Doc’s Blog

Dear Band Parents and Students,

We have one more performance to coordinate for this year and that’s graduation.  Everyone is required to perform for graduation with the exception of the percussion students that I have told won’t be needed (we only use one snare, one bass, and one crash cymbal). Graduation is Friday, May 18 at the River Center, at 3 PM. Students will be dismissed from school at noon on that day.

Here’s the logistics problem. Some of you will have a tough time getting off of work and getting your child downtown for 2:30. Therefore, I will be driving a bus to and from school. The bus will leave at 2:00 PM and will return immediately after the graduation is over (usually lasts only 45 minutes). We haven’t worked out which faculty member is going to stay after school yet, but there will be a study hall in the library from noon until 2. Students who will be riding with me must remember to bring their school dress uniform (grey pants, guys) with them to school that day.

Also, for those of you planning summer vacations, please keep the weeks of July 23 (drummers and pit only) and July 30 (everyone) open for band camp(s). Drum camp will be from 9 AM – 2 PM.  Band camp will begin again this year at 1 PM and will conclude at 8 PM. This will allow for more parental help with hydration when we are on the field. The exception to this will be Monday, July 29. Camp will run from 8 AM until 1 PM to allow my freshmen to attend orientation. I will send more information to you about next fall in the coming week when I put together my next Warrior Band Newsletter.

Please remember to have your child’s uniform dry cleaned and returned to school by the end of next week. Please be sure to take the uniform off the coat hanger when you take it to the cleaners. The cleaners will not return our good coat hangers to us! You can put the cleaned uniform on a good coat hanger and place it in the bag before you bring it back to school.

Thank,

Doc

Dear Band Parents and students,

Please email me a copy of pictures we took at our concert of the kids with the awards. I also need pics from Moonlight and Jazz.

Thanks,

Doc

We will take a group picture with the Disney trophies after the concert Thursday. Those of you who won individual trophies need to bring them to the concert so we can get a picture of you too. We want to get this published in the paper!

Thanks,

Doc

Dear Band Parents and Students,

I am very excited to announce that we have sold 232 seats for our upcoming Moonlight and Jazz Event! Many thanks to those of you who have helped get the word out and have purchased tickets yourselves!  Here is a detailed timeline of what we need to do next Sunday:

1. Students in my 4th hour class, my rhythm section, and a parent will meet me at school for 1:30 PM to help load the trailer with the stage, music stands, keyboards, amps, tables, etc. We will deliver this to White Oak Plantation to set up for our performance. I hope to be completed with setup by 3:30. I need parental help (preferably dads) to help with the heavy stage and to drive their child from St. Michael to White Oak.

2. Students who will be performing for the event need to report to White Oak Plantation for 4:15 PM. We will put final touches on our setup and be ready for a sound check at 4:45. After our sound check, we will feed the musicians a jambalaya dinner at 5:00. My three hostesses need to report for 4:45 to eat. They will begin seating guests at 5:15. The concert will begin at 5:30.

3. Members of my 6th hour (and a parent) will report to White Oak for 7:15 to help with packing up and returning our equipment to school. All performers (and a parent) will help with the pack up so we can all be finished by 8:30.

In the past, we have added a little fun to the event by providing door prizes. If you can help by donating a door prize, please let Mitzi or me know by Wednesday of this week. I think we have a couple of gift baskets, two tickets to an LSU football game, and a few other gift certificates already. It would be nice to get a few more door prizes.

Thanks,

Doc

In an effort to make one last push to get the word out about Moonlight and Jazz, we are extending the deadline until this Friday, April 20. Follow this link for more information and to reserve your seats for this amazing event: Moonlight and Jazz Invitation

I am so proud of our students’ performances. First of all, a big thanks goes out to all my chaperones who helped make this trip possible. I couldn’t do it by myself!  Thanks to Mitzi for keeping you all updated along the way too!  Now, to our awards: Our Concert and Jazz Ensembles both earned “Best in Class” awards for their performances. The Jazz Ensemble earned a superior rating (three ones from the judges). The Concert Band earned an excellent rating (based on percentage), however, two of the judges gave us a superior!  Our Jazz Ensemble earned the Silver Mickey Award for the second highest score average of all jazz ensembles performing during the weekend.  The school that earned a higher score did so by .6 of a point and they were a performing arts school from Canada that brought two jazz ensembles to the festival. The most exciting awards for me were the individual recognition that four of our students earned. Amanda Crump, Matt Hawkins, Tyler Conner, and Erin Carcel all earned Outstanding Musicianship Awards (an individual Mickey) for their solo work. There were over 7,000 student participants this weekend and they only gave out 12 individual awards. St. Michael picked up FOUR of these!

