LAST Fundraiser Turn-In Day #3 is Monday (Today!).

Don’t forget your money and order form. Students will get a new order form when they turn any completed orders on Monday. We’re off to a SOLID start, there’s still lots of PRIZE TICKETS to win (including the 50 & 100 CANDY ticket). Students who sell 10 items are invited to our fundraiser pizza party. Students who sell 30 items receive a free ticket to our end of the year Reward Trip to Islands of Adventure Theme Park!

Thank you for your support!


Weekly Agenda/Performance Goals​

Beginning Band: Here is what we are working on this week and next week (10/1-10/5)

1. Keep working on the mouthpieces! This is SOOOOO important to producing beautiful tone quality. Sustain a steady tone on the mouthpiece for 10 seconds. We are also now checking for the correct pitch; Flutes on A, Clarinets on F#, All Brass on F (students know what this means).
   
   
   
2. We are now ready to play through the entire Second Study & Third Study in the beginning band book. The Third Study is just combinations of the first and second study, it’s basically just review! The hard part is reading notes as they change on the same song line in the book. Practice with a tuner and metronome to check for the correct IN TUNE pitch. There are practice tracks for each line of the EACH Study which can be found by scanning the QR code found on page 4 of band book.
   
   
   
3. TWO “Assessments” This week:
   1. Students made flashcards last week for each of the first fives notes on their instrument. They will have a test on Wednesday or Thursday in which they must quickly identify the note name of each of the first 5 notes on the staff. Practice with the flashcards! Parents, help your students!!!!
      
      
      
   2. Students will have a CHECK UP on the first two lines of the Third Study Thursday or Friday. Students will be performing in small groups. This is the first Performance Pass off of this year, it is officially due to be completed next Monday (10/8).

As a review of student “norms and expectations outside of class”: Students should be practicing for 20-30 minutes per day that they do not have a block band class, plus one additional practice session on the weekend or Monday. Total weekly practice should be between two and three hours per week, outside of class.



Concert Band: Here is what we are working on this week and next week (10/1-10/5)

1. We are working on our Scales in preparation for our pass-offs. Concert Bb, Eb, and F were due in past weeks. This week’s scale is Ab. Please practice this scale and submit a recording, on eCampus, of the All-State Pattern scale by the end of this weekend.

1. Students received Skeletons in the Closet, our final song for the fall concert. Our goal is to be able to play through all three songs by the end of next week! We need to master master the notes and rhythms to make quicker progress. Once we have that, we can start to make it musical, emotional, and exciting! Keep WORKING, you will get there!!!!

As a review of student “norms and expectations outside of class”: Students should be practicing for 30-45 minutes per day that they do not have a block band class, plus one additional practice session on the weekend or Monday. Total weekly practice should be between two and three hours per week, outside of class.


​Symphonic Band: Here is what we are working on this week and next week (10/1-10/5)

1. We are working on our Scales in preparation for our pass-offs. Concert Bb, F, Eb, Ab, C, and Db were due in past weeks. This week’s scale is G. Please practice this scale and submit a recording of the All-State Pattern scale by the end of this weekend.
   
   
   
2. Keep working on SNAKES! and Chester Variations for our fall concert. We are doing really well in this department: 2 songs that we can play thru already is a great start! Once we master the notes and rhythms, we can start to make it musical, emotional, and exciting! Keep up the GREAT WORK!
   
   
3. All County Assignment Information: There will be a separate email sent out with information regarding this semester's BAND 3 Project Assignment. 
   
   
   

As a review of student “norms and expectations outside of class”: Students should be practicing for 30-45 minutes per day that they do not have a block band class, plus one additional practice session on the weekend or Monday. Total weekly practice should be between two and three hours per week, outside of class.

We hope you can make it to our ICEBREAKER POTLUCK SOCIAL!Saturday, September 22nd. 11am - 2pm @ Secret Lake Park in Casselberry.Food, games, sports, socializing! It should a great time getting to know each other!
Don’t know what to bring, or need more details? Click this link and scroll to the bottom.
 Fundraiser Turn-In Day #2 is next Monday.Don’t forget your money and order form. Students will get a new order form when they turn any completed orders on Monday. We’re off to a SOLID start, there’s still lots of PRIZE TICKETS to win (including the 50 & 100 CANDY ticket, and $50 ticket!). Students who sell 10 items are invited to our fundraiser pizza party. Students who sell 30 items receive a free ticket to our end of the year Reward Trip to Islands of Adventure Theme Park!

