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posted 12/7/08 As a reminder, all percussionists enrolled in beginning, intermediate or advanced band should own the following materials and bring them to EVERY band rehearsal:This Wednesday, December 10, is the HMS Band Winter Concert at 6PM in the theatre at POPE HIGH SCHOOL, 3001 Hembree Rd. Marietta, GA. 30068. Pope is approximately 10 minutes from HMS. All band students should be checked in by their parents at the front school entrance under the blue Pope High School letters according to the following timeline: 4:30PM All Advanced Band and Intermediate Band Percussionists check- in 4:45PM All Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced Band Leadership checks-in 5PM All remaining band members check-in 5:45PM Theatre doors open for guest seating 6PM Concert begins 7PM Concert ends, percussionists and leadership strikes the stage, student check-out begins in the bandroom. 7:30PM All students should be checked out and on their way. A FEW REMINDERS: 1. All Intermediate and Advanced Band members should report to check- in wearing full concert uniform (the black and whites we distributed last week). 2. IB and AB PERCUSSIONISTS ONLY: Arrive in half uniform: black tux pants, black shoes and socks, and band ringer t-shirt. You should have your tux shirt, cummerbund and bow-tie with you in your garment bag. We will change into full-uniform once we finish setting the stage. 3. Students should have already eaten upon arrival at PHS. 4. NO FOOD OR DRINK WILL BE ALLOWED IN BAND UNIFORMS. 5. Parents must sign their students in at the front of the school building and out of the bandroom after the concert. 6. Our concert will be performed in a theatre with plenty of seating; feel free to invite family and friends. 7. All band students will be in the theatre, either as performers or in the audience, for the performance of all three HMS bands. 8. We are guests at Pope High School. Please stay in the areas designated for our use. This year's Winter Concert is exciting for many reasons. We will be debuting our formal concert uniforms. Our students will finally have the opportunity to perform in a theatre on a stage, and our audience will be comfortably seated. And we will be enjoying the music of the beginning, intermediate and advanced bands; the culmination of three years of developing a standard, well-rounded, three band program. Mr. Gary Gribble, one of our program's biggest supporters, Director of Bands at Pope High School, and the Georgia State Band Chair, will be the Master of Ceremonies for our concert. He also enabled our performance in the theatre at Pope, for which I am very appreciative. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone at this Wednesday's Winter Concert. Thanks for your support, and feel free to email with any questions. Sincerely, Paula Williams Music Director, High Meadows School posted 11/19/208 This Monday and Tuesday, November 24 and 25, the Advanced Band will be performing at 8:45AM in the bandroom as part of the Grandparents Day celebration at High Meadows. Warm-up and concert preparation will begin at 8AM on both days. Students are to wear the Advanced Band ringer t-shirts they received in the fall, and whatever pants or skirts they choose. Feel free to email with any questions. Thank you for your support. Sincerely, Paula Williams posted 12/7/08 Directions to Pope High School
posted 11/19/2008 The concert band uniforms will be distributed to each family on Monday, December 1 from 3-5PM OR on Tuesday, December 2 from 7:15-9AM in the bandroom. Please remember that a parent for each band member is required to sign-out their student's band uniform as part of the rental process. The rental fee is part of the $300 band fee already paid, so no payment is required at the time of rental. But, an adult signature is needed to verify that all pieces are received. The uniforms are another step in the development of our growing band program. I think everyone will be excited to see how professional our young members will look at their first concert in full uniform on December 10. Thank you for your continued support of the band. Sincerely, Paula Williams posted 11/13/08 The first performance of the Intermediate and Advanced bands is just around the corner, and we have been working diligently on altering and assembling the components of each uniform. As was outlined at the parent meeting at the beginning of the year, the tux shirts will be purchased separately by the parents, as opposed to the rest of the uniform which will be handled as a rental. The fee for the rental portion of the uniforms is included in the $300 band fee that you have already paid. Female band students will be provided a blouse as part of their rental uniform. To make this tux shirt purchase easier on parents, we have asked a representative from Tux to come to campus to take measurements of each male to ensure a proper fit of the winged collar tux shirt . We have arranged with Tux to have the custom fit shirt ordered and delivered to High Meadows at a cost of $25.00 per shirt. Please give your check for $25.00, made payable to High Meadows School, to Paula Williams