Hudson Hawk Band Updates

September 2023

Updated Info

Big picture

Practice-a-Thon Kickoff!

This Friday, September 8th, we will be kicking off our annual Practice-a-Thon fundraiser in all band classes. Parents (the primary parent in Skyward) will receive an email on Friday with a link to your students' personal fundraiser website that you can share with all of your family and friends. All students will receive a physical packet with information about our fundraiser on Friday. You can find a link to the packet the student's received here.

In the meantime, please check out this short video made by our booster club VP of fundraising, Kerrie Russell, which explains what the fundraiser is all about!

**If you know already that you would like to help with this fundraiser, the biggest thing we need help with is securing donations for our prize case. Please reach out to Mrs. Becker ASAP if you would like to help with this very important task!**

BandFest Program Ads and Shout Outs

Every year one of the high school band booster clubs is tasked with putting together the program for the annual GISD BandFest. This year the Rowlett Band Boosters are in charge of the program. They will be selling advertising space in the program, as well as space for shout outs to your students. There are an average of 5000 people who attend BandFest every year, so the program is a great opportunity to advertise for your business! The deadline for submitting ads is September 18. Use this link to find the ad sale and shout out form. As a bonus, our band program receives a small percentage of the ad and shout out sales (if they are purchased by parents from our school).

Adv. Band Football Game - DATE CHANGE

Tuesday, Oct. 3rd, 5-8pm

3901 Miles Road

Sachse, TX

The Advanced Bands will be performing at the football games on October 3rd. This is a date change from our original October 17th performance date due to the high school UIL Region marching contest on the same date. The itinerary will be the same as our game from September 11. Thanks for being flexible!
Get Directions

Repeat Information From This Month

Band Shirts Delivered This Week

Band Shirts Delivered This Week

Band shirts will be delivered this week on Monday (mid-day). We will be giving them out to all students who have made at least a $10 payment toward their band fees once they are delivered. Payments can be made via credit card in Charms, cash, or check (made out to Hudson Band Boosters). Parents who ordered extra shirts for their family will also receive their shirts (sent home with the student) as long as the extra shirts have been paid for in full. Those can also be paid for in the same ways.
Band Shirts Delivered This Week

Pink Out Shirts

Every year, the cheerleaders sell shirts for the Pink Out football game in October to support breast cancer awareness. This year, the band will also be performing at the Pink Out game. In order to ensure delivery in time for the game, shirts must be purchased by September 7th.

Click this link to order Pink Out shirts for the October 17th football game. Advanced Band students who choose to purchase the Pink Out shirt will be allowed to wear it to the game instead of their band shirt.

Booster Club Meeting

Wednesday, Sep. 13th, 7pm

4405 Hudson Drive

Sachse, TX

Please join us for the next booster club meeting. We will be discussing the Practice-a-Thon fundraiser and party, which will require a LOT of parent help. Please enter through door #11 in the back of the school. We need your help and can’t wait to see you there!
Get Directions
Big picture

Car Decals and Yard Sign Orders

If you would like to order a Hudson Band car decal or yard sign, you can find the order forms below:

Car Decal Order Form

Yard Sign Order Form

Car decals are $10 each or $12 if they are personalized. Yard signs are $20 each or $25 if they are personalized. These signs are made by a former Hudson band mom, who is now a Sachse HS band mom. Orders must be submitted by October 6th and delivery of all signs and decals is early November. Please understand the delivery timeframe before ordering - high school marching band season is busy! Order can be paid by cash, check (made out to Hudson Band Boosters), or Paypal in Charms (under the miscellaneous payment tab).

