Grapevine Middle School
Pony Band
December 13, 2020
Dear GMS Pony Band Families,
This week we will be focusing on incomplete assignments and celebrating your student!
Advanced Band Recording Session (7th/8th Grade): What a wonderful time we had on Friday! Friday was supposed to be our Winter Concert and COVID did not take our time away from performing with each other. Although we were missing an audience, it was so wonderful to see everyone who could make it and make music together again with both bands combined. We have not performed together as a group since one year ago last Friday and it was very special. We celebrated with pizza and cookies and want to thank Mrs. Worthan for setting it all up for us and feeding the bands. We will be sending out a recording this week so be on the lookout! For those who could not make it, we missed you and we also completely understand. If you were not able to attend, look for an email on Monday with details to complete as part of your semester exam.
If your student has completed all of their assignments, they may try to earn a higher grade if they would like before the end of the day on Wednesday. After Wednesday, we ask that ALL students who have completed ALL of their assignments to keep their instruments at home on Thursday and Friday (no zeros in the gradebook). We are going to clean out band lockers, play GimKit, Quizizz, and Rhythm games and celebrate them!
If your student has any zeros in the gradebook, we will hear each student perform each missing assignment during their class time. If they still have missing assignments after Wednesday, they will be required to bring their instrument on Thursday and Friday to play their missing assignments. The hope is that they all have missing assignments turned in by the end of the day on Wednesday so they can participate in the fun games.
For Beginners, the goal is to have a 95 or higher on each assignment so they can obtain their Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum and Diamond Stars! Most Beginner Brass and Woodwind Students are finalizing their Platinum and Diamond Stars and doing a fantastic job!
For Honors and Symphonic Band students, the goal is to have a 90 or higher on each assignment to receive their Band Member, Good Band Member and Excellent Band Member Badges. Most students are ahead and are already working on their Superior Band Member Badge (2nd semester) and we are so proud of them!
Private lessons will continue this week for most students (bring instrument/music). Please check in with your private lesson teacher as the time may be different due to the change in the school bell schedule. If you are not in private lessons and are interested, it is not too late! Please email us to let us know if you would like to sign up.
Beginner Band Recording Project (6th Grade) Students have received a link in their email ) to upload a video of their individualized class song. We will share the completed video project in Canvas so students may share their virtual performance with you. This is our first time doing this and have found that it works ok for smaller groups (fingers crossed). It may be a little stressful for us, but we want to showcase them in some capacity to show you their hard work in class! If all else fails, we will ask each student to perform their class song for you in a live setting at home. This will serve as their Semester Exam.
ALL STUDENTS: It is imperative that all students practice every day. They need a lot of repetition and we do not want to lose the momentum, so please remind your student to keep up with their practice routine (posted in Canvas modules). Here is a practice guide for parents to help your student at home.
As always, it is an honor to be your student's band director!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Gish, Mr. Holmes & Mr. Drewry
Honors and Symphonic Band Curriculum
Beginner Band Curriculum
Daily Practice
Students have access to a Daily Routine (Google Slide) at the top of every Canvas Module to maintain daily practice. Suggested Daily Practice for Advanced Band: 45-60 minutes.Suggested Daily Practice for Beginner Band: 20-25 minutes.
December Birthdays
HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR DECEMBER BAND STUDENTS!!!
Samuel Tjio, December 4th
Logan Daniel, December 8th
Adam Jimenez, December 8th
Carson Castillo, December 11th
Sebastian Gallardo, December 11th
Ryan Hisel, December 14th
Ava Grace Light, December 27th
Best Communities for Music Education Award
The NAMM Foundation has recognized the Grapevine-Colleyville ISD Music Department for its commitment to Music Education with a 2020 Best Communities for Music Education Award (BCME). Please thank a Music Teacher in the GCISD Community for all their hard work and dedication to student success!
Amazon Smile
We have an Amazon Smile account set up, so that we can receive donations based on Amazon purchases. Participants need to select "Grapevine-Colleyville Band Booster Club" as your charitable organization on Amazon Smiles and then simply login to www.smile.amazon.com when making your regular Amazon purchases.