Good evening,

I am excited for another week with our amazing students!

Monday: 7th grade after school rehearsal until 4:15

Tuesday: 8th grade after school rehearsal until 4:15

Wednesday: Jazz Band rehearsal until 4:15

Rehearsals

Our rehearsal time for this week have been adjusted a little earlier in hopes that we can rehearse more efficiently. We will have our student athletes and students in other clubs remain for the entire rehearsal (an extra 15 minutes from last week unless they have a competition or a game) so that the full band can rehearse together. At 4:15 all students will be dismissed. This should allow us to get much more done without the disruption mid way through and will allow for us to go home earlier on a school night. Please let me know if you have any questions and I sincerely hope that this works better for all of us. Please keep our Pre LGPE concert on your radar. It is the Tuesday that we return from Winter break at the Mabry Arts Center. ( March 1st beginning at 6:00 PM)

Band Jackets

Our band jackets have come in! There are a few that are on back order and are set to be delivered later this week. I will let those students know individually if they are missing their jacket and will hand them out as soon as they come in.

District Honor Band

We had an incredible time at District Honor Band this week. Congratulations to Cadence Carr, Marie Fujita Block, Haley Rowell, Ann Haley, Aileen Yanney, Liam Price, and Samuel Duncan. These students worked incredibly hard in the Fall and were selected to participate in the District Honor Band for District 7. We enjoyed bowling, lots of yummy food, a Krispy Kreme visit, and playing with students under the baton of two fabulous conductors. I am so proud of them and hope that we will have an even bigger turnout next year!

New Course Offerings for 2022-2023 School Year

I am excited to announce our new course offerings for next school year at the Junior High School. Our students will have the option to participate in Instrumental Methods as well as audition to be in our ability based bands rather than being bundled together by grade. I have attached the Instrumental Methods info below for those that are curious. Instrumental Methods can either be taken for one semester, or taken twice to become a year long course.

Our current CJHS Bands are separated by grade, one being only for 7th graders and one for only 8th graders. Next year we will offer Concert Band, Symphonic Band, and Wind Ensemble just like our high school program does. You can think of this like an on level course, honors course, and AP or IB course. Each band will be comprised of both 7th and 8th grades. All three courses will have brass, woodwinds, and percussion which will eliminate the need for after school rehearsals. We will use our next chair test audition to place students in the appropriate course for next year in early March. Students will be given all information on that audition later this week.

The idea of this is to allow for more level-appropriate instruction, better differentiation, a mix of grades in each band, and to free up our after school schedule. Each student will get better one-on-one instruction and will get the chance to truly shine! Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions. Although this is new to us, this method of mixing both grades together is actually the norm for most band programs. I am thankful that our administration has allowed us to try this out and better serve our students.

Sincerely,

Ms. Maria Menendez

maria.menendez@carrolltoncityschools.net