or Patrick Wright no later than this Wednesday, November 19th. *****If we do not receive your $25 check by the Wednesday deadline, no shirt will be ordered for your child***** To review the standards of dress for your band member, please refer to the band handbook you received at the beginning of the year, or the ebook housed on our website at HMmusicdept.com As always, thank you for your continued support of the music program. posted 10/30/08 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 From the desk of Mr. Wright: 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 Just a reminder that there are NO MORE Morning Rehearsals for your student! Congratulations!!! No more morning band! The kids were SO excited this morning; we wound up having an advanced band celebration by playing through all of the "hits" from the past two years. Thank you all again for the commitment you made to the development of the band program by bringing your students before school every morning for the past two years. As a reminder, band begins as a class this Monday the 29th. Please help your student remember to bring their instrument to school every day. Practice logs will now be due on Mondays. With band now as a class, practice logs are a component of their class grade. Less than 10% of students regularly turn in their practice logs. Again, this will be reflected in your student's course grade. Thank you again, and we'll see your students on Monday. As always, please remember to check the music website regularly. Sincerely, Paula Williams www.hmmusicdept.com posted 9/18/8 Advanced Band begins as a mini-course on September 29th. Students will be meeting for 55 minutes each day, and will need to have their instrument and Essential Elements Book 2 in class every day. Practice logs will be checked each Monday. Smartmusic has been ordered for the bandroom, and information emailed to you and posted on the website regarding the use of this tool and how you can purchase it for your home computer. Smartmusic will be an integral part of the assessment process for every band member, as well as a valuable and enjoyable practice tool. I cannot begin to thank each of you enough for the continued commitment you have made to the band program for the past three years. I know that early morning rehearsals have been difficult for most families. It is because of your dedication and willingness to "make it work" that the band program has grown to include 3 bands, and your students are now members of the Advanced Band. My sincere thanks to each of you, and I am really looking forward to the exponential progress we will make with daily band rehearsals beginning September 29th. Sincerely, Paula Williams posted 9/17/8 Dear 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. POPE High School Band Night Friday September 5th Report Time: 5:45-6:00  posted 9/3/08 ----------------------------------Thank you for encouraging your child to participate in this evening. We feel it is probably one of the highlights of every year and thank you for supporting your student and the evening. We ask that you have your child at POPE High School, between 5:45 and 6:00 pm. You should drop your student off at the front of the school under the big blue letters reading POPE HIGH SCHOOL. Mr. Wright will be signing your student in at the curb. Our parent chaperones will escort your student to the band room to join in the activities for the evening. At this hour you should have no problem getting a good parking space in the front lot. You can purchase your tickets for the evening at the white ticket booth at the entrance to the field. The POPE side is to your right as you enter the gates. After half-time our band members will return to the "green room" AS A GROUP to pack up their instruments and gather their things. You can enter the building at the gymnasium entrance and follow the signs to the orchestra room where Mr. Wright will be signing students back into your care. Once again, we thank you for your support of your student, our program and the evening's activities. posted August 23, 2008 Every year the Pope High School Band invites area middle school band students to join them for an evening of fun and music while performing at a home football game. This is a great opportunity for all, and it is our hope and goal that all members of the Intermediate and Advanced Bands will participate. --------------------------------
As always, thank you for your support of the Music Department. posted August 14, 2008 Last spring, September 9th was the date set for Advanced and Intermediate band to begin, but since then we've found out that 8th grade night at Pope High School is September 5th.So,
as discussed last spring, the Intermediate band and the Advanced band will be meeting together for the first 6 weeks of school; T, W, TH mornings from 7:45-8:25, like the good ol'days. Then, on September 29th, the Advanced band switches to band during their first mini course 5 days a week, and Intermediate band only meets in the mornings. Paula Williams
HIGH MEADOWS SCHOOL Paula Williams, Director -- Patrick Wright, Asst. Director  |
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