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 From the desk of Mr. Wright: posted 12/8/08 As you know, our winter concert is this Wednesday, December 10, at 6:00 P.M. The concert will be at Pope High School in the theatre. The address for Pope High School is: 3001 Hembree Rd. Marietta, GA 30068 Please plan on dropping your student off at 5:00 P.M. in front of the blue Pope High School letters on the side of the school. Your student will need their instrument in its case, their music, and their band book. Today your student received their band t-shirt in class. Attached to the tag is a letter explaining details about the concert and what they are expected to wear. Your student should be wearing khaki's, appropriate shoes, their band t-shirt (handed out today), with no jewelry. The concert will begin promptly at 6:00 P.M. and should conclude around 7:00. Once the concert is over, your student will return to the band room to pack up their instrument. They will be checked out from the band room after the concert is over. Thank you again for all you do to provide your child with an opportunity to be a part of the band program at High Meadows. Please email me with any questions. I look forward to seeing you on Wednesday! Patrick Wright Assistant Director of Music High Meadows School Roswell, GA posted 12/1/08 As you know, our Winter Concert is fast approaching! The concert will be held next Wednesday, December 10, at 6:00 P.M. in the Pope High School auditorium. The students have been working hard to prepare for this performance and I know they will do great. As their first “official” concert of the year, the students will be in uniform. The uniform for Beginning Band is as follows: 1. Khaki pants with flat DRESS shoes (no flipflops, crocs, trainers etc.) 2. Beginning Band ringer T-shirt (these will be handed out in class next Monday, December 7th) 3. No jewelry, including watches, bracelets, necklaces, etc. This concert will be a great opportunity for your student to experience performing on stage in front of a large audience. I look forward to seeing you there! Sincerely, Patrick Wright Assistant Director of Music High Meadows School Directions to Pope High School
posted 11/21/08 This is just a friendly reminder to make sure your student brings his/her instrument and band book to school this Monday and Tuesday, November 24 and 25, for our performance at Grandparents’ Day. The musicians have been working very hard this year and the performance will be a great confidence builder for everyone. The students will not be in uniform for this performance, so they can wear what they would like. Thank you so much for your support of the band program at High Meadows and for providing your child with this opportunity. Sincerely, Patrick Wright posted 10/30/08 Note from Ms Williams to all Percussionists: As a reminder, all percussionists enrolled in beginning, intermediate or advanced band should own the following materials and bring them to EVERY band rehearsal: 1. Concert Snare Drum and stand 2. Essential Elements 2000 Percussion Book 1 for beginning and intermediate band Essential Elements 2000 Percussion Book 1 and 2 for advanced band 3. 1 pair of bell mallets, 1 pair of medium hard marimba mallets, 1 pair of concert snare drum sticks, 1 pair of timpani mallets, all in a stick bag. ***Each pair of sticks and mallets should be labeled with your student's name; stick bags should be labeled with your student's name*** 4. Black 3 ring binder with clear plastic sheets for music 5. Pencil 6. Practice log, filled out weekly and signed by parent We have been having difficulty lately with percussionists showing up with none of the above materials, and expecting to use the school equipment, books and mallets, or borrow from other students. While the school provides all of the necessary large percussion instruments, the above list is expected to be owned by each percussionist, as outlined in the band handbook. I strongly encourage students NOT to share their materials with other students. Sharing typically leads to something being lost or broken, which results in hard feelings by either or both parties. Additionally, purchase of the above materials is an investment made by each family. Unnecessary wear and tear by students other than the owner can again cause hard feelings amongst either or all parties involved. I have made this announcement regarding equipment and materials to the students in each class, and it was addressed in the band handbook received at the beginning of the school year. Thank you for your help in communicating with your students the importance of having and being responsible for their own materials at each rehearsal. Sincerely, Paula Williams posted 10/2/8 There will be a SmartMusic informational session on October 8th from 3:15-4:00 P.M. in the Music Room at High Meadows. This session’s purpose will be to answer any questions you may have about SmartMusic including purchase, installation, enrollment, and general use of the product. If you would like to attend, please email me. There is a leadership seminar for interested band students beginning at 4:00 P.M. that same day (information regarding this seminar was sent out last week and can be found on the website). Any students who wish to attend the SmartMusic session may do so prior to the leadership training. SmartMusic will be a valuable and important tool for the High Meadows Music Program and this session should help ease any concerns or fears you may have about the program. Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions. Thanks! Patrick Wright Assistant Director of Music High Meadows School Roswell, GA posted 9/25/8 On Thursday, September 25th, almost half of the beginning band did not have their instruments with them. I understand that they assumed there was no band class today because they were testing in the morning. Nonetheless, it is obviously imperative that they have their instruments for the limited time that we meet as a full group. On Monday, September 29, the two band directors from Pope High School will be leading Beginning Band. Please make sure your child has their instrument for this experience. It is going to be a great time to experience different teaching styles and instruction from two outstanding educators. I would hate for your child to miss out on this because they forgot their instrument. I explained in class on Thursday the importance of bringing their instrument, especially on Monday morning. Thank you so much for your help with this and thank you for your support of the High Meadows music program. Sincerely, Patrick Wright Assistant Director of Music posted 9/17/8 SmartMusic InformationDear Parents, Our school music department will be using SmartMusic® to help students practice and perfect their music this year. Please read this letter to learn what SmartMusic is and why it is such an important tool for our music program and your child’s musical development. What is SmartMusic? SmartMusic is a software-based computer program that helps students practice and submit their school music assignments. Students can practice exercises, solos, and beginning band methods, as well as the music that they are performing with the school band. SmartMusic records and even grades student progress from home or school practice room computers and includes a metronome, tuner, and digital recorder. How does SmartMusic benefit your family? Individual practice is often boring as the music has been taken out of its intended group context. SmartMusic makes practicing fun. With SmartMusic, students practice with professional accompaniment. This makes practice time more engaging and productive, and helps develop better listening skills and a more mature understanding of the music. Students also practice longer and more effectively as a result of the built-in assessment features. SmartMusic enables students to record their assignments for self-evaluation and submit these recordings as part of their assignment. Most assignments offer assessment, where green and red notes indicate what students have performed correctly and where improvement is needed. In this digital age, students are accustomed to receiving immediate feedback, and they respond by setting their goals higher. A SmartMusic subscription also provides your student immediate access to the world’s largest accompaniment library, allowing them to explore areas of interest and set their own development objectives. What is needed to use SmartMusic? SmartMusic works on your PC or Mac and requires an Internet connection to activate your subscription and receive and send assignments online. System requirements and support contacts are listed at www.smartmusic.com/support. Please note that a microphone is required to use SmartMusic. If you are using a Mac, a USB microphone adapter is also necessary. All materials can be purchased through the smartMusic website. What does this cost? You can purchase a full-year subscription through our school’s account for only $30 per year. Microphones cost $19.95 and are highly recommended as they are required for recordings and assessments. Mac computers also require an USB microphone adaptor. How do I get started? We will give you an informational letter that spells out the easy steps to purchase and activate your SmartMusic subscription. While you must be online to activate, receive, or post assignments and to download ensemble and other new titles, no web browser is required. You can practice “offline” at any time. If you run into any questions with purchasing, activating or using SmartMusic, it’s nice to know that SmartMusic tech support is free! If I have more than one music student at home, do I have to purchase more subscriptions? No. After purchasing a subscription, you must activate that subscription on a single computer. Then everyone in your household can practice and perform with SmartMusic on this computer. Additional subscriptions would be necessary, however, if your family would like to practice on more than one computer within your home. If you have any other questions, please contact Patrick Wright at pwright@highmeadows.org. Thank you for your continued support of the music program at High Meadows! Sincerely, Paula Williams and Patrick Wright Director of Music Assistant Director of Music posted 9/8/08 PRACTICE LOGS ARE AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD, click here Excerpt from 008/09 HMS Band Handbook Practice Tips Every student should practice a MINIMUM of 15 minutes every day. They should try to practice at the same time every day in a quiet place where there won’t be any distractions. Parental encouragement will go a long way in helping the unusual sounds first emitted from the instrument become more pleasant to the ear. Just like anything in life, the more effort a student puts into learning their new instrument, the better they will become. Ask your child to show you what they learned in band each day. Have your child teach you how to play as they learn themselves. See if you can keep up with your child throughout their band career. I’ve had a lot of great feedback from parents who have learned