Wow! It's January already! It hardly seems possible...I hope everyone had a nice break for Christmas and New Year's! Now, it's time to get back into the swing of things! First of all, the HS Band will be resuming its role as a Pep Band for the remainder of the Varsity Boys' Basketball season. There are 5 home games left on the regular season schedule and we are looking forward to cheering on the Mustangs! I am attaching the letter that was sent home on Friday. Next, there is also information included in the letter about helping at the Pork-A-Rama on Saturday, Jan 14. Any students in 6th Grade Band or HS Band may help with this event. Students will be waiting tables. For helping, students get to eat for free and will also receive extra credit from me! I will be asking kids to sign up Monday and Tuesday this week! See the note for more information. One last thing... As I am approaching the 34 week mark of my pregnancy, my maternity leave is coming quickly! The substitute that Mr. Dorethy has lined up for me is a music person, so things should continue to run fairly smoothly in my absence. As long as things go as planned, I will be out for about 7 weeks and then return for approximately the last month of school! Thanks to you all for being patient with me so far this year. I know I have been a little more on the distracted side! Mrs. T
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***Correction: The band will not play at the home game on Sept. 2 since I have been out a lot recently. We will begin with the game on Sept 9th! Look for info to come home! Click on the link below to view the August 2016 Newsletter! Don't forget to sign up to help the boosters with the Concession Stand - it's our biggest fundraiser of the year!
Hello! April is nearly upon us and I cannot believe how quickly this year has flown by! I hope this post finds you all well and ready to wrap up this school year. It has certainly been a wild ride. I am attaching the Beginning Band calendar for the month of April. Please look over it to make sure you know when your student needs his/her instrument. PLEASE NOTE: The Spring Concert is on May 1 at 3pm. This is a requirement for all students in band and choir! Groups performing include: Concert Band, Concert Choir, 6th Grade Band, Beginning Band. Also, Concert Choir and Concert Band members are REQUIRED to attend graduation (5/22) as we will be performing. The practice for Graduation is Saturday 5/21 at 9 am. This is also a requirement for both band and choir members. There will be a couple of extra rehearsals scheduled for the week before to help us prepare. I will share those dates with you as soon as I can. Students have up to 1 month before a concert and up to 2 weeks before a scheduled rehearsal to submit a conflict with an event. Conflicts MUST be approved through me or absences will count as zeros. I have attached a conflict form that your student can fill out so that we have a clear understanding of the conflict/absence. These groups function in a very similar manner to athletic teams - we cannot perform to our full potential if a team member is missing. So, for the same reason games are important, concerts and major rehearsals are held at a greater level of importance with musical groups. Thank you for your understanding! Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have! Mrs. T
Your students should have brought home an order form for polos - either that or they will receive them from me tomorrow. These polos will be the shirt that students will need to wear with black pants for all concerts and similar events. It will be a black performance polo with a logo for the music department embroidered on the side. Students in the 5th and 6th grade bands will not be required to purchase a polo since they will likely outgrow it before next year. The requirement of a shirt will only apply to those in grades 7-12. I am attaching a copy of the order form to this post. The cost is $20. As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns! Here is a link to the February Newsletter. I know some of your students will not bring it home! Please note the dates for the upcoming concerts and the information about ordering polos for concert attire.
Hello parents and students! Here is your February update! Concert Band: Though we are still working on concert music, we are going to take a step back to some basics. I have asked students to bring their Essential Elements book 1 to school if they still have it. I know this may be frustrating to some students, however, there are many basic musical skills that simply were not reinforced in the past that are preventing our band from moving forward. So, please encourage your student to see past the current struggles to what the band will soon be! 6th Grade Band: We are continuing to work on concert music. We will be reviewing some of our basic concepts over the next few weeks as well. Just to make sure we are all on the same page. Beginning Band: The February Calendar is attached at the end of the post. Please note the change in a couple of the groupings! We will be continuing to work hard and by the middle of March will have our first rehearsal as a full group! How exciting! Concert Choir: The Choir is doing a great job learning music for the next concert. They are working hard learning how to read music better and, in turn, be better musicians. Just for fun: ask them what solfege is! Please note that the next concert date is tentatively set for March 6th at 3 pm. This concert will include bands and choirs (minus the 5th grade band).
Happy New Year! I hope you all have enjoyed your 2 weeks of break! Tomorrow we are back to the grind... but what a fun semester it will be! Here's what's coming up for Unity Music Department over the next several weeks: 3rd/4th General Music: Mrs. Thorsen and Ms. Becky will be sending home a note sometime this week regarding purchasing recorders. All students in the 3rd and 4th grade will need to purchase a recorder for $4 from Mrs. Thorsen or Ms. Becky. Students will learn to play recorders throughout the Third Quarter. 5th/6th General Music: These students will spend this semester learning and overview of Music History. We will begin with Classical Music starting this week. Beginning Band: Beginning Band students will continue to practice in sections for another 6-8 weeks. Around early March, Mrs. Thorsen will begin combining the sections for a full group rehearsal one day a week. They can expect to participate in the concert in the Spring (May). You can download the January calendar at the bottom of this post. 6th Grade Band/ Concert Band/ Concert Choir: These groups will begin preparing for their next concert immediately. The date for the next concert is still TBA. Mrs. Thorsen will establish the date with the music boosters during the next meeting. Mrs. Thorsen would like to have a party for these students sometime in the next several weeks. We have some food and supplies left over from the football concessions to put toward party food, but we would also ask for some parents to bring things as well. Watch for a note concerning this as well! Thank you so much for your continued support and help! Let's get this semester started!
We have made it to the last week of rehearsals before the concert! This week, we will be rehearsing to finish up last minute preparations for the concert. Thank you for all the help and encouragement you are offering at home! Please continue to encourage your students to practice and work hard. They have made a lot of improvement since the beginning of the year!
MS/HS Christmas Concert: 12/13 at 3pm in the HS Cafeteria K-3 Christmas Program: 12/15 at 6:30 pm in the MS Gym Hello all!
The students and I have been working very hard to prepare for a Christmas/Holiday Concert! The concert is scheduled for December 13 at 3pm in the High School Cafeteria. Students should arrive by 2:15 in order to take their places and warm up. Since it is so close to Christmas, we are not going to order the polos for concert dress yet. I don't want to put any unnecessary burden on anyone at this time. So, in lieu of wearing black pants and the black polo, I am asking students to wear black pants or a skirt along with a red, green, or black top in order to be festive! Please feel free to email me if you have any questions! Happy Thanksgiving!! Hello! We have almost made it through 4 weeks of school - it has gone by too fast! This week and next, the 5th and 6th graders are getting to try out all of the different band instruments in preparation for the Beginning Band Night on September 22 at 7pm in the music room. Any 5th or 6th grade student that is interested in joining the band should attend this meeting. If you cannot attend, please let me know!
If your student plans to join the band, please note: - rehearsals will be during school - there will be minimal comittment outside the |
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August 2016
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