Announcements
UPDATED 5/7/12
HERSHEY PARK RESULTS
Congrats to the band students for a fabulous job at Hershey Park 2012.
Wind Ensemble - 1st Place, Superior Rating, Best OVERALL!!!
Concert Band - 1st Place, Superiour Rating, (placed 3rd overall)
FABULOUS!!!!
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MUSIC COMPOSITIONS DUE MAY 17TH
No late work will be accepted.
Must turn in all notes, must-have lists, etc.
May 29-31st Playing Test on Compositions.
Questions, see me.
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CEDAR LANE GRADUATION CEREMONY
The Wind Ensemble will be playing on May 25th at 10am-ish for the CEDAR LANE
Graduation. Some students will be on a field trip...those who are here will
perform.
Students should look "nice" for this performance. No shorts/flip flops...do
not have to wear band uniform. Students may bring clothing to change into
AFTER performance is over.
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INK CARTRIDGES
Please send in any old/empty printer ink cartridges...we recycle them to raise
money to purchase music.
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TECHNOLOGY UPDATE
If you haven't heard of EDMODO.COM....you now have. :-)
Edmodo is a HCPSS APPROVED "facebook type" website where teachers can
communicate to students/parents about upcoming events/dates/deadlines/etc.
Students will be learning about this in school very soon...parents will be
invited to sign up once the students are in.
This is totally different from facebook though because ONLY students and
parents that have the correct codes can sign up for our particular pages.
There will be one for Wind Ensemble & Concert Band.
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WHY MUSIC MATTERS
Please take a few minutes and listen to this recording of Jack Stamp (Indiana
University of Pennsylvania) talk to his concert audience about the importance
of Music and why it is so difficult. I would LOVE to hear your feedback after
you listen to it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v+mw4vqll9cAM
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SECTIONALS SCHEDULE
The 2011 - 2012 Sectionals Schedule will be posted 8/2011
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PLAYING TEST & CHALLENGE PAGE
Students/parents can find the dates for every Playing Test & Challenge for the
entire school year.
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PLAYING TEST/CHALLENGE RUBRIC ONLINE!
The rubric used for all challenges and playing tests is now available for you
to view, download and print. It can be found in the "Important Forms" section.
***
NAMETAGS ON INSTRUMENT CASES...
ALL instruments MUST have a nametag on it at all times. I provide nametags
free of charge, so there is no excuse not to have one.
If your nametag falls off...DO NOT put your instrument in a cubby. See me
immediately to get a new one and prevent losing participation points.
Any student using a LKMS owned instrument MUST have a nametag....or they may
lose the right to use that instrument.
This policy has been created, updated and is being enforced to protect your
investments...I know instruments are not cheap.
This policy also includes NAMES on music folders and music books.
Any questions, please see me.
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HAVE A PENCIL AT ALL TIMES!!
All students are required to have a pencil at ALL times. During all rehearsals
and all sectionals. This is so that students can mark/adjust/correct their
music as needed and instructed. Students can and will lose participation
points for not having a pencil with them in class.
***
DEFEND YOUR SEAT!!
During any playing test or challenge, you may be asked to DEFEND YOUR SEAT.
What is this? This happens when a person is NOT being challenged by the person
after them and you fail the playing test (score 70% or lower). I am
instituting this rule to help encourage everybody to practice and know their
music. If I ask you to DEFEND YOUR SEAT...you can move down chairs, depending
on the result of your playing test. You can NOT move UP while DEFENDING YOUR
SEAT.
If you pass the test, you KEEP your current seat and you will not be asked to
DEFEND YOUR SEAT.
Any questions...see me.
***
BAND UNIFORM !!!
The band uniform will be worn by ALL students of ALL grades in BAND AND
ORCHESTRA at ALL concerts.
BLACK PANTS/SKIRTS will be worn for Winter Concert, Spring Concert and
Assessment/Adjudication.
Shorts are NOT ACCEPTABLE for any concert that LKMS Bands/Orchestra will be
participating in.
BLACK JEANS/BLACK TRACK PANTS are NOT ACCEPTABLE for any concert that LKMS
Bands/Orchestra will be participating in.
KHAKI/TAN PANTS/SKIRTS/CAPRIS will be worn for the HERSHEY TRIP ONLY.
???'s...don't hesitate to email me.
***
PRACTICE LOGS
Students are not required to fill out or turn in Practice Logs. Instead of
turning in Practice Logs, students will have Playing Tests. (Further info
below).
The ONLY time students MUST turn in a Practice Log is when they Challenge
another student during CHALLENGE WEEK. To Challenge, students MUST have a
Practice Log filled out with 90 minutes or more for the week AND it must be
signed by a parent/legal guardian.
