RedDevilBandandChoir

BAND AND CHOIR
BOOSTER MEETING
AGENDA
Monday, October 15th

Welcome
Minutes from last meeting
Treasurer’s Report

OLD BUSINESS

The first nine weeks is complete. All grades have been downloaded on Powerschool and report cards should be coming out soon. If you have any questions about your child’s grades, please talk with Mr. Lane or Ms. Ward after the meeting tonight. Report cards will go out on October 24th.

Red Devil Concert Choir Uniforms have been ordered. If you did not get yours ordered, please see Ms. Ward or Mr. Lane as soon as possible. They should be here before the Holiday Concert.

Band and Choir shirts have been passed out to all band and choir members. If your child has not received one yet, please let Mr. Lane or Ms. Ward know so we can get them one.

Uniform sizing is just about complete for the Mighty Red Devil Marching Band. The checkout date will be on Tuesday, October 30th from 3 PM until 6 PM. Uniforms must be checked out by a parent or guardian. This includes Colorguard as well.

If you have not ordered your band shoes yet or paid for them, please do so as soon as possible. Shoes will be ordered on this Friday.

Practice sheets consisting of 70 minutes of practice are due every week for each member of the band. This is a part of your child’s grade.

Private lessons are highly recommended for all band members. They really help build your child’s confidence and make them a Superstar in class. If you are interested in getting private lessons for your child, please contact Mr. Lane for a list of those people that offer private instruction. Some good places for private instruction are:
Lane Music – 755 – 5025
Germantown Baptist Conservatore of Music – ???
Ms. Deborah Wolfe – 767 – 2891
Bartlett Academy of Music – ???
University of Memphis Music Department – 678 – 2000

All information for Band, Choir or Colorguard is sent out through the email. If you are not on the email list, see Mr. Lane or Ms. Ward tonight to get your name on the email list. You can also find all band and choir information on the edublogs. Mr. Lane’s and Ms. Ward’s edublogs are:
John Lane www.jlane1.edublogs.org
Jill Ward www.jward1.edublogs.org
Choir www.gmschoir.edublogs.org

The Red Devil Band, Choir and Colorguard practice schedule for this week is as follows:
M – Colorguard, Drumline, Field Commanders and Sixth Grade Band
T – Full Marching Band
W – Red Devil Concert Choir at 7:29 AM
W – Colorguard only after school
Th – Full Marching Band
F – Drumline and Jazz Band

Sign up today with Mr. Lane or Ms. Ward for extra help on your choir music or your band instrument.

Congratulations to the following GMS Band Members that were invited by the Duke University Talent Identification Program to take the ACT test in February . Only the top 5% of academically talented students in the 7th grade are invited to participate in the Talent Search. In addition, the students denoted with a star scored in the top 12% of the approximately 70,000 academically gifted 7th grade ACT participants. In honor of their academic performance, the students were invited to a State Recognition Award Ceremony held at Vanderbilt University this past summer. You can find more information about this wonderful recognition in our last PTA Newsletter. The students invited were:
Victoria Akah * Daniyal Ali Daniel Babian
Hayley Barr* Norbert Bokros* Corrie Dew
Rebecca Fong Sadeo George Abbie Hicks
Katherine Nailen* Devante Scott Kaitlyn Smith*
Jackson Padgett* Greg Weatherford* Robbie Weaver*
Andrew Widmer Marinela Zubovic*
Congratulations to these band members for their high accomplishments. Keep up the AWESOME work.

NEW BUSINESS

After school rehearsals for the Sixth Grade Band have begun. The Sixth Grade Band will practice every Monday after school from 3:15 PM until 4:30 PM in the bandroom. Roll will be taken at each rehearsal. If your child misses too many rehearsals, they will not be allowed to perform with the Sixth Grade Concert Band.

Colorguard practices every Monday and Wednesday with their colorguard instructor and they practice with the full marching band on Tuesday and Thursday after school.

The Full Marching Band practice schedule is every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon after school from 3:15 PM until 4:30 PM. Please pick up your child no later than 4:45 PM or your child will not be allowed to participate. Carpooling is highly recommended. Full marching band includes all brass and woodwind members, drumline, colorguard, banner carriers, and field commanders.

