Sunday, October 30, 2011

Brooks Bands, Week of 10/31 - 11/4

Upcoming Events:

I.M.E.A. District I Jr. High Music Festival, Sat. Nov. 5th @ Riverside-Brookfield H.S. select band, choir and orchestra students. (All Day Event) Concert starts at 3 p.m., $5 admission charge. It is highly recommended to come around 2 p.m. for a seat since this event is always packed! Bus transportation for participants is available to the event and families are responsible for providing transportation at the end of the event.

OPRF JAZZ NIGHT, Tues., Nov. 8th (Jazz Ensemble)
Please make a note of this date change due to the OPRF Parent Teacher Conferences that are scheduled on 11/9. The concert is at OPRF at 7:30 p.m. More information for jazz ensemble members will be available soon!

Jazz Ensemble Performance @ Fitzgerald's Nightclub, Sunday, Nov. 20th
Our students and families do not want to miss this event! Our very own jazz ensemble will be performing along with the Percy Julian Jazz Ensemble and the Pete Ellman Big Band at the historic Fitzgerald's Nightclub, 6615 Roosevelt Rd., Berwyn. It all starts at 5:00 p.m. with our two middle school jazz ensembles followed by a special performance of the Pete Ellman Big Band, one of Chicago's newest and most sought after professional big bands.

Cover for this event is $10 adults and $8 students accompanied with an adult and a portion of the profits will go back the the Brooks and Julian jazz programs. Please invite family, neighbors and friends to attend.

Other Upcoming Events:

Tuesday, Dec. 13th: BRAVO Annual Holiday Concert, 7 p.m., GBMS Auditorium
Jazz Lab Band, Jazz Ensemble and select small ensembles from Wind Ensemble will be
performing.

*Saturday, Feb. 25th: BRAVO Annual Pasta Night and Music Showcase, 4-9 p.m., GBMS Auditorium and Commons (specific performance times TBA). Cadet &
Concert Band, Symphonic Band, Wind Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble and select small ensembles
from Wind Ensemble. (Jazz Lab Band may perform as well, confirmation to come!)

*This event is the required performance event for 2nd trimester for all academic bands. Please contact Mr. Barnard in writing (email preferred) no later than two weeks before this event if there is an important family conflict.

HOMEWORK:

1st. Trimester Outside Concert Summaries
Due no later than Nov. 15th
Students in any academic music elective are required to attend one live performance of a music, dance or theatrical event each trimester and fill out the Concert Observation Form based on what they saw at the event. A copy of the program or ticket stub from the event will need to be attached and the form requires a parent signature for credit.

Students can attend any event that is school related or out in the community (i.e. OPRF Concerts, community concerts and recitals, events in downtown Chicago such as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Broadway in Chicago productions, etc.). Copies of this form can be downloaded from the link provided in the upper right hand corner of the band blog.

Concert Summaries are 5% of the total band grade so please do not forget to accomplish this assignment.

Practice Record Journals
Week 10 Due Monday, 10/31
All students, 6th-8th grade are now aiming for 150 minutes a week for an A on the practice record.

Students need to have the Practice Record (outside cover) Practice Journal and Weekly Assignments and Goals filled out for full credit. Parents need to sign two signatures, one on the outside cover and one in the Weekly Assignments and Goals is required for credit.

Practice records that are not turned in on time do receive a 10 point penalty each day it is late and will not receive credit if it is not turned in within the week. Make sure that both the cover as well as the assignments and goals page are signed to receive credit.

Music Theory: Wednesday
6th Graders: Alfred's Essentials of Music Theory, Unit 2 Ear Training and Review.
7th/8th Graders: Alfred's Essentials of Music Theory, Unit 10 Ear Training, review supplement.

This assignment should be completed in class if students use their time wisely.

