"Common Times" Weekly Newsletter 4/25-4/29
Upcoming Events
April 25th - Jazz Band Concert at Old High 6:30p
April 27th - Bentonville Junior High 7th and 8th Grade Bands Performance Pre Game
April 30th - North Stage Jazz Festival at Fayetteville Public Library
May 3rd - 7th Grade Band Rehearsal until 5:30
May 7th - Branson Jazz Festival and Silver Dollar City Trip for all band students
May 10th - 7th Grade Band Rehearsal until 5:30
May 17th - Spring Concert
May 23rd - Spring Jazz Band Concert
Greetings Wildcat Band Family,
The JazzCats represented WJHS and the Bentonville Band Program at a high level at the ASBOA Jazz Band Festival in Fayetteville on Saturday! We were approached by several members of the U of A Jazz Orchestra and the NWA Jazz Society who were impressed with what junior high students are capable of. Way to go!
Monday night the JazzCats will open for the BHS Jazz Bands at Old High beginning at 6:30pm. Call time for musicians is 5:45 in concert black at Old High.
Wednesday is the Naturals Game Performance. Family/Friends tickets have begun to be sent home and will finish up Monday. Tickets ordered after Tuesday, April 19th will be available at the Will Call booth at Arvest Ballpark for you.
The fundraiser items are scheduled to be available for pickup on Thursday, April 28th. You can begin picking them up as early as 1:30p and as late as 4:30p. Since nothing has to be refrigerated items can be picked up on Friday as well.
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.
Please remember that the next marching band clinic for current 8th graders who will be in the BHS Band is this Tuesday 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 have concluded for the 2021-2022 school year. I greatly appreciate everyone's help in getting students to the sectionals. They are vital for student growth and an important transition from individual instrument classes to full band.
The 7th Grade Silver Dollar City trip is May 7th Itinerary
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
The Jazz Band will NOT be participating in the Bentonville West Jazz Festival scheduled for Saturday, April 30th. We look forward to being able to do so in the future.
To review a complete copy of our calendar until the end of the year, you can find it here.
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Homework Assignments this Week
Assignments this week will be short spot checks based on areas that need improvement in the concert music and all due by Friday.
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.
All grades are updated in HAC as of 6:00pm Saturday, April 16th.
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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
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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)
"N" =I have received nothing from the student on that assignment. It factors as a zero but the student can still turn it in.
"Z" = The student turned something in but it was either the wrong assignment or did not meet minimum expectations to earn credit.
If your student desires to raise their grade they can do 2 things:
*Turn in missing assignments.
*Redo assignments with lower grades and turn back in. Students should ALWAYS read/watch/listen to feedback. Great care is taken to help each and every student grow from where they are. MANY times, I provide specific examples and exercises or additional resources for individual students to use to improve themselves. This is THE purpose of assignments.; for students to get better as an individual through specific feedback. The grade in and of itself is irrelevant. If I could give feedback without a grade, I absolutely would. Individual student growth is the only thing that matters. When growth happens via feedback, the grade takes care of itself.
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It is important to review our calendar dates for the spring. The most updated calendar can be found linked 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! 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 week everyone!
Musically Yours,
