Tests

Updates

Good afternoon,

Below are a few updates and reminders.

1.) AYP Cards: please keep selling them! We still have a lot left to sell.

2.) Grades: Test grades for both 5th and 6th grade are slowly going into the gradebook. Students are making up tests in class and after school daily so please be patient with their make-up grade. If your student is not happy with their test grade then they may play it for me again during class or after school to aim for a 100.

3.) Spring Concert: Our spring concert is March the 30th at 7PM in the Mabry Arts Center. The students will be required to wear their uniform which is black pants (no leggings or sweatpants) black socks, black shoes (no tennis shoes) and their performance band polo. We had to move our May concert date much earlier due to Milestones testing and the trips at the end of the school year. Please begin planning accordingly. This concert is going to be incredible! Once again we will share this concert with our CMS singers. The band will play first and students who are in CMS Singers will change and prepare for the musical during the transition. 

3.) I will perform with the University of West Georgia Brass Ensemble this Friday. It is a group that is just comprised of only brass players. The first half of the concert is the Symphonic Band of UWG (a full band like we have in class) and the second half is the brass ensemble concert. If your students are interested they may attend the concert. If they speak to me after the concert or during and I see their faces, I will give them extra credit. This is an opportunity for them to see higher level musicians playing their instruments in order to motivate them to keep pushing themselves.

Symphonic Band and Brass Ensemble: Cale Self, conductor
Friday, February 24, 2017 • 7:30 PM
Townsend Center for the Performing Arts
Free admission

4.) I am looking for some donors who would be interested in aiding me with purchasing or renting an instrument for some band students. We have some of our band family members who are unable to make rental payments and I would like to help them out if at all possible to keep their rental membership up until they can get on their feet again.

Please do not feel required to help but know that it is very appreciated for our band family members.

Please contact me with any questions at maria.menendez@carrolltoncityschools.net

 

Sincerely,

Ms. Menendez

Playing test due

Good morning,

FIFTH GRADE ONLY

Please ensure that your student turns in their playing test by Friday night. Students who do not have a laptop at home to record on or an iPad (with the iPad app that is free) have been given the opportunity all week to record in class or after school. Tomorrow in class and after school until 3PM is the last opportunity for them to use one of my laptops here at school if needed. Testing in this format ensures that your student gets more individual feedback in class. Please encourage them to complete their assignments. THIS IS A TEST GRADE.

AYP Cards

Our next fundraiser is coming up in a couple of weeks. We will begin selling discount cards to people in our community. This is a huge fundraiser for us! If people are asking you already for them ask for them to promise that they will give you their business. You want for your kids to sell 6 of them so that they get the 7th free to keep! Info on that will be out soon!

Thank you for allowing your students to stay after school to practice and get help. Lots of fun times are had and lots of improvement is happening too!

-M.Menendez

6th Grade Test/5th Grade New Test

Good afternoon,

6th Grade: The 6th graders took their test on the concert F scale on Friday and did a great job. If your student was absent on Friday then they will take the test on Monday. If your student scored either an 85 or a 65 I ask that they re-take their test again. They may either ask one of the directors to re-test, or they may stay after school any day until 3PM to pass it off. If your student made a 65 that means that absolutely need some help and extra practice with me. Please have them stay after or ask for help in class so that we can make sure that they understand the concept.

Remember that I want every kid to make a 100 in band! Not because the grade is given to them, but because they learned to work hard, set goals, and aim for the stars.

5th Grade: The fifth graders have an Essential Elements playing test due this Friday. I put the date as Saturday so that they could record the assignment Friday night if they really procrastinate (which I hope that they do not). Remember that your student may record during class if they do not have a device at home and that they or you may email me at any time if you are having trouble logging in. Please encourage your students to write down their username and password like I have asked of them. I encouraged them to use their lunch numbers as their passwords.

Please wear headphones if at all possible while recording.

Please set the background music as metronome.

Please turn the microphone sensitivity level down before recording. If the recording              sounds extremely distorted than they must record the assignment again.

When your students submit the recording they will have to “add comment” and click on “Test 2” to submit the assignment for me to grade. 

 

Enjoy the SuperBowl and be safe tonight! 

–Ms. Menendez

 

Playing Test Assignment Grades

Good evening,

It is 10 PM and I have just completed entering the test grades from our assignment that was due on January the 13th. The students used their new accounts to log into http://www.essentialelementsinteractive.com and practice then record their assignment.

