Hudson Hawk Band Updates

Week of 1/30/2023

Spring Trip Contract

Spring Trip Contract

On Friday, May 12, we will be taking the ENTIRE band on an optional trip to the Sound Post Music Festival and Splash Kingdom Waterpark. This trip is an extra expense - it is $25 per student in addition to regular band fees. Students in all classes (except 1st period trumpet/sax class) received the trip contract on Friday in class. There are multiple requirements and behavior expectations that must be met to attend the trip. All students who wish to attend the spring trip must return their signed trip contract with at least a $5 deposit by this Friday, February 3.

See this link for the list of students who earned a free trip by raising $150 or more on our PAT fundraiser.

Spring Trip Contract

Booster Club Meeting

Wednesday, Feb. 1st, 7pm

4405 Hudson Drive

Sachse, TX

Please join us in the band hall for our next booster club meeting. Enter through the back of the school at door #11. We will be discussing spring band events and the many ways we will need parent help to give our students the best experiences we can this semester. We look forward to seeing you at the meeting and getting you plugged in to help this spring!
Get Directions

Advanced Band Solo Contest - PIANO REHEARSAL SCHEDULE ADDED

Advanced Band students should have received a solo to work on before the winter break. They will all participate in the Solo Contest at Austin Academy on Saturday, February 25th.

This performance is mandatory and each student will receive 2 test grades - one for their performance on the day of the contest and one for their preparation with the piano accompanist prior to the contest. Each student will perform their solo with a piano accompaniment and will have 2 opportunities to practice their solo with the accompanist the 2 weeks prior to the contest. They should be spending the majority of their practice time working on this solo.

Students who are academically ineligible (based on the Quarter 2 report card) are not allowed to perform at the contest. Instead, they will have a makeup performance at Hudson the week of March 6 (exact date TBD).

Piano Rehearsal Schedule Link HERE.

There are 2 tabs on the linked document - one for woodwinds, and one for brass & percussion. Please note the 2 dates your student will have a piano rehearsal. For those who have a rehearsal scheduled at a time of another class period, we will work with those teachers to have the student come to the band hall for their rehearsal.

Weather Info

Please make sure your contact information is up-to-date in Skyward. We are watching the weather this week, but we do not typically cancel any band activities unless the district makes that call. We plan to be business as usual, but in the event that the district cancels all after school activities any time, you'll want your contact information updated to ensure you receive the news from GISD. We will also post in the Band app (directions to join are at the bottom of this newsletter if you aren't already enrolled) to notify you of band scheduling changes.
Select Beginner Band News!

Select Beginner Band News!

To celebrate the first ever HMS Select Beginner Band, I reached out to a friend who also happens to be a composer to see if he'd be able/willing to write a new piece of music to honor the group. I am thrilled to announce that the Select Beginner Band will get to perform Supernova this spring! This piece was composed specifically for our students and we are so excited to premiere if for you in May. We will also have an opportunity to meet and work with the composer, Chris Clark, in March!
Select Beginner Band News!

A Word About Braces

We know that many of our students will need braces during the course of their middle school years. Every band instrument can be played with braces, however, it is a big adjustment that often takes weeks or months for the student to feel "back to normal" once they get them. As you are scheduling this big change for your student, please be mindful of the band performance calendar to help our students be able to perform their best this semester.

February 25 - Advanced Band solo contest

March 6-7 - HB & WS Pre-UIL Evaluation

April 4-5 - HB & WS UIL Evaluation

April 22 - Beginner All-Star Band Audition

April 27 - WS Peak Festival

May 6 - Beginner Solo Contest

May 12 - Spring Festival for All Band Students

May 13 - All-Star Band Clinic/Concert

May 17 - HMS Bands Spring Concert for All Students

Sectional Reminders

Sectionals for Honors Band will continue this week. The sectional schedule for Honors Band can be found here.


The Wind Symphony had 100% attendance at sectionals last week AGAIN! That is amazing and really helps our band grow and improve - thank you!!! The sectional schedule for Wind Symphony can be found here. Wind Symphony sectionals will be every week this semester, as we are preparing for state level competitions and require more frequent small group rehearsals. Wind Symphony students - please check this document weekly to know what we will be working on in sectionals and so you can be prepared.


Sectionals are required for all students in both Honors Band and Wind Symphony. Grades are given for attendance and playing tests given during sectional time. Please do your best to arrange appointments outside of sectional days whenever possible. Thank you so much for your help with this!

