SMS Beginning Band,
It is hard to believe we are in the second six weeks of school. I want to make you aware of what has been happening in band.
Band Fees and Supplies:
All band fees were due last week. Please let me know if you need more time to pay fees. Also, we do sell some basic band supplies like reeds and oil through the band office. If your child needs any items, please let us know.
Fundraiser:
Items from the Cherrydale Farms fundraiser are expected to arrive onWednesday, October 15. Please make plans to pick up items immediately after school. We do not have a way to store unclaimed items; many of them will be frozen food, so please pick them up.
Instruments going home:
By now, we hope you have heard your child make some sounds at home. Daily practice is now an expectation; I’ll discuss this in the next section. We hope that you have been encouraging about the sounds that you hear and excited to hear them play at home. Yes, we know that these first sounds are not always the most pleasant, but your encouragement goes a long way. Please help your child find a time and place to practice at home. Daily practice is the only way to improve as a musician.
Practice Reports
We started practice reports today. Practice reports are the way your child keeps up with and receives credit for their daily practice. Here is a link to a copy of the practice report. You can always download and print one, but we give them out each week in class. Please note that 5 days of practice per week is required if your child wants to receive a 100. Here are a few items we discussed in class that may help you, too:
· Credit is only given for each day practiced, not total number of minutes per week. You wouldn’t shower just once or twice a week; you’d be pretty stinky. You shouldn’t practice just once or twice a week; you’ll sound pretty stinky.
· Parent signatures are required to receive credit.
· We will accept a practice report anytime during a six weeks, but it must be turned in on Thursdays for full credit.
· When your child is sick or their instrument is in the shop, it should be noted on the report. When we enter grades, we cannot remember which one of our 250 students was sick that week.
· If you are absent, turn it in the next time you are at school. Likewise, if you are absent, you are responsible for getting a practice report for the next week.
· While we prefer for students to turn in their weekly practice on the practice report, we do accept signed pieces of paper if a report is lost or the student forgot to get one.
· We start at 10 minutes per day for full credit; by the end of the year, we will be up to 25 minutes a day.
· We know that sometimes “life gets in the way.” There are occasions when practice just can’t take place one day. That’s fine. Practice the days you can so you can get as much credit as possible.
· Do you need a convenient reminder each week to turn in practice reports? At the top of each practice report is a phone number. Just text @smith-PR to that number and you will get a text message reminder every Wednesday.
· Want some practice tips? Check out the Band Handbook on page 19.
Again, please encourage your child to practice.
What Has My Child Learned in Band?
We have actually learned a great deal in nearly 7 weeks of school. Here is just a sampling of what we have done:
· How to sit and how to breathe.
· The musical alphabet.
· All about that Bass (and Treble) Clef.
· How to identify notes on the staff and ledger lines.
· How to properly assemble, take apart, and care for their instrument.
· How to form an embouchure and make a sound.
· Anywhere from 3 to 10 notes (how to play them and read music).
· Note values for whole, half, quarter, eighth, and sixteenth notes and rests.
· How to count whole, half, and quarter notes and rests.
Yes, we have learned a lot!
We are looking forward to a great year in band. Thanks for providing your child a music education. If you have any questions, please let me know.
It is hard to believe we are in the second six weeks of school. I want to make you aware of what has been happening in band.
Band Fees and Supplies:
All band fees were due last week. Please let me know if you need more time to pay fees. Also, we do sell some basic band supplies like reeds and oil through the band office. If your child needs any items, please let us know.
Fundraiser:
Items from the Cherrydale Farms fundraiser are expected to arrive onWednesday, October 15. Please make plans to pick up items immediately after school. We do not have a way to store unclaimed items; many of them will be frozen food, so please pick them up.
Instruments going home:
By now, we hope you have heard your child make some sounds at home. Daily practice is now an expectation; I’ll discuss this in the next section. We hope that you have been encouraging about the sounds that you hear and excited to hear them play at home. Yes, we know that these first sounds are not always the most pleasant, but your encouragement goes a long way. Please help your child find a time and place to practice at home. Daily practice is the only way to improve as a musician.
Practice Reports
We started practice reports today. Practice reports are the way your child keeps up with and receives credit for their daily practice. Here is a link to a copy of the practice report. You can always download and print one, but we give them out each week in class. Please note that 5 days of practice per week is required if your child wants to receive a 100. Here are a few items we discussed in class that may help you, too:
· Credit is only given for each day practiced, not total number of minutes per week. You wouldn’t shower just once or twice a week; you’d be pretty stinky. You shouldn’t practice just once or twice a week; you’ll sound pretty stinky.
· Parent signatures are required to receive credit.
· We will accept a practice report anytime during a six weeks, but it must be turned in on Thursdays for full credit.
· When your child is sick or their instrument is in the shop, it should be noted on the report. When we enter grades, we cannot remember which one of our 250 students was sick that week.
· If you are absent, turn it in the next time you are at school. Likewise, if you are absent, you are responsible for getting a practice report for the next week.
· While we prefer for students to turn in their weekly practice on the practice report, we do accept signed pieces of paper if a report is lost or the student forgot to get one.
· We start at 10 minutes per day for full credit; by the end of the year, we will be up to 25 minutes a day.
· We know that sometimes “life gets in the way.” There are occasions when practice just can’t take place one day. That’s fine. Practice the days you can so you can get as much credit as possible.
· Do you need a convenient reminder each week to turn in practice reports? At the top of each practice report is a phone number. Just text @smith-PR to that number and you will get a text message reminder every Wednesday.
· Want some practice tips? Check out the Band Handbook on page 19.
Again, please encourage your child to practice.
What Has My Child Learned in Band?
We have actually learned a great deal in nearly 7 weeks of school. Here is just a sampling of what we have done:
· How to sit and how to breathe.
· The musical alphabet.
· All about that Bass (and Treble) Clef.
· How to identify notes on the staff and ledger lines.
· How to properly assemble, take apart, and care for their instrument.
· How to form an embouchure and make a sound.
· Anywhere from 3 to 10 notes (how to play them and read music).
· Note values for whole, half, quarter, eighth, and sixteenth notes and rests.
· How to count whole, half, and quarter notes and rests.
Yes, we have learned a lot!
We are looking forward to a great year in band. Thanks for providing your child a music education. If you have any questions, please let me know.
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