STUDENT DATA FORMS/HANDBOOK CONTRACT & VIDEO PERMISSION SLIPS:
Thank you to all the students that have already turned in their Student Data sheets and Handbook Contract/Video Permission slips. Please check powerschool to see if you do have these forms marked as turned in. You should see a green check mark which will indicate that Mr. Barnard has received it and is on file.

Both forms are very important in order to have the most up to date information on contact information, instrument information and parental permission to use educational video clips as part of the band curriculum, per D97's video usage policy made last school year.
If you need a copy of any of these forms please contact Mr. Barnard for a new form.

JAZZ PROGRAM
Order forms for the "Brooks Jazz T-Shirts" have gone out. All students in the jazz program will wear these t-shirts for jazz performances throughout the school year.

Jazz Ensemble (7th/8th Graders):
Tuesday 8:00 a.m. rehearsal
Thursday 8:00 a.m. rehearsal

Jazz Lab Band:
Friday: 8:00 a.m. rehearsal

All jazz students, 6th-8th grade, will need to have the Essential Elements for Jazz Ensemble book which will be used all three years of their jazz experience at brooks.

If students or families have any questions or concerns please contact Mr. Barnard at jbarnard@op97.org.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Brooks Bands, Week of 10/24-10/28

Congratulations to all of our band and orchestra students for an excellent performance last week at the D97 Instrumental Music Festival. All of the groups performed at their highest level and the level of character our students showed both on and off stage was great! Thank you parents for all of your support!

I.M.E.A. District I Jr. High Music Festival, Sat. Nov. 5th @ Riverside-Brookfield H.S. select band, choir and orchestra students. (All Day Event) Concert starts at 3 p.m., $5 admission charge. It is highly recommended to come around 2 p.m. for a seat since this event is always packed! Bus transportation for participants is available to the event and families are responsible for providing transportation at the end of the event.

OPRF JAZZ NIGHT, Tues., Nov. 8th (Jazz Ensemble)
Please make a note of this date change due to the OPRF Parent Teacher Conferences that are scheduled on 11/9. The concert is at OPRF at 7:30 p.m. More information for jazz ensemble members will be available soon!

Jazz Ensemble Performance @ Fitzgerald's Nightclub, Sunday, Nov. 20th
Our students and families do not want to miss this event! Our very own jazz ensemble will be performing along with the Percy Julian Jazz Ensemble and the Pete Ellman Big Band at the historic Fitzgerald's Nightclub, 6615 Roosevelt Rd., Berwyn. It all starts at 5:00 p.m. with our two middle school jazz ensembles followed by a special performance of the Pete Ellman Big Band, one of Chicago's newest and most sought after professional big bands.

Cover for this event is $10 adults and $8 students accompanied with an adult and a portion of the profits will go back the the Brooks and Julian jazz programs. Please invite family, neighbors and friends to attend.

Other Upcoming Events:

Tuesday, Dec. 13th: BRAVO Annual Holiday Concert, 7 p.m., GBMS Auditorium
Jazz Lab Band, Jazz Ensemble and select small ensembles from Wind Ensemble will be
performing.

*Saturday, Feb. 25th: BRAVO Annual Pasta Night and Music Showcase, 4-9 p.m., GBMS Auditorium and Commons (specific performance times TBA). Cadet &
Concert Band, Symphonic Band, Wind Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble and select small ensembles
from Wind Ensemble. (Jazz Lab Band may perform as well, confirmation to come!)

*This event is the required performance event for 2nd trimester for all academic bands. Please contact Mr. Barnard in writing (email preferred) no later than two weeks before this event if there is an important family conflict.

HOMEWORK:

1st. Trimester Outside Concert Summaries
Due no later than Nov. 15th
Students in any academic music elective are required to attend one live performance of a music, dance or theatrical event each trimester and fill out the Concert Observation Form based on what they saw at the event. A copy of the program or ticket stub from the event will need to be attached and the form requires a parent signature for credit.