Thank you for your support!


Weekly Agenda/Performance Goals

​Beginning Band: Here is what we are working on this week and next week (9/24-9/28)

1. Keep working on the mouthpieces! This is SOOOOO important to producing beautiful tone quality. Sustain a steady tone on the mouthpiece for 5-10 seconds (depends on instrument). We are also now checking for the correct pitch; Flutes on A, Clarinets on F#, All Brass on F (students know what this means).
   
   
   
2. We are now ready to play through the entire First Study in the beginning band book. Practice with a tuner and metronome to check for the correct IN TUNE pitch. There are practice tracks for each line of the First Study which can be found by scanning the QR code found on page 3 of band book.

As a review of student “norms and expectations outside of class”: Students should be practicing for 20-30 minutes per day that they do not have a block band class, plus one additional practice session on the weekend or Monday. Total weekly practice should be between two and three hours per week, outside of class.
The students who are displaying the best musical skills are practicing a little bit every day, not just days they don’t have band. You get out of band (how much fun class time is), what you put into band (practicing at home).


Concert Band: Here is what we are working on this week and next week (9/24-9/28)

1. We are working on our Scales in preparation for our pass-offs. Concert Bb and F were due in past weeks. This week’s scale is Eb. Please practice this scale and submit a recording, on eCampus, of the All-State Pattern scale by the end of this weekend.

1. Students received SHOCKWAVE, our second song for the fall concert. Our goal is to be able to play through 2 songs by the end of next week! We need to master master the notes and rhythms to make quicker progress. Once we have that, we can start to make it musical, emotional, and exciting! Keep WORKING, you will get there!!!!
   
   
   
2. Next week we will receive our final song for the fall concert as well as move on to our fourth scale for this quarter: Concert Ab. Students will be practicing the scale in class and at home to submit a recording on eCampus using the All-State Pattern. We will also be focusing on ARTICULATION (tonguing correctly).

As a review of student “norms and expectations outside of class”: Students should be practicing for 30-45 minutes per day that they do not have a block band class, plus one additional practice session on the weekend or Monday. Total weekly practice should be between two and three hours per week, outside of class.

​
Symphonic Band

1. We are working on our Scales in preparation for our pass-offs. Concert Bb, F, Eb, and Ab were due in past weeks. This week’s scale is C. Please practice this scale and submit a recording of the All-State Pattern scale by the end of this weekend.

1. Keep working on SNAKES! and Chester Variations for our fall concert. We are doing really well in this department: 2 songs that we can play thru already is a great start! Once we master the notes and rhythms, we can start to make it musical, emotional, and exciting! Keep up the GREAT WORK!
   
   
   
2. Next week, we will be working on ARTICULATION, how to tongue properly and in various styles.

As a review of student “norms and expectations outside of class”: Students should be practicing for 30-45 minutes per day that they do not have a block band class, plus one additional practice session on the weekend or Monday. Total weekly practice should be between two and three hours per week, outside of class.

We had our BAND FUNDRAISER KICK OFF yesterday! We will be selling our usual cookie dough and cheesecake that we have done in the past. Students were given a very nice brochure and information sheet regarding fundraiser information, prize information, collection day procedures -- please review this with them at home tonight! Please direct questions regarding this fundraiser to myself or Ms. Kilby. See the attached FLYER for more information and contact info!

Our first turn-in day is next MONDAY, September 17th, and features a “double prize pulls” for students; for every item sold or $10 worth of donations students bring in, they will receive two chances to win our grand prize, this first week only! Parents, tomorrow might be a great day to bring your packets to work! Thank you for your support of our program as we are looking to pay for a few new stands, instrument repair bills, and purchase a few new instruments as well.


