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

THANK YOU to those of you who set up your page and collected donations to our fundraiser. As of Sunday afternoon, we have collected more than $7,000 which is 70% of our goal of $10,000!

We have 19 days left to donate until October 11 when our fundraiser ends. Preloaded emails have automatically been sent, but you can still ask for donations through text and your social media. Follow these steps run a text blast asking for donations:

1. LOGIN: Log into your SnapRaise account.
2. SHARE CAMPAIGN: From your participant dashboard, click "share campaign".
3. SEND TEXTS: Click "send 10 texts" to send your campaign directly to your phone contacts.

Payments for instruments, uniform shirts, and decals were due Friday, September 15. If you haven't already, please pay in cash or check made out to BMS with a phone number, or pay online by clicking here. We will not distribute uniform shirts without payment.

Click here to see the Calendar page of our website to find all of the current events, including special rehearsals, contests, and performances for the whole school year. We provide this so you can plan your family's activities. Remember, performances are a required part of our curriculum, so please contact a director ASAP for any conflicts. Be sure to Subscribe to our calendar using the instructions provided on the website. Alternatively, you may prefer the List of Band Events format that can be found clicking on the link.

Practice Records are due Monday, September 25 and follow this grading rubric: 5 days=100, 4 days=90, 3 days=80, 2 days=70, and less than 2 days=50. A new updated practice record will be given to students and this cycle will continue for the rest of this school year.

Practice Records are each student's responsibility, and must be stored in their binder at all times. The penalty for late practice records is a 5-point reduction per day. Late practice records will not be accepted after Friday since it rolls over to the next week's practice record. Please note that not turning in practice records is the #1 reason students fail Band.

Help your student create a daily practice routine that is scheduled at the same time each day to build consistency. Have them use a timer in stopwatch mode instead of timer countdown mode to ensure they are getting the full 25 minutes of practice time.

Students are welcome to practice before school starting at 7:30am if they show their band sticker on their student ID to the teacher on duty when entering the hallway. Please remind your student to have a director sign their practice record in order to count this time as practicing, as long as they have practiced the full 25 minutes.

Beginning Percussion students will start their first practice record this week and it will be due next week on Monday, October 2.

If you haven't already, make sure you sign up for our Remind texts for the Beginner's Ensemble here. Students may do this as well with parent permission. This is important piece of communication to receive reminders throughout the year.

Parents, we need your help to chaperone our most individually-competitive event of the year. You will get fed free breakfast tacos, a cupcake snack, and a pizza dinner all for free for helping out! We will be traveling to College Station on Saturday, November 4 and will send more details when we get closer to time. Please click here to sign up!

Sectionals go until Friday, November 3 one day after school per week from 4:00-5:00pm. These sectionals replace the practice record expectation once students move into an advanced ensemble. Please be sure to pick up your student promptly at 5pm at the bus loop by the Cafeteria.

Here is the schedule for the Fall:

• Mondays: Flutes & Tubas
• Tuesdays: Clarinets
• Wednesday: Double Reeds (Oboe & Bassoon); Trumpets, Trombones, & Euphoniums; and Percussion
• Thursdays: Saxophones & Horns

Students are expected to "Be Punctual" and arrive seated with all materials and ready to rehearse at 4pm sharp or their grade will be affected. Students 1-5 minutes late will have their sectional grade (daily) reduced to an 85. Students who are late 5-15 minutes will have their grade reduced to a 70. Students arriving more than 15 minutes late will receive a 50.

If you haven't already, make sure you sign up for our Remind texts for Symphonic Band here. Students may do this as well with parent permission. This is important piece of communication to receive reminders throughout the year.

Wind Ensemble students have their first chair test this Wednesday in class over the first half of Region Etude 1 or the whole Mallet Etude for percussion. This is a major grade and will affect their chair placement in the ensemble, which determines which part they play in our music. Check out the details in Schoology or click on the picture.

Parents, we need your help to chaperone our most individually-competitive event of the year. You will get fed free breakfast tacos, a cupcake snack, and a pizza dinner all for free for helping out! We will be traveling to College Station on Saturday, November 4 and will send more details when we get closer to time. Please click here to sign up!

Sectionals will go until Friday, November 3 one day after school per week from 4:00-5:00pm. These sectionals replace the practice record expectation once students move into an advanced ensemble. Please be sure to pick up your student promptly at 5pm at the bus loop by the Cafeteria.

Here is the schedule for the Fall:

• Mondays: Flutes & Tubas
• Tuesdays: Clarinets
• Wednesday: Double Reeds (Oboe & Bassoon); Trumpets, Trombones, & Euphoniums; and Percussion
• Thursdays: Saxophones & Horns

Students are expected to "Be Punctual" and arrive seated with all materials and ready to rehearse at 4pm sharp or their grade will be affected. Students 1-5 minutes late will have their sectional grade (daily) reduced to an 85. Students who are late 5-15 minutes will have their grade reduced to a 70. Students arriving more than 15 minutes late will receive a 50.

If you haven't already, make sure you sign up for our Remind texts for Wind Ensemble here. Students may do this as well with parent permission. This is important piece of communication to receive reminders throughout the year.

All 3 charts we will be performing for the upcoming VA Hospital Gig have been passed and students should be practicing on them now.

They are:

1. Blues For A New Day

2. Satin Doll

3. Take the "A" Train

If you haven't already, make sure you sign up for our Remind texts for Jazz Band here. Students may do this as well with parent permission. This is important piece of communication to receive reminders throughout the year.

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Email: beltonmsband@gmail.com
Website: beltonmsband.org
Location: 1704 Sparta Road, Belton, TX, USA
Call/Text: 254-262-3050
Facebook: facebook.com/beltonmsband