Bison Bands February Newsletter

Dear Parents, Guardians, Friends, and Families:

It's hard to believe that we are cruising through February with March right around the corner and hopefully, saying goodbye to winter soon!

If you'll indulge me, I want to share with you how proud I am of the progress that all of our band students are making. Their fundamental skills are growing - some by leaps and bounds! Regardless of the size, the growth is obvious. I want to commend our students for toughing it out during the toughets time of the year...winter! I feel like the winter practice challenge has made a big difference for them, and I hope they continue to prepare themselves and apply what they've learned to the future. Keep up the great work students!!!

We would like to share some important information regarding the many upcoming events and activities connected with Fenton Bands. All parents, guardians, and students should read this entire newsletter so that they know what is happening and what is expected of them.

Remember, this newsletter is entirely translatable into any language! Just click the "translate" button above.

Please feel free to reach out with any questions via email, phone, or message at our contact information below.

Sincerely,

Garett George

The Fenton Winter Band Concert will take place NEXT Thursday, March 5th @ 7:00 PM. Call time is 5:45 in the auditorium.

The Concert Band, Symphonic Wind Ensemble, and Jazz Ensemble will be performing at this concert. This concert will feature our festival music, which showcases the music of Etta James, Eddie Harris, Claude T. Smith, Aaron Perrine, John Phillip Sousa, and more!

At this concert, everyone will be wearing our concert dress uniform. There are parts of this uniform that the students are responsible for having and are not provided by Fenton Bands. Please click here for our Concert Attire information. Additionally, concerts are a summative assessment for all students and they earn a grade for their attendance, participation, and performance. Their Concert Etiquette rubric is here.

Seniors and Sophomores should plan on bringing cookies to help contribute to the refreshments afterwards. A store bought package would be preferred. Students can bring these the night of the concert or any class time before. Refreshments will be served thanks to our Music Boosters.

All family members and friends are invited to attend this event.

On Tuesday, March 10th, Fenton Bands will have a field trip in the auditorium to watch a concert by the LowDown Brass Band! Blackhawk Middle School and Wood Dale Junior High School Bands will be joining us. Students will also receive a clinic from the group and a pizza lunch!

On Tuesday, March 17th, from 6:00-8:00 PM, Fenton will host its Instrumental Solo & Ensemble Contest. Please click here for our S&E rules and information. Our schedule is currently under constructions and should be ready the week of March 9th. Parents, guardians, families, and friends are welcome to attend any or all of these performances! We will have Lt. Colonel Bryan Miller as our adjudicator for the evening. He will be evaluating and providing live feedback for our students!

Please let Mr. George know if you have any questions.

The Tri-M honor society is celebrating Music in our Schools Month by selling t-shirts. All shirts are $5.00! Click here to order yours today.

We have much to look forward to next school year, and one of those can't miss events is our trip to Disney World Florida with the band and choir in February of 2027.

The board has approved this event for February 26-March 1. The current cost looks to be around $2200.00 for quad occupency with 50 or more students. The Music Boosters are working tirelessly to bring that cost down with a contribution, but we need and want as many students to participate as possible and who are interested to help reduce costs. Remember, students will need to be registered for a band or choir class to be eligible to go on this trip. Please let us know what questions you may have.

The Fenton Jazz Bands have been working hard! The Jazz Ensemble has been rehearsing from 5:00-7:30 every Tuesday. On March 10th, jazz rehearsal will be from 3:30-5:30 p.m.

Recently, the Jazz Ensemble performed at our Black History Month kick off and our Evening of Black Excellence last Thursday.

We are also selling Jazz Ensemble apparrel. Click here to order yours! All orders are due by Tuesday, March 3rd.

The Jazz Ensemble will be performing at the Winter Band Concert on March 5th.

The Fenton Concert Band is made up of freshman through juniors who are pursuing their instrumental skills in a traditional band setting. These students work on critical listening, ensemble listening, scale development, music literacy, and more at an intermediate level.

The Concert Band rehearses 5th hour and have been making steady progress this quarter. They have been building music literacy skills, sight reading skills, rhythm skills, and time keeping skills.

The Concert Band will be performing at the Winter Band Concert on March 5th.

The Symphonic Wind Ensemble is made up of freshmen through seniors who audition for the ensemble. The SWE pursues advanced band literature while also working on critical listening, ensemble listening, instrumental skill development, scales, music literacy, and more at an advanced level.

The Symphonic Wind Ensemble rehearses 4th hour and have been making tremendous progress! They have been building sight reading skills, rhythm skills, phrasing, and time keeping skills. They have also been learning about marches, lyrical pieces, and theme development in their music.

The SWE will be traveling to Elmhurst University on Friday, March 6th (tomorrow!) for the EU Concert Band Festival. They will perform in Hammerschmidt Chapel at 2:05 , watch other high school bands, and receive a clinic. Families are welcome and encouraged to attend this event.

The Symphonic Wind Ensemble will be performing at the Winter Band Concert on March 5th.