Students can attend any event that is school related or out in the community (i.e. OPRF Concerts, community concerts and recitals, events in downtown Chicago such as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Broadway in Chicago productions, etc.). Copies of this form can be downloaded from the link provided in the upper right hand corner of the band blog.

Concert Summaries are 5% of the total band grade so please do not forget to accomplish this assignment.

Practice Record Journals
Week 9 Due Monday, 10/24
All students, 6th-8th grade are now aiming for 150 minutes a week for an A on the practice record.

Students need to have the Practice Record (outside cover) Practice Journal and Weekly Assignments and Goals filled out for full credit. Parents need to sign two signatures, one on the outside cover and one in the Weekly Assignments and Goals is required for credit.

Practice records that are not turned in on time do receive a 10 point penalty each day it is late and will not receive credit if it is not turned in within the week. Make sure that both the cover as well as the assignments and goals page are signed to receive credit.

Music Theory: Wednesday
6th Graders: Alfred's Essentials of Music Theory, Lessons 6-9 (to be completed throughout
the week).

7th/8th Graders: Alfred's Essentials of Music Theory, Lesson 42 (Cut-time), Unit 10 review.

This assignment should be completed in class if students use their time wisely.

STUDENT DATA FORMS/HANDBOOK CONTRACT & VIDEO PERMISSION SLIPS:
Thank you to all the students that have already turned in their Student Data sheets and Handbook Contract/Video Permission slips. Please check powerschool to see if you do have these forms marked as turned in. You should see a green check mark which will indicate that Mr. Barnard has received it and is on file.

Both forms are very important in order to have the most up to date information on contact information, instrument information and parental permission to use educational video clips as part of the band curriculum, per D97's video usage policy made last school year.
If you need a copy of any of these forms please contact Mr. Barnard for a new form.

JAZZ PROGRAM
Order forms for the "Brooks Jazz T-Shirts" will go out this week. All students in the jazz program will wear these t-shirts for jazz performances throughout the school year.

Jazz Ensemble (7th/8th Graders):
Tuesday 8:00 a.m. rehearsal
Thursday 8:00 a.m. rehearsal

Jazz Lab Band:
Friday: 8:00 a.m. rehearsal

All jazz students, 6th-8th grade, will need to have the Essential Elements for Jazz Ensemble book which will be used all three years of their jazz experience at brooks.

If students or families have any questions or concerns please contact Mr. Barnard at jbarnard@op97.org.

Friday, October 14, 2011

Brooks Bands, Week of 10/17 - 10/21

D97 Instrumental Music Festival, Wed., Oct 19th at 7:00 p.m., OPRFHS Auditorium. This is a required event for all band students (Cadet, Concert, Symphonic and Wind Ensemble. Permission slips have been emailed and parents can register online via the link on the upper right hand corner of this blog. We will need to take bus transportation for rehearsals with the Julian Middle School bands and every student must have parent permission according to district policies.

If there is an important family conflict, parents must notify Mr. Barnard at least two weeks in advance of any performance and students will need to complete an alternative assignment no later than a week after any event. Parents may notify Mr. Barnard via email at jbarnard@op97.org or with a written note with phone # for verification. It is very important that all students participate at these performances since we have been spending weeks preparing this music and every student is critical to the success of each ensemble!

All students are expected to stay for the entire event. If there is a serious family event that requires your child to leave after their portion of the concert, please email Mr. Barnard at jbarnard@op97.org prior to this upcoming Wednesday, otherwise students will be expected to stay. This event should be finished at approximately 8:30 p.m. and is a very rare glimpse of the totality of our middle school instrumental music program!

Concert Attire:
Boys: White button down dress shirt, black dress pants, black dress shoes, solid black neck tie.
Girls: White blouse top that covers shoulders, black dress pants, black dress shoes.

No jeans, t-shirts or gym shoes.

