Band Notes - Week of August 17

General information that applies to all students and parents can be found towards the top of every newsletter, while information specific to your child's ensemble can be found in that particular section by scrolling all the way down.

Feel free to contact a director if you have any questions and our contact information is at the bottom of this newsletter. Thanks for reading!

We had a great first week of school! Our students were respectful and attentive, and we were able to set our procedures and rules of our program. Their first homework assignment is due, the Getting to Know You worksheet.

All Band supplies and materials were due last Friday and the lists for each level and instrument can be found by clicking here on the Supplies & Materials page of our website.

We will be switching to Google Classroom this year for posting our assignments and announcements to students. At school, students will be accepting the invitation to join their class, as well as a program-wide Belton MS Band Group. Parents and guardians can sign up to be emailed summaries about their student's work in class, such as missing and upcoming work due and posted class activities. Please contact Mr. Pulley if you have any questions about Google Classroom.

Lessons are the fastest way students improve on their instrument because they have a quality teacher guiding them in their development of proper tone, rhythm, articulation, and musicality. Students enrolled in lessons usually earn first division superior ratings, make the All-Region Band, the have more fun learning their instrument because they sound better, faster.

Please read this document before deciding whether or not to sign up for lessons since it outlines the benefits of taking lessons that occur during your child's band class! If you have any questions about lessons, please email Mr. Trahan here.

Please click here to see all of the Band Events for this new school year in order to plan your family's activities. Remember, performances are a required part of our curriculum, so please contact a director ASAP for any conflicts.

CutTime is a program we use that allows you to stay informed without login hassles and get reminded without inbox clutter. Be on the lookout for a text message from CutTime from 844-385-8463. The message will come to your mobile device phone number we have on file for you (and your student) via a "Magic Link", which is a uniquely personalized to you and secure.

Read the attachment below for instructions on how to add your Magic Link to your smartphone's home screen. Once you receive the message, you will gain access to your CutTime Portal Page where you can:

• View Announcements
• View and Subscribe to Events that involve you and your student
• View and Sign Up for Volunteer Opportunities within these events
• Check Account Balances

If we don't have your contact information, please fill out this Contact Information Update Form ASAP. If you missed or can't find your CutTime Magic Link, go to this link to resend it to your device on file.

Feel free to take 3 minutes to watch this introduction video and see what's in store, and feel free to send us a message if you have any other questions or feedback.

Click on this link to sign up to become a district volunteer and complete the background check. Even if you have done this before, this process must be repeated every school year: Parent Chaperone Sign-Up. Please sign up for volunteer opportunities on your CutTime MagicLink.

We want to interact with you on social media, so be sure to Like, Follow, and Subscribe on all of the following platforms you use:

• YouTube Channel
• Parent Square Group
• Facebook Page
• Instagram Account
• Band Website
• Google Photos Album
• SoundCloud Channel
• Smore Newsletters

In the Belton MS Band, we form a partnership between teacher and student where both share responsibility in their musical development. Our team of teachers include middle school directors, private lesson instructors, high school directors, and even hired clinicians, masterclass teachers, and adjudicators. We also strive to communicate and produce strong partnerships with parents since their support is vital in their student's growth.

To that end, we as the teaching team provide Introduction, Comprehension, and Demonstration to students for their instruction. However, each student has a responsibility as well to facilitate Repetition in the form of practicing daily for at least 25 minutes, 5 days per week.

This means that instruments go home everyday to practice the concepts, patterns, and music that we go over daily in class. This leads to student Mastery of their music and ultimately of their instrument. Students have homework everyday in Band as they practice their instrument in preparation for performances and to continue their musical growth. Reach out to a director if you would like more information on how to better help and support the musical growth of your student.

Students should take their instruments home daily and we expect them to practice 5 days a week for at least 25 minutes. Parents, we implore you to help set up a consistent practice routine at home for your student. Students will not improve their musical skills on their instrument without practice outside of regular class time. The directors, we will teach your student what and how to practice, but we need your help in establishing when and how much they practice. The more they practice, the better they will get faster. Please review the How To Practice and Weekly XP Chart attached

Beginners are learning the first 12 notes in their clef split into 2 different sets of index cards for their upcoming flashcards tests. These major grades will allow students to learn the names of the notes on the staff quickly by naming off 6 cards in 8 seconds or less. Students will need to pass both their tests before moving to learning the parts of their instrument for their upcoming quiz. Students can repeat their tests as many times as they need in order to earn a 100.

We will also start our music literacy lessons where students learn how to actually read music! The preview of this program can by viewed below created by Mr. Chilton:

All Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble students will participate in this required event with area teachers in masterclass-style to have a great head start in getting prepared for the TMEA All-Region Auditions on Saturday, November 7 in College Station.

Starting at 10am, we will work on getting back in shape for a couple of hours, followed by a free pizza lunch from 12-1pm. We will then spend another couple of hours in the afternoon until we wrap up at 3pm.

Sectionals will start on Monday, August 24 until Friday, November 6 one day after school per week from 4:00-5:00pm.Complete the above survey and we will distribute the schedule soon.

All Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble students will participate in this required event with area teachers in masterclass-style to have a great head start in getting prepared for the TMEA All-Region Auditions on Saturday, November 7 in College Station.

Starting at 10am, we will work on getting back in shape for a couple of hours, followed by a free pizza lunch from 12-1pm. We will then spend another couple of hours in the afternoon until we wrap up at 3pm.

Sectionals will start on Monday, August 24 until Friday, November 6 one day after school per week from 4:00-5:00pm. Complete the above survey and we will distribute the schedule soon.

All students should own the Red Book as shown and can be purchased by clicking here.

Email: beltonmsband@gmail.com

Website: beltonmsband.org
Call/Text: 254-262-3050

Address: 1704 Sparta Road, Belton, TX, USA

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