1/27/25-1/31/25

Week at a Glance

  • Tuesday: CHS Wind Ensemble GMEA Preview Concert 1/28/25
    • Location: Mabry Arts Center
    • Time: 7PM
  • Wednesday: Jazz Band Rehearsal 1/29/25
    • Location: CMS Band Room
    • Time: Afterschool until 4:15PM
  • Sunday: West Georgia Winds Rehearsal
    • Location: CMS Band Room
    • Time: 1:45PM-4:00PM

GMEA All-State

Congratulations to all of our members that auditioned for the GMEA All-State Band. We are very proud of these students for making it this far in the audition process. We are happy to announce that CMS band member Reese Roenigk (8th Grade) made the All-State Band on Bass Clarinet. Reese will be joining many other students across the state in February to participate in the All-State Band experience.

CHS GMEA Performance

We are excited to have the CHS Wind Ensemble perform at the Georgia Music Educators Association (GMEA) In-Service conference on Friday, January 31st at 8:45AM in Athens, GA.

Here is some info from Dr. Carr about the CHS Wind Ensemble’s GMEA Performance:
“This year, only 3 high school bands were selected for this honor and our Carrollton High School Wind Ensemble’s submission was one of them. This is the first time in the history of Carrollton City Schools for an ensemble from Carrollton High School to be selected to perform at the GMEA In-Service conference.

The students will perform a program highlighting Carrollton and our history of excellence in the Arts. We will open with an Irish fanfare to pay homage to Carrollton’s namesake Charles Carroll of Carrollton, an Irishman and the oldest surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence. Later in the program, Mr. Hall will guest conduct a march that he first conducted as the band captain at UGA in 1963. Former Carrollton City Schools Superintendent Dr. H.M. Fullbright witnessed Mr. Hall’s performance in Jesup, GA before hiring him as the band director at Carrollton many years later! William Cooper, class of 2009 and current trumpeter with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, will be featured alongside Mr. Trumble as trumpet soloists with the band. Ms. Menendez and Mr. Nelson will each guest conduct a piece on the concert, and to top it off, we will perform pieces by Will Pitts, class of 2004, and Katahj Copley, class of 2016 including the world premiere of Copley’s newest work The Wayfinder. The world premiere will include antiphonal trumpets and triangles performed by former students, and former student teachers. “

The CHS Wind Ensemble will perform this Tuesday, January 28, 2025 at 7:00PM in the Mabry Arts Center to preview their performance in Athens, Georgia. We would like to have a full house in support of this prestigious invitation! I ask that our middle school band members show up and show their support! The concert will be an hour in length and will be one that you will not to miss.

You can view the digital program here.

West Georgia Winds: First Rehearsal

We have several students who are participating in West Georgia Winds this semester. Congratulations to all who are participating. The first rehearsal will be this Sunday at the Carrollton Middle School Band room. Report time is 1:45 pm and the rehearsal will be from 2-4 PM. I look forward to seeing many of our CMS students there!

Have a wonderful rest of your evening!

Sincerely,

Ms. Menendez

maria.menendez@carrolltoncityschools.net

Welcome Back!

Wow, that was an interesting first week back! The students did a great job getting back into a routine and were full of smiles all week. I cannot wait to continue working with them this semester!

Our students performed beautifully at our Winter Concert in December. The students who spoke about each piece did a great job and the musicians on stage brought the house down. What a great way to showcase the many talents of our students! Congratulations!

Going into the Spring semester, for now, the only updates include upcoming dates to keep on our radar.

Upcoming Dates

  • 1/25 Carowinds payment due *8th grade only*
  • 2/6-2/8 DHB Participants will receive more information this week!
  • 3/6 Pre LGPE 7th and 8th Grade only
  • 3/18 LGPE Concert Band @ 3:30 PM
  • 3/18 LGPE Wind Ensemble @ 7:30 PM
  • 3/19 LGPE Symphonic Band @ 5:15 PM
  • 3/24 MFA Preview Concert Wind Ensemble Only. All band students encouraged to attend to support!
  • 3/26 MFA Performance at GSU Wind Ensemble only

We will begin our Raffle fundraiser in the near future and will begin talking about all of the exciting field trips coming up for our students.

