September 2017
Dear Grade 5 - 8 Band Students and Band Parents:
Welcome to the 2017/2018 school year! We are looking forward to spending time with you this year learning about music together. Mr. Yemen and Mrs. Linsley will each be teaching some grade 5 through 8 students in the Good Spirit School Division. Our duties are as follows:
Mr. Yemen: Calder School, Dr. Brass, M.C. Knoll, and Yorkdale Central Schools
Mrs. Linsley: Saltcoats School, Springside School, Columbia and Yorkdale Central Schools.
Students will be given a schedule of their band times at their individual schools.
There will again be two jazz bands this year. The first, which is for students with no prior jazz band experience but at least one year of band experience, will rehearse on Tuesdays mornings from 7:30-8:45. The second jazz band will meet Thursday mornings from 7:30 - 8:45. This group is for grade 7 and 8 students who have prior jazz experience. A bus will take students to their home schools after this rehearsal. Students from all schools and on all instruments are welcome to join jazz band. Rehearsals will be held at Yorkdale Central School. Sign-ups will take place during the first two weeks of school and rehearsals will begin for the Thursday group Sept 21, and the Tuesday group Sept 26. If you have any questions about either of these jazz groups, please contact one of us.
All of the grade 7 students and all of the grade 8 students from all schools will meet in a full band rehearsal once every six days at Yorkdale Central School. The grade 7 full band rehearsal will take place every day 2 from 8:45 until 9:45 A.M. Parents are responsible for transporting their student to Yorkdale Central School for this rehearsal. Grade 7 students from Springside, Calder, and Saltcoats will ride rural buses to this rehearsal and will be returned to their schools when they finish. Students from Dr. Brass, Columbia and M.C. Knoll Schools will be transported back to their respective schools when the rehearsal ends at 9:45.
The first full band rehearsal for the grade 7 band will take place on Thursday Sept 14. The first full band rehearsal for the grade 8 band will take place on Monday September 18.
Please mark your calendar with the date of the first Yorkton and District and Booster General meeting. This will take place on Saturday September 23 at 9:00am at Yorkdale Central School, during the beginner band clinic.
Our Winter Concert will be on Monday December 11at 7:00 P.M. at the Anne Portnuff Theatre at YRHS. Our Spring Concert will tentatively take place on Monday June 4 at YRHS.
Mrs. Linsley
Mr. Yemen
2017-2018 BAND UNIFORMS
GRADE 5- Yellow band T-shirt (will be sized and handed out before first concert, was paid for with band fees), black pants, black socks, black shoes
GRADE 6- Yellow band T-shirt (if lost or outgrown contact us ASAP for further instructions), black pants, black socks, black shoes
GRADE 7 and GRADE 8- RED POLO SHIRT (This is new!), that will be sized and ordered before the first concert. Cost of the shirt is approximately $28, this fee will be collected in the fall. The remainder of the uniform is black pants, black socks, black shoes. This fee replaces the $11 uniform fee and the $18 dry cleaning fee that were charged for the old uniforms, and you get to keep the shirt!
TUESDAY MORNING JAZZ- Grade 6 uniform for winter concert, semi-formal clothing for Yorkton Music Festival in March
THURSDAY MORNING JAZZ- “Skittles” bunnyhug (order and pricing for new students will be handled at first 2-3 rehearsals), black pants, black socks, black shoes
REMIND 101
We strongly encourage you to join Remind 101. If you used this last year, you will need to join again. It is a simple, safe and free messaging tool that helps teachers share important updates and reminders with students and parents. Subscribe by text or by using the Remind app. All personal information is kept private. Teachers will never see your phone number, nor will you see theirs. Visit remind.com to learn more.
Remind 101 instructions
The following is a list of classes that will send out remind 101 reminders. Enter (306)500-1193, then in the message box text the code below, or download the remind app for smartphones and enter the code in the app in order to start receiving messages. You can opt out of messages at any time by replying “unsubscribe@(the code you signed up for).
class / codeGrade 5 / @gssd5band
Grade 6 / @gssd6band
Grade 7 / @gssd7band
Grade 8 / @gssd8band
Tuesday Morning Jazz / @gssdtues
Thursday Morning Jazz / @gssdthurs
Marching Band / @gssdjrmb
WHILE WE WILL BE SENDING NEWSLETTERS HOME, REMIND 101 IS THE BEST WAY TO STAY CURRENT WITH OUR PROGRAM. PLEASE SIGN UP ASAP!
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to call us. You can reach us at the following:
Mr. Yemen - work: 783-5412, cel 641-6009, email:
Mrs. Linsley - work: 783-5412, home 782-2915, email:
Again, we are looking forward to the upcoming year and to the musical growth that will take place.