Just to make life a little easier, I'm going to start posting every letter I send home onto the blog on this website, so if the letter doesn't make it home, you can come on here and see it! Here's one that I sent with the junior high kids today. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me! Thanks!
Dear Band Families,
Can you believe it’s almost March? Time is flying by this semester, and we are getting so much accomplished! There are many events that are coming up fast, and I just wanted to make sure you are aware of them. The first is contest. Our JH District Solo and Ensemble Contest is our first date coming up. It is on Saturday, March 12th. I will be sending out a more detailed schedule as soon as I receive it. If your student is participating in this, I highly encourage you to make the trip up to Marshfield to see them perform if you can! They’re working so hard on their pieces, and I’m sure you’ll be very proud of their performance. This is basically like the All-District sports teams, so it’s a very big deal. If you are interested in being a chaperone for this event, please let me know! We won’t be taking our entire JH Band to this event, but I will need at least one other chaperone.
We also have our preview concert coming up on Tuesday, March 15th at 6:00 pm. At this concert, you will get to hear the pieces each band and choir will be performing at our large ensemble district contest. Students are expected to be at this concert for a performance grade, and their uniform is all black. I need to emphasize the importance of your child’s attendance at our graded concerts. Not only are they an integral part of the band, but their grade depends on it. We work toward our performances all semester, and if they miss those, all of their work is in vain. I had a few students last semester unhappy with their grade in my class, but they did not attend either of our concerts. If your student misses a concert for a valid, excused reason, please send them back to school with a note. They will be required to make up their absence by either writing a paper or volunteering in the band room before/after school.
Next, we have a mini-field trip I recently got the okay to go on. A colleague of mine is putting on his senior percussion recital at my alma mater, Evangel University in Springfield, MO on Thursday, March 23rd. The pieces that will be played include a marching snare solo, a marimba solo, a timpani solo, and a jazz trio. I am opening this up first to the percussionists in all bands, then to anyone else who might be interested, until we fill up one bus. I think this will be a fun, very educational opportunity for your student, and it’s not very far away! We will leave at 6:00 pm and return around 10:00 pm. Students are responsible for eating dinner before we leave, but we will make a quick stop at Brahm’s after the recital. I’m thinking I will need at least 3 parent chaperones for this event, so if you are interested, please contact me as soon as you can!
The next event is our large ensemble contest in Warsaw, MO on Thursday, April 7th. We will leave from school (probably before school lets out) and get back later that night. I will send a more detailed schedule as soon as I receive it from the host school. This is also a graded performance and it is very important that your child attends. This is our districts, just like the basketball team plays the different schools in the area for their district title. Every single band member is a starter, and if they are not there, we lose a big part of our performance.
We also have our spring concert at the end of the semester on Thursday, May 5th here at the high school. This is also a graded performance. We will be playing some very fun pieces that the students are very excited about, and I’m sure you’ll love hearing them! We will also be having a pie auction during the concert, for which I’ll give you more information later on.
Last, but definitely not least, we have our Music in the Parks performance/trip! I’m so excited for this. It will be on Saturday, May 7th. The performance will be around noon at Ozark High School. After our performance, we will stop for a very quick lunch and head straight to Silver Dollar City! There, we will have a whole lot of fun until the awards ceremony at 6:30. After that, we will stay at the park until 8:30 pm, then head back to Hartville. The performance at Ozark is a performance grade, but the trip to SDC is not. If you wish to pick your student up from the performance, that is completely fine! They also have the option of carpooling back with another parent that picks up their student, provided that the proper paperwork is filled out beforehand. (If you have any questions about the paperwork, please contact the central office.) The school is paying the performance fee for each student, but $50 is still owed by each student going to SDC. If your student has a season pass, they do not need to pay the $50. We will be doing another fundraiser specifically for your student’s SDC fee, selling chocolate covered pretzel rods for $1 each. Your student does not have to participate. This is just to help them pay for their ticket. We need 5 parent chaperones for this trip! If you are interested, please contact me ASAP. The price for a chaperone to get into the park is $46.00. All money for chaperones and students is due on April 5th.
Thank you so much for your continued support of your student and our program. We cannot do this without you! Again, if you are interested in chaperoning any event listed above, please let me know as soon as you can! I want our students to be as safe as possible everywhere we go. Have a great week!
