"Common Times" Weekly Newsletter 10/18-10/22
Greetings Wildcat Band Family!
I hope everyone has had a wonderful Fall Break and is well rested and ready to go. We have quite a few events coming up the next couple of weeks so please review the schedules below to be your student is where the need to be. Mr. Jones will be available at parent teacher conferences this Wednesday, October 20th. However, due to all-region orchestra auditions on Monday, October 25th Mr. Jones will not be available at conferences. If you wish to meet with him, please send an email to schedule an alternate time or join us on October 20th. Mr. Fernandez will not be available either night. If you wish to speak with him, please email him to setup an alternate time to meet.
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Friday, October 22nd - Pep band to play at away game in Rogers with the Fulbright Band. Students will be bussed to and from the game. This is an AMAZING opportunity for us to collaborate with our peers at Fulbright AND to get to represent Bentonville Schools at the away game! Full Itinerary Here
Students will be fed before leaving from the band boosters
Attire: Band shirt and comfortable pants. Wear layers as it will be in the 50's
*Pep Band = 8th Grade Band Required. 7th graders who attended summer rehearsals are welcome to participate and need to let Mr. Jones know ASAP so we have enough food for dinner
Tuesday, October 26th - Jazz and 8th Grade Band Concert at WJHS.
Attire is concert black
Location is WJHS Gymnatorium
Photoshoot will begin at 5:15 for all 8th grade band and jazz band members
Activity Doors will open for audience at 5:40pm
Jazz Band performs at 6:00p
8th Grade Band performs at 6:30
All students will stay the entire evening and will help break down setup after concert
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The Bentonville Pride Marching Band, the Bentonville Band Boosters and a huge group of volunteers helped pull off an exceptional Bentonville Marching Invitational (BMI) on October 2nd. Fifteen bands from all across the region visited Tiger Stadium and treated guests to great music, choreography and visual effects. Congratulations to Camdenton HS (MO) as Grand Champion of the 2021 BMI, sweeping the General Effect, Visual and Music categories, followed by second place winner Fayetteville HS (AR) and third place winner Union HS (OK). While the host school does not participate, the Bentonville Pride entertained guests with an exhibition performance of their show, Opus 48, in full uniform near the end of the night,
Interested in helping raise money for the BHS band program and meeting other band families? There are multiple options for you to get plugged in!
Concessions at Monday/Thursday Freshman & Jr. High Football games: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f4daaab2fa7fbc25-mondaythursday
Concessions at Friday HS Football games: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f4daaab2fa7fbc25-football
Concessions at the Walmart AMP which earns donations for YOUR student's account to prepare for future band fees!
There are three consecutive shows in October that will need BIG help from Jr. High families as both the BHS and Bentonville West marching bands will be competing in St. Louis. Please check the dates and sign up at the link below!
The Bentonville Pride Marching Band, the Bentonville Band Boosters and a huge group of volunteers helped pull off an exceptional Bentonville Marching Invitational (BMI) on October 2nd. Fifteen bands from all across the region visited Tiger Stadium and treated guests to great music, choreography and visual effects. Congratulations to Camdenton HS (MO) as Grand Champion of the 2021 BMI, sweeping the General Effect, Visual and Music categories, followed by second place winner Fayetteville HS (AR) and third place winner Union HS (OK). While the host school does not participate, the Bentonville Pride entertained guests with an exhibition performance of their show, Opus 48, in full uniform near the end of the night!
The Bentonville Pride will be participating in their FIRST competition of the 2021 season, traveling to Union High School in Tulsa, OK, for the Renegade Review on Saturday, October 9th. If you're interested in attending and seeing the Bentonville Pride showcase its performance alongside some of the top bands in the region, visit https://www.unionbands.com/reviewspectators.
Interested in helping raise money for the BHS band program and meeting other band families? There are multiple options for you to get plugged in!
Concessions at Monday/Thursday Freshman & Jr. High Football games: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f4daaab2fa7fbc25-mondaythursday
Concessions at Friday HS Football games: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f4daaab2fa7fbc25-football
Concessions at the Walmart AMP which earns donations for YOUR student's account to prepare for future band fees!
There are three consecutive shows in October that will need BIG help from Jr. High families as both the BHS and Bentonville West marching bands will be competing in St. Louis. Please check the dates and sign up at the link below!
Upcoming Shows
Wed 10/13 - Dave Matthews Band
Thu 10/14 - NF
Tue 10/19 - NEEDTOBREATHE (w/ Switchfoot)
Thu 10/21 - Jonas Brothers - Need help from Jr. High families, sign up if you can!
