 Happy Friday!
I hope students have had as much fun as I’ve had this past week. We’re off and rolling in the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade bands, and Jazz Band starts on Monday. Here are this week’s Band Notes: 6th Grade Band Students have learned how to assemble their “half instruments” and “full instruments.” We’ve been working on making sounds on our mouthpieces (or “half instruments”). This helps ensure that students will be able to produce a tone on their full instrument. Over the weekend, students are asked to continue practicing making sounds on their half instruments and then practice putting together their full instruments. For the weekend, students’ practice goals should be to get a steady, clear tone on their half instruments. We’ve demonstrated several times in class what that’s supposed to sound like, so students will have a clear idea of what sound they’re going for. They should also strive to produce a tone consistently. Next week, we’ll talk about grading and we’ll also talk about starting practice logs. 7th and 8th Grade Band We’re reading our first pieces of sheet music this week as well as working in the band book. Please make sure you purchase a band book for your student this weekend if you’ve not had a chance to do so already. Beacock Music informs me that they have a new shipment of Tradition of Excellence Book 3 (for 8th Grade Band) in, so there should be plenty in stock for purchase over the weekend. The Band Librarian positions are still open, and I’ve been getting some great applications and some glowing recommendations from teachers! If students are still interested in applying to be one of our Band Librarians, they need to print out an application on the band website. Once students have filled out their portion, they need to give it to a Skyridge teacher or administrator so that they can give their recommendation. Teachers will give the application to me once they’ve filled it out. Band Librarian applications are due on Wednesday 9/21 by the end of the school day. Please make sure to check with your recommending teacher to ensure he/she has turned it in to me! All bands Grades are updated in Skyward. Currently, there are only grades for Rehearsal Competencies. Please check the syllabus for questions Rehearsal Competencies, grades, and how they’re calculated. Please remind students to put their names on their band books! They can get easily mixed up with another student’s book. If there is a problem with your instrument, please don’t attempt to repair it yourself! This can cause serious damage to your instrument. Please take your instrument to the music store you rented it from and have them take care of it. Also, please don’t use household products to clean, lubricate, or polish your instrument. This can cause permanent damage. If you are interested in purchasing an instrument, please E-Mail Mr. Sanchez. He used to work in a music store, and he can be a great resource for helping you find the best instrument for your budget. Please, please, please do not buy instruments from Costco, Sears, Wal-Mart, or any other big box store. The instruments may look nice and shiny and come in cool colors, but in reality, they’re very poorly made with cheap materials and will hinder your student’s progress. Most repair shops won’t fix those off-brand instruments because the manufacturers won’t sell them parts to fix them with. Mr. Sanchez is happy to help you with your search, so please reach out for assistance! I’m going to a conference in Spokane on Thursday and Friday next week, so I won’t be in school on those days. Mr. Ross-MacLeod will be our Guest Teacher during my absence. I know our students will treat him with respect as he steps in to help us out. I hope you have a great weekend! Mr. Sanchez It's hard to believe that the 2016-2017 school year is almost here!
Just in case you've not received the letters that I sent out on Skyward, I've made them available here on the website. Beginning of Year Letter for 7th and 8th Grade Band Beginning of Year Letter for 6th Grade Beginning Band |
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June 2019
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