Progress Reports Issued Next Week –
Next week the first round of progress reports will be sent home. The band class is a pass/fail class so parents are looking for a “P” on the band grade. Many of our students are not allowed to take instruments home so we have adopted the pass/fail method for the class grade to accommodate this fact. The conduct grade is based on class behavior and will show up as an A, B, C, D or F. All the students are allowed to attend class and know what is expected of them when it comes to participating and behaving. The cutoff for an A is ten violations of class rules. Since the progress reports are to depict where the students are at halfway the cutoff is 5 to show the midway point. This shows they are could be headed toward a B, or worse if the current behavior trends continue. If behavior improves and they stay below ten violations for the 9 week period an A can still be earned.
The Annual Fall Fundraiser Coming To An End –
The official end date for the fundraiser is September 17th and we can expect delivery sometime the week of October 8 – 12. We will receive a more concrete date and time as that week approaches.
The cookie dough fundraiser has both the tubs of cookie dough ($15) and the pre-portioned cookie dough ($17). The students were given a brochure and an order form on the 4th. The band is only taking orders at this time. The students will collect money when they deliver the product. Checks can be made out to BMS or BMS Bands at that time.
Prizes are available to the students at several item levels. The first prize occurs at ten items.
This sale has gone very well in the past and raises funds to purchase supplies, music, technology, and instruments. I can’t express how appreciative I am of any help with this annual and worthwhile project. The profit helps a lot of students in our program and the success of the project impacts every child in the band.
6th Grade Bands –
The 6th grade bands are off to a good start. The woodwind and brass members have settled on an instrument choice and the percussionists have finished the audition process. The students that aren’t using a school instrument should be locating an instrument to play on. There are links to Paige’s Music and Melody Music Shop on our website. Both companies are good choices for locating an instrument to rent or buy.
The percussionists have been selected and will need to buy a stick bag with the appropriate sticks and mallets to use for class. The band department have the stick bags with what the percussionists need to make this easy for them. The stick bags with the sticks and mallets will cost $55 again this year. They will also need to have something to practice bell parts on at home. A bell kit, piano, or little electric keyboard work well for this.
All the students will need a beginning band book. We use Essential Elements 2000. Most students that rented from Paige’s Music already have this and others may too. The percussion book includes the snare and bell music and costs $16. The rest of the band books are $9. The students that still need a book can purchase it from the band office.
Have a great week!
Bedford MS Bands 