Jared Jones
- Oct 8
- 8 min read

"Common Times" Weekly Newsletter 10/9-10/13

Upcoming Events

Greetings Wildcat Band Families,

We had an absolutely incredible time at 8th Grade Band Night this past Friday. It was an awesome opportunity for 8th graders to catch up with 9th grade friends, hang with our larger band family throughout the district, watch a sweep of a game (28-0 Tigers at end of 1st quarter!) and to finish it all off with a spectacular performance by the Bentonville Pride Marching Band!!!!

Yep! If you look in the middle photo, that IS the 2024 BHS Freshman Band Class taking up more than 1/2 of an entire section of visitor bleachers!!! Very excited that the district has purchased new band bleachers for next yet that will be taller, wider and will have a roof to provide students more light, protect them from the elements and provide much needed on site power and storage!

Yesterday I attended portions of the Bentonville Marching Invitational Marching Band Contest. It was incredible to see so many awesome bands as well as so many fans out to watch band! To host this event we have to utilize (Ruth Barker Parking Lots, Baseball Field Parking Lots, Soccer Field Parking Lots, BHS Parking Lots, and all football facilities and parking. Watching the back lot logistics is truly inspiring! I also got to see Webb City, MO perform. Their colorguard instructor and assistant band director is a former student of mine, who going into 8th grade wanted to quit. Who going into high school wanted to quit because of the time commitment she had heard of. Now, she is in her first year as a band director and is killing it!! Webb City made finals and finished 11th overall.

I finished the evening watching the Pride perform "Sunflowers" in full uniform. Folks, wow!!! These kids are absolutely incredible! Does marching band take a lot of time? You bet it does! Is every moment worth it? 10 times over!!! I visited with a multitude of alumni who came to see the performance who are now majoring in civil engineering, biology, computer sciences, construction management, pre-med, and business. They all had one reverberating comment in common. They are masters at time management and work ethic. They consistently outperform their peers because they learned to work hard and manage their time because of marching band. It's also pretty awesome a few of them are marching in their college marching band or performing with their concert bands and getting extra scholarship money to do it. Yep, band is worth it. Making time to make it work, is worth it. "The more you put into it, the more you get out of it."

All grades are currently up-to date in HAC for your review. If there is a 'blank' it means the student was absent that day and needs to complete it as soon as possible. An "N" means the student was there but nothing was turned in. A "Z" means the student turned something in but it was incomplete or well below the minimum expectation for the assignment. Students can STILL turn in assignments if they earned an "N" or a "Z". Students should also take my feedback to help them practice any assignments in which they scored below 20/25 and retake it. Students will have a window of opportunity in class on Wednesday and Thursday to retake or complete any assignments they need to. Students must arrive ready to play the assignment, not needing more time to practice. :)

Our Fall Concert is THIS WEDNESDAY

Who is performing? 8th Grade, Jazz and Advanced Jazz Bands

Who should attend? EVERYONE! Is it required to come watch? Nope. But, you should. It gives 7th graders an opportunity to see all that 8th grade has been working on and what is in store for them a year from now. Bonus, students who come to see our band family perform and checks in with Mr. Jones after the concert can earn 10 bonus points. :)

Location - WJHS Gym

Attire is band t-shirt and nice pants/jeans/leggings with close toe shoes. No shorts! No sweat pants!

3:45p - Setup Crew will begin moving equipment to setup the gym (pizza will be ordered for them or send something for your student to eat). Other students who wish to stay to help may but they will need to bring money to have pizza ordered.

Setup Crew: Carson Rodgers (Co-Lead), Leah Holliday (Co-Lead), Lily Johnston, Ronan Barns, Harvey Calix, and Grace Hycrun

4:45p - Band students can enter from back band room door

5:00p - Families can enter Cafeteria via Gym/Activity Door on the front of the building

5:15p - Jazz Band Sound Check (in seat, in gym ready to play. Not walking in the doors)

5:30p - 8th Grade Band Warm-ups Up

5:45p - Gym Doors open for families to enter

6:00p - Concert Begins

7:15p - Approximate end time of concert

7:40p - Approximate student dismissal time (all students must help properly return and put away all equipment after the concert. More folks who help the quicker this will go. Families are more than welcome to help with stacking chairs, racking stands and moving them back to where the belong. Setup Crew will help steer everyone in the right direction and ensure all is put away correctly)

We really really need YOUR help on Friday, October 27th to work in the BHS Concession Stands while the Bentonville Pride is in St. Louis at Bands of America Super Regional Contest. The junior high bands will already be there performing so it's a great time to volunteer. You can sign up in the following link. Just be sure to scroll down to the 27th. Each student can have up to 2 adults volunteering earning them up to $50 toward band related expenses. These funds can be applied DIRECTLY to the St. Louis Trip. If a family work 10 shifts, this season that would fully pay for the trip. :) https://www.signupgenius.com/index.cfm?go=s.signup&urlid=10c0f4daaab2fa7fbc25-friday&useFullSite=true#/

Please remember that the junior high bands will be performing in the stands all night on this date. All 7th grade band members who feel comfortable with the pep music are welcome to join us! All 8th grade students will be participating. Here is the itinerary for the evening.

If you wanna get reminders, weekly overviews and inside scoop on what's happening in our classes, be sure to check out some of the pics on our Instagram and Facebook pages.