Winter Practice Challenge

We gave out a Winter Practice Challenge sheet just before the holiday break. The students are tasked with practicing for at least 20 minutes for 62 of the 77 days on the page. If they meet the challenge, they will be invited to a pizza and board game party the week before Spring Break. Parents must initial each snowflake (day) that they practice and all forms must be turned in on Monday, March 6th.

Find a copy of the Winter Practice Challenge form here.

School-Owned Instrument Usage Fees

School-Owned Instrument Usage Fees

If your student is using a school owned instrument (or is a percussionist), the school-owned instrument usage fee has been added to your student's Charms account. Woodwind and Brass players will now see a fall and spring fee for $25 each, or $50 for the whole year. Percussionists will see a fall fee for $25.

Oboes, bassoons, bass clarinets, tenor saxes, bari saxes, French horns, euphoniums, tubas, and the few students who play a different instrument that is owned by the school will see that fee now and can pay it by cash, check (made out to Hudson Band Boosters), or through Charms (using Paypal).

This fee was originally supposed to be paid in Skyward, but we are adjusting the process for ease of charge and payment.

If you have any questions or have any issues logging in to Charms to check on fees, please let me know and I am happy to help!

School-Owned Instrument Usage Fees

Spring Band Fees

Spring band fees are due on February 17th. Please check your student's Charms account to see balances due and to make payments via Paypal. You can also send checks (made out to Hudson Band Boosters), cash, or pay via credit card through our band website. If you choose to pay with a credit card through the band website, please use HawkBD2223 as the password.
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Repeat Information

CLICK HERE TO READ THE BAND HANDBOOK

Click here for any needed handout.

Advanced Band Supplies

Advanced Band Supplies

Please make sure your student in the Wind Symphony, Honors Band, or Symphonic Band have their required supplies for this year. We are using the Foundations for Superior Performance book in all band classes and many students do not yet have the book. We are also beginning to work on tuning and if your student does not still have their tuner/metronome from beginner band, they will need one ASAP.
Advanced Band Supplies
BAND App Links

BAND App Links

Because our band has grown so big, we can no longer use Remind. We have reached the maximum participants in multiple classes and do not have space for more unless we upgrade our account (which costs more than we wish to spend). We will be switching messaging services to the BAND app (which the Sachse HS band also uses) to align our cluster. Please sign up for the appropriate class(es) for your student. We will NO LONGER be using Remind, so if you were just signed up for band, you will not need that app/number any longer. Thanks for understanding!

22-23 ALL HMS Band Students/Parents

Beginner Band

Symphonic Band

Honors Band

Wind Symphony

22-23 HMS BAND PARENTS ONLY

BAND App Links

Private Lessons Filling Up

Our private teachers are THE BEST and their schedules are starting to fill up. If you are going to sign up for private lessons, DON'T WAIT - TURN IN THE ENROLLMENT FORM ASAP.


The single biggest investment you can make in your student's musical advancement is signing them up for private lessons. Return the private lesson enrollment form to get your student started ASAP. Lessons are $20 each week and the fee is paid directly to the instructor.

Band Fees

Band Fees

Because our school band budget is so small, we have to charge a band fee so that we can provide the best music education experience for all our band students. This band fee covers all instructional materials (band binder and all its contents), band shirt, contest entry fees, solo accompanist fees, performance music, music theory subscription, transportation, meals before performances, incentive days, and so much more. We set up our band fees to be collected up front (or split into payments), so that we are not constantly asking for $5 here, $7 there, etc.


This year, you can pay band fees through cash or check (made out to Hudson Band Boosters), Paypal through Charms (watch this video to walk you through the Charms system), and for the first time - credit card through the band website. Visit the band website and enter the password HawkBD2223 to enter the secure page and pay online. Please consider adding the optional donation to your cart to cover the credit card fees we incur using this convenient service.


If you have a financial hardship, please communicate with us so we can help you. We never want a student to be unable to participate due to finances and will do everything we can to work with your family and ensure your student is included.

Band Fees
Log in to Charms

Log in to Charms

Please take a moment this week to log in to Charms. www.charmsoffice.com

Log in as a parent/student/member

The school code is hudsonsoundmachine

The password for first time users is your student's GISD ID number (should be 6 digits)

For non-first time users, your password should be your student's ID with their capitalized initials in front (i.e. HB123456) unless you've changed it to something else.

Please update contact information (add adults as necessary), check your student's birthday ID, instrument, etc. and make changes as necessary. If you have questions or have difficulty logging in, please contact Mrs. Becker.

Log in to Charms
About Us

About Us

About Us

Heather Becker - Director

Dan Urban - Assistant Director

hdbecker@garlandisd.net 972-675-3070 hudsonband.org