Be safe and warm tonight and I look forward to another great week with the CMS Band program.

Sincerely,

Ms. Maria Menendez

maria.menendez@carrolltoncityschools.net

12/16-12/20

Good evening,

It is hard to believe that this is our last week until Winter Break!

UGA MidFest Honor Band

Congratulations to Emmett Bush, Lola Crandell, Reese Roenigk, Wendy Whaley, and Abigail Keesling! They participated in the 2024 University of Georgia Middle School Honor Band. They each rehearsed with a guest conductor in the ensemble and presented a wonderful concert on Saturday!

The students were able to watch guest performances by Taylor Road Middle School, Barber Middle School, and the University of Georgia’s Wind Symphony.

Congratulations!

It is going to be a wonderful last week of school and I hope that you have a wonderful rest of your Sunday!

Sincerely,

Ms. Maria Menendez

maria.menendez@carrolltoncityschools.net

12/8-12/13

Good evening,

This is going to be another exciting week for our band program!

Week at a Glance:

  • Tuesday: Winter Concert
  • Thursday-Saturday: MidFest Honor Band for five of our band members: Emmett Bush, Lola Crandell, Reese Roenigk, Wendy Whaley, and Abigail Keesling.

Winter Concert: Tuesday 12/10

The uniforms for our students includes black dress shoes, black pants or a black long skirt with leggings underneath, and something festive for their upper body. This can include hats, headbands, ugly Christmas sweaters, etc.

Our concert times are as follows:

6th grade/Symphonic Band:

  • Report to MAC @ 5:15
  • 6th grade performs @ 6:00PM
  • Symphonic Band performs @ 6:25
  • 6:40 PM Dismissal for both groups

Concert Band/Wind Ensemble:

  • Report to MAC @ 6:50
  • Concert Band performs @ 7:15
  • Wind Ensemble performs @ 7:45
  • 8:00 PM Dismissal for both groups

District Honor Band Results

We had several students audition yesterday in order to potentially earn a spot in the District VII Honor Band. The students have been working since August to prepare for this audition and deserve so much credit for the determination and courage that it took to audition yesterday.

Congratulations to the following students on being accepted into the 2025 District VII Honor Band:

Band 1: Abigail Keesling (8th chair), Emmett Bush (2nd chair), Reese Roenigk (4th chair), Wendy Whaley (8th chair), Zio Rho (12th chair), Gina Lin (13th chair), Lola Crandell (1st chair), Mattaniah Wimberly (2nd chair), Gray Esslinger (2nd chair).

Band 2: Joseph Ballew(16th chair).

We are so proud of all of the students from all schools present yesterday for the hard work leading up to the audition. Thank you to our Carrollton students who auditioned and who are leaders in our program.

I look forward to seeing you all at the concert on Tuesday and I cannot wait for you to hear the students play!

Sincerely,

Ms. Maria Menendez

maria.menendez@carrolltoncityschools.net

12/2-12/6

I hope that your Thanksgiving was a wonderful one! We are back to school for a few weeks and have a wonderful concert that we are preparing for you!

Upcoming Dates:

12/7: District Honor Band Auditions at Cass Middle School. Report time to Cass Middle School is 12:30. Auditions should be down within an hour or so.

12/10: CMS Band Winter Concert

12/12-12/14: UGA MidFest Honor Band. Congratulations to Emmett Bush, Lola Crandell, Reese Roenigk, Wendy Whaley, and Abigail Keesling on their invitation to participate!

Winter Concert

Our winter concert will be next Tuesday, December 10th. The uniforms for our students includes black dress shoes, black pants or a black long skirt with leggings underneath, and something festive for their upper body. This can include hats, headbands, ugly Christmas sweaters, etc.

Our concert times are as follows:

6th grade/Symphonic Band:

  • Report to MAC @ 5:15
  • 6th grade performs @ 6:00PM
  • Symphonic Band performs @ 6:25
  • 6:40 PM Dismissal for both groups

Concert Band/Wind Ensemble:

  • Report to MAC @ 6:50
  • Concert Band performs @ 7:15
  • Wind Ensemble performs @ 7:45
  • 8:00 PM Dismissal for both groups

Christmas Sponsorship

Our band program likes to sponsor families in the school district that are in need during the holidays. As of now, we have all students accounted for! Thank you to everyone who signed up to purchase gifts for those family members! The presents need to be delivered to the CMS Band room or the front office by December 6th. What a tremendous gift that our community is giving!