Festival rehearsals will be at OPRF on Tuesday, Oct. 18th (7th/8th graders) and Wednesday, Oct. 19th (6th graders), during the school day. Each student needs to have a permission slip in order to participate in these rehearsals. A LINK TO THE PERMISSION SLIP IS ON THE UPPER RIGHT HAND CORNER OF THIS BLOG.

D97 REHEARSAL SCHEDULE:
Tuesday, Oct. 19th:

Symphonic Band: 9:00 a.m. report to D110 immediately after attendance. Arrive back from OPRF at approximately 11:00.

Wind Ensemble: All 8th Graders will need to eat lunch at 12:00 p.m. in D105 (Bring Sack Lunch)! All 7th graders report to D105 at 12:20 p.m. Arrive back from OPRF at approximately 2:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Oct. 20th:
Cadet Band: 9:00 a.m. departure after attendance. Arrive back from OPRF at approximately 11:00 a.m.

Concert Band: 12:20 report to D110, arrive back from OPRF at approximately 2:45 p.m.

D97 Instrumental Music Festival Report Times and Locations
Cadet Band - 6:30 p.m. in Little Theatre
Concert Band - 6:30 p.m. in Green Room
Symphonic Band - 7:15 p.m. South Cafeteria
Wind Ensemble - 7:45 p.m. South Cafeteria

Students should not leave any valuables around. If they need to have a cell phone it needs to be turned off and put away in a pocket.

PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES: Thursday, Oct. 20th
Since Mr. Barnard has students from all six core teams, parents can stop by to visit him during the conference schedule on a first come, first serve basis. Parents come come visit before or after their student's scheduled portfolio conference time. Mr. Barnard will be available from 1-4:10 p.m. and 4:45 - 8:00 p.m.

HOMEWORK:

Practice Record Journals
Week 8 Due Monday, 10/17
All students, 6th-8th grade are now aiming for 150 minutes a week for an A on the practice record.

Students need to have the Practice Record (outside cover) Practice Journal and Weekly Assignments and Goals filled out for full credit. Parents need to sign two signatures, one on the outside cover and one in the Weekly Assignments and Goals is required for credit.

Practice records that are not turned in on time do receive a 10 point penalty each day it is late and will not receive credit if it is not turned in within the week. Make sure that both the cover as well as the assignments and goals page are signed to receive credit.

Music Theory: Due to this week's D97 Festival Schedule, students will have their music theory assignments on Tuesday or Wednesday.

6th Graders: Unit 1 Ear Training and Unit 1 review, Alfred's Music Theory Bk 1.
7th/8th Graders: Rhythm Review 16-18

This assignment should be completed in class if students use their time wisely.

STUDENT DATA FORMS/HANDBOOK CONTRACT & VIDEO PERMISSION SLIPS:
Thank you to all the students that have already turned in their Student Data sheets and Handbook Contract/Video Permission slips. Please check powerschool to see if you do have these forms marked as turned in. You should see a green check mark which will indicate that Mr. Barnard has received it and is on file.

Both forms are very important in order to have the most up to date information on contact information, instrument information and parental permission to use educational video clips as part of the band curriculum, per D97's video usage policy made last school year.
If you need a copy of any of these forms please contact Mr. Barnard for a new form.

JAZZ PROGRAM
Order forms for the "Brooks Jazz T-Shirts" will go out this week. All students in the jazz program will wear these t-shirts for jazz performances throughout the school year.

Jazz Ensemble (7th/8th Graders):
Tuesday 8:00 a.m. rehearsal
Thursday 8:00 a.m. rehearsal

Jazz Lab Band:
Friday: 8:00 a.m. rehearsal

All students that want to participate will need to have a signed permission slip in order to participate.

All jazz students, 6th-8th grade, will need to have the Essential Elements for Jazz Ensemble book which will be used all three years of their jazz experience at brooks.