Any questions, please contact me.
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CHALLENGES PROCEDURE
Students should ALWAYS be prepared to be challenged during CHALLENGE WEEK.
*Any student who wishes to CHALLENGE someone during CHALLENGE WEEK, they MUST
have their practice log filled out for that current week with 90 minutes or
more on it AND it must be signed by a parent/legal guardian.
If you skip sectionals during Challenge week...you MAY lose your seat because
of it and you WILL lose your chance to challenge anybody else.
If you "forget" your instrument the day of a Challenge...you MAY lose your
seat because of it and you WILL lose your chance to challenge anybody else.
You will also incur a scoring penalty on your playing test if you forget your
instrument...that gives you an unfair advantage over other students. You get
extra time to practice and you know exactly what to practice.
If your instrument suddenly breaks the night before the Playing Test...you
should still bring it to school as usual...I will take a look at it and see if
I can fix it before your exam. A broken instrument that is not at school for
me to exam/fix OR at a repair shop will be considered a "forgotten" instrument
and subject to those rules/penalties.
If you are absent the day of a challenge and you were challenged...you will
play your part of the challenge on your first day back to school in band.
(schedule permitting) If you wish to challenge someone and you were absent on
the day of your challenge, you may challenge that person on your first day
back to school in band. (schedule permitting)
If you lose your seat in a challenge, you will get a chance to win it back
within the next week. If you successfully defend your seat in a challenge, you
will not be challenged again until the next time Challenge Week is held.
If you are challenging someone from another grade...in another sectional
rehearsal...you MUST notify me of the challenge BEFORE that other person(s)
has their sectional rehearsal. You can start telling me the MONDAY of the
Challenge Week. You can email me or tell me in person.
Yes, there can and will be multiple chair challenges. These occur when chair 7
challenges chair 6 and chair 6 challenges chair 5. These 3 students would be
involved in a 3 way challenge. Top score would earn chair 5, etc.
3 is the maximum for students involved in a multiple chair challenge. There
will NOT be 4 way or 5 way challenges.
Any questions...please email me.
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GRADING POLICY
The breakdown of points for each quarter consist of the following:
1. Class Participation / Homework (if any given)(20%)
2. Playing (30%)
3. Attendance (10%)
4. Playing Tests (40%)
-Students may lose points from Class Participation, Attendance, and Playing if
students skip multiple rehearsals. The amount of points lost will be
determined by the percentage of sectionals skipped for the quarter. For
example, miss 30% of sectionals for the quarter...then you may lose 30% of
your Attendance/Participation/Playing points for the quarter.
-For Class Participation - Students are awarded 50 points per quarter. They
lose a point(s) for forgetting their instrument, music, book,
pencil...anything needed for sectionals or rehearsal. If they forget their
mouthpiece, instrument or anything that causes them to not be able to play
that day, they lose 2 points. If forgetting becomes a habit and items are
constantly missing, students will lose additional points, as needed. Before
this happens, parents will be notified (email) about the issue.
-For Attendance - Each student will earn 2 points for attending sectionals
each week. If they have an unexcused absence from sectionals they will get 0
points. If they are late for sectionals they will get 1 point. If they are
absent from school, they will not be counted that day. Sectionals are notated
in Aspen weekly, for example Week of 10/10.
-Students start each quarter with 100% (perfect A). If they don't have 100%
then that means they lost points on either a Playing Test or they lost points
from their Rehearsal Participation, Attendance or Playing.
***
Playing Tests
Playing Tests will make up 40% of their quarterly grade.
Students WILL know in advance the music that may be on the playing test so
they can give it "extra" practice.
Students may lose points from the "Playing" portion of their overall grade for
the quarter if they score a "C" (70%) or less on any playing tests given that
quarter.
If a students skips or misses a sectional and a playing test, their overall
score can be impacted. Students may receive a one letter grade penalty on the
playing test for skipping the playing test. If a student is absent...there is
no penalty.
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PRIVATE LESSONS
ALL students are strongly encouraged to take private lessons. GREAT teachers
can be found via the Howard County Parents for School Music website. Here is
the address:
http://sites.google.com/site/hcparents4schoolmusic/
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FORGETTING INSTRUMENT/MUSIC/PENCIL
If any student forgets their music, instrument and/or pencil...they will lose
participation points for the day. How many? It depends on what they forgot and
how many times they have forgotten that quarter. The more they forget...the
more they can and will lose.
If students don't have the correct materials, they can not participate.
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CALENDAR
Keep an eye on the calendar for concert and performance dates...and other
important dates.