how to play their child’s instrument along with them. Students who are consistent with their practice habits will gain confidence in their abilities as a musician.posted 8/17/08 Dear Beginning Band Students and Parents, ---------------------------------Welcome to the HMS band program for the 2008-2009 school year. The inclusion of our third band into the music department culminates a three year vision of offering band to as many students as possible at all levels of development. As a reminder, beginning band is a class this year, meeting twice weekly for 45 minutes each during the 4/5 music specials time. While 4/5 students have their initial music class tomorrow, Monday August 18th, members will not actually begin rehearsing as a band until September 4th. It will take the next two weeks for students to get their band instruments and books, and for everyone to be reminded of some music basics. INSTRUMENT RENTAL/PURCHASE THIS TUESDAY, AUGUST 19, at HMS Representatives from Ken Stanton music store will be at HMS THIS TUESDAY, August 19, from 3:30-5PM in the band room. HMS band parents are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity to rent or purchase your band instrument. The Ken Stanton reps will be able to answer any questions you have regarding rental vs. purchase, and you will also be able to buy your band book from them. They will deliver all instruments to HMS sometime the following week, and Mr. Wright and I will distribute them to the students. BAND INSTRUMENT ASSIGNMENTS Each student tested three band instruments of their choice last spring with professional evaluators. The list below represents the instrument that your child not only wanted to play, but had the most success playing at the evaluation. If your student feels they would like to play an instrument other than the one listed below, please email or discuss this option with me in person. We can review their evaluation sheet and see if they are suited for another instrument. While I DEFINITELY want each student and family to be happy with the instrument they are learning to play, I also want to clearly state that if a child cannot make a sound on an instrument, they are going to become quickly frustrated and give up on that instrument. No matter how much they may want to play a certain instrument, they need to at least be guaranteed the opportunity to be successful. The evaluation process they went through last spring served that purpose. MUCH MORE INFORMATION TO COME Please check the music website daily, as much more information regarding band is coming your way once we get through the rental process this Tuesday. As always, feel free to contact me via email with any questions or concerns. Sincerely, Paula Williams posted August 14,2008 INSTRUMENT RENTAL Ken Stanton will be on campus for instrument rental on Tuesday, AUGUST 19th from 3:30-5:00 in the band room. More Information will be posted regarding Beginning Band, please check back frequently. ------------------------------------ posted 5/8/08 Please note that all information is in reference to the 2008-2009 Band Programs. Beginning Band The Beginning Band is open to all students in the 4th and 5th grade. Beginning Band will be offered during the school day as a music special twice weekly for 45 minutes. Students and their families will choose to participate in EITHER Beginning Band OR General Music for the entire school year. Students may not flip flop between the two classes. Two full time music teachers and an adjunct music specialist share teaching responsibilities for all music courses, including band and general music. If a family chooses general music, their student will participate in two 45 minute music specials each week where they will experience the current school day music curriculum; singing, movement, recorder, Orff instruments, percussion and guitar. If a family chooses beginning band, their student will learn to play a concert band instrument with no prior experience on that instrument required or expected. As a beginning band member, students will choose one concert band instrument to study and develop a level of proficiency on throughout the course of the school year. Concert Band instruments are flute, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, French horn, trombone, tuba and percussion. Beginning Band is a performance ensemble and will have concerts outside of the school day. The two “official” band concerts are held on Wednesday afternoons at 5PM, typically the first week of December and the first week of May. Other than those two winter and spring concerts, the band may perform as part of school functions like Grandparents Day, Earth Day, and Spring Family Picnic. A detailed performance schedule for the year will be given at the beginning of the school year. Beginning Band also requires instrument purchase or rental. Ken Stanton Music is coming during the school day this Monday, May 12, to provide instruments for the students to test and try out to determine which instrument they would be most successful learning to play. Finally, Beginning Band has a $300 annual participation fee, which includes uniform shirts, instruction from instrument specialists throughout the year, and additional costs associated with band throughout the school year. Sincerely, Paula Williams Band Director, High Meadows School paulawilliams@highmeadows.org www.hmmusicdept.com Liz Gembecki Michelle Zierten Head of School Principal
HIGH MEADOWS SCHOOL Paula Williams, Director -- Patrick Wright, Asst. Director  |
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