Band day (6th grade)

Please notify me if you are able to assist this Monday for Band Day. I will be honest, without parent help it will be VERY difficult for me to run the day smoothly by myself. Please view the previous post to sign up to chaperone OR you may email me directly.

Our students have agreed to bring in some items on Monday.

Woodwinds: chips and sides

Brass: sodas and water (cans or 2 liter bottles)

Percussion: desserts

Some great news: our students will play some cheers and their band pieces along side the high school students when we walk down to visit. This will be the highlight for many of them. You are welcome to come watch at the high school band room. We should be walking down around 8:10 from the middle school.

I look forward to spending Monday with the 6th graders!

 

-MM

Band Day 6th Grade

6th graders:

We will have our Band Day to celebrate your “graduation” from the middle school band program on Monday the 8th. This will be a day where the 6th grade band members will come to the band room and participate in fun activities for the school day. Activities include a field trip the high school band room for a special performance, playing new music as a full 6th grade band, eating lunch together, playing some sports and games together outside, and watching a movie in the multi purpose room.

I will need a group of parents to assist me throughout the day with handing out pizza and monitoring kids. If you are available to help then please fill out the form below.  Chaperone shifts are as follows:

8:00AM- 10:00

10:00AM- 12:00

12:00-2:00

If you are available to assist with all or part of the day it would really be appreciated.

If you are viewing this on your email you will need to go to the band website to fill out the form below. It will not show up in your inbox but will show up on our actual website. http://www.cmstrojanband.com or just click anywhere on this email that has cmstrojanbands on it and it will take you directly there. 

 

Student will need to bring clothes to play outside with and maybe even some blankets and pillows to sit on while watching the movie.

Let me know if you have any questions!

-M. Menendez

Recruitment Concert/Band BBQ

Good morning and happy Sunday!

This Tuesday at 9 AM the 6th grade band members will perform a small concert for our 4th graders. This concert will be during the school day and will not require anything special other than their performance uniform. Students will report to the band room after the Broadcast (announcements) and will come to the multi-purpose room so that we can rehearse until the 9AM performance. I am so proud to have our fantastic 6th grade band to demonstrate the excellence of the Middle School program that they have established this year to our potential future band members! A few parent volunteers would help. Please email me or comment on this post if you are available to help from around 8:00-10:00 AM this Tuesday.

6th grade Flutes only: Those of you who have been invited to perform at the Band BBQ at the high school on Thursday, May the 4th will need to report to the band room at 10:15 AM on Thursday. Mrs. Lyle will have a quick rehearsal with you and then you all will walk down to the high school to perform. The performance will be around 11 AM. Those who would like to watch are recommended to arrive a little earlier than 11 so that you can find a great spot to watch the performance. They will perform underneath the Away bleachers. I am so excited to see you all perform this Thursday!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

-Ms. Menendez

Announcements

Good morning,

I wanted to take a moment to thank you all for your HARD work on the AYP fundraiser. I sold out of the first bunch and had to ask the company for more to sell! We sold out and made a lot of profit that will go directly towards your student. Thank you so much for taking the time to support our band program.

I know that Friday of this week will be a normal day at the Middle School so please make sure that your student brings their instrument on Friday for class. Please also ask your student to practice this week because the end of the year will involve a lot of playing and even a concert for the 4th graders that the 6th graders play in. I do not have the exact date of the recruitment concert but know that it is during the school day and is just a concert that we play to encourage the younger kids to consider joining band.

Please refer to an earlier post and consider enrolling your student in private lessons on their instrument. A lot of kids will take private lessons in the summer so that they stay in shape, work on some things to fix and prepare some more advanced concepts for the next school year. If the pricing is not good for you then I recommend emailing me and I will find a high schooler that I trust to teach your kid for much less money.

Your kids are the best and you all are such a supportive set of families. Thank you for all that you do.

