Middle School

Six Flags Competition

On Friday, May 13th, the Eastern Christian Middle School band, chorus, and orchestra departed the middle school at 6:30 AM for a competition in Jackson, NJ.  The reward after the students performed for the judges was a day at Six Flags Great Adventure Theme Park.  The students and teachers could not have asked for a better day.  The students performed well, had great feedback from the judges, and enjoyed their time with their teachers and classmates.  This was the first time Mr. Rob Flim and Miss Megan Siegel have entered into competition with their ensembles.  The band, under the direction of Mr. Rob Flim, received a rating of "good", the orchestra, under the direction of Mrs. Cathy Clark, received a rating of "excellent", and the choir, under the direction of Miss Megan Siegel, received a rating of "excellent".  The directors could not have been more pleased with how well the students did at the competition and how well behaved they were at the park.  They would like to thank their chaperones and all the parents for all their help in preparing for this trip.  We look forward to our trip next year!

Cranes for Kids

EC Students send Prayers, Cranes & Clothes
to Japan with OskKosh B'Gosh

How can we help the earthquake survivors in Japan? Pray. Praying is the single best and most important thing we can do. In addition to helping with prayer, EC students have found another way to help children in Japan through the OshKosh B'gosh "Cranes for Kids" program. Osh Kosh B'Gosh will donate one article of clothing to children in Japan for each origami crane we make! The middle school kids were given the charge on Monday, April 18 to make as many paper cranes as possible. And boy, did they make them! One student, Sam Kuder, contributed 221 cranes he had already made, plus many more new cranes the next day. The whole school became inspired. Even those students who said they could not possibly make a crane, found out that they could. Students gave up their recess time to come into the Media Center and make cranes and learn about Japan. The students came after school to make cranes and talk about Japan. They made cranes at home and brought them in to school. We all talked about Japan. Even the high school students made 120 cranes to add to the Middle School collection. At the end of the short week, we had 1,008 cranes! Media Specialist Mrs. Ruth Rudd delivered the cranes to overjoyed employees at the OshKosh store in Paramus. The cranes will go to Japan with the donated clothing, to let the Japanese children know we are thinking of them. Additionally, our students now have a much greater awareness of what is happening in Japan. And above all, we are continuing to pray for the children of Japan.

Young Composer's Competition

Amber Taylor, an 8th grade student, entered a young composer's competition hosted by the Eastern Division of MENC: The National Association of Music Educators. She had to write and record her own composition. Her piece was titled, "Amber's Fall" and was written for piano. She competed against students in middle school (grades 5-8) from various states along the east coast. Amber says, "It was very difficult to wait so long for the results. I was really excited and nervous about the whole competition." Although, she was not one of the overall winners, she was a finalist in the New Jersey division. This is a great honor and are all very proud of Amber!

Region 1 and Junior High Honor Choirs

Written by: Megan Siegel

Tyler Balkema (8th grade), Esther Galo (8th grade), and Jayna Van Buiten (8th Grade) had a live vocal audition on Sunday, February 6. This was an audition for the NJ Region 1 Mixed and Treble Choirs. Tyler made the Junior High Mixed Choir and Esther and Jayna made the Junior High Treble Choir. Jayna Van Buiten said "The live audition was very nerve racking, but it helped me grow as a singer." When asked about seeing her number on the website she said, "I was happy that all my hard work leading up to this payed off." Esther Galo said she "felt very nervous, but when I got in the audition room, the nervousness melted away." Having to wait a full day before the results were posted, Esther said, "When I heard the words, 'The results are up!' my heart pounded with excitement. Then, when I saw the number: 2033 as one of the results, I was amazed and overjoyed that I made it in." This is a great accomplishment for them and they will go through numerous rehearsals with everyone who made it in the North Jersey Region for a concert on Sunday, March 20th.

Blair Bohuny (8th grade) and Amanda Vincenti (7th Grade) have made the Jr. High Honor Choir and competed against students from all over the state. The audition was done on CD and they competed with students from all over the state. Blair was ranked second out of 62 Soprano II. Amanda Vincenti reflected on how she felt about the recording and being accepted and she said, "To be quite honest, I sincerely doubted I would get in. The words 'You made it' made that whole day sail by a lot easier. Reading the words 'congratulations' and 'high honor' on the letter sent a chill through me; I hung it up in my locker so I could stare at it all day." Blair Bohuny auditioned for this choir last year and didn't make it.  She said, "I was very nervous that I was not going to make it in again like last year; when I got the letter though, I was very excited, and shocked on how much I improved my singing and place in the competition from last year!" They will rehearse once with everyone who made the choir at the end of April and perform with the choir on Saturday, May 7th.