Rio Norte Electives

Specialty Electives
(application and/or interview/audition required)

Information is from last year, it will be updated Mid-March 2023

ALL APPLICATIONS WILL CLOSE TBA

ASB

CONCERT BAND

Course Description:  is the major instrumental ensemble at Rio Norte and is a one year commitment. This group represents the school at all major school functions including the open house, back to school night, 6th Grade Jamboree, Valencia Showcase and the Turkey Bowl game. The ensemble also joins the Valencia High Marching Band to play for a VHS football game. This ensemble performs at both local and national music festivals, including the Disneyland Music Festival, with an overnight stay at the Disney hotels. The Advanced band has two major performances. One in the Fall and the other in the Spring.

Audition Information:
The Music department at Rio Norte Junior High is proud to announce the upcoming auditions for the Intermediate Band, and Concert Band, on Monday May 1st, from 3:30 – 5:00 P.M. on the campus of Rio Norte Junior High School. Auditions will be in room G-4, located behind the Gym building.

 The concert band, which plays at all major events for the school, performs 4-8- concerts a year on and around the campus of Rio Norte. In the past, the concert band has played at Valencia High school football games; Barnes and Noble Bookstore; local schools; Festivals with Music in the Parks, Disneyland Resort; Southern California Student Band Orchestra Association festivals; as well as winter, spring and fall concerts. Due to the many extra-curricular activities this ensemble does, each student is expected to keep a minimum GPA of 2.2

 Auditions consist of:
Winds and Brass: B-flat concert scale
Playing: Play a short piece showcasing your skills
Percussion: Mallet: B-flat concert scale
Snare: Basic rudiments

Band Audition Form 

CONCERT CHOIR

Course Description:  is one ­year commitment to vocal ensemble performance. Members of the concert choir develop skills in vocal performance. Students are introduced to musical notation and basic vocal techniques. The concert choir performs various styles of choral literature for school concerts, community programs, and local choral festivals. Requirements include exemplary citizenship and a positive attitude. An audition is required for this ensemble.

Audition Information:
The Music department at Rio Norte Junior High is proud to announce the upcoming auditions for the choral ensembles on Monday, May 10th, from 3:30 – 6:00 P.M. on the campus of Rio Norte Junior High School. Auditions will be in room G-4, located behind the Gym building.

The concert choir, which performs at all major events for the school, performs 4-8 concerts a year on and around the campus of Rio Norte.

In the past, the Concert Choir has performed at Valencia High school choir concerts; Barnes and Noble Bookstore; local schools; Festivals with Music in the Parks, Disneyland Resort; Southern California Vocal Association festivals; as well as winter, spring and fall concerts.

Due to the many extra-curricular activities this ensemble does, each student is expected to keep a minimum GPA of 2.2

 Auditions consist of: Tonal Memory (the singing of a given group of four pitches) Short -Capella song of your choice

Choir Audition Form 

Jazz-Hawks Audition Form

THEATRE PRODUCTION

Course Description: Theatre Production is a year long elective for students with a more advanced skill level who want to perform in front of an audience. Students work together to produce work for scene competitions as well as plays and musicals. This class focuses on exploring a range of acting skills, and improving rehearsal discipline. We often run sessions after school and do performances on evenings and weekends. If you love to perform in front of an audience, and want to be part of a big Theater Family then make sure you sign up for an audition!

RIO TV

SPANISH A/B

This is a high school course and will be on the high school transcript.

YEARBOOK

Instructor: Ms. Bretthauer 

[email protected]

Web Site

Course Description: Students enrolled in Yearbook are responsible for preserving memories that will last a lifetime. Students will learn and practice photography, writing, layout, design, and production skills as they produce the yearbook. Students will spend much of their class time learning new skills and collaborating with other yearbook team members and are expected to spend a great deal of time outside the classroom (before school, brunch, lunch, after school, and on weekends) taking photos at school events and then working on assigned pages.

Instructor: Mr. Gilbert

Course Description: The beginning band is the first step into a larger musical world. In this class, you learn how to read music and play an instrument of the wind band. These include, flute, oboe, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, baritone, Tuba and Percussion. The next step from the beginning band is the Advanced band.

Instructor: Mr. Gilbert

Course Description: This is a one semester vocal ensemble experience. Members of the chorus develop skills in vocal performance. Students are introduced to musical notation and basic vocal techniques. The chorus performs various styles of choral literature for school concerts. Requirements include exemplary citizenship and a positive attitude. Prior singing experience is recommended but not required.

Course Description: This is a semester long elective that develops confidence and creativity and introduces students to basic acting skills. We learn and develop performance skills through fun, practical activities and build our confidence towards performing in front of an audience. This is the class for you if you like working in groups, learning through practical activities and games, and want to build your confidence and share your creativity. 

Instructor: Mr. Gilbert

Course Description: The beginning guitar class is designed for anyone who would like to learn to play the guitar. No previous musical experience is required just a willingness to learn. In this class you learn to read music, play melodic lines, play chords, and finger-pick. An acoustic guitar is not needed for this class, but students with their own guitar are encouraged to bring theirs.

Instructor: Ms. Mandel

Course Description: Students have a fantastic opportunity to take digital photography here at Rio Norte Junior High. It is an introductory semester class. Students will learn to compose images with an automatic digital operated camera to take great pictures. Aperture and Shutter Priority  will be explored with Digital SLR cameras. They will work with digital photos and explore Photoshop including photo retouch, more creative digital solutions, visual problem solving and precise craftsmanship. Many of their photos will be printed and students will create a website which includes a portfolio of their projects. 

Instructor: Ms. Prieto

Course Description: Is a fun and practical elective course that provides continuing experience and skills related  to food preparation and nutrition. Students will be building on the fundamentals learned in culinary by preparing various foods in labs designed to teach advanced cooking techniques, and participating  in culture and nutrition projects to broaden their knowledge and understanding in these areas. 

Instructor: Ms. Dawson

Course Description: Students will learn the basic principles of print and online journalism. Students will learn investigative skills, responsible reporting, and journalistic writing techniques as they read, respond to, and write their own news and feature articles. Students will create their own articles for the school website, create twitter updates, and a published magazine. 

Instructor: Ms. Grandbois

Course Description: This 10 week course is designed to provide students with a functional keyboarding skill emphasizing personal and occupational goals along with computer literacy. The first part of the course will focus primarily on learning the alphabetic keys and the second part of the course will focus primarily on computer literacy. Computer literacy will include the introductory concepts of word processing, spreadsheets, power point presentations, internet research, HTML (web design), email and scanning.

Instructor: Mr. Olsson

Course Description: Teen Leadership will focus on topics like personal leadership, written communication skills, public speaking, interpersonal skills, conflict resolution, self-confidence, personal responsibility, branding, digital citizenship, how to communicate with adults, and much more! Coursework will also be based on the Capturing Kids’ Hearts program Lead Worthy.