Sincerely,

Ms. Menendez

Announcements

Good evening,

I hope that my students are enjoying Spring Break and I am sorry for the family members who have to continue working! I cannot say enough about the concert this past Thursday! The students were professional, focused, and sounded amazing! I have heard many great things about their performance and how they carried themselves that entire night. I am so proud of each and every one of the students. Congratulations on another fantastic concert.

There is a concert tomorrow night at the University of West Georgia. Just like the last concert that I performed in, the first portion is the Symphonic Band and the second portion is the Brass Ensemble. The brass ensemble portion contains a solo by the trombone professor the University of Florida which may excite some of our low brass palyers. I was thrilled to see some students in the audience at the last concert and would love to have them hearing not only me play in a professional setting, but hear other extremely talented individuals performing on their instruments. Info is posted below:

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

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Now that our concert season has relaxed I would like to really encourage students to consider taking private lessons on their instrument. This is an opportunity to really enhance their skills and understanding of their instrument with someone who is specialized on their specific instrument. Private lessons can be used for students who feel that they are behind or students that need an extra challenge. The job of the private lesson instructor is to meet your student where they are at and help them grow while learning to love their instrument!

If your student is competitive than they will want to know that students who take private lessons tend to place higher in rankings at the Junior High for chair placements and in competitions such as District Honor Band and All- State. Competitions such as DHB and All State are great items to put on your resume as you apply to colleges later high school. Colleges love seeing students take the initiative to grow in a subject outside of the school day and they even offer scholarships for students to play in their ensembles. I took private lessons in 9th grade all the way through college and regretted not beginning earlier. They completely changed my playing and especially my work ethic, which I have carried on with me into other areas of my life. I have attached a list of instructors that I trust who will charge fairly low prices and who will be flexible to meet the needs of you and your student. They can work with your child once a week or once every few weeks, whatever works best for you! Please let me know if you have any questions and take advantage of the outstanding musicians in our area at the University of West Georgia and beyond.

Mary Kathryn Newton, flute
Amari Jimenez, flute
Mariana Fraire, oboe
Jourdan Speesen, bassoon
Kyle Willoughby, clarinet
Kristen Greenstein, clarinet
David Jones, saxophone
Alex Payne, saxophone
Michaela Wilkinson, horn
Jules Antoine, horn
Thomas Frost, trumpet
Zoe Kriegel, trumpet
Erik Payton, trombone
Keidis Smith, trombone
Wesley Grace, tuba
Luke Bass, tuba
Emma Eddleman, percussion
Martez Stroud, percussion
Emily Olson, percussion
Mary Kathryn Newton <nmarykathryn@gmail.com>, Amari Jimenez <ajimene3@my.westga.edu>, Mariana Fraire <mfraire1@my.westga.edu>, Jourdan Speessen <jourdan010698@gmail.com>, Kyle Willoughby <kwillou1@my.westga.edu>, Kristen Greenstein <kgreens1@my.westga.edu>, David Jones <djones23@my.westga.edu>, Alexander Payne <apayne8@my.westga.edu>, Michaela Wilkinson <mwilkin6@my.westga.edu>, Jules Antoine <jantoin1@my.westga.edu>, Thomas Frost <tfrost1@my.westga.edu>, Zoe Kriegel <Zkriege1@my.westga.edu>, Erik Payton <Epayton1@my.westga.edu>, Keidis Smith <ksmith70@my.westga.edu>, Wesley Grace <wgrace1@my.westga.edu>, Luke Bass <Lbass4@my.westga.edu>, Emma Eddleman <eeddlem1@my.westga.edu>, Martez Stroud <mstroud1@my.westga.edu>, Emily Olson <eolson1@my.westga.edu>
I have so much love for the students and families that surround this program. Thank you for your constant support and have a wonderful evening.
Sincerely,
Ms. Menendez

Concert Tomorrow!

Good evening,

I am extremely excited for our concert tomorrow at 7PM in the Mabry Arts Center. I just finished with the CMS Singers and their dress rehearsal and want to let you know that they are going to be incredible.

A few reminders for tomorrow:

Black band polo, black pants (dress pants), black socks, black shoes, and a black belt if possible!

