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.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Brooks Bands, Week of 9/26-9/30

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 out very soon since we will need to take bus transportation for rehearsals with the Julian Middle School bands. 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.

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
Students that are registered to audition for the IMEA District I Jr. Honors Band, Choir, Orchestra, Jazz groups will receive information on Monday with their audition times and information about bus transportation to and from Oak Park. Parents that wish to take and/or pick up their student from the auditions must notify Mr. Barnard in writing in advance.

Any student that would like to come for help during their lunch period or after school should talk to Mr. Barnard to get a lunch pass or check for availability. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday after school Mr. Barnard can be available.

Audition results should be found out within the following week.

HOMEWORK:

Portfolio Assessments: 1st trimester portfolio assessments will be accomplished this week for all band students. 6th graders will have portfolio assessments this Wednesday, 9/28 in class and all 7th/8th graders will have portfolio assessments throughout the week during their scheduled band sectional. A copy of the scoring guide on the portfolio assessments can be found towards the back of the Band Handbook.

Practice Record Journals (Due every Monday)
Week 5 Due Monday, 9/26
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.)
6th Graders: treble/bass clef notation supplement
7th/8th Graders: 16th notes/rests supplement

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.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Brooks Bands, Week of 9/19-9/23

JAZZ ENSEMBLE AUDITIONS
Thank you to everyone that has auditioned for the Jazz Ensemble this year! I am amazed at the talent of our students!!! Unfortunately I can only take so many students into jazz ensemble. The results will be posted on Monday morning, 9/19 and the first rehearsal starts this Tuesday morning at 8 a.m. We are having callback auditions Monday morning for some of our drum set players before we make our final selections for that position of the jazz ensemble. Everyone should know no later than the end of the day Monday so they can attend our first rehearsal.

We do have two positions open still! We currently only have one pianist and would like to add another. Also, we are in need of a bari. sax player. Mr. Barnard will ask those saxophone students that are next in line first to see if they would like to play bari. sax in our jazz ensemble and then will open it up to any current bari. sax player in the band program. Any student that currently plays piano and would be interested in playing in the jazz ensemble should contact Mr. Barnard. Any student that did not go through the formal audition process will need to prepare on of the audition requirements first before any recommendation into the jazz ensemble is made.

For those students that did not get selected thank you for taking the time to prepare and audition for us! There are a lot of good things happening with all of you!! For the students that did make it into the jazz ensemble, please make sure that you stay committed to our rehearsal and performance schedule. If there is a student that is not committed, they can be dismissed from the jazz program and the slot will be offered to the next student in line for that seat. Before a decision is ever made to dismiss a student, both he/she and their family will be notified to let them correct the problem before being dismissed.

Students that have more than two unexcused rehearsal absences can be dismissed from the jazz program. Students that do perform in other co-curricular and/or athletic activities that may have occasional conflicts must notify the director before each rehearsal.

PERFORMANCE SKILLS TESTING:
All students will be completing their 1st performance skills assessments this week. 6th Graders will be accomplishing this assessment during class and 7th/8th grade students will be completing them during their scheduled band sectional. Students will be performing the following:

Cadet Band: Bb & F Concert Major Scales and Arpeggios
Concert Band: S.E. Bk 2: Ex. 2, 4, 6, 8 (Bb & Eb scales/arpeggios/technique exercises)
Symphonic Band: IMEA Jr. High Scale Sheet (lines 2-6) and IMEA Audition Etude excerpt.
Wind Ensemble: IMEA Jr. High Scale Sheet (All) and IMEA Audition Etude excerpt.

All 7th/8th graders will only be assessed on the IMEA Jr. High Scale Sheet for a grade. The IMEA Audition Etude excerpt is an additional item that will be used to determine seating placement for the fall concert. The next seating placement assessment will happen before Thanksgiving break.

HOMEWORK:
Practice Record Journals (Due every Monday)

Week 4 Due Monday, 9/19
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.)
6th Graders: Alfred's Music Theory Lesson 4, Activity Worksheet 1-1
7th/8th Graders: 16th notes/rests supplement

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.

BAND HANDBOOKS:

All students have received the Band Handbook to help them and their families understand the grading policies, required supplies, concert dress requirements and responsibilities of the students, parents and their band director. There is also helpful information on practicing, music enrichment opportunities available and sample forms for students and parents to copy from if needed.

Students also received a band handbook contract/video usage agreement form that needs to be signed by both students and their family. Due to recent district policy, teachers must have written parental permission to show video/movie clips as part of their curriculum. If a student does not have written permission from a parent an alternative assignment must be given. Periodically we use video clips of music performances from both school and professional level musicians to use for critique and comparison of what we are doing with our band program. We also use video clips of music educational/history series such as Marsalis on Music, Ken Burns JAZZ and Blast to name a few. These clips are also supplemented with activity sheets to help student comprehension and retaining information.

This band handbook contract/video permission slip was due on Tuesday, Sep. 13th. Please check powerschool to see if your student has turned in this form. A green check mark should show you that I have received it.

JAZZ PROGRAM

Jazz Ensemble (7th/8th Graders):
Audition results are posted on Monday, 9/19.
Tuesday 8 a.m.: 1st rehearsal
Thursday 8:00 a.m. rehearsal

Jazz Lab Band: Is primarily our 6th grade jazz band and is open to all band students. Students that play oboe and french horn are encouraged to join jazz lab band on another instrument (i.e. piano, bass, guitar, etc.) Since this is an introductory level jazz band, students do not audition in order to participate. The jazz lab band rehearses every Friday morning from 8:00 - 8:50 a.m. and will start on Sep. 23rd.

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.

The jazz participation flyers are available for pick up in the band room (D110) and I will also email this form out to parents to download. Please contact Mr. Barnard at jbarnard@op97.org if you have any questions regarding the jazz program.

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