For students who either forgot to submit their assignment or recorded it but need some extra work have been given a 70 in the gradebook. That is simply a place holder until your student either re-submits their assignment (after some practicing) OR sends in their original recording correctly. *Many of the students DID record their assignment but neglected to go to their “saved recordings” folder and actually submit the assignment* If your child believes that they have submitted the recording correctly then please double check that the “submit” button is green.

All students who submitted a recording have comments written by me that they can read when they log into their account. I expect all students to read these comments. Signing into the account will help to notify if your student’s recording submitted successfully and if so, whether they received a hundred or whether they need to submit the assignment again with improvements. There will be a RED FLAG if your students submitted their test but needs to record it again.  I will hand out progress reports tomorrow and notify which students need to re-take their assignments, and which students that I have nothing turned in for.

All grades may be made up in my class for full credit. I test my students for an opportunity to hear them individually and assist them, not to penalize them or scare them. Although a little fear in making them practice for a test does not hurt 😉

Allowing me to hear your students individually is VITAL for the success of the band. Imagine teaching a math class but never having a piece of homework or test to take home and grade. How would the teacher know if your child understands the content? Tests like this allow me to do just.

Please contact me with questions regarding this test and allow me to get your student to get their grade up to the 100 that we are all aiming for!

Sincerely,

Ms. Menendez

 

 

Assignment Due at Midnight

Please remember that the Essential Elements assignment is due tonight at Midnight. Please refer to their handout or the previous post on this website with a video included to help you out if your student has not yet recorded their assignment.

Some of our band students got to meet Silento yesterday as he visited the middle school. I have attached a picture below. He walked over to some of our sixth graders and asked them if he could take a picture with them. They were excited! Have a great long weekend and look out for the Carrollton Trojan Band in the parade on Monday.

img_1556

 

-M. Menendez

Essential Elements Assignment

Good evening,

I hope that you are all rested and ready to begin this semester with enthusiasm! I feel so thankful to be back working with your amazing students and feel rejuvenated from our break.

A quick note: The yearbook is looking for pictures of our students at their Holiday Concert. If you have any photos from that night whether it is of us on stage or of your kids please email them to me so that I can forward them to be put in our yearbook!

I have attached a video below that will explain how the students will turn in their assignment that is due on this Friday, the 13th. The students have created accounts on the Essential Elements Interactive website and have received guidance and training on how to use this software. Thankfully, it is at no cost to any of us and it can be reached anywhere that has internet, on any device that has internet. There is even an app for the iPad that has just been released.

Please log on to https://www.essentialelementsinteractive.com

The username for the students is their first and last name with no spaces or capital letters. The password was set by the students.

Please watch the video with your student and assist them in having the assignment turned in by the 13th of January. I would prefer for it to be turned in early if possible!

-Ms. Menendez

Important announcements

Hello all,

Thank you very much for your hard work this semester. Below are a couple of important announcements.

Cookie Dough: Depending on the amount of boxes that your student sold, they may owe money towards their band performance polo. The goal was to sell 7 boxes to earn their band polo. Three dollars from every box sold goes towards their $21 band performance polo. This shirt is needed to perform at all CMS and CJHS Band events. Please contact me with any questions.

Cookie Dough Delivery: The cookie dough is set to come in on the second full week of October. It looks like Tuesday the 11th is our goal date to have the cookie dough delivered. If you would like to assist in organizing and counting the cookie dough I will need a lot of help during the school day. Please contact me if you are interested in volunteering.

Band Concerts: We finally have our two concerts set up for the school year. We will share with CMS Singers for both of these concerts. If your child is in both ensembles then they will be given plenty of time to change or transition as needed.

Our Holiday Concert is December the 12th beginning at 7PM.

     Our Spring Concert is May the15th beginning at 7PM.

    Report times for both concerts is 6PM at the Mabry Arts Center at the high school.

Playing Test: We had a very successful first playing test last week. A student may make up any test grade for me throughout the year. Please check their grade and encourage them to push for a 100. Also keep an eye on their practice log grade and their weekly participation grade. Students with great practice log grades and participation grades are more likely to excel on playing tests.

Please contact me with any questions: maria.menendez@carrolltoncityschools.net

 

Sincerely,

Ms. Menendez

February Updates

Good afternoon,

I am just touching base with you all to give you any updates and reminders that I have.