Report time is 6:30

5th grade report to stage with instruments

6th grade sit in assigned areas.

At 3:00 and at the end of the concert are crucial times where volunteers are always appreciated. We carry equipment to the MAC at 3 from the middle school and set the stage for the concert. We clean up the equipment and bring some items back to the high school after the concert. We also have to load up the props for the musical into the trailer along with our larger instruments. 

If you are able to volunteer at either time please let me know. 

Having some extra hands will make the whole set up and clean up process much faster. Especially since we will have to set up around 200 chairs tomorrow!

I appreciate everyone and I look forward to seeing you all tomorrow night.

Sincerely,

Ms. Menendez

maria.menendez@carrolltoncityschools.net

 

Beaming with pride!

Good evening,

I had the pleasure of seeing my first show at the Cultural Arts Center here in Carrollton this weekend. This Friday I went with my family to see our local production of Beauty and the Beast and was blown away by our local talent here in Carrollton! It warmed my heart to see so many Carrollton students in the production and specifically Carrollton band students of all different ages who were involved. Our very own Lexy Walter did a beautiful job. Her bio found in the program has been posted below.

IMG_0198

As I smiled from ear to ear I realized that we have multiple students who have different talents in our band program this year. I have witnessed the athletic skills of many of our soccer players like Kanate Jordan Evir, James Noori, Hagan Russell, Nick Jenks, Jacob Easterwood, Jackson Moncayo, Justin Arnold, Gavin Ward, Mark Zimmer, and Jayro Lopez. We also had Lexy Walter and Anna Kate Ware compete in the cross country team this year with great success.

I watched with pride last month when two of our very own, Mark Zimmer and Connor Haley,  competed in the system spelling bee and fought a tough battle, leaving with their heads held high.

I love nothing more than seeing students exploring and expanding their horizons. If your student participates in an activity and would like for me to come and watch them please contact me individually.  I will try my hardest to see them in an activity other than our band program. I want for our students to try every avenue that they have access to at this time in their life and will always support them in their exploration here in Carrollton. Please know that we as the band directors support and even encourage students to participate in other activities and sports along with our band program. We easily workout any schedule conflicts, which are a rare occurrence in the younger ages since band occurs mainly during the school day and not after school. I am excited for our 6th graders to move on up to the Junior High School and continue their journey not only in band, but in up to four other connections during each school year! The importance of the arts and athletics here in Carrollton is something that I take a lot of pride in. If you have any questions about scheduling and connections at the Junior High school PLEASE contact me. Mr. Huls is extremely excited to work with your kids next year.

(5th graders are stuck with me for one more year… *insert evil laugh*)

We have our Spring Concert this Thursday at 7:00 PM. Although many meaningful memories have been made, I look forward to what will be performed on Thursday. When you hear the improvement in the bands you will be blown away. These kids work each and every day during their connection course to learn musical, mental, social, and human skills that will stay with them forever. Thank you for your help so far and I look forward to seeing you all this Thursday. Bring your camera and take lots of pictures because we will want to hold onto these memories for a long, long time.

I often use Sunday as a day of reflection for what I have and who I have in my life up to this point. Your students bring so much joy to my life not just in their musical abilities but in who they are. Seeing them thrive and flourish is what gives me hope for the future. They are selfless and unconditional with their love and I learn from them daily.

Thank you for adding so much joy into my life through your students. I am so thankful for them and for you.

Sincerely,

Ms. Menendez

 

Dress up Friday!

Good morning,

I am giving students the option to wear their full uniform tomorrow as part of our recruitment for the concert and to make sure that all of our black pants and shoes fit! Please encourage them to show their pride this Friday to pump up our school for next week. I want to make sure that they have not grown out of anything so that you will have the weekend to purchase anything if needed. Please encourage this!

Just a friendly reminder about our upcoming band concert next Thursday the 30th at 7PM. Students will report to the Mabry Arts Center at 6:30 PM in full uniform.

 

-MM