Sincerely,
Miss Blaylock
Can you believe it’s almost March? Time is flying by this semester, and we are getting so much accomplished! There are many events that are coming up fast, and I just wanted to make sure you are aware of them. The first is contest. Our JH District Solo and Ensemble Contest is our first date coming up. It is on Saturday, March 12th. I will be sending out a more detailed schedule as soon as I receive it. If your student is participating in this, I highly encourage you to make the trip up to Marshfield to see them perform if you can! They’re working so hard on their pieces, and I’m sure you’ll be very proud of their performance. This is basically like the All-District sports teams, so it’s a very big deal. If you are interested in being a chaperone for this event, please let me know! We won’t be taking our entire JH Band to this event, but I will need at least one other chaperone.
We also have our preview concert coming up on Tuesday, March 15th at 6:00 pm. At this concert, you will get to hear the pieces each band and choir will be performing at our large ensemble district contest. Students are expected to be at this concert for a performance grade, and their uniform is all black. I need to emphasize the importance of your child’s attendance at our graded concerts. Not only are they an integral part of the band, but their grade depends on it. We work toward our performances all semester, and if they miss those, all of their work is in vain. I had a few students last semester unhappy with their grade in my class, but they did not attend either of our concerts. If your student misses a concert for a valid, excused reason, please send them back to school with a note. They will be required to make up their absence by either writing a paper or volunteering in the band room before/after school.
Next, we have a mini-field trip I recently got the okay to go on. A colleague of mine is putting on his senior percussion recital at my alma mater, Evangel University in Springfield, MO on Thursday, March 23rd. The pieces that will be played include a marching snare solo, a marimba solo, a timpani solo, and a jazz trio. I am opening this up first to the percussionists in all bands, then to anyone else who might be interested, until we fill up one bus. I think this will be a fun, very educational opportunity for your student, and it’s not very far away! We will leave at 6:00 pm and return around 10:00 pm. Students are responsible for eating dinner before we leave, but we will make a quick stop at Brahm’s after the recital. I’m thinking I will need at least 3 parent chaperones for this event, so if you are interested, please contact me as soon as you can!
The next event is our large ensemble contest in Warsaw, MO on Thursday, April 7th. We will leave from school (probably before school lets out) and get back later that night. I will send a more detailed schedule as soon as I receive it from the host school. This is also a graded performance and it is very important that your child attends. This is our districts, just like the basketball team plays the different schools in the area for their district title. Every single band member is a starter, and if they are not there, we lose a big part of our performance.
We also have our spring concert at the end of the semester on Thursday, May 5th here at the high school. This is also a graded performance. We will be playing some very fun pieces that the students are very excited about, and I’m sure you’ll love hearing them! We will also be having a pie auction during the concert, for which I’ll give you more information later on.
Last, but definitely not least, we have our Music in the Parks performance/trip! I’m so excited for this. It will be on Saturday, May 7th. The performance will be around noon at Ozark High School. After our performance, we will stop for a very quick lunch and head straight to Silver Dollar City! There, we will have a whole lot of fun until the awards ceremony at 6:30. After that, we will stay at the park until 8:30 pm, then head back to Hartville. The performance at Ozark is a performance grade, but the trip to SDC is not. If you wish to pick your student up from the performance, that is completely fine! They also have the option of carpooling back with another parent that picks up their student, provided that the proper paperwork is filled out beforehand. (If you have any questions about the paperwork, please contact the central office.) The school is paying the performance fee for each student, but $50 is still owed by each student going to SDC. If your student has a season pass, they do not need to pay the $50. We will be doing another fundraiser specifically for your student’s SDC fee, selling chocolate covered pretzel rods for $1 each. Your student does not have to participate. This is just to help them pay for their ticket. We need 5 parent chaperones for this trip! If you are interested, please contact me ASAP. The price for a chaperone to get into the park is $46.00. All money for chaperones and students is due on April 5th.
Thank you so much for your continued support of your student and our program. We cannot do this without you! Again, if you are interested in chaperoning any event listed above, please let me know as soon as you can! I want our students to be as safe as possible everywhere we go. Have a great week!
Sincerely,
Miss Blaylock