Now we take a short breath (Monday only) and gear up for our Spring Concert and Moonlight and Jazz. You will be getting more information during the coming week about responsibilities for Moonlight and Jazz. If you haven’t gotten your tickets for Moonlight and Jazz, please do so now by following the link in the above blog post.

Oh, BTW, I will be posting some of the pictures from the trip on here soon.

Thanks

Doc

Dear Band Parents and Students,

Here are a few things to consider before we leave for our trip.

Remember to pack comfortable clothes. It will be hot in Orlando.  Remember to pack comfortable shoes and sunscreen. Bring money for three meals on Thursday, and one meal each on Friday and Saturday. I would pack some snacks to munch on in the parks each day to save money. We will provide each student with a bottled water each morning before entering the park.

Remember to pack your concert dress black uniform, shoes, and black socks (boys).  We will pack your instrument and music Wednesday. Remember to pack essentials in a small bag, along with clothes for the park Thursday. This bag will travel with you ON the bus. You will freshen up and change into park clothes Thursday morning at the Golden Corral. We will NOT be opening the bottom of the bus to get at your suitcase until Thursday evening.

Girls. Do not wear white shorts or blouses in the park. These will inevidently get wet and will be unappropriately “see through.” Do NOT bring games from home to hook up to TVs in the hotel. If you want to play video games, you can stay home and play while the rest of us go to Orlando.

Finally, all meds must be placed in a ziplock bag with your name on it and shown to me. You can only bring dosage for the three days we are gone. (Thursday – Saturday). You must show me this before you load the bus. I will not administer meds to your child during the trip.  OTC medications for headaches, motion sickness, etc. will be treated the same way. Place them in a ziplock bag with your child’s name on it and I will inventory this before we leave. I will have some OTC meds with me and will only give this to your child if I talk to you on the phone first. Please remember that your child’s safetly is of utmost importance to me and I will use common sense as my guide if your child gets sick. We did have to stop at the emergency room on the wy home two years ago. It is very important that my students remember to HYDRATE themselves by drinking plenty water. We have had serious issues with dehydration the last two trips I’ve taken. I hope to avoid visits to the infirmary this year!

Doc

Our only band fundraiser, Moonlight and Jazz, is fast approaching. Many of you have already reserved your seats for this event and we are grateful. If you’ve been putting it off, please don’t. If you aren’t familiar with this event, then allow me to brag. I have heard people say the following: “It’s the classiest event that St. Michael puts on during the whole year!” I even heard another parent say the same thing at Grandparents’ Day last Sunday. These parents were giving unbiassed opinions…their children are not even in band!

Moonlight and Jazz Flyer

After reviewing the judges’ comments from yesterday’s festival, I have to again say that I am very proud of all my students. You took on an extremely difficult program and you earned an excellent rating. The comments that the judges offered will help us to improve for our competition in DisneyWorld.  We will have one more after school rehearsal (next Tuesday) from 3-4:30 to correct some of the balance and intonation issues we encountered yesterday.

A copy of our Trip Packet, containing our final itinerary, trip rules, and a discipline release form here:

Trip Packet 2012

In lieu of medical release forms we are filling out release forms on line.  If you haven’t submitted your personal medical information, please do so ASAP so your child will be covered if a medical emergency arises. My older students remember having to stop at the Emergency Room two years ago to attend to a very sick and dehydrated student on the bus ride home!  You can find the link here: Athletic Profile Questions

If you have any questions or feel that I have left something out, please do not hesitate to ask me. This trip has required a lot of paperwork from me and since I prefer to spend my time teaching your children music, I may have forgotten something.

Dear Band Parents and Students,

Because of a communication error (my misunderstanding), our times for Sunday’s Grandparents Day have been changed.  Students in the Jazz Ensemble need to report to school at 1:40 (instead of 12:45).  Everyone else should report for 2:40 (instead of 1:45). We should still be finished by 4 PM.

Thanks. I hope you all get this in time to make the time adjustment.

Doc

Dear Band Parents and Students,

There has been a change in our performance time for District Festival next week.  We have been bumped up to 2 PM because another school dropped out of the festival. Therefore, I will be making arrangements for bus transportation to and from the festival (Woodlawn High School).  We will need to be at Woodlawn for 1:00 PM in order to warmup at 1:30. Students will need to bring their performance attire to school on Wednesday. We should be back at school between 3:30 and 4.

Thanks,

D0c