Springing into April...

Dear Parents,

I hope you have all been enjoying some quality time with your kids during spring break. It has been a welcome break for sure!  After returning from spring break, we will have our final round of events beginning in late April.  With a lot of events coming up, I'm trying something new here. I'm listing the required events by ensemble, followed by the description of each event below that.

Beginning Band:

• Beginning Band Festival, May 1
• Spring Concert Part 1, May 22

Concert Band:

• Northern Zone Band Festival, April 25
• Beginning Band Festival, May 1
• Spring Concert Part 1, May 22
• 8th Grade Promotion, June 6

Intermediate Band:

• Music in the Parks, April 21
• Northern Zone Band Festival, April 25
• Spring Concert Part 2, May 23
• 8th Grade Promotion, June 6

Advanced Band:

• Northern Zone Band Festival, April 25
• Spring Trip, May 16-20 
• Spring Concert Part 2, May 23
• 8th Grade Promotion, June 6

Jazz Band:

• Reno Jazz Festival, April 28
• Spring Trip, May 16-20
• Spring Concert Part 2, May 23

CTE Music:

• Beginning Band Festival, May 1
• Spring Concert Part 1, May 22

EVENT DESCRIPTIONS

Music in the Parks: April 21 - Intermediate Band and invited Concert Band members are taking a trip to Vallejo to compete in a judged band festival, followed by an afternoon and evening at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom.

Northern Zone Band Festival: April 25 - This will be our sixth consecutive year hosting the Northern Zone middle school bands at this festival. In addition to a mandatory performance for Concert, Intermediate, and Advanced Band, select students will spend the day with me and help run the festival.

Reno Jazz Festival: April 28 - The Reno Jazz Festival is what brought me to Northern Nevada many years ago. I have competed in this festival as a student, and now our students will be making their 3rd appearance. This performance is mandatory for Jazz Band.

Beginning Band Festival: May 1 - This festival is for all the young ensembles in our zone, including 3 groups from CMS: Beginning Band, Concert Band, and CTE Music.  The CTE class will perform as a handbell ensemble and a percussion ensemble.

Spring Trip: May 16-20 - Advanced Band will be performing to Disneyland for their 5th annual appearance in the park.  Joining them this year will be Jazz Band in their first appearance.

Spring Concert, Part 1: May 22 - Beginning Band, Concert Band, and CTE Music will be performing in their final concert of the year. The 5th grade bands from Bordewich Bray, Fritsch, and Mark Twain will also be performing.

Spring Concert, Part 2: May 23 - Intermediate Band, Advanced Band, and Jazz Band will be performing in their final concert of the year.

8th Grade Promotion: June 6 - All Concert Band, Intermediate Band, and Advanced Band members will be performing at the 8th grade promotion on the final day of school.  The 8th grade students from Intermediate and Advanced Band will also come back and perform one last song with the band.

I hope this helps everyone plan out the events. Next week, I should have enough information to put together detailed itineraries for the April performances.  Stay tuned!

-Mr. Jacques-

Snow Day...

Dear Parents,

This update will be quick.  I wanted to thank everyone who helped make this year's Band-O-Rama such a success! We had a record number of students participating across the ensembles, and we were so fortunate that the winter storm held off until the end of the event.  Congratulations to your student on a successful performance, and I hope you had a great time listening to them bring musical joy to everyone.

Congratulations to the Advanced Band, who, on the same day as Band-O-Rama, went to Sparks to perform in the Washoe County Band Festival. They earned straight "superior" ratings in their performance, as well as a "superior" rating for sight reading!  Just a few quick notes:

• I'm extending the due date for practice logs to Monday, March 19. Students will be able to complete them in class.
• I'll be assigning a video playing test in all classes that will be due at the end of spring break. 
• Jazz Band's Northern Zone Jazz Festival is scheduled for Wednesday, March 21, beginning with a 2:30 PM call time after school for a rehearsal, followed by the concert at 6:50 PM. 
• Looking ahead, we have a bit of a break in the performances, with our next round of band festivals on April 25, April 28, and May 1. I will have more information about these performances once the schedules are finalized. 

Enjoy your snow day, and congratulations once again to your amazing students!

-Mr. Jacques

Band-O-Rama!

Dear Parents,

This week, all eyes are focused on Band-O-Rama, our largest event of the year! Advanced Band and Jazz Band have a couple additional events this week, as well.

March 15 - Band-O-Rama!
This event is MANDATORY for all CMS band members. This is our annual event that showcases all of the Carson City School District bands under one roof!  Here's what your student needs to do this week to ensure that everything goes smoothly:

• Monday night-Tuesday night: Practice any remaining rough spots with a metronome.
• Wednesday afternoon: Take home instrument and music and have a final look at all music.
• Thursday morning: Call time is 7:30 AM in the Carson High School gym for a mandatory rehearsal. Students will be bussed from CHS to CMS at 10:30 AM for the rest of their classes.
• Thursday afternoon (except for Advanced Band): Take home instrument and music and make sure your uniform is clean/ready to wear.
• Thursday evening: Call time is 6:30 PM in the CHS gym in full concert uniform for the concert.  The concert begins at 7 PM. 
• Showcase your best musicianship and audience etiquette, and have fun!
• Click here for the handout sent home to students.

March 15 - Washoe County Band Festival
This is Advanced Band's 3rd appearance at this festival, which includes a rated performance followed by a rated sight reading clinic. Yes, the date is correct!  We will leave CMS at 2:45 PM, perform at 4:00 PM at the Nugget Casino in Sparks, and return around 6:00 PM for Band-O-Rama. Thanks to Julye Neel for making this schedule work for us this year!

March 21 - NZNMEA Jazz Night
This event is for the Jazz Band, who will travel to Pau-Wa-Lu Middle School for a non-rated festival performance with all the other jazz bands in the Northern Zone.  The event begins at 6:30 PM and the Jazz Band performs at 6:50 PM. Click here for the handout sent home with students.

Upcoming After School Rehearsals

• March 13: Advanced Band, 2:30-4:30 PM
• March 21: Jazz Band, 2:30-4:30 PM

Grade Update

• Progress reports are coming out this week and my grade cut-off was on Monday. I replaced any missing tests/quizzes with a "0" and students can come make these up any time at lunch.
• Teachers are not allowed to input grades this week, so I was asked to enter the Band-O-Rama grade early. If your student arrives on time in full uniform and does their best on Thursday, that full score will remain. 
• Practice logs are due on Friday (I'll grade them the following Monday) and I'll have another playing test assigned for next week, due the day before spring break.
• CTE: The composer/musical artist project is due on Tuesday, March 20 with presentations taking place in class that day.

That is all for this week!

-Mr. Jacques-