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Pep Rally Tomorrow 

Good evening parents! This is a reminder that we will have a pep rally for the school tomorrow that the band will perform in. Students must wear their band polo to perform. The only requirement for the uniform is their polo. Everything else can be whatever they are wearing to school that day. Please ensure that your student is prepared for tomorrow. It is going to be a blast!! 

Milestones Pep Rally/Summer Music Band Camp

Good afternoon,

On Monday the 18th we will have a pep rally for the upcoming Milestones next week. Our band will play at it for the first time in school history to pump up our students! This will occur during the school day and will not require any extra rehearsals or preparation for it. The students will wear their band polos. They may wear any shoes or pants that they would like to. If your student would like to bring their band polo this week for me to hold on to until Monday, I can do that. I will keep them and label them. I would hate for a student to forget their polos on Monday and miss out on the chance to perform.

The Sounds of Summer Band Camp is a great opportunity for those of you who would like for your student to attend some sort of music camp to enhance their skills. I highly recommend this camp for my students as a past staff member. This is a camp that is hosted at Midway Church and is cheap and worth the money. The students are taught about music from professionals and will meet students from different schools around our area, will be fed daily delicious food, and will have a daily recreational time. Carrollton consistently has the highest number of students who attend this camp. I told the students in class that I wish that there was a camp for me when I was younger that was this fun, affordable, and close!

Sounds of Summer Band Camp Website

Please look at their website and speak with your students. If you have any questions or would like to have your student attend but have some limitations, please contact me directly.

 

-M. Menendez

maria.menendez@carrolltoncityschools.net

SPRING CONCERT DATE CHANGE

Good morning,

I am so excited to be back from Spring Break so that we can dig in towards our Spring Concert. You are going to be very impressed with what you hear at our last performance. The Spring Concert was set for May the 9th at 7pm at the Mabry Art Center. Due to the Spring Musical at the high school, the concert has been pushed back to May 16th (the following Monday). Please in form any family members and friends of this date change.

The students will still report in their black pants (long skirt) with black socks, shoes, and their band polo. Please make sure NOW that they have all of those items. We are a month away roughly so now is the time to shop for anything that they may need. Students who are not in uniform will not perform at the concert.

Your students are awesome and are exceeding my expectations! I’m one lucky teacher.

-Ms. Menendez

maria.menendez@carrolltoncityschools.net

Early release reminders

Good morning!

We are off to the start of in interesting week here at CMS. The students are taking their Benchmark exams as well as going to conferences and having Friday off. This effects our band class a little bit. 

– Today is the only day that we have connections at school. Students will NOT have band for the rest of the week so it is recommended that they bring their instruments home at the end of class today. 

– The only after school activity is today until 4:15 for our usual Monday practice. We will not have Instrument Club in Wednesday. 

– Our AYP care fundraiser is off to an incredible start! This fundraiser will continue until we run out of cards to sell. There is no definite end date. Please aim to sell at least five cards so that your student can have a free card to keep (or sell and keep the cash).  The top selling student of each grade will receive $50. 

– If you would like to speak to me during your conference please email me and I will do my best to stop by. Please take a special look at your student’s “Practice log” grade and their “Weekly Behavior and Participation” grade. 

– Contact me with any questions! Let’s continue doing a great job with our AYP cards and practicing our instruments at home. We will have a test very soon! 

-Ms. Menendez 

maria.menendez@carrolltoncityschools.net

Practice Logs and AYP Cards

Good morning and happy Leap Day! 
This is a gentle reminder about our practice logs that are due today (every Monday). Help me ensure that your students are spending some extra time at home reviewing concepts from class and filling your homes with music! 

We began our AYP Card fundraiser this past Friday. This is our biggest fundraiser! Each card is $15 and they pay off themselves in one or two uses. They have incredible deals on them and they are a big deal in our community. Your student only needs to turn in an envelope with their name on it, the money and how many cards that they have sold to the box in the band room. I will have cards for them to give to their customers the next day. It is an ongoing cycle until we all have sold the cards out! Thank you for your participation in this inportsnt fundraiser. 