Information regarding ALL Marching Band Dates, Commitment forms, and more can be found in this slide deck. Please click on this link for that information!

In these documents, you will find out 4th of July information, when Band Camp is, when student leader applications are due, when drum major tryouts are, how Color Guard and Drum Line will work, when summer Marching Band rehearsals are, etc.

Please note that Fenton has not officially announced their first day of school. Once they do, the band camp dates will be updated. The Marching Band calendar will also be adjusted accordingtly to fit within this schedule. We will also have our new Marching Band uniforms by then!

The Fenton Music Boosters will be hosting the annual Spaghetti With A Song fundraiser on Sunday, March 8 from 1-4 PM. Come out and support our performing students while helping the music boosters build their scholarship fund.

This fundraiser requires the assistance of our music families. You can also donate to SWAS using this form here. You can also volunteer here.

Reminder that the Music Boosters meet on the second Wednesday of each month at 7:30 PM in the band room. Our next meeting is March 11th at 7:30 PM.

A big shout out goes to our Fenton Band student leaders! They go above and beyond each and every day to hold sectionals, set up rehearsals, tear down rehearsals, and make sure everyone is having a good time. They lead sectionals at our Fenton Pep Night and help everything in the band run smoothly. I couldn't be more proud of them for their service, dedication, and leadership! When you see them next time, give them a big thank you on behalf of the band!

Front row from left to right: Mr. George, Edith Gonzalez, Emcee/Secretary; Alita Thach, Librarian/Flute Section Leader; Taylor Corona, Percussion Captain

Second Row: Aurora Reyes, Saxophone Section Leader; Valentin Camargo, Band Manager; Paula Serpa, Drum Major; Victoria Socha, High Brass Section Leader.

Third Row: Arturo Hurtado Jr, Drum Major; Yahir Mondragon, PR/Ambassador; Garrett Wawczak, Low Brass Section Leader; Maya Mrosczcak (not pictured), Color Guard captain.

Since the second week of January, Fenton band students have been participating in the Jamuary (because when you practice, your jamming!) and Fameuary (because practicing will make you Famous!) Winter Practice Challenge! Students have been earning weekly prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place finishes along with honorable mentions and most improved for each class. The Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Concert Band, and overall winners will be announced at our concert on Thursday March 5th!

Please remember that, whether competing in a fun practice challenge or just setting goals for improvement, progress does not happen without time spent practicing. Students have hopefully gained skills, insights and habits so that they can continue making progress for the remainder of the semester. As a general rule, about 60 minutes outside of class will make any student achieve great progress!

Students can use the practice facilities at Fenton during their lunch time, Bison Time, study hall, or after school. Every family should be noticing some music playing in the home where possible.

Thank you for your support!

Pit Orchestra is coming soon for our Spring Musical "Mean Girls." Students can earn community service and be apart of an exciting production! Students have already received music and should be preparing that music. We still have needs for trumpet, trombone, and flute. Interested students should contact Mr. George.

Click here to see the rehearsal calendar.

For a complete FHS Band Calendar, click here.

Future Dates

Summer Marching Band Rehearsals: June 3, 10, 17, 24, July 1 6-8:30

4th of July Parade: 8:45 AM call

Band Camp: July 27-31 OR August 3-7, 8-Noon, 1:30-4:00 (Pending 1st day of school)

February 2027: Music Department Tour to Disney World, Orlando Florida

Recently, students registered for classes next year. Has your student registered for band next year? They should! Please take an opportunity to ask your student about this and encourage them to participate next year. Need to get them registered for band? Send Mr. George an email at georgeg@fenton100.org. It is never too late to join!

Playing a musical instrument is challenging, and it takes time to learn and refine the skills necessary to be successful. They have come so far just this school year and we want to see that growth continue. Your student's instrumental music education and development is a multi year process.

There is much to work towards and look forward to next year. Here are just a few highlights:

• Our Disney World Trip!
• New Marching Band Uniforms!
• Our biggest band in six years!
• Our various field trips to festivals and performances!
• Making friends through music that last a lifetime!
• So much more!

Each and every student contributes to the sound of the band! We want and need you to be apart of the Fenton Band in 2026-2027!

Summer Music Camps are a great way to "take a bath in music" each and every summer. There is a summer music camp out there for every interest! Some are close by, like the Elmhurst University summer institute and some are further away. Regardless of distance, these are great ways to sharpen skills, build new relationships, and make musical connections. Our Music Boosters provide scholarships for students interested in participating!

Click here to learn more about summer music camps.

We are very grateful for all of our students who show up, work hard, and display a positive attitude each and every day! They are a tremendous source of inspiration for each other, their teacher, and our community!

We look forward to sharing our music with our Fenton community at our Winter Band Concert, Solo & Ensemble contest, or at another event soon.

Be on the lookout for information regarding our Spring events in April.

Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or concerns.

Musically yours,

Garett George

georgeg@fenton100.org

O: 630-860-4944

C: 929-322-4944 (google voice)