Welcome to my School of the Arts Preparation Folder!!

This is my third year taking the helm of the School of the Arts application/audition process at School #9.  In this folder, please find links to all of the School of the Arts forms and checklists you may need.  I am asking all students to bring in their applications to me instead of mailing them.  Last year, we had some discrepancies with applications that were mailed in separately and not making it to SOTA in time, and students were not allowed to audition.  If you have already mailed your child's application in, please send me an email or call me (info is below) with your child's name and their "major" so that I can get their recommendation forms to the right teachers.  

On Tuesday, December 1st, students will get a brief rundown of SOTA during an assembly.  All of my music classes have already had SOTA conversations during their music time.  Students who have Mrs. Seppeler are going to have my own personal SOTA presentation emailed to their classroom teacher for them to go through when they have time. Some important dates to remember:

December 11, 2015: SOTA applications are due AT SOTA that day.  I am telling students that they need to have them in to me by Thursday, December 10th.

January 9th, 2016: High School Expo at the MCC Daemon City Campus.  Any student who wishes to apply to SOTA and missed the December 11 deadline may apply late only at the Expo.  If your child does apply at the expo, please let me know as soon as possible to get recommendation letters in.

January 26-28, 2016: SOTA Auditions.  Students will be mailed their audition date and time after the December 11th deadline (or after the January 9 expo).  The office usually forwards me a complete list the week before in case students do not receive the information.  STUDENTS MUST BE ON TIME FOR THEIR AUDITION!!!  Students will not, under any circumstance, be allowed to auditions if they are more than 10 minutes late.  SOTA is extremely strict on this and we did have a few students turned away at the door of their audition because they arrived too late.  Auditions WILL NOT be rescheduled.

January 29, 2016: Completed High School Choice Packet is due.  Students must choose School of the Arts as their "top choice" in order to be considered.  If they are not accepted, the district will move on to their second choice.  

Letters of recommendation will be written by teachers who are most suited/exposed to your child's "major" area.  The following teachers are responsible for each major:

Creative Writing-Classroom Teacher (Lawton, Rodriguez, Nunez, Dibenedetto, Hall, or Nielander)

Visual Arts-Art Teacher (Hepburn or LeMay)

Instrumental Music-Band Teacher (Seppeler, or myself)

Piano-Piano applicants need to take piano lessons.  Private piano teacher should write this one.

Dance-Ms. Lawton or myself (Miss Bradford)

Vocal Music-Miss Bradford (myself)

Drama-Miss Bradford (myself)

Theatre Technology-Miss Bradford (myself)

I will be attaching completed letters to applications and mailing them all together via inter-school mail.  That will ensure that everything needed is received by SOTA by the deadline.

Once I have turned in all completed applications and letters of recommendation, I will be putting together a schedule to meet with students for SOTA prep (in the areas of Dance, Drama, Theatre Tech, Instrumental Music, and Vocal Music).  Students will be given a 10 minute block once a rotation to come down and check in with me.  We will work on getting all materials together and practicing needed components of their auditions.  I will be putting together folders completed with students' 2D materials (checklists, prints, activities lists, cds, etc).  I will also put in a map and their audition times when they become available.  Students will be responsible for any 3D audition materials (Visual Arts or Theatre Tech only).  

The week before auditions begin, I will be (like last year), attempting to get a small panel together to hold "mock" auditions.  Students will be given a short block of time to go through their audition with constructive criticism so that they are not surprised at the actual audition.  Last year, we had 5 students accepted and 2 waitlisted.  While those seem like small numbers, remember that every student in 6th grade across the entire districr can audition, and only approx. 20 students are accepted in each area (in perspective, we had 20 kids audition from our school on voice last year).  I tell the students to try their best but to not be too disappointed if they are not accepted.  Many things go into who they choose, and unfortunately, it is not always fair.  But, I know that I make sure that they have everything they need in order to give them their best shot at SOTA auditions.

If you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to contact me.  While I teach the majority of each day, you can always leave a number and message, or send me an email (I will admit, I am usually quicker in replying with email).  I will get back to you with answers as soon as I am able.  Thank you so much for all of your support and let's work together to get these students to SOTA!!

Sincerely,

Miss Bradford

Phone: (585) 325-7828     etx. 1301

Alicia.Bradford@rcsdk12.org

Read for more information!!!

https://www.rcsdk12.org/cms/lib/NY01001156/Centricity/Domain/5254/Audition%20Process%202016.pdf

https://www.rcsdk12.org/cms/lib/NY01001156/Centricity/Domain/82/SOTA%20Application%20Packet%202016%20Mailing%20Complete.pdf

https://www.rcsdk12.org/cms/lib/NY01001156/Centricity/Domain/5254/Confidential%20Applicant%20Snap.pdf

https://www.rcsdk12.org/cms/lib/NY01001156/Centricity/Domain/5254/Audition%20Checklist%20Drama.pdf