Every Friday after school there is practice for the Drumline and the Jazz Band. We will be beginning the Garbage Band this Friday afternoon during the Drumline practice session. Garbage Band includes all drumline members and the field commanders.

Red Devil Concert Choir is every Wednesday morning at 7:29 AM in the choir room. Roll is always taken. Don’t be late. The choir is getting ready for their first concert on Tuesday evening, October 23rd.

The GMS Band and Choir Skating Party will be this Friday evening, October 19th from 5 PM until 7 PM at the East End Skating Rink on Mt. Moriah. Parents, come join the fun, put on some skates and skate with us. You can look forward to doing the Hokie Pokey, the limbo, Cat and Mouse and many other fun activities on the Skating Floor. If you can be a chaperone, please contact Mr. Holland at 870 – 0053 or sign the list going around. You can also send an email to Mr. Lane or Ms. Ward if you can chaperone. Tickets are $5 per person.

Our first Sixth Grade Band Concert will be Tuesday evening, October 23rd at 6 PM in the GMS Cafeteria. All band members need to be in their seat in the bandroom no later than 5:45 PM for warmups. The uniform of the day will be black pants, black socks, black shoes and their red band shirt. Parents, you don’t want to miss this concert. It’s always a good one. Hear such classic songs as Hot Cross Buns, Mary Had a Little Lamb, Twinkle Twinkle, Lightly Row and many others. Come hear our Superstars.

Joining our Sixth Grade Band in Concert will also be the Red Devil Concert Choir. They will be singing at the concert on Tuesday evening, October 23rd at 6 PM. All choir members should be in their place in the choir room no later than 5:45 PM. The uniform of the night will be blue jeans and their red choir shirts. Come early and get a good seat.

GMS Eighth Grade Band Night will be Friday night, October 26th. All 8th grade band members participating need to be at the high school band room no later than 5:30 PM in jeans and band shirts. They will participate with the GHS Varsity Band during the football game. Our 8th grade band members will march into the game with the Varsity Band and will play their songs along with the high school band. Mr. Lane and Ms. Ward will both be at the game with the students. Parents, you need to pick up your child back at the bandroom around 9:30 PM. Germantown will be playing my old alma mater, Whitehaven High School.

All West Tennessee Honor Choir Tryouts will be held Saturday, October 27th, at Cordova Middle School. The tryouts begin at 8 AM. Ms. Ward will be sending out an information sheet with your exact times and a map. All choir members should arrive at Cordova Middle at least an hour before their actual tryout time. Good luck to our 10 choir members trying out for All West Honor Choir this year. They are:
Victoria Akah Czarina Espinosa
Shelby Fearnley Nikki Gallikova
Kinnawa Kaitibi Sidney Nixon
Lori Powell Daniel Reeves
Becca Schommer Kirstin Show
Good Luck Choir members and Ms. Ward.

The Germantown High School Varsity Band will be in a marching contest on Saturday, October 27th around 4 PM in the afternoon. Mr. Lane and Ms. Ward are urging all GMS Band members to come and watch the high school band competition at Cordova HIgh School. Directions will be coming through the email at a later date. All students attending will receive extra credit. Parents, please do not leave your child unattended at the band competition.

October 30th – Jazz Band Concert at GES. More information will be coming.

The Race for Education is scheduled for Sunday, November 4th at 2 PM at Camerone Brown Park in Germantown. We have applications here tonight. You can choose to participate or be a ghost runner. With a $15 donation, you will recieve a t – shirt and 50% of the $15 will be distributed amongst all schools participating and the other 50% will go directly to Germantown Middle’s music, art, PE, and other specialty programs. I would love to see us participate in this. Mr. Lane is challenging all band and choir members to come take him on in the race. Wear your RED DEVIL RED.

Our marching band is off to a great start. They are looking good. Marching band competitions are coming upon us very soon. To participate with the marching band, your child must play their music by memory for Mr. Lane and attend all marching rehearsals after school. The marching band practices every Tuesday and Thursday after school from 3:15 until 4:30 PM.