All-Region Masterclasses - WS & Select HB Students

Saturday, Sep. 16th, 10am-12pm

4405 Hudson Drive

Sachse, TX

All Wind Symphony students as well as some select Honors Band students will rehearse will students from all 12 middle schools on their All-Region music. Band directors from all 12 middle schools will be teaching the masterclasses. This is required for all Wind Symphony students and highly encouraged for the selected Honors Band students. Honors Band students who have been selected for these masterclasses will be invited during class this week.
Get Directions
Beginner Band Fall Demonstrations

Beginner Band Fall Demonstrations

This year, we will be holding our fall beginner band demonstrations during the school day. We are inviting parents to attend an entire band class period to see how things are done in band and how the students are progressing. We want you to have these dates now, so you can schedule time off to come and join us!

Beginner Woodwinds (flutes, oboes, bassoons, clarinets, and saxophones) - Wednesday, October 4

Beginner Brass & Percussion (trumpets, French horns, trombones, euphoniums, tubas, and percussion) - Thursday, October 5

We understand that not all parents will be able to come in person, so we will also live-stream the class performances on our Band Booster Facebook page.

Beginner Band Fall Demonstrations

Wind Symphony Band Fest REHEARSAL

The Wind Symphony students will be practicing with all 11 other middle school bands for the annual BandFest performance. The rehearsal will take place on September 27, after school, until 7:30pm. You can find the detailed itinerary here.

BandFest

Monday, Oct. 2nd, 6:30pm

1209 East Centerville Road

Garland, TX

GISD BandFest is a night that showcases all 7 high school marching bands and all 12 middle school varsity bands. The event is open to the public and we would LOVE to have a huge audience that evening. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased in advance from any HMS Wind Symphony student. You can also purchase tickets at the door, however, if you purchase them from a HMS Wind Symphony student, our program will directly benefit from your ticket purchase.

If you don't know any HMS Wind Symphony students, contact any HMS band director and they can help you with your ticket purchase.
Get Directions

Repeat Information From Last Month

Parent Meeting Presentations

If you missed the parent meetings last week, you can find the presentations below. Please take a few minutes to go through the slides and contact us with any questions or concerns.


Beginner Band Parent Meeting Presentation

Advanced Band Parent Meeting Presentation

Advanced Band Sectionals

Advanced Band sectionals will begin THIS week (August 21st). Every Advanced Band student will have a before/after school required rehearsal every other week. Pass-offs and playing tests will be given during these sectionals - attendance is mandatory and will be graded. **Percussion sectionals will take place during the school day with Mrs. Manaois.**


Wind Symphony Sectional Schedule

Honors Band Sectional Schedule

Symphonic Band Sectional Schedule

2023-2024 HMS Band Performance Calendar

Private Lessons

Private lessons are the single best investment you can make in your student's music education and growth. We have wonderful teachers for ALL instruments! The district has changed the price of lessons this year - they will now cost $25 each week, payable directly to the private lesson teacher. You can find more information about private lessons and an enrollment form at this link. If you know you want to enroll in lessons, please send the enrollment form back ASAP - those students will have first preference when it comes to scheduling lesson times.
Join Groups on the Band App

Join Groups on the Band App

The BAND app is the quickest way for us to communicate with you and we use it often. You can sign up for the BAND app by clicking on the link for the group you wish to join: ALL Band Parents & Students, Beginner Band, Symphonic Band, Honors Band, Wind Symphony, Parents ONLY. We will send reminders about upcoming concerts, when practice records are due, sectionals, etc. Please sign up for this wonderful service! There is an actual Band app you can download as well.
Join Groups on the Band App

Amazon Wish List

As you are doing your back-to-school shopping, if you feel inclined to donate any items to the HMS Band, we do have an Amazon wishlist for our classroom. We are so grateful for any and all donations we receive, as well as just your support!
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


If you did not receive an email from Charms to change your password (new students), or you are a returning student who cannot access your Charms account, please send Mrs. Becker an email to have your password reset link emailed to you. **The link is only good for 24 hours after it is sent.**

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

Need another copy of a handout? It's on the website! (Click this button to find them.)

About Us

About Us

About Us

Heather Becker - Director

Dan Urban - Assistant Director

Ryan Neff - Assistant Director

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