Upcoming Events
Greetings Wildcat Band Family,
It is hard to believe that we only have 9 days of school left in what has been such an amazing school year! The amount of growth every student has experienced has been phenomenal and I can't wait to showcase them Tuesday night.
We had a terrific time at the Festival of Music hosted by Worlds of Fun on Friday. The 8th grade band played wonderfully and our students were by far the best behaved and well-mannered in the park as was mentioned by multiple staff members throughout the day. Bravi band!!
Monday - 7:00pm at Arend. WJHS Choir concert is going to be awesome! If you're available you should check it out.
Tuesday and Thursday - Marching Band Rehearsal 4:30-6:00 @BHS. White shirt, athletic type shorts, athletic shoes and a bottle of water. There WILL BE BUS TRANSPORTATION BOTH DAYS.
WJHS Band students will be released at 5:30 on Tuesday to prepare for our concert.
Students should bring a sack dinner/snack to eat once dismissed from the Pride Rehearsal.
There will be a garment rack in the BHS band room for students to hang up their concert attire. (Thank you Keri Letson, Band Booster President!!!)
Students should bring basic toiletries (brush, face/body wipes, DEODORANT) to freshen up.
Spring Band Concert Tuesday
Attire: Concert black.
NO Graphics on shirts, LONG Sleeves (ladies 3/4 are fine).
The goal is to show as little skin as possible so the focus is on the ensemble, not the individual. SAME reason athletic teams have a uniform.
We have an awesome donation of a 30X30 AND a 30X32 pair of boys pants if anyone needs them. We also have a donation of a size 10.5 dress shoe. Let me know if you need it.
5:30p - Photoshoot for 7th grade all-region students (TENTATIVE) in BHS Choir Room
5:45p - Latest 7th graders should arrive at the Arend (Traffic is horrid 5-6:45. PLAN to arrive early so your student isn't late. "To be early is to be on time. To be on time is to be late.")
6:00p - 7th Grade warms up on stage
6:15p - 8th Graders with instruments sitting together on stage left
6:30p - Awards Concert Begins
7:50p - Strike Stage
EVERY band student will stay to help take all the equipment back to the band room and put away correctly. Parents are more than welcome to help move equipment back to the band room to speed up the process. To help, come up to the stage using the stairs on your right. Students leaving early will serve a day of detention for every 5 minute early they left.
8:10p - Go Home
Wednesday - FJHS Jazz Band Concert at FJHS.
Family members planning to perform with the 8th grade band on the last song, we will have a chair for you in the ensemble and you can come up after our 4th song. We will have the full band do an individual warm-up to give you the opportunity to play a bit first. You can also utilize the large choir room earlier if you wish to have a longer warm-up.
7th Grade Families, please look below at the 1st Draft of the Sectional Schedule for next year. This is based on the responses received to help ensure as few or no conflicts with other activities our talented and hardworking students are in. Sectionals are an essential part of the transition from instrument specific classes in 6th and 7th grade to full band in 8th grade and beyond. In sectionals we cover instrument specific techniques, all-region music (in the fall), challenging sections of concert music so full band rehearsals are focused on the full band rather than individual sections the majority of the time and comradery.
If you haven't completed the survey, you can by doing to this link.
To review our in progress calendar for next school year, you can find it here.
We have been lucky to have such an incredibly student teacher with us this quarter, Ms. Bailey Tadda! At that concert we would love to provide her with a token of our appreciation. If you can send a dollar or two to go towards this gift that will be presented to her at the concert, we can get her something awesome! Just send it in in an envelope marked Tadda. :) Thank you to those who have already sent something in.
Homework Assignments this Week
7th Grade High Winds, Low Winds and Clarinets will record a video of themselves playing the concert c minor scale. This will be due on 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 grades are updated in HAC as of 3:30pm Thursday, May 12th
Summer Band Camps
Summer Band Camps are a great way to keep your student involved in music making, have fun, grow on their instrument while in a safe and controlled environment for a week and get them out of the house :) . There are several AMAZING camps back in action this summer and more information on each can be found below:
University of Arkansas July 10th-15th (Mr. Jones works at this camp)
Arkansas Tech University June 19th-23rd
University of Central Arkansas June 12th-17th
Missouri State University June 28th-30th
Most camps have a discount if you register early
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. (Low Winds)
August 2nd 12:00p-3:30p: Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, and Trumpet Sectional. (High Winds)
August 3rd 12:00p-3:30p: Percussion Sectional
August 4th 12:00p-3:30p: Full Band Rehearsal
August 5th: We have been asked to kick off the Wildcat Welcome. More Details to Come
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,
