Upcoming Events
Greetings Wildcat Band Family,
I'm incredibly impressed with how much the 7th grade, 8th grade and Jazz Band have accomplished in such a short time this concert cycle! It is only possible due to daily dedication to practice and coming to class prepared. I know that this quarter is typically the busiest for students and families and keep that in mind when making assignments. Goals of assignments:
Assess where every student is each week to help them be highly successful in the most efficient manner possible.
Accountability
Assignments are short and to the point so the above goals can be accomplished. Hence the reason we are not doing practice records this quarter.
High School Band placement audition music is going terrific! The band is able to play all the way through exercise A and students are making great headway on Exercise B. Please remember that Exercise C only need to be played if a student wishes to be considered for placement in Wind Ensemble (band #1) or Symphonic Winds (band #2).
Please remember that the first marching band clinic for current 8th graders who will be in the BHS Band is this Thursday 4:30-6:00pm at BHS. Students should wear a white shirt, athletic type shorts, athletic type shoes and bring a water bottle for the marching band clinic. They will meet in the BHS Band Room.
8th Grade Band Sectionals will continue this week. The low winds sectional will occur Friday during priority due to the BHS Marching Band Clinic for 8th graders that same day 4:30-6:00pm at BHS.
We are excited about our upcoming Bentonville Junior High MASS band performance at the Arkansas Natural's Game on. April 27th the 7th and 8th grade bands from all 4 junior highs will combine to perform some pep music pre game of an Arkansas Natural's Baseball Game. Tickets are on sale now and can be ordered via this form or a hard copy can be printed out here. Tickets can be paid with cash or check (made out to WJHS Band) and sent in with your band student in a sealed envelope or ziploc bag with: their first and last name on it, subject: Natural's Game, and number of tickets needed. Itinerary
The 7th Grade Silver Dollar City trip is May 7th (8th graders may attend if they would like) to coincide with the Jazz Band Festival in Branson due to transportation issues on our original April date. Itinerary
If your student is planning to attend this trip, please complete this form so we can place our ticket order by Monday, April 11th. Tickets will only be ordered for those who turn in their money on time. If your family is having financial difficulty but your student would like to attend, please let me know and we will make it happen.
The 8th grade band will attend the Festival of Music at Worlds of Fun on Friday, May 13th. Cost is $40 per student plus money for lunch, dinner and any snacks they may need in the park. Please remember that this is required of 8th grade band students since we will be competing at the music festival. Itinerary
Fundraising credits can go towards any of these ticket prices. Please email Mr. Jones if you would like to have your fundraising credits go towards that.
To review a complete copy of our calendar until the end of the year, you can find it here.
Homework Assignments this Week
"A" day classes assignment will be due Thursday and "B" day classes assignment will be due Friday. The goal of this is to keep the weekend free of deadlines and open for kids to get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather as well as to allow us time to schedule students into our priority for the following week to turn in any late work. This should ensure all students are caught up (assuming they aren't pulled for other priorities) each week. All assignments should be video recorded with an audible metronome and turned in to Google Classroom for full credit. (Tutorial on how to record video on a Chromebook)
All assignment turned in by Saturday night have been graded, returned and HAC updated. If a grade shows an "N" it is because your student hasn't turned it in yet.
1st Period High Winds
"Jungle Dance" - Measures 53-63 with metronome no slower than 120bpm
2nd Period 8th Grade Band
8 Measures of concert music (instrument specific assigned in google classroom)
3rd Period Low Brass
"Jungle Dance" - Measures 53-63 with metronome no slower than 120bpm
6th Period Clarinets
"Jungle Dance" - Measures 53-63 with metronome no slower than 120bpm
7th Period Jazz Band
Pick ANY 8 measures of "Blues in Hoss Flat'" where you play and turn it in.
7th Grade Band Family
The first week of August, the 8th grade band (currently 7th graders) will have 1 sectional and 1 full band rehearsal to knock off the summer rust, start preparing for the school year, and learn all of the pep music we will perform at pep rallies, Natural's Game, and other public performances the first quarter. Like last year 7th graders (current 6th graders) are welcome to attend!
I have spoken with all the coaches at WJHS and have crafted a schedule that does not overlap with any other activity that week and gives students some time between activities for those who are involved in multiple ones that practice this week.
These sectionals and rehearsals are essential as we will not learn this music once school starts. We will clean it up but not learn any of it from scratch. So please, put these dates on your calendar so your band student can be there.
August 1st 12:00p-3:30p: Bass Clarinet, Alto Sax, Tenor Sax, Bari Sax, French Horn, Trombone, Euphonium, and Tuba Sectional.
August 2nd 12:00p-3:30p: Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, and Trumpet Sectional.
August 3rd 12:00p-3:30p: Percussion Sectional
August 4th 12:00p-3:30p: Full Band Rehearsal
We are using a program called "Band" app to communicate important reminders and updates. T
his is similar to Remind 101 but better suited for groups such as band. This also allows us to share photos and videos that we may not want public on our social media channels. Lastly, it is a one stop location for access to our calendar and other resources.
Click here to enroll in the 8th grade band updates: https://band.us/n/ada9685fD2mex
Click here to enroll in the 7th grade band updates: https://band.us/n/a5ad635eDbN7p
Click here to enroll in the Jazz Band updates: https://band.us/n/aea0675fD9N23
Grading Reminders (Click to expand)
It is important to review our calendar dates for the spring. The most updated calendar can be found linked here.
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! 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
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!
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 week everyone!
Musically Yours,
