listened for finals notes, they stayed alert and ready when we had a 45 minute delay during finals, etc. Central Singers groups of the past were not able to represent themselves as effectively and efficiently as this group did. The best part of this….these are the type of skills they will use when they leave Central. I had the pleasure of watching your children grow and mature to another level on Saturday. It was amazing.
After our afternoon show, the scores ended like this:
1) Hastings, MN 545 points
2) Urbandale 540.5
3) Central 527
4) CR Xavier 513
5) WDM Valley 498
6) Sioux City 491.5
We have never been scored this close to Urbandale. I was so excited for the students.
The evening show was “ranked”, which means they provide us a ranking (1st – 6th) and then each ranking is converted into points. In this scenario, 1st place was given 6 points, 2nd place given 5, etc. All the points are then tabulated and the high score wins. Final placements went like this.
1) Hastings – 1st from all seven judges = 42 points
2) Urbandale – 2nd from all seven judges = 35 points
3) Central – Four 3rds, Two 4ths, One 5th = 24 points
4) CR Xavier – Three 3rds, Three 4ths, One 5th = 23 points
5) Valley – Two Fourths, Three 5ths, Two 6ths = 14 points
6) SC – Two 5ths, Five 6ths = 9 points
What a great way to finish our first competition. We placed just behind two power-house schools in Hastings and Urbandale, and finished in front of two strong programs in CR Xavier and WDM Valley! Needless to say, I think we have definitely turned a corner and are making great strides toward growing into a much more competitive show!
This week heading into North we are concentrating on still fixing some “big picture” issues and working on our vocals. After North is completed we will then perform for the Spree Aud and begin the process of heading into February by focusing on the small details to grow our show even more.
I have been very open with the group about how disappointed I have been in their inability to focus on the task at hand and I have felt like, at times, they were ready to end their season before it even started. However, there has been a very nice change in the group since Dinner Theatre. The leadership continues to improve, and they are finally starting to see the fruits of their labor. I am looking forward to watching this continue and improve so we can not only present our best show(s), but we can also teach them what it means to be a hard-worker, set goals, and achieve at a high level….even when they think they have done all they can.
Thanks to our incredible parents that drove the trailer, monitored homerooms, rode the buses, monitored costumes, or simply came to watch the shows. Without you, this wouldn’t be as much fun!
Thanks for your continued support! See you at North!
Michael Reese
Upcoming Schedule
1/17 Thursday – At the Adler with Ben (Band and Crew included)
1/19 Saturday - @ Davenport North
1/22 TUESDAY – Rehearsal 5-8 @ Central (Band and Crew included)
1/25 FRIDAY – CSI @ Spree Aud (Call is 7:30 AM – set the gym….performance at 9:15AM)
What a wonderful weekend in Waukee! I was so incredibly proud of the consistent improvements I had seen since Dinner Theatre and I was so anxious to get the kids up on the stage. We finished the weekend placing THIRD IN CLASS 4A, making finals, and placing SECOND RUNNER-UP overall in finals. Also, congratulations to Elise Castro for winning BEST FEMALE SOLOIST for all of the performing groups! Further, thanks to PIT NATION for continuing to improve their show and play the best I have heard them all year! Keep going pit!
One of the things that most impressed me last weekend was the way the ensemble followed directions and made great decisions all day! They were fully in costume when I set their homeroom call, I told them where to start in the warm-up room and they were set to rehearse when I walked in the room, they remained quiet in the afternoon warm-up, they chose the people to represent them for the awards ceremonies, they listened for finals notes, they stayed alert and ready when we had a 45 minute delay during finals, etc. Central Singers groups of the past were not able to represent themselves as effectively and efficiently as this group did. The best part of this….these are the type of skills they will use when they leave Central. I had the pleasure of watching your children grow and mature to another level on Saturday. It was amazing.
After our afternoon show, the scores ended like this:
1) Hastings, MN 545 points
2) Urbandale 540.5
3) Central 527
4) CR Xavier 513
5) WDM Valley 498
6) Sioux City 491.5
We have never been scored this close to Urbandale. I was so excited for the students.
The evening show was “ranked”, which means they provide us a ranking (1st – 6th) and then each ranking is converted into points. In this scenario, 1st place was given 6 points, 2nd place given 5, etc. All the points are then tabulated and the high score wins. Final placements went like this.
1) Hastings – 1st from all seven judges = 42 points
2) Urbandale – 2nd from all seven judges = 35 points
3) Central – Four 3rds, Two 4ths, One 5th = 24 points
4) CR Xavier – Three 3rds, Three 4ths, One 5th = 23 points
5) Valley – Two Fourths, Three 5ths, Two 6ths = 14 points
6) SC – Two 5ths, Five 6ths = 9 points
What a great way to finish our first competition. We placed just behind two power-house schools in Hastings and Urbandale, and finished in front of two strong programs in CR Xavier and WDM Valley! Needless to say, I think we have definitely turned a corner and are making great strides toward growing into a much more competitive show!
This week heading into North we are concentrating on still fixing some “big picture” issues and working on our vocals. After North is completed we will then perform for the Spree Aud and begin the process of heading into February by focusing on the small details to grow our show even more.
I have been very open with the group about how disappointed I have been in their inability to focus on the task at hand and I have felt like, at times, they were ready to end their season before it even started. However, there has been a very nice change in the group since Dinner Theatre. The leadership continues to improve, and they are finally starting to see the fruits of their labor. I am looking forward to watching this continue and improve so we can not only present our best show(s), but we can also teach them what it means to be a hard-worker, set goals, and achieve at a high level….even when they think they have done all they can.
Thanks to our incredible parents that drove the trailer, monitored homerooms, rode the buses, monitored costumes, or simply came to watch the shows. Without you, this wouldn’t be as much fun!
Thanks for your continued support! See you at North!
Michael Reese
Upcoming Schedule
1/17 Thursday – At the Adler with Ben (Band and Crew included)
1/19 Saturday - @ Davenport North
1/22 TUESDAY – Rehearsal 5-8 @ Central (Band and Crew included)
1/25 FRIDAY – CSI @ Spree Aud (Call is 7:30 AM – set the gym….performance at 9:15AM)