**PLEASE NOTE** – We ask that students pay $25 as an “Activity Fee” to be in our program; this helps defray our start up costs for the year such as purchasing shirts, music, and books before our fundraiser begins but does not come close to covering our yearly costs of repairing instruments, purchasing music, paying for festivals/buses, and hiring guest clinicians to work with our awesome students. 
Many schools charge anywhere from $100-150 just to be in band per school year.  In lieu of charging a band fee, we ALL participate in this fundraiser to cover a students “Fair Share”. A student’s fair share is to sell TEN items, or bring in a donations totaling $100. We have had amazing success every year reaching this goal and I want to thank you in advance for helping us reach our goals!

Beginning Band:

1. Sustain a steady tone on the mouthpiece for 5-10 seconds (depends on instrument). We are also now checking for the correct pitch; Flutes on A, Clarinets on F#, All Brass on F (students know what this means).
   
   
2. Put the entire instrument together! And play the first note, Concert F, steady and sustained for 5-10 seconds (again, depending on which instrument)
   
   
3. Learn the second, third, and fourth notes on your instrument. We must know the fingering/slide position, note name, and can hold each note with a steady tone for 5-10 seconds.

Concert Band

1. We are working on our Scales in preparation for our pass-offs. Concert Bb and F were due in past weeks. This week’s scale is Eb. Please practice this scale and submit a recording, on eCampus, of the All-State Pattern scale by the end of this weekend.
   
   
2. We are continuing to also focus on playing on just the mouthpieces – woodwinds have an assigned note that is slowly getting better, but the progress is a little too slow for our goals this quarter. Please keep working EVERY DAY on the mouthpiece for 2-3 minutes, then MAKE A TRANSFER (what did you do to fix it) to the rest of your practice and class studies.
   
   
3. Students received SHOCKWAVE, our second song for the fall concert. Our goal is to be able to play through 2 songs by the end of next week! We need to master master the notes and rhythms to make quicker progress. Once we have that, we can start to make it musical, emotional, and exciting! Keep WORKING, you will get there!!!!
   
   

Symphonic Band

1. We are working on our Scales in preparation for our pass-offs. Concert Bb, F, and Eb were due in past weeks. This week’s scale is Ab. Please practice this scale and submit a recording of the All-State Pattern scale by the end of this weekend.
   
   
2. We are continuing to also focus on playing on just the mouthpieces – woodwinds have an assigned note that is slowly getting better, but the progress is a little too slow for our goals this quarter. Please keep working EVERY DAY on the mouthpiece for 2-3 minutes, then MAKE A TRANSFER (what did you do to fix it) to the rest of your practice and class studies.
   
   
3. We will be getting our third song this week for the fall concert. We are doing really well in this department: 2 songs that we can play thru already is a great start! Once we master the notes and rhythms, we can start to make it musical, emotional, and exciting! Keep up the GREAT WORK!

​You are all cordially invited to our first annual Band Icebreaker Social!
 
Band kids are a special bunch: they walk to class together, sit at lunch together, do homework together, practice together; basically do EVERYTHING together! By the time your younger student is in 8th grade, they will have made TONS of friends that are in our band family – in fact, most would say their closest friends are only in band. This is a great opportunity for us all to get to know each other!
 
 
Details:
 
Saturday, September 22nd at SECRET LAKE PARK in Casselberry from 11am-2pm.
We have rented a large pavilion to and there is a nice green space to play: tennis courts, basketball court, a “kickball field”, and a big lake! I’m looking forward to doing some games & activities with you all, it should be a blast! Bring some sporting equipment if you want to play!
 
This is a family event! Everyone in your family is invited!
 
What to bring for the potluck?
 
Feel free to bring anything you like to share (special family recipes are always a treat!), but if you’re not sure what to bring and to put a little bit more structure to ensure we don’t end up with a million bags of chips here’s some ideas:
 
Woodwinds – Protein/Main Dish
Brass – Sides/Salad/Appetizers/Chips&Dips
Percussion – Drinks & Desserts
 
The band boosters will be providing the “hardware”: utensils, plates, cups, napkins, ect.
 
 
Looking forward to this very much! See you on the 22nd!