We have our usual Monday after school practice session this afternoon until 4:15 for students who want to get some practice time in, get help, or get ahead! 

Happy Monday! 
-Ms. Menendez

AYP Cards Fundraiser

American Youth Projects (AYP) Fundraiser Roll-Out

Good afternoon,

As of today we will begin our annual AYP Fundraiser. We will use the money to purchase and repair equipment, bring in extra instructors, and purchase new music and supplies.

Students are welcome to bring an extra order form to give to you to put in your break room or at church. 

Instructions for the fundraiser:

  1. Go out and show people all the deals the card gives them by using your order taker. Each card is $15 (a change from the past) and has unlimited uses up to a year at participating locations.
  2. Bring the $15 to Ms. Menendez  in a sealed envelope, and you will receive an AYP card the very next day to distribute to your buyers.  Cash is accepted, Checks made payable to CJHS Bands NOT CMS BAND. 
  3. Distribute cards to your buyers.

REWARDS:

  1. We will award $50 to the top seller of each grade level, 6th 7th and 8th
  2. For every 5 cards sold you will receive 1 free. (so try and sell 5 before you buy one yourself).

We will continue to sell AYP cards for the next few months as we have them, if we sell out we can always order more.  As always if you have any questions you can email me with any concerns or questions.

Time to get started and sell away!!

-Ms. Menendez

Practice Logs

Good afternoon,

We are off to a great start of the semester here in the CMS band room! I am very happy to see them again.

Please assist me in monitoring their practice logs. These are logs that they are given to track their practicing every week. I ask for one hour per week from student and check the logs every Monday during class. Students can break up their practice time in 10 minutes 6 days of the week, 20 minutes for three days, or even knock out 45 minutes by attending our after school practice sessions. We want to make sure that our students are doing their “band homework” and developing their muscle memory. This is also a way for them to reinforce the pieces and concepts that we learn in class.

Please make sure to sign their practice logs on Sunday nights and to make sure that you hear them practicing at home. If your student absolutely cannot practice at home or stay after school on Mondays, please contact me and we will find a time to make sure that they are on track.

Many band directors count practice logs for a grade. I choose not to do so but am willing to try that if needed. I hope that our constant encouragement will be enough to motivate them to do the right thing. I aim to teach them responsibility and integrity through this and appreciate your reinforcement at home.

Feel free to contact me with any questions.

Sincerely,

M. Menendez

Happy New Year!

Good morning!

I hope that your break has been relaxing and full of love.

We are going to be back on Monday ready to tackle this semester with full force. Please make sure that your students are getting reacquainted with their instruments before Monday.

WE WILL PLAY ON MONDAY. ALL STUDENTS NEED THEIR INSTRUMENTS.

Students: practice your three embouchure steps, and play from line one in your book as far as you can go. This will be a great way to get your brain going again. Never be scared to finger and name to get reacquainted with the notes.

*special challenge*

use your scale sheet and find a scale (a line of letters) to learn. The scales are read from left to right and will tell you the note names to use. Your fingering chart in the back of the book will explain your fingerings for any new notes.

I cannot wait to see the students and Monday and pass out jackets for anyone who ordered them.

Enjoy the rest of your break!

 

-M. Menendez

Happy Holidays!

Dear all,

I cannot express how proud that I am of the performance last night. The students played extremely well and we were extremely professional throughout the night. It exites me that our first concert was such a success!

I am currently in Chicago for a conference but will have a substitute for the next three days. Please make sure that your student grabs their instrument so that they can practice over the break. I expect to see empty shelves in the band room when I return!

The band jackets are set to be in at the end of week. I am hoping for Thursday. I will as hard as possible to make sure that your student receives their jackets before break

 

Be safe and happy holidays! I am proud as always.

-MM