Final Returns and Final Grades

Dear CMS Band Families,

I am about to approach my final week of teaching middle school band. What a year to be doing this.  We didn't have a final concert or any final trips, but we did have a wonderful 3/4 of a school year in person, followed by making a major and abrupt adaptation to a new normal for awhile. After dialing in lessons and figuring out what works best, I ended up with more students completing their work online than my best ever week of practice logs!  If we can succeed in music through distance learning, just imagine what we'll accomplish when we come back to playing in band classes! Even though things are rather tough right now, the future for our students is bright.

ITEM RETURNS

We have just 2 more days of returns:

• 26-May T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z 9AM - 2PM
• 27-May MAKE-UP 9AM - 2PM

Here are the reminders from last week:

• School-owned instrument with all reeds and other personal items removed. Leave instruments lined up neatly by instrument type (this will be labeled) on the floor.
• Complete uniform, cleaned, in garment bag (Advanced Band and Jazz Band). Hang your uniform on the garment racks in the hall. If you still have marching shoes, remove them from the garment bag and line them up against the wall.
• Music folder with all personal music, flyers, and pencils removed (Advanced Band and Jazz Band). Return music folders to their assigned cubbies. 

SHIRT PICK-UPS

Students who ordered special shirts may pick those up on their drop-off date or the make-up date this week. The shirts are just $10 and I will announce what we have left after Wednesday for those who did not pre-order the shirts.

AUDITION DEADLINE EXTENDED
I extended the Advanced Band and Wind Ensemble audition deadline to Monday, June 1. Results will be posted on June 3.

THIS WEEK'S ASSIGNMENT
This week, students will complete a final survey, which will require them to log into InfiniteCampus and check their grade, look for low/missing scores, and tell me if there is anything they need to make up.  This survey will be due on Thursday, May 28, and counts as this week's attendance. All make-up work will be due on Monday, June 1.

I will have one more update early next week and we'll be finished with this crazy school year. Thank you for your flexibility and your willingness to try new things.  We're almost there!

-Mr. Jacques-

The Return of the Items...

Dear CMS Band Families, 

This week, I have a couple of updates that include a timeline for instrument, uniform, and music returns, as well as our weekly assignments and auditions. 

ITEM RETURNS

The time has come for students to return to school and return any school-owned items and collect things from their lockers.  Here is what they need to return, along with some important directions:

• School-owned instrument with all reeds and other personal items removed. Leave instruments lined up neatly by instrument type (this will be labeled) on the floor.
• Complete uniform, cleaned, in garment bag (Advanced Band and Jazz Band). Hang your uniform on the garment racks in the hall. If you still have marching shoes, remove them from the garment bag and line them up against the wall.
• Music folder with all personal music, flyers, and pencils removed (Advanced Band and Jazz Band). Return music folders to their assigned cubbies. 

RETURN TIMES

Here is a list of the return times, sorted by last name.  Please be sure they make it to the band room during these times. If none of these times work, please contact me. 

18-May A, B, C 9AM - 2PM
19-May D, E, F, G 9AM - 2PM
20-May H, I, J, K, L 9AM - 2PM
21-May M, N, O, P 9AM - 2PM
22-May Q, R, S 9AM - 2PM
26-May T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z 9AM - 2PM
27-May MAKE-UP 9AM - 2PM

THIS WEEK'S ASSIGNMENT
This week, students will complete another lesson on Peardeck. To receive full credit, students must finish the slideshow and complete the quiz. There will be $10 gift certificates to Absolute Music for the top scores! The assignment is due on Thursday night at midnight and the winners will be announced on our weekly Zoom show on Friday at 10 AM.

ZOOM SHOW
Our weekly Zoom session has become more of a "talk/game show" where we wrap up our week with fun conversation, virtual games, and even a pretend spring trip. I encourage all students to attend this fun and interactive show. This week's theme: Disney, in honor of our spring trip that would have been taking place starting tomorrow.  The Zoom show will take place Friday from 10:00-10:45 AM.  Parents, feel free to watch.

AUDITIONS
Virtual Advanced Band (grades 6-7) and CHS Wind Ensemble (grade 8) auditions are now up and running! There is no Jazz Band audition requirement this year.  I posted the audition instructions in Google Classroom, and they are due on May 29.

I hope everyone is doing well and staying safe (and sane). Have a great week!

-Mr. Jacques-

New Week, New Lesson...

Dear CMS Band Families,

Back to it again! This week features a different kind of lesson and a change to the Zoom schedule.  I am also working on audition information and a schedule for when students can return to campus to return instruments, music, uniforms, etc.

WEEKLY LESSON
This week's lesson is a complete re-design of what we've done in past weeks. All students will have 1 assignment: a slideshow that helps them review all music fundamentals and guides them through how to compose their own melody. All of the information is in a self-contained and interactive slideshow that automatically saves their work.  Since some of us are left with extra free time these days, I invite any parents to also check it out. Here's the link: https://app.peardeck.com/student/tlhhvpcfh

This assignment will be due on Thursday night, May 7. I will grade it on Friday morning. This will also double as their weekly attendance.

ZOOM FRIDAYS
I will no longer be holding Zoom sessions on Monday-Thursday.  Instead, I will have an optional weekly Zoom meet-and-greet on Friday at 10:00 AM.  This session will be a fun place for us to all gather at the end of the week to share how we are doing.  I might also surprise students by playing games, reading to them, or who knows what else!

ADVANCED/JAZZ BAND AUDITIONS
Auditions are right around the corner! I will post the audition information on Friday.  In the meantime, students should review their Band-O-Rama music and study all the scales they worked on in class through March. Audition will take place through Flipgrid, where students will video record themselves playing through the audition. For students who prefer to audition in person, we are tentatively planning to offer live auditions on the week of May 18 at CMS.

HIGH SCHOOL BAND INFO (8th grade parents only)
Here is what I'm currently planning for the high school band classes:
Jazz Band: No audition necessary this year.  This class is also during "0" period and is open to any student with prior jazz band experience at CMS.
Marching Band: No audition necessary. In high school, this is its own class. It meets on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from August-November. There will also be a mandatory band camp from August 3-7 and 10-14. We may also add a freshman-only orientation to band camp on Friday, July 31.  I will have much more information about this class in June.
Cadet Band: No audition necessary. Open to any student who just completed Beginning Band or any experienced student who wants to learn a secondary instrument.
Concert Band: No audition necessary. Open to any student currently in Intermediate Band or Advanced Band.
Wind Ensemble: An audition is required. This is the top-performing group at Carson HS, much like our Advanced Band at CMS.  I will post audition information shortly.

If reading this gave you more questions than answers, please feel free to email me and I will help guide your student to the correct class.  I will also know more once we finish the end of the school year and I've completed the transition over to the high school.

RETURNING ITEMS TO SCHOOL
As of now, we are expecting to begin the process of returning instruments, music folders, and uniforms beginning on May 18. This will also be the time your student may visit their locker, return any library books, and pick up medicine from the nurse's office.  Once I have specific times, I will share that with you.

As always, thanks for reading, and have a great week!

-Mr. Jacques-