Please be sure to read it in its entirety as it is updated regularly.

Congratulations to the cast and crew of Spamalot! You did a fantastic job and had the audience laughing. Everyone involved should be very proud.

Please see below for important information regarding the Choir program, as well as information about the end of the year, junior high band auditions and band/choir registration.

Please check the bottom of the Newsletter for upcoming end of the year events.

All 6th - 8th grade band students will be auditioning at the beginning of next year for placement in either Concert Band or Symphonic Band for the next school year. These bands will no longer be separated by grade, but instead, will be separated by skill level. This will benefit all students as they will be placed in an ensemble that is appropriate for their level to promote student growth. Hopefully this will alleviate students feeling overwhelmed by music that is too difficult. Also this will provide the challenge that some students need to continue progressing on their instrument.

Students have already received the scale excerpt that they will be performing for the audition. An etude excerpt will be passed out shortly. These auditions will take place at the beginning of the school year and students will submit their best video to a Google form. We will have outside judges ranking the students and they will be placed in the appropriate ensemble. This is not something that the students should stress about, but they should take it seriously. If a student chooses not to submit a video, they will be placed in Concert band.

In December, students will have the opportunity to submit another video for the possibility to move to Symphonic band if their ability level determines that that is an appropriate placement for them.

If you have any questions, please contact your child's director.

Registration for Band/Choir for the 2019-2020 school year will begin in May. Please watch your email for more information. All registration will be done online. Students who have money owing on their account will be prohibited from registering for next year until their account is paid in full. All students registering will need to make their fee payments at the time of registration unless prior arrangements have been made with the directors. Students who are not up to date on payments will not be registered for the ensembles until payment is made (this includes summer band/choir payments, books, school-owned instrument rental fees, etc.).

If you have any questions, please contact your director.

On Monday, May 20 we will be having our 8th Grade Music Recognition Night at 7pm in the MJH Band Room. This is a chance for the music department to recognize the 8th grade music students and everything they’ve accomplished in their time in the Mokena music groups. 8th Grade families will be receiving an email closer to May 20th asking for an RSVP.

Part of this evening is a slide-show that the music teachers make for the 8th graders. We are asking for each 8th grade parent to send in 3 pictures of your 8th grader:

1. a baby picture
2. an elementary school age picture
3. a current picture

(none of these have to be music related!!!)

If you have any pictures of your student with other music students at music department events, we will gladly take those too! Please try not to send too many pictures with only your child (unless they are one of the three requested pictures above). We'd like to have all of our students represented as equally as possible.

We don't want any students to be left out of the slideshow, so please send me your pictures by Thursday, April 18th.

Please use one of the following methods to send in pictures:

· Send your student with a flash drive and we will copy them to my school computer and give them back the drive

· Send in a CD with the pictures

· Email the pictures to us

· Share pictures with us on Dropbox or Google Photos (I have an account for this school email address, so you can share it with cheneyr@mokena159.org)

· If you only have hard copies, you can send those in for us to scan, but it could take a while for you to get those originals back, so we’d prefer electronic means of sharing.

Please check your Charms account to determine if your child has an outstanding amount due to the Music Boosters. Students will balances owing on their account will be unable to register for any music activities next year until their account is current.

If you have any questions, please contact your director for help.

The AmazonSmile fundraiser is available year round - not just at Christmas time. This is a great way to support our music programs without any cost to you! Any time you are shopping via Amazon, please consider using Amazon Smile for your purchases. Go to www.amazonsmile.com. You can select the Mokena Music Boosters to receive a donation on your behalf just by making your regular Amazon purchase through them. It doesn't cost you anything and helps the Music Boosters fund our programs. This is available year round. If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Bussean.

It is not required that Mokena music students take private lessons. It is true, however, that the vast majority of students who do not take private lessons tend to have improper playing habits, and never reach their full potential as musicians. SECTIONALS ARE NOT A REPLACEMENT FOR PRIVATE LESSONS. There are still many benefits of private instruction over full band rehearsal and small group sectionals. If you are interested in getting your child private lessons on their instrument, please visit the following link: https://www.mokenameteormusic159.org/uploads/2/3/4/4/23449316/private_lessons.pdf

If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Bussean or Ms. Beekman

Come out on Tuesday, April 16, 2019 at 7:00 PM to the monthly Music Booster Meeting held at Mokena Junior High School in the Library. Music Booster meetings are open meetings that anyone can attend. Come see what our Boosters are all about and how you can help support your child's music education. I look forward to seeing you there!

4/16 - Music Booster Meeting 7:00 pm

5/8 - Recruitment Assembly at MIS during the school day (MJH Band/Choir Students)

5/13 - Spring Fine Arts Concert (MIS 6:00, MJH 7:30) at MJH in the West Gym

5/14 - MIS Band Students to attend IPO Concert during school day

5/20 - 8th Grade Recognition Night (8th Graders and their families only)

5/21 - Music Booster Meeting 7:00 pm

5/27 - Memorial Day Parade (all 6/7/8 band students and color guard - MANDATORY)