Have a wonderful rest of your Sunday!

Sincerely,

Ms. Maria Menendez

maria.menendez@carrolltoncityschools.net

Christmas Sponsorship

Good morning,

Our band program likes to sponsor families in the school district that are in need during the holidays. This year we have chosen to sponsor four families as a program. If interested, please use the following Jotform to sign up for what gift(s) you would like to purchase.

https://form.jotform.com/243248493180156

Please email me at maria.menendez@carrolltoncityschools.net with any questions. The presents need to be delivered to me by December 6th.

Sincerely,

Ms. Menendez

maria.menendez@carrolltoncityschools.net

11/17-11/22

Week at a glance:

  • Monday-Wednesday: DHB optional practice until 4:15

UWG Concert Field Trip 6th Grade Only

Our trip to the University of West Georgia with sixth grade was a huge hit! Students learned about music making opportunities at the collegiate level, heard the UWG Wind Ensemble practice, and dined at the Z6 Dining Hall for dinner.

The parent chaperones were excellent as well as our students. Thank you to our transportation department for making our field trips happen and our school system for allowing our students to learn beyond the regular school setting and explore around us!

Trojan Band Game

I will provide details on the next football game that we play at if they come up. Please stay tuned and GO TROJANS!

Upcoming Dates:

  • 11/25 Carowinds Payment Due. Please use Super Holiday Platform for all payments
  • 12/10 Winter Concert at the MAC
  • 12/25 Carowinds Payment Due

Have a wonderful rest of your Sunday!

Sincerely,

Ms. Maria Menendez

maria.menendez@carrolltoncityschools.net

11/11-11/16

Last week was incredible! Congratulations to all of our students who performed at our Fall Concert on Tuesday! The music was so well performed and I have heard so many compliments from parents, friends, families, and even teachers since Tuesday!

Thank you to all of the parents who helped out before and after the concert as well as TBLA for leading in various ways that day. What a way to start of the year! Our next concert is 12/10.

Week at a glance:

  • Monday Veterans Day Assembly performance by CMS Wind Ensemble all day
    • During the school day. All transportation and food is covered by the CMS Band program.
  • Thursday: CMS Wind Ensemble Fundraiser party after school until 5:30 PM
  • Friday: 6th Grade band field trip to the University of West Georgia

UWG Concert Field Trip 6th Grade Only 11/15 (this Friday)

Chaperones are still needed!

Our schedule for Friday is below:

  • 2:30 PM Load busses at CMS
  • 2:45 PM arrive at UWG Humanities building
  • 3:00 Begin tours of the humanities building in shifts
  • 4:00 PM Load bus to ride to dining hall
  • 4:15-5:00 PM Eat at dining hall (meal included with cost of field trip)
  • 5:20 PM depart to CMS
  • 5:35 PM Arrive at CMS

Students who have sold one box of chocolate have earned half off and only owe $7.50 for their trip. Students who sold 2 boxes of chocolate have fundraised enough to have a free field trip! If your student did not sell a box of chocolates, they will owe $15. You may pay with cash, check (written out to CMS Band), or online under “payments” on our website.

UWG 6th Grade Permission slip When you have completed the JotForm, it will send you a receipt. Please check your email to see if you have completed it or not.

Trojan Band Game

Congratulations to our 8th grade football team! They have advanced to the championship! We are hoping that this Saturday, November 16th will be the championship game. We are also hoping that it is hosted at home here at Carrollton! Please stay tuned for info as I get it!

Thank you to all of the volunteers that helped on Saturday and to the wonderful students who were flexible and who played so well.

Upcoming Dates:

  • 11/25 Carowinds Payment Due. Please use Super Holiday Platform for all payments
  • 12/10 Winter Concert at the MAC
  • 12/25 Carowinds Payment Due

Have a wonderful rest of your Sunday!

Sincerely,

Ms. Maria Menendez

maria.menendez@carrolltoncityschools.net