If students or families have any questions or concerns please contact Mr. Barnard at jbarnard@op97.org.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Brooks Bands, Week of 10/11-10/14

CONCERT REMINDER:

D97 Instrumental Music Festival, Wed., Oct 19th at 7:00 p.m., OPRFHS Auditorium. This is a required event for all band students (Cadet, Concert, Symphonic and Wind Ensemble. Permission slips will be online and will be going out via email this week. We will need to take bus transportation for rehearsals with the Julian Middle School bands and every student must have parent permission according to district policies. If there is an important family conflict, parents must notify Mr. Barnard at least two weeks in advance of any performance and students will need to complete an alternative assignment no later than a week after any event. Parents may notify Mr. Barnard via email at jbarnard@op97.org or with a written note with phone # for verification. It is very important that all students participate at these performances since we have been spending weeks preparing this music and every student is critical to the success of each ensemble!

Concert Attire:
Boys: White button down dress shirt, black dress pants, black dress shoes, solid black neck tie.
Girls: White blouse top that covers shoulders, black dress pants, black dress shoes.

No jeans, t-shirts or gym shoes.

Festival rehearsals will be at OPRF on Tuesday, Oct. 18th (7th/8th graders) and Wednesday, Oct. 19th (6th graders), during the school day. Each student needs to have a permission slip in order to participate in these rehearsals. A LINK TO THE PERMISSION SLIP IS ON THE UPPER RIGHT HAND CORNER OF THIS BLOG.

PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES: Thursday, Oct. 20th
Since Mr. Barnard has students from all six core teams, parents can stop by to visit him during the conference schedule on a first come, first serve basis. Parents come come visit before or after their student's scheduled portfolio conference time. Mr. Barnard will be available from 1-4:10 p.m. and 4:45 - 8:00 p.m.

HOMEWORK:

Practice Record Journals
Week 7 Due Tuesday, 10/11
All students, 6th-8th grade are now aiming for 150 minutes a week for an A on the practice record.

Students need to have the Practice Record (outside cover) Practice Journal and Weekly Assignments and Goals filled out for full credit. Parents need to sign two signatures, one on the outside cover and one in the Weekly Assignments and Goals is required for credit.

Practice records that are not turned in on time do receive a 10 point penalty each day it is late and will not receive credit if it is not turned in within the week. Make sure that both the cover as well as the assignments and goals page are signed to receive credit.

Music Theory: (Wed.) No music theory this week due to the short week and upcoming concert!

STUDENT DATA FORMS/HANDBOOK CONTRACT & VIDEO PERMISSION SLIPS:
Thank you to all the students that have already turned in their Student Data sheets and Handbook Contract/Video Permission slips. Please check powerschool to see if you do have these forms marked as turned in. You should see a green check mark which will indicate that Mr. Barnard has received it and is on file.

Both forms are very important in order to have the most up to date information on contact information, instrument information and parental permission to use educational video clips as part of the band curriculum, per D97's video usage policy made last school year.
If you need a copy of any of these forms please contact Mr. Barnard for a new form.

JAZZ PROGRAM
Order forms for the "Brooks Jazz T-Shirts" will go out this week. All students in the jazz program will wear these t-shirts for jazz performances throughout the school year.

Jazz Ensemble (7th/8th Graders):
Tuesday 8:00 a.m. rehearsal
Thursday 8:00 a.m. rehearsal

Jazz Lab Band:
Friday: 8:00 a.m. rehearsal

All students that want to participate will need to have a signed permission slip in order to participate.

All jazz students, 6th-8th grade, will need to have the Essential Elements for Jazz Ensemble book which will be used all three years of their jazz experience at brooks.


If students or families have any questions or concerns please contact Mr. Barnard at jbarnard@op97.org.

