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September 2017
Choir Parent Helper Checklist

For Sunday Mornings or Other Offerings
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Arrival Time:
• Helpers should arrive by 9:45, when Seniors are called. Juniors and Novices arrive at 10:15 when they are called.
• Buzz choristers into the music room if the staff is not present to let them in. The intercom is located in the North Robe Closet.
• There are 2 collapsible racks in the robe closets. These are usually brought out only for All Choir Sundays and used for the Junior and Novice Robes. Put those in the back of the room to break up congestion at the robe closets.
• Choir rosters are printed on both the south closets as well as on both closet doors.

Check Dr. Allen’s Instructions on White Board:
• Direct ALL choristers to the white board to see what music they will need. Typically Seniors have a combination of music books and printed music, Juniors and Novices almost always just have printed music. The music is laid out on the piano.
• Stay in the Music Room while the choristers go into the church to practice. This is to buzz any choristers in who may be running late and/or help them get ready.

Check for Appropriate Dress:
• No sneakers or open toe shoes are allowed. There are extra pairs of apprpriate shoes for both girls and boys above both robe closets.
• The North Robe closet also has extra items such as hair ties, safety pins, etc. They are in a box above the shoes.
• Choristers wear the black Cossack only during rehearsal, and add the white surplice before the service begins. Novices do not wear surplices until they are promoted to Juniors.

Reserve Pews:
• Pews usually only need to be reserved when all choirs sing whereby Juniors and Novices sit in the pews. The reserved signs are in a box in the North Nave Pew in the nook past the Baptismal font. Depending on the size of the Junior and Novice choirs 4 to 5 pews on each side should be reserved.
• For Junior and Novice only Sundays, check with Dr. Allen to see if they all can fit in the stalls or if some pews need to be reserved as well.
• For All Choir Sundays and Junior and Novice Only Sundays some of the helpers can go into the church during practice to make sure the sufficient number of pews are reserved.
• For All Choir Sundays please reserve the pews as soon as you arrive.
• Typically 5 choristers sit in a pew. Helpers should sit in the pews as well and keep choristers quiet and focused during the service.
• Make sure the Junior/Novices have programs for the service. Programs are usually already in the Music Room or can be found at the entrance to the church.
• Stay in the Music Room until the Choristers have lined up and processed out to the Honor Room.

After the service:
• Go back to the Music Room and help organize as the choristers disrobe. Choristers are responsible for putting their robe and surplice back on the appropriately numbered hangar and back in the robe closets, but help/organization at the end is often required.
• Help the choristers organize the music and hymnals. The daily programs and any sheet music Dr. Allen printed all get recycled into the blue recycling bins. Hymnals go into the north closet and any that don’t fit please stack neatly on the piano or bench.
• Make sure the room is clean and organized before you leave. The room needs to be ready for GCS classes Monday morning.

After the first couple of Sundays the Senior Choristers are fairly well oiled and require little help. The real point of having a Choir Helper is to allow Dr. Allen to focus on the music and to be an extra adult should a chorister get sick/need to leave during the service/etc. Thanks very much for your support.