"Common Times" Weekly Newsletter 5/23-5/26

Upcoming Events

Greetings Wildcat Band Family,

Congratulations to the 7th and 8th grade bands on an incredible spring concert his past Tuesday! Students performed, acted and looked professional. We greatly appreciate all of our friends, family and teachers who came out to celebrate all that these young musicians have accomplished this year and I know that next year will be even better!

If you have any concert black attire you would be willing to donate for students next year, please send in with your student this week as we'd love to be able to help our band families. I am working to create a trade up system so as students grow we can exchange parts of the attire to lessen the burden on purchasing all new attire as students grow.

There are only 4 school days left until each and everyone of my students will be missed. I wish everyone safe travels, homeruns, perfect dance routines, goals, fun and relaxation over the next couple of months! 7th grade band we will see you the first week of August for pep music sectionals, rehearsal and our first performance!

This week:

• Monday - 6:30pm - Bentonville Pride Marching Band Parent meeting in the Arend

• Tuesday - 6:30pm - JazzCats Jazz Band Spring Concert, little theater at WJHS

• 5:45 -Call time

• 6:30 - Concert begins

• 7:45 - Approximate end of concert and strike stage

• Attire - Concert Black with splash of color

• Students may stay after school. Please bring $5 and we will order pizza for those who decide to stay.

• Thursday - Last Day of School

There will be NO assignments this week. The 7th grade high winds, low winds and clarinets have an assignment on the Concert c minor scale that was due on Friday, May 20th.

Recordings will be accepted through Monday night.

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7th Grade Families, please look below at the 2nd 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.

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To review our in progress calendar for next school year, you can find it here.

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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

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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. (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

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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,