7thand 8thGrade Band

Mr. Beucke

Welcome to Band! I hope you all have had a fun and restful summer and I’m looking forward to a great year!

In band, you will build on the skills that you have learned in previous years to become better musicians as well as better learners. As you progress as individual musicians, you will also be learning how to communicate with your peers as a group and work together towards a common goal.

What you need for band:

  • Instrument: Students are required to come to band with their instruments in good working order. Bring any instruments with problems to my attention immediately. Instruments in need of repair must be taken care of as soon as possible. When an instrument remains out of commission, it hurts the progress that can be made by the student as well as the band as a whole. Please do not attempt to make repairs yourself, no matter how simple they may seem!
  • Necessary Accessories: (reeds, cork grease, neck strap, valve oil, etc.)
  • Pencil

Concert Dates: Please mark on your calendar now!

  • Wednesday, January 29th at 7pm in the PVHS Performing Arts Center

(Snow Date is 1/30/14)

  • Wednesday, May 21st at 7pm in the PVHS Performing Arts Center

Concert Dress

BOYS - White dress shirt, Black pants, socks and shoes

GIRLS - White Blouse, Black skirt or pants, Black shoes

Sneakers and tank tops are NOT acceptable!

Concerts: The concert is the result of several weeks worth of time, effort, and learning. Parents and students alike are expected to understand that concert participation is equivalent to an exam; however, unlike any other exam, there is no opportunity for a “make-up”. Missing a scheduled concert will result in a subtraction of 25 points from that quarter’s report card grade.

The only acceptable excuses from a concert are severe illness, death in the family or other unanticipated, dire emergencies. In the event any of these rare instances occur, a signed parental note must be submitted within a week of the missed concert date.

Practice: All students are expected to practice their instruments on a regular basis. Without this practice it is difficult, if not impossible to improve. Students will be expected to practice all assignments given to them in small group lessons, as well as their band music.

Your grade in band will depend on the following:

Class Participation (30%):Band is a hands-on class, and active participation is a requirement to learning. Your grade in this area will depend on your coming to class prepared, your attitude towards playing, and your overall effort. There will be a weekly “assignment” on Powerschool for participation worth 10 points.

Lessons (30%):Small group lessons are rotating, and will occur about every 6 school days. Students are required to come to these lessons, and must tell their regularly scheduled teacher that they are going to a lesson. If a student must miss a lesson due to a test or quiz, then they should tell their lesson teacher and make plans to get the assignment for that day. Students will get a grade out of 5 points for each lesson. If a student comes to their lesson prepared with their instrument, any music that was assigned to them, have practiced the appropriate amount of time, and have their practice log filled out and signed by a parent/guardian, then they will get 5 points for that lesson. If any of these areas are lacking, then their grade will be less than 5 points. Students are required to practice about 90 minutes TOTAL between lessons, although how that time is broken up is up to the student to decide. Since there is at least a week between each lesson, this shouldn’t be too difficult to accomplish. Practice logs will be given to the students at their first lessons. One missed lesson will be dropped at the end of each quarter.

Playing Tests (25%): Every quarter you will be given a playing test. There will be ample time to practice this assignment. Some playing tests will be performed for your lesson teacher, and some will be recorded on Garageband at home. It is impossible to cram for a playing test at the last moment, so make sure that you practice your assigned music as soon as I give it to you!

Class Assignments (15%): All assignments besides the quarterly playing test will fall into this category.

Extra Credit:Throughout the year, there will be several opportunities to make up missed lessons. Students can go to musical performances and write reviews, or do independent assignments to earn points. These specific assignments will be detailed on Studywiz, so be sure to look for these opportunities. There will also be 2-3 makeup lessons offered in the last two weeks of each quarter. Students should keep track of their grade and make up any points missed from lessons!

*An important note about PowerSchool*

Throughout the quarter, students will have grades for class participation and lesson attendance added. Since a large portion of the final grade does not get added until the end of the quarter, the “final” grade shown on PowerSchool will not accurately represent the student’s progress. Please feel free to email or call if you have a question about the grade posted online!

Please return the attached form, signed, by Monday, September 16th. Submitting this contact form signed counts as a grade, so please be sure to turn it in on time!

I’m looking forward to a great year, and I hope you are too! If you have any questions or need any extra help, please feel free to see me. Parents can contact me through email or by phone at the school anytime. Also, please visit Studywiz and my website for daily updates on assignments and other information!

Sincerely,

Ryan Beucke

7th and 8th Grade Band 2013-2014

I have read and understand the guidelines and expectations.

Student Name (Printed): ______

Student Signature: ______

Parent/Guardian Name(s): ______

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Parent/Guardian Signature(s): ______

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Parent/Guardian Phone(s): ______

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Parent/Guardian Email(s): ______

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Please sign, detach, and return by Monday, September 16th.