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Brooks Bands, Week of 10/3 - 10/7

CONCERT REMINDER:

D97 Instrumental Music Festival, Wed., Oct 19th at 7:00 p.m., OPRFHS Auditorium. This is a required event for all band students (Cadet, Concert, Symphonic and Wind Ensemble. Permission slips will be online and will be going out via email this week. We will need to take bus transportation for rehearsals with the Julian Middle School bands and every student must have parent permission according to district policies. If there is an important family conflict, parents must notify Mr. Barnard at least two weeks in advance of any performance and students will need to complete an alternative assignment no later than a week after any event. Parents may notify Mr. Barnard via email at jbarnard@op97.org or with a written note with phone # for verification. It is very important that all students participate at these performances since we have been spending weeks preparing this music and every student is critical to the success of each ensemble!

Concert Attire:
Boys: White button down dress shirt, black dress pants, black dress shoes, solid black neck tie.
Girls: White blouse top that covers shoulders, black dress pants, black dress shoes.

No jeans, t-shirts or gym shoes.

IMEA District I Auditions, Sat. Oct. 1st, Bryan Middle School, Elmhurst
Congratulations to all of our Band, Choir and Orchestra students that participated in the IMEA District I Jr. High Honors Music Auditions this past Saturday. Results are in and will be announced early this week. We are very proud of all of our students that participated and represented our music program, school and community in a very positive manner! No matter what the results, all of our students learn a lot and have become stronger musicians by participating in this process!

HOMEWORK:

Portfolio Assessments: Any student that did not accomplish their portfolio assessment last week must leave their band binder and show both their Standard of Excellence and Alfred Essentials of Music Theory book no later than this Tuesday 10/4. Binders will be penalized after this date 10 points each day. After this week, any binder that is turned in for assessment will receive only 1/2 credit.

Practice Record Journals (Due every Monday)
Week 6 Due Monday, 10/3
All students, 6th-8th grade are now aiming for 150 minutes a week for an A on the practice record.

Students need to have the Practice Record (outside cover) Practice Journal and Weekly Assignments and Goals filled out for full credit. Parents need to sign two signatures, one on the outside cover and one in the Weekly Assignments and Goals is required for credit.

Practice records that are not turned in on time do receive a 10 point penalty each day it is late and will not receive credit if it is not turned in within the week. Make sure that both the cover as well as the assignments and goals page are signed to receive credit.

Please note that Week 7 Practice Journals are due on Tuesday, 10/11 due to Columbus Day Holiday.

Music Theory: (Wed.)
6th Graders: Lesson 5, Ledger Lines
7th/8th Graders: Lesson 41, Dotted Eighth Rhythm

All students need to have their required Alfred's Essentials of Music Theory Book in order to complete this assignment in class. If students use their class time wisely, they will not have music theory homework. Students will need to show Mr. Barnard their completed work in class or by the next class day in order to be received on time. A late penalty of 10 points per day will be assessed to any late assignment.

STUDENT DATA FORMS/HANDBOOK CONTRACT & VIDEO PERMISSION SLIPS:
Thank you to all the students that have already turned in their Student Data sheets and Handbook Contract/Video Permission slips. Please check powerschool to see if you do have these forms marked as turned in. You should see a green check mark which will indicate that Mr. Barnard has received it and is on file.

Both forms are very important in order to have the most up to date information on contact information, instrument information and parental permission to use educational video clips as part of the band curriculum, per D97's video usage policy made last school year.
If you need a copy of any of these forms please contact Mr. Barnard for a new form.

JAZZ PROGRAM
Order forms for the "Brooks Jazz T-Shirts" will go out this week. All students in the jazz program will wear these t-shirts for jazz performances throughout the school year.

Jazz Ensemble (7th/8th Graders):
Tuesday 8:00 a.m. rehearsal
Thursday 8:00 a.m. rehearsal

Jazz Lab Band:
Friday: 8:00 a.m. rehearsal

All students that want to participate will need to have a signed permission slip in order to participate.

All jazz students, 6th-8th grade, will need to have the Essential Elements for Jazz Ensemble book which will be used all three years of their jazz experience at brooks.


If students or families have any questions or concerns please contact Mr. Barnard at jbarnard@op97.org.