Common Times" Weekly Newsletter 3/27-4/1
Upcoming Events
4/3-5/28 - See www.bentonvillepride.com/calendar for marching band clinics for 8th graders going into high school band
4/4 - Parent/Teacher Conferences 3:45-7:30pm
4/14 - BHS Band Audition Music Due
4/15 - Jazz Band Performance for NWA Jazz Festival at Thaden
4/28-4/30 - 8th Grade Band and Jazz Band St. Louis Trip
5/2-5/3 - Composer Randall Standridge mini-Residency
5/3 - Bentonville Junior High's Mass Band Natural's Game Performance
5/12 - 7th and 8th Grade Bands Spring Concert at Arend Arts Center
5/13 - Silver Dollar City Reward Trip
Greetings Wildcat Band Family,
I hope everyone had a relaxing spring break with the opportunity to recharge for the final 9 weeks full of performances, ACT Aspire Testing, and trips! All assignments have been graded, entered and submitted. You can see your student's current band grade for the 3rd quarter in HAC.
This quarter the band room will open at 7:45am each day. All students should enter the school through the main doors. The back band room door will not be used as an entrance; it is exit only. Students in the room before school have 2 options: 1) practice current music or 2) work on homework/study/read. Fridays are open for students to just hang out. Students will be reminded once of the procedure. The second time they will be required to go to the commons until the 8:28 bell.
8th grade band students should be practicing concert music and the BHS Audition Music daily. The audition music is NOT whether a student will be in the BHS Band but to put them in a like-ability based band. Audition recordings should be turned in absolutely no later than 11:59pm on Friday, April 14th. Instructions to do so correctly are specific and listed in the assignment in the BHS Band Audition Google Classroom.
Winter band photos are NOW AVAILABLE for purchase from: https://snapped4u.com/galleries/18912. They are $10 each and will be available for you to download immediately after purchase. Thank you for your patience for the delay in offering these to you. All proceeds go to Mr. Chris Moore who professionally shot and edited each photo. The average cost for a professional photographer to do this many photos is $3,500! Mr. Moore agreed to do it for $450. We've currently sold $360 worth. Let's show this new dad (Baby Claira was born 10 weeks early and is doing well!) some extra love and support and get his growing family a bit extra. :)
HUGE thank you to everyone who came out to learn more about the Saied Music step up program. We could not have asked for a better turn out! Thank you to those who waited patiently for a representative to be free to talk with you. They had planned to bring 3 other reps with them (1 from 3 different locations) but could because of illnesses. Even if you weren't ready to upgrade yet, Saied Music is always ready to work with you to find the perfect step up for your student. Give them a call to setup a time to meet with them at their Fayetteville location when you are ready. We are in the process of scheduling another step-up event for next fall (most likely end of October/beginning of November).
8th Grade band and Jazz Band, please remember to be making your spring trip payments. Thank you to every
one making payments as we are well on are way to being caught up!! We are currently $827 short to pay our upcoming invoices for the trip. Please remember that these payments are now a week past due.
8th Grade Parents: Opportunities to Raise Funds for New Freshman BHS Band Fees Available NOW!
There are three key pieces of information to share with our 8th Grade Band families getting ready to be a part of the BHS Band program and the Bentonville Pride Marching Band this Fall.
For the upcoming year, both the Bentonville and Bentonville West Band Booster programs made the difficult decision to no longer participate in the AMP Concessions Volunteer Program. There were some aspects of the plan for this season that the organizations were not comfortable doing, so it will not be available for families to volunteer.
However, the Bentonville High School Band program was just offered the opportunity to run concessions for Spring BHS Track and Soccer events. When a person volunteers in Concessions, a $25 Fair Share donation is applied toward the specific Student's fees for the 2023-2024 Band Season. Up to two volunteers can help for each event (totaling $50), and Student's 14 or older can volunteer as well! Below are links to the available Track and Soccer events for this Spring, so take advantage of this opportunity now!
Link to Sign up for Track Concessions - lots of help needed, if you need to be a little late for the shift, sign up and make a note on your available arrival time
In the "My Comment" section of your sign-up, please type the Band Student's NAME, GRADE (8th), and INSTRUMENT
Mark your calendars for Monday, May 1st, at 7 PM, for the Mandatory Parent Meeting for the upcoming Bentonville Pride season! More details to come.
Please reach out to vpbbboosters@gmail.com with any questions!
I am excited to announce a BRAND NEW offering for this June. The Junior High Bands are offering a 1/2 day All-City Summer Band Camp June 12th-16th 8:30a-11:30a. Cost is $75 and includes a camp shirt, daily snack, instruction and a concert at the end of the week. Students who are CURRENTLY in 6th, 7th, or 8th grade are welcome to attend. More information will be available from the district on how to sign up soon!
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 1-4 and Advisory)
Band Room opens at 7:45am
Band Room Closes at 4:00p
Good luck to those trying out for Cheer!
Tuesday - B Day (Classes 5-8 and Priority)
Band Room opens at 7:45am
Marching Fundamentals during Priority
All 8th graders in 8th grade band
Bring comfortable shorts/pants that stretch, white shirt of any kind (it can have graphics and such on it) and athletic type shoes.
Good luck to those trying out for Dance!
Wednesday - A Day (Classes 1-4 and Priority)
Band Room opens at 7:45am
Band Room closes at 4:00pm
Good luck Track team!!!
Thursday - B Day (Classes 5-8 and Priority)
Band Room opens at 8:00am
Marching Fundamentals during Priority
All 8th graders in 8th grade band
Bring comfortable shorts/pants that stretch, white shirt of any kind (it can have graphics and such on it) and athletic type shoes.
Band Room closes at 4:00pm
Good luck to those trying out for Dance!
Friday -B Day (Classes 5-8 and Pep Rally)
Band Room Opens at 7:45am
Band Room Closes at 4:00pm
Good luck to those trying out for Cheer!
Break a leg Forensics and Debate!!!!!
Saturday
Break a leg Forensics and Debate!!!!!
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Current 7th Grade Band Members | Current 8th Grade Band Members |
Times will be determined once speaking with XC, Cheer, Dance, Volleyball and Football Coaches so that there aren't any conflicts. Typically, these are 12:30-3:30. For those planning to attend Camp War Eagle, please plan to do one of the early sessions. | July 17th -21st - Mandatory Pride Band Members Music Sectional 1:00p-5:00pm
For full calendar, please see www.bentonvillepride.com |
​July 31st- Low Brass and Low Reeds Sectional (Bass Clarinets, Saxophone, French Horns, Trombones, Euphoniums and Tubas) | July 24th-August 4th - Mandatory Pride Band Members Rehearsal 8:00am-5:00pm
For full calendar, please see www.bentonvillepride.com |
August 1st - High Woodwinds and High Brass Sectional (Flutes, Clarinets and Trumpets) | August 7th-15th - Mandatory Pride Band Members Evening Rehearsals Beginning at 5:00pm. End time varies depending on day.
For full calendar, please see www.bentonvillepride.com |
August 2nd - Percussion Sectional | ​ |
August 3rd - Full Band Rehearsal | ​ |
August 4th - Full Band Rehearsal | ​ |
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You can find a complete copy of this year's calendar of events here.
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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
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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,