Playing Tests: I am STILL grading these. I am giving each student individual feedback and watching their videos multiple times to make sure that I am catching anything that I can. I plan to have these finished and in the grade book by Wednesday evening. Your students were very flexible and patient through this trial process. We all learned a lot and can plan for our next playing test.

AYP Fundraiser Cards: I have received multiple questions about these AYP Cards and when we will begin selling them this year. We are waiting on the company to finish putting them together for this year. Once we receive them, you all will know and we can begin that fundraiser. It is my favorite fundraiser each year because it is an easy sale! More info soon!

Monday After School Practice Sessions: Tons of kids are making the extra effort to stay after on Mondays to play with their friends, pass off things, and get extra help. I love spending extra time with them and making music. Thank you for supporting that.

Wednesday Instrument Club: This week we will begin an instrument club on Wednesdays. This will run exactly like Mondays do (until 4:15pm) but we will split off into sections and have high school leadership down here teaching your students. This will give them info that pertains to their instrument, and a fun time with their section mates. It begins after school and ends at 4:15 pm as stated above. This is a new tradition so I cannot wait to begin!

Star Chart: We now have a star chart posted in front of the class. When a student learns a scale and is ready to pass it off, they can stay after school at one of our practice sessions, or come before school between 7:50-8:05am to pass it off for me. To pass it off they must Finger and Name the scale and then play it. A scale is when the students play up and down 8 notes of the scale with an arpeggio. Your students understand how to read these scales. Students who pass off all 12 scales will receive an award at the end of the year at our Spring Concert. Please encourage your students to become Scale Masters!

Remember that each Monday we check our practice logs from the previous week. Take a second tonight and sign your student’s practice log for last week so that they can get full credit please.

Have a fantastic rest of your Sunday and Happy Super Bowl!

(I’m not sure if that is a phrase or not… oh well)

Ms. Menendez

maria.menendez@carrolltoncityschools.net*

 

Playing Test Due 1/26/2016

Good morning,

As I have mentioned to the students, we are planning on doing some of our testing online and through Google classroom this semester.

Benefits of online testing with video include:

  • The ability for me to visually see the embouchure, grips and keys that the students are playing.
  • The ability for me to re watch the video to get a good read of what their strengths and weaknesses are.
  • The ability for me to give a more detailed report back to the students so that they can know exactly how they are doing and how to improve.
  • The ability for me to watch the video with the students to point things out so they can hear themselves play from an audience members perspective.
  • Students have a large window to complete the test on and do not need to submit their video until they get their best repetition of the line. Students can submit it when they are ready as long as it is by the due date.
  • Especially in my large class of 80, the students do not have to sit and wait as I test EACH STUDENT INDIVIDUALLY.

There are many benefits that I see with this form of testing. We will not use online testing for every test, but we will when needed.

Ways to submit the test:

  • Students must take a video where I can see their face and entire instrument (specifically the hands).
  • Students will either email the video to me directly maria.menendez@carrolltoncityschools.net  OR submit it through GoogleClassroom. (Make sure to put your first and last name please).
    • Class 6.1 (10:15-11:05) class key= 8e52j9
    • Class 6.2 (12:00-12:50) class key= 89xry6d
  • Students without a cell phone or recording device will use a Chromebook at school to turn in their test. Every student has the opportunity to submit this assignment. Any students who do not turn in the test by the due date will quickly be tested in class with a late penalty. 

I WANT to hear each student and I am thrilled that I will get recordings so that I can really diagnose anything that I see. This will make our band immensely better especially moving on to 7th grade band because I am now able to give each student the individual attention that they need.

Once again, I accept using Google Classroom or an email sent to me with the video. If students do not have a cell phone/ipad/ipod/recording/GoPro/recording device they may use yours or our equipment here at school. 

The beauty is that your student can practice and take multiple takes and only send me their best one! I want to see them at their best.

The info for this playing test is below:

Essential Elements book page 10 line 45 “William Tell”.

The due date is Tuesday January the 26th at midnight.

I would like for you all to review what I have written above and email me with any concerns. This is our first time ever at Carrollton using GoogleClassroom for online testing so I would like to get over any hurdles that we run into now. This is going to be a fantastic thing!

-Ms. Menendez

maria.menendez@carrolltoncityschools.net