Thank you to everyone who has been sending in the band supply fees! That is a huge help! Band Supply Fees are all setup in MyPayments Plus and are available if you prefer to pay online. If you do this, you will have to search for 'WJHS Band' and find the appropriate fee. Fees SHOULD be modified accordingly for students on free or reduced lunch. If that is not that case, please email me so I can look into it as we have had a couple of coding issues in the system to show you the correct fee. You can still send in cash or check made out to "WJHS Band." Thank you for your help!!

6 weeks ago we sent home copies of the BSD Junior High Band Handbook Signature Form most of our classes. Please take a few minutes to scan the QR codes on the handbook and calendar to review the information. Then sign and return the form with your student to school. Every student must have this signed and returned. You can review our handbook here. Our calendar can be found here in spreadsheet form.

ATTENTION 8TH GRADE BAND AND JAZZ BAND STUDENTS

HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who has registered here! We have all students registered or in the final stage of being confirmed.

Please remember that fundraising credits can go towards the cost of the trip. Once a fundraiser ends, we will send a spreadsheet and check from the school to cover the amount to your student's travel account. Please let us know if you do NOT want fundraising applied to it.

Please create your account by going here: https://bobrogerstravel.groupcollect.com/admin/trips/7438

TRIP ID: WASHINGTON0065

Full payment due by January 15th

Need financial assistance in addition to the fundraisers? Please contact Mr. Jones ASAP. We will make it possible for every student who wants to attend to be able to .

If your family, business or you know a business owner who is able to make a tax deductible donation to help students attend this incredible trip, please contact Mr. Jones.

Additional documents and information about the trip can be found here.

I greatly appreciate everyone getting signed up for your group the last couple of weeks. Right now we are missing quite a few 8th grade and jazz band students who need to sign up. Parents have signed up but students with phone access need to sign up as well.

Click the appropriate link(s) to download the app and join our groups (Bands).

8th Grade Families - https://band.us/n/aba79ez9XbYfi

7th Grade Families - https://band.us/n/acae96z4X2Y47

Jazz Band Families - https://band.us/n/a7ab96zbYaJeY

Concession Volunteer Opportunities!

Monday Shifts
Thursday Shifts
Friday Shifts (REALLY NEED HELP OCT 27)

H ere is our PDF calendar for the 2023-2024 school year.

You can view and subscribe to our Google Calendar of events here.

Please take a few moment to review the information below so you are fully prepared for the week ahead.

This week:

Monday - "A" Day (Classes 1-3, Advisory, 4th)
7:45am - Band Room Opens
4:30pm - Band Room Closes
Good luck Volleyball!! Beat Chaffin!
Tuesday - "B" Day (Classes 5-7, Priority, 8)
7:45am - Band Room Opens
Priority Time - Advanced Jazz Band Rehearsal
4:30pm - Band Room Closes
Good luck Volleyball!! Beat Central!!!
Wednesday - "A" Day (Classes 1-3, Priority, 4th)
7:45am - Band Room Opens
Priority Time - Music Immersion
Fall Concert (8th Grade, Jazz and Advanced Jazz Bands)
Attire is band t-shirt and nice pants/jeans/leggings with close toe shoes. No shorts! No sweat pants!
3:45p - Setup Crew will begin moving equipment to setup the gym (pizza will be ordered for them or send something for your student to eat). Other students who wish to stay to help may but they will need to bring money to have pizza ordered. Setup Crew: Carson Rodgers (Co-Lead), Leah Holliday (Co-Lead), Lily Johnston, Ronan Barns, Harvey Calix, and Grace Hycrun
4:45p - Band students can enter from back band room door
5:00p - Families can enter Cafeteria via Gym/Activity Door on the front of the building
5:15p - Jazz Band Sound Check (in seat, in gym ready to play. Not walking in the doors)
5:30p - 8th Grade Band Warm-ups Up
5:45p - Gym Doors open for families to enter
6:00p - Concert Begins
7:15p - Approximate end time of concert
7:40p - Approximate student dismissal time (ALL students stay to help properly put away all equipment)
Thursday - "B" Day (Classes 5-7, Priority, 8th)
7:45am - Band Room Opens
Priority - Open Band Practice
4:30pm - Band Room Closes
Good Luck Football!!!! Beat Kirksey!
Friday -
NO SCHOOL - FALL BREAK
Will see everyone on Tuesday, October 17th

I know we JUST started the school year but I want to put a few AWESOME summer band camps on your radar as it seems we all begin planning and booking vacations earlier and earlier each year. :)

Typically 2nd Week of June - University of Central Arkansas Dixie Band Camp in Conway

June 10th-14th - Bentonville All-City Band Camp (1/2 Day in the morning) at BHS

June 10th-14th - Bentonville All-City Jazz Band Camp (1/2 Day in the afternoon) at BHS

July 7th-12th - University of Arkansas Band Camp in Fayetteville

Also, for our 7th grade families to plan, we will have required summer band rehearsals approximately 2 weeks before school begins. I will be able to give exact dates once the 2024-2025 calendar is approved later this semester; usually around October. The past several years it has been the first week of August.

PRIVATE LESSONS ARE AWESOME! They are designed to be fun, engaging, supportive and focused on the individual student.

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!

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 missed substantial class time due to illness
Students who just began playing this year
Students who want to get better
EVERYONE

To stay in the know be sure to follow us on your social media platform of choice: Facebook or Instagram - @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.

Musically Yours,

Product Name $4

"Common Times" Weekly Newsletter 10/9-10/13

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