Mrs. Cronin also has a virtual classroom! Click the link to check it out!
Mrs. Cronin's Virtual Classroom
If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Amy Cronin at
2023-24 PERFORMANCES
Eighth Grade Band
Thursday, December 7 at 7:00 PM
Winter Concert in the SJH Gym
Monday, December 11 (time TBA)
Boys’ Basketball Game (250 points)
Wednesday, January 10 (time TBA)
Girls’ Basketball Game (250 points)
Saturday, January 27 (time and place TBA)
ISSMA Solo & Ensemble Festival
(this performance is extra credit)
Friday, March 15 (time and place TBA)
ISSMA Organizational Festival
Thursday, March 21 (all day)
Elementary School Field Trip (tentative)
Wednesday, April 10 at 7:00 PM
Spring Concert in the SJH Gym
Choir
Wednesday, September 27 at 6:20 PM
Performance for the Lion’s Club at the Courtyard
by Marriott, 6315 Crawfordsville Rd.
Wednesday, December 6 (time and location TBA)
Performance on Main Street for
“Light the Night on Main”
(Outside of the Dallara IndyCar Factory, 120 N. Main St.)
Thursday, December 7 at 7:00 PM
Winter Concert in the SJH Gym
Saturday, February 3 (time and place TBA)
ISSMA Solo & Ensemble Festival
(this performance is extra credit)
Saturday, March 16 (time and place TBA)
ISSMA Organizational Festival
Thursday, March 21 (ALL DAY)
Elementary School Field Trip (tentative)
Wednesday, April 10 at 7:00 PM
Spring Concert in the SJH Gym
Monday, May 20 at 6:00 PM
SJH Awards Ceremony in the SJH Gym
(We perform one song. This date could change if there is a conflict with the High School ceremony.)
Seventh Grade Band
Thursday, December 7 at 7:00 PM
Winter Concert in the SJH Gym
Saturday, January 27 (time and place TBA)
ISSMA Solo & Ensemble Festival
(this performance is extra credit)
Wednesday, March 20 from 3:30-5:00 PM
Full Band Practice in the Band Room
Thursday, March 21 (ALL DAY)
Elementary School Field Trip (tentative)
Wednesday, April 10 at 7:00 PM
Spring Concert in the SJH Gym
Resources
All SJH music students are expected to practice their fundamentals and music at home on a regular basis.
All Speedway Junior High band students will receive a weekly grade for keeping track of their practice time.
7th Grade students will keep track of their practice time on a paper practice card. They will be given a new card at the beginning of each grading period. Paper practice cards must be signed by a parent at the end of each week for the student to receive credit.
8th Grade students will submit their practice time online via a Google Form every Monday. They will be given time in class to do this. Every nine weeks, a new link will be posted to Google Classroom.
At-home practicing is worth 30 points a week (grading scales below.)
Links to the Google Forms and practice cards are at the bottom of this page.
WEEKLY GRADING SCALE (7th Grade Band)
90 minutes = 30 points = A
75-89 minutes = 26 points = B+
60-74 minutes = 23 points = C+
45-59 minutes = 21 points = C-
Practice time over 90 minutes or less than 45 minutes will earn 5 points for each 15 minutes of recorded time.
WEEKLY GRADING SCALE (8th Grade Band)
60 minutes = 30 points = A
45-59 minutes = 25 points = B
30-44 minutes = 22 points = C
Practice time over 60 minutes or less than 30 minutes will earn 5 points for each 15 minutes of recorded time.
Note: Click the links below to access our paper and online practice cards.
Amy (Fanning) Cronin is a graduate of Plainfield High School in Plainfield, IN. She holds a Bachelor of Music Education Degree, a Master of Music Degree in Jazz Studies, and a Performer's Certificate from Indiana University.
Amy is married to Patrick Cronin, who is also a band director (in Sheridan) as well as a professional trumpet player. They have three boys named Charlie, Michael, and Henry. Charlie is a student at Ball State University, Michael goes to IUPUI, and Henry goes to school here in Speedway.
In Indiana University circles, Amy is known as the new "mop lady" of Indiana Basketball fame. She was asked by Coach Bobby Knight to sing Indiana-related songs at all of the home basketball games during his last two seasons at IU.
Amy began her teaching career as the Band Director at Paul Hadley Middle School in Mooresville, IN. After that, she went back to IU full-time to pursue her Masters Degree. While studying at IU, Amy met Gene DiNovi, the former pianist and arranger for Lena Horne. She sang with him at "The Festival of the Sound" in Parry Sound, Ontario for two summers. After obtaining her masters, she taught elementary music in Bedford, IN for one year before she got the job here at Speedway Junior High.
Amy also performs in Indianapolis with a local professional big band called "The Serenade Jazz Orchestra". You can catch them several times a year at The Jazz Kitchen in Broad Ripple and at The Dugout Bar (621 Virginia Ave.)
Contact Mrs. Cronin if you want to be added to the mailing list. She LOVES seeing familiar faces out in the audience!
Beginning band starts in the summer before 7th Grade. All 6th graders are eligible. If you're interested in joining the band, you will need to choose what instrument you would like to play.
Here is a link to the brochure that was handed out to the students in April:
Here is a link to the information that was given to parents at the meeting on May 9:
All 7th Graders must choose one elective class. They can choose from Band, Choir, Exploratory Spanish, or Business Information Technology. All elective classes meet every day during school hours.
If your student has chosen band, you have the option of filling out their band survey electronically. Please click on the following link to fill out and submit the form directly to Mrs. Cronin.
If you would like to sign up for choir, click the link below:
Note: All students that join the band will be expected to attend free summer lessons M-F from June 5-16. Summer lessons are required for all members.
Contact Mrs. Cronin at acronin@speedwayschools.net if there are conflicts.
Click here for the summer schedule.
Still need help deciding what instrument to play? Check out this video!
Beginning choir at Speedway Junior High is a mixed group of 7th and 8th grade students. Admission to the group is through audition or teacher recommendation only.
Any student currently in 7th grade is eligible to audition. Students should prepare "Happy Birthday" to sing for Mrs. Cronin. No other song needs to be prepared. All auditions are one-on-one, so you will not have to sing in front of a group of people.
Students currently in 6th grade that are interested in choir simply need to fill out the form that Mrs. Cronin gave them in April and give it to their teacher.
Once the form has been received, Mrs. Cronin will contact Mrs. Fraley (the elementary music teacher) for a recommendation. All 6th Grade students that can match pitch are accepted into the choir.
Current 6th Grade students can also sign up for choir by filling out the form at this link:
The Speedway Junior High Music Department took an all day trip to King's Island on May 6, 2023.
The next trip is tentatively scheduled for May 3, 2025.
Below is the itinerary for our last trip. Each time we go, we follow the same schedule.
Orders are now complete for our annual Music Department Fundraiser.
Thank you for your participation!
Our next fundraiser will be in November of 2023.
All Eighth Grade Band members should work on scales EVERY TIME they practice at home! Scales to concentrate on are Bb Concert, Ab Concert, C Concert, Eb Concert, F Concert, and the Chromatic Scale.