Fri 10/22 - Dierks Bentley - Need help from Jr. High families, sign up if you can!
Sat 10/23 - Gary Clark Jr. - Need help from Jr. High families, sign up if you can!
-Kevin Miller, BHS and WJHS Band Parent
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Oct. 26th - Jazz and 8th Grade Band Concert at WJHS.
Attire is concert black
Location is WJHS Gymnatorium
Photoshoot will begin at 5:15 for all 8th grade band and jazz band members
Activity Doors will open for audience at 5:40pm
Jazz Band performs at 6:00p
8th Grade Band performs at 6:30
All students will stay the entire evening and will help break down setup after concert
We'd LOVE to have our 7th graders join us for the concert as wonderful audience members to get an idea of what they will get to do next year!
Oct. 29th - JH Band students will stay after school, be fed and will be bussed over to BHS to perform with the Bentonville High School Pride Marching Band during pre game. Students will walk over to the south building at the end of the 3rd quarter for parents to pick them up.
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Instruments go home every single day and that it's vital for student progress to practice no less than 15 minutes per day, 5 days a week. Please help your band student find time at home to practice and beef up their musical muscles! Students are welcome to practice in the band room before school on A days as early as 7:30am (just come knock on the back band room door) and can stay any day there is a scheduled after sectional until 4:30 to practice in a practice room.
HINT: Students have SOMETHING to practice and prepare for every class even if it isn't a playing test. To be successful, students should be practicing regularly.
What a 15 minute practice session should look like:
2 minutes - Long Tones (F-Remington, Scales in whole notes, pg. 7 of Embouchure Boot Camp)
2 minutes - Lip slurs and buzzing for brass instruments. Chromatic scales or finger exercises for woodwinds.
2 minutes - scales for accuracy and increased speed with great tone.
7 minutes - assignment (focus on a small goal to noticeably improve a difficult part)
2 minutes - pick ANYTHING you enjoy playing
For a 30 minute practice session the above times can simply be doubled
If your student is "bored" with what we are currently doing in class and wants more of a challenge, reach out to me and I will get them some more challenging material to work on.
If your student is struggling with what we are doing in class, please reach out as I have many resources available to assist students at all levels.
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If you are available, PLEASE sign up for a shift tonight as our high school bands have their fall concert. Also, Oct. 21st and 22nd our high school band will be going to ST. Louis for Super Regionals taking many of the parents with them. So, if you could sign up for a shift, we'd greatly appreciate it! junior high game or the high school game. The concession stand is the single largest fundraiser for the Bentonville Bands. Funds from this help to offer band feeds, purchase new instruments, provide financial assistance to band families and scholarships for students to attend summer band and music camps. It takes a village!
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All-Region Sectionals
Full sectional schedule this week.
Percussion will be in person on Wednesday.
No brass sectionals on Friday due to football game
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We have an awesome partnership with Arkansas Music Conservatory where your student can take a lesson or two on US to see what private lessons can do for your band student! We have set aside $1000 for lessons this year. We can also help pay for additional lessons and offset the cost of lessons for families who need financial assistance in this area.
Who should take private lessons:
Advanced students who need to be pushed and challenged
Students who need some 1-on-1 assistance to learn and master concepts covered in class
Students who were not in class the last year and a half due to covid.
Students who just began playing this year
Students who want to get better
EVERYONE
To sign up for a free lesson:
Contact Mr. Jones so he can track who is taking the exploratory lessons
Contact Arkansas Music Conservatory to setup a lesson 479-268-3307 call or 479-430-2226 text
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Support the WJHS Band AND make your life easier! It's a win-win for everyone. Fundshine is an online service that allows you to purchase paper and plastic goods that will shipped directly to your home. Spot checking prices come in a little cheaper than from local stores plus a portion of sales comes back to the band twice a year. Even better, you can sign up to have recurring shipments so you get set it up and forget about it. Also, family and friends can use this service anywhere in the US! :)
Check it out by going to www.fundshine.org,support the band and make sure your pantry is always stocked!
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To stay in the know be sure to follow us on your social media platform of choice: Facebook, Instagram or Twitter - @wjhswildcatband and/or at www.wjhswildcatband.com
If you have any questions or concerns, please never hesitate to reach out. We are partners in your student's growth and need to work together for them to be as successful as possible.
Have a band-tastic and short week everyone!
Musically Yours,
