Band Notes - Week of September 28

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. Our contact information is at the bottom of this newsletter. Thanks for reading!

Friday the 25th marked the conclusion of Progress Report 2 (PR-2 in Skyward) and the first grade check to determine eligibility for UIL activities, including Athletics like Football and Volleyball.

As stipulated by TEA (and detailed on pages 8-9 of our Band Handbook), all students must be passing all classes with a grade of 70 or higher to remain eligible for a 3-week period. During this period, students will be ineligible for games, tournaments, meets/matches, contests, and performances that require them to leave campus, such as jazz band. However, this policy does not apply to regular concerts, pep rallies, and social events.

Eligibility can be restored after the subsequent 3-week grading period if the student passes all classes at that time. For this cycle, students must pass all classes by Wednesday, October 7 (First 9 Weeks Reporting Period) to regain eligibility on Wednesday, October 14th at 4:25 pm.

To ensure your student’s continued eligibility, we strongly recommend monitoring their grades to confirm they are passing all classes with a 70 or above. This is particularly crucial for Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble students given our 4 pass-offs (all major grades) that are due to be completed every week.

If you have any questions about your student’s grade in Band, please message a director in ParentSquare.

Thank you for your support of our fundraiser! Currently, we are at 68% of our goal of $30,000. We keep 80% of what students raise and this goes directly into each student's band account that you can see in CutTime after we finish. Remember the 1st Place Winner receives $100 in CASH, 2nd Place $75, and 3rd Place $50. Please continue to spread the word so we can reach it in only 9 days!

For the first time in recent history, we are establishing the Belton MS Band Council! The list 7th & 8th graders below were nominated by at least 3 of their peers to appear on the ballot that all band students will be voting on this week.

The Band Council will advise the directors on student affairs, fun social activities, and become the unified student voice for what they would like to see as part of their band program. Positions are in effect for the reminder of this school year, and will consist of four 8th graders and three 7th graders. Every band student will get to vote and each student's vote will count only one time.

Election posters are appearing in the Band Hall, voting will wrap up this Thursday, and the winners of the election will be announced this Friday. Here is the list of nominees:

8th Graders (4 total selected)

1. Liam H.
2. River P.
3. Ryder L.
4. Antonio C.-M.
5. Maddie B.
6. Ava S.
7. Elayna F.
8. Nicolas D.
9. Leo G.
10. Paiton M.
11. Preston K.
12. Camden T.
13. Anthony A.

7th Graders (3 total selected)

1. Asher B.
2. Micah S.
3. Micah F.
4. Izzie B.
5. Edith B.
6. John Allen A.
7. Hunter B.
8. Noah R.
9. Tony B.
10. Ethan H.
11. Drake P.
12. Jocelyn M.

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.

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

Students should be taking their instruments home and brought back to school daily. Our expectation is they should practice 25 minutes a day, 5 days a week in order to keep improving over time.

Currently, we are preparing for our first performance! Information about this concert is below while students are also continuing to improve their music literacy skills by learning music theory from Mr. Chilton!

Please encourage your student to set up a daily schedule of practicing and STICK TO IT so they can continue to improve and have more fun!

All Symphonic Band students will participate in our first Pep Rally of the year! This event is for students only and we will not wear uniforms due to it being the same day as School Picture Day. Students will be dismissed at the start of 7th period to set up, warm up, and get ready to perform in the Competition Gym. Loading Crew members will most likely be dismissed during 6th period Fierce Focus in order to set up the equipment needed.

We will be performing the following stand tunes:

1. Land of 1,000 Dances
2. Good Time
3. Belton MS Alma Mater (School Song)
4. Belton MS Fight Song (Notre Dame Victory March)

All students participate in after school sectionals to complete weekly pass-offs for a major grade. Upon successfully passing off a section of music to a director or lessons teacher, they receive a grade of 100 for that major grade. Pass-Offs are scheduled with specific due dates to meet these benchmarks. The benchmarks differ between the All-Region Track and the Non-Region Track to align with each student's current musical skill level. The primary objective of the All-Region process and these pass-offs is to foster growth in all students, regardless of their current skill level.

See both the All-Region and NON-Region Track Pass-Offs due date schedule below. The All-Region Track is designed for students who aspire to audition for our most competitive event of the year: the TMEA All-Region Auditions at College Station Middle School. These students must commit to attending the auditions all day on Saturday, November 7, and if selected, the All-Region Clinic & Concert at Belton High School on the following Saturday, November 14.

The Non-Region Track is for students who won't be attending the All-Region Auditions, but still benefit from this process and remain accountable for their musical growth by meeting appropriate benchmarks through their pass-offs. They have the same number of pass-offs as the All-Region Track and are still held accountable for achieving these grades, but at a less rigorous level.

All Symphonic Band students will participate in our first Pep Rally of the year! This event is for students only and we will not wear uniforms due to it being the same day as School Picture Day. Students will be dismissed at the start of 7th period to set up, warm up, and get ready to perform in the Competition Gym. Loading Crew members will most likely be dismissed during 6th period Fierce Focus in order to set up the equipment needed.

We will be performing the following stand tunes:

1. Land of 1,000 Dances
2. Good Time
3. Belton MS Alma Mater (School Song)
4. Belton MS Fight Song (Notre Dame Victory March)

All students participate in after school sectionals to complete weekly pass-offs for a major grade. Upon successfully passing off a section of music to a director or lessons teacher, they receive a grade of 100 for that major grade. Pass-Offs are scheduled with specific due dates to meet these benchmarks. The benchmarks differ between the All-Region Track and the Non-Region Track to align with each student's current musical skill level. The primary objective of the All-Region process and these pass-offs is to foster growth in all students, regardless of their current skill level.

See both the All-Region and NON-Region Track Pass-Offs due date schedule below. The All-Region Track is designed for students who aspire to audition for our most competitive event of the year: the TMEA All-Region Auditions at College Station Middle School. These students must commit to attending the auditions all day on Saturday, November 7, and if selected, the All-Region Clinic & Concert at Belton High School on the following Saturday, November 14.

The Non-Region Track is for students who won't be attending the All-Region Auditions, but still benefit from this process and remain accountable for their musical growth by meeting appropriate benchmarks through their pass-offs. They have the same number of pass-offs as the All-Region Track and are still held accountable for achieving these grades, but at a less rigorous level.

Our Jazz Band has been invited to perform for a Veteran's Day ceremony on Tuesday, November 10. Please note this is a change from our original calendar and list of events and all friends and family are invited to attend. We will share more details when they become available.

We need parent chaperones to help with this event so please sign up in CutTime (under Events) if you can help out. We'll even feed you lunch for free!

Email: beltonmsband@gmail.com

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

Address: 1704 Sparta Road, Belton, TX, USA

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