The Mighty Red Devil Marching Band’s first parade of the year will be Friday evening, November 2nd, for the University of Memphis Homecoming Parade. This is a non-judged event and is a fun parade. Buses will leave the school around 4:30 PM and should return no later than 7:30 PM. The parade actually begins at 5:30 PM around the University of Memphis campus. A complete information letter about this parade will be coming out very soon. This will also include the permission letter and a place for chaperones to sign up. Chaperones, sign up for this parade tonight if you want. Parents, wear your Red Devil Red, gather around the reviewing stand and give the band a big “RED DEVIL ROAR” as we march by. The uniform for this parade will be blue jeans, red band shirts, black marching shoes, and black socks. Information sheets and permission notes will be coming out as soon as I get all the information.

The second parade this year for the Mighty Red Devil Marching Band will be the Veteran’s Day Parade in downtown Memphis. The parade begins at 10 AM on Friday, November 9th at the corner of Second Street and Exchange Street and ends on Second Street around Beale Street. This parade may be judged this year . Again, parents, wear your Red Devil Red and gather around the judge’s stand around Court Square and give us a big “RED DEVIL ROAR” as we march by. The uniform for this parade will be full marching band uniforms, hats, black socks and black shoes. Watch for a full information letter / permission note coming out as soon as Mr. Lane receives all of the information. Chaperones are needed for this event also. Sign up tonight or sign the permission note. Information sheets and permission notes will be coming out as soon as I get all the information.

The weekend of November 30th and December 1st is a big competitive weekend for the Mighty Red Devil Marching Band and Colorguard. Parents, look for a letter coming out soon to give all the information about all of the Christmas Parades. Friday night, November 30th, is the Collierville Christmas Parade beginning at 7 PM down Byhalia Road in Collierville. Saturday afternoon, December 1st at 1 PM is the Germantown Christmas Parade down Farmington Boulevarde in Germantown and Saturday evening, December 1st is the Arlington Christmas Parade. These are all BIG and FUN parades. Lots of bands will be at each parade along with a big fat guy in a red shiny suit. Come out and cheer on the band in all of these parades.

The GMS Band and Choir Holiday Concert will be Monday evening, December 3rd at G – PAC beginning at 7 PM. Come join the fun and help bring in the season at the Holiday Concert. Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for students. All band members and choir members will need to be in their places no later than 6:45 PM in full uniform.

All West Tennessee Honor Band Tryouts will be Saturday, December 8th at the University School in Jackson, Tennessee. We are off to a GREAT start on the music. Have your child sign up with either Mr. Lane or Ms. Ward for extra help on their music. Ms. Ward and Mr. Lane have been working with your children in class on their All West music. Please remind your child that they must know by memory all 12 of their major scales and their chromatic scales. Look for more information and a map coming at a later date. Private instruction is highly recommended for the All West Honor Band tryouts. Also, if you go on Ms. Ward’s blog site, you can listen to actual recordings done of the music on each instrument. Please do not procrastinate with your practicing. This is not something to begin the week before.

Mark your calender today. Our Spring Trip to Six Flags Over Atlanta will be April 25th, 26th and 27th. Look for a complete packet of information coming out after Christmas. The cost of the trip will be between $300 and $400 dollars for each student and chaperones will have to pay around $50. It is an incredible trip. The Red Devil Concert Band, the Red Devil Jazz Band and the Red Devil Concert Choir will all be competing in a national competition.

Bartlett Music Academy is having an essay contest. “Why is Music Important in our Community” is the topic. The winning essay will win 6 months of free lessons. The deadline is October 31st.

Parents, please remember the GMS PTA’s Reflection Contest. Students, be a part of this contest.

Buy your BIG G yard sign tonight. Show your community spirit with the BIG G in your front yard.

The email system is strictly for band and choir information. Please don’t use it to advertise.

Band and Choir Parents. We have had some theft going on again. Any valuables that your child may have please tell them to leave their valuables locked up in their locker until after school rehearsals are over.

Long sleeve t-shirts are for sale for parents and other members of your family. The cost is $12 each. Please send your money along with your size and we will give them to you.

Kroger cards are for sale. They are $5 each. Buy yours tonight.