Sixth Grade Band Bulletin
Late September
Sixth Weeks are in the Books!
There is a lot of info in this newsletter including a place to sign up for Parent-Teacher conferences if you would like to meet.
As always, please help me be proactive with communication and contact me with any questions you have.
Parent Teacher Conferences:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0f4aabad2da3fc1-sixth2
If you would like to do a phone conference, simply email me and we can come up with a time.
ROTOLOPALOOZA!!
Tickets can be purchased ONLINE at http://rotolomusic.com Tickets will also be available for purchase at lunch next Wednesday and Thursday.
A separate email with links to the waiver and links to a sign-up genius where you can volunteer is being sent around the same time as this newsletter. We really need lots of parents to help out. If you can donate an hour, we'd really appreciate it!
First Concert: October 29th, 6:15pm
For this reason, we are stacking our band concerts. Sixth Grade Concerts will start at 6:15pm and be done around 6:45pm and then our 7th/8th Grade band concerts will start at 7:45pm. If you have musicians in both concerts, you only have to come to school one time instead of two nights in a row.
More information about the concert will come out as we approach the date.
Can you keep a secret? Because our first concert is so close to Halloween, both concerts will be Marsquarade concerts. Students have the option of dressing up in their Halloween costumes for the concert. Students who choose not to do this will dress in the band uniform.
Assessments
In order to get better at anything, one must practice. I included in the last newsletter that the reason some people are better than others at a particular skill has more to do with the amount of myelin that was built (through practicing) than natural talent. Practicing something is a must! One way I have found that gets students practicing is through weekly assessments or assignments. Once per week, the students will have to provide evidence that they are practicing through completing an assessment or assignment.
This is one reason why your child gets an assignment due each Tuesday. I want to see evidence of practice. The other reason is for me to see if I need to get your child additional help or provide enrichments. Assignments/Assessments are almost always due on a Tuesday to provide a buffer day after the weekend to remind them of the impending due date.
Examples of Assignments/Assessments:
Sight-Reading Factory
Concert Music Playing Quiz
Scale Quiz
Practice Video (coming soon)
These students are doing a great job overall getting assignments done on time. For those who are not getting them done on time, I am being more strict than in the past so that the assignments do not pile up. Here's what will happen:
Tuesday: Due Date--done by midnight--you're in the clear.
Wednesday: All students not done (unexcused): Powerschool will be marked Late, Missing, Incomplete (this sometimes triggers your email to let you know it's not done). This the grace period. Get it done--no issues.
Thursday: Still not done, a zero goes in PowerSchool as a temporary placeholder until the assignment is done and graded. Many assignments are broken down into individual scores for each concept: pitch, rhythm, tempo, etc. A zero goes in each one. An email will also be sent to both students and parents.
This can have a very negative impact on a student's grade and can lead to the student being ineligible for any extra-curricular activities until the grade is brought up (including sports and clubs).
It's very important that things get turned in on time (especially when the students have over 1 week to do it) so that they do not risk the 0. Though 0's are not permanent per board policy, a grade of 1 out of 4 would go into Powerschool if the assignment/assessment is never done.
The next assessment is due Tuesday; Bb Scale Test or Eb Scale Test (clarinets only). The students have been reminded daily about this. It is done via Flipgrid.
The assessment after that will be another Sight-Reading Factory assignment due in early October.
Practice Tips: Start at the end and work backward
Starting at the end and working backward is a great way to work on the section that gets rehearsed the least. When I hear students play for me at solo contest, I always hear them play the first half great and then the second half is not nearly as good. Why? Because the students always started at the beginning.
In this strategy, the student starts with the last 2 measures and practices them until perfect. Then he/she does the previous two measures and works on those until perfect. Then he/she plays the last 4 together. By chunking the measures (2-measures together) and working backward, the student begins to gain a lot of confidence with the end of the piece. That section gets its required attention and the entire piece is much more polished.
If a student practices this way, he/she does not have to practice as long, and yet they get more accomplished because they practiced smarter.
Private Lessons
On a side note, I am starting to take private lessons again. I found that my drumset chops are not where I want them to be. So, at age 45, I am going "back to school" to get some additional instruction. I can't wait for that first lesson!
If you do not have a current roster of private teachers, I'd be happy to provide one for you.
Jazz Band Starting Soon
Jazz Band does not have an audition requirement (except drumset). A sign-up list will be going around during rehearsal in the next couple of weeks to see who is interested.
Jazz groups start rehearings in mid-October.
Mr. Buckley's Contact Info
Email: robert.buckley@bps101.net
Website: www.rotolomusic.com
Phone: (630) 937-8727
Facebook: facebook.com/rotolomusic
Twitter: @MusicRotolo