Latest News
Music Notes: May 14 - 27
Posted on Sunday, May 13 at 20:27
Greetings from the Band Room:
1. California 2012: The week has finally arrived for those traveling to California - only 5 more days until we depart on Friday afternoon. Please make sure that you have read through all the documentation carefully and remember to pack as light as possible. I sent out a copy of the final itinerary last week via e-mail and it can also be downloaded on the website. Don't forget to change your cell phone plan and make sure any banking cards that will be brought will work in the US! Homework sheets will be handed out tomorrow at tour band and students are expected to have them completed no later than Thursday. A reminder that any student who does not have all their homework done by Wednesday, May 23 will NOT be going back to the Disneyland Park after dinner, but instead returning to the hotel to complete homework! If you have any questions about the trip before Friday please don't hesitate to send me a quick e-mail or call my cell. I know it will be a fantastic trip! Don't forget to check the website or add @fnssmusic to your twitter account to follow our progress and see pictures!
2. Sectionals / Combined Rehearsals: We have a few sectionals this week to work on our year end concert music.
Monday: Grade 7 Flute / Clarinet / Saxes
Wednesday: Grade 7 Low Woodwind and Brass
Wednesday: Tour Band Low Woodwind and Brass
Thursday: Grade 6 Low Woodwind and Brass
Grade 6 Combined Rehearsal: Thursday @ 10:30 - 11:15
Grade 7 Combined Rehearsal: Tuesday @ 12:35 - 1:20
3. Skeena Band Visit: Thanks to those who have opened up their homes to our fellow band students from Terrace B.C. on May 30 and 31st. We still need homes for 5 more girls and 9 more boys. If you are able please let me know by the end of this week. A reminder to those who do volunteer to drop by the RCMP office and complete a criminal record check and send it up to the school. All adults in the house must complete one. There is no cost for you to do this!
4. Year-End Concerts: A quick reminder that our year-end concerts will take place on Wednesday, June 6 for RL Angus students, and Thursday, June 7 for FNSS students at 1pm at the Phoenix theatre. Busing will be arranged for all groups. Anyone in the public is welcome to attend - admission is by donation. More details will be sent home about this in the coming weeks.
5. Homework Report:
Sr / Jr Concert Band: Term Quiz on Thursday. Playing tests overdue!
Sr. Jazz: Listening Log No. 3 / 4 due on Thursday.
Have a great week everyone!
Mr. J
Music Notes: May 7 - 13
Posted on Sunday, May 6 at 17:04
Greetings from the Band Room:
FNSS Grande Prairie Trip: A big congratulations to both the Tour Concert Band and Sr. Jazz Band for their performance at the Grande Prairie Music Festival last week. I was extremely proud of the silver ratings that both the ensembles earned. BRAVO! The leadership shown by the music department students during this trip was outstanding and I am very proud of everyone. A big thank you once again to Connie Croin, Giles Schindler, and Jaylene Schindler who went along on the trip - without you three the trip wouldn't have been possible.
California 2012: A reminder that we will be having a very important meeting Monday night starting at 7pm in the band room for all students traveling to California. We will be going over the final itinerary, behaviour expectations, packing requirements, and more. Those who requested their refunds to be handed out before the trip will also be able to pick up their money at this meeting. I don't expect the meeting to take any longer than 30 minutes - there may even be cookies!
Skeena Band Visit: We have now firmed up the details for the Skeena Jr. Secondary's band visit at the end of the month. We are in need of students and parents who are willing to billet them on Wednesday, May 30 and Thursday, May 31! I have attached a list of all the students in their band - please take a look over it and let me know how many you can take, and which group of students you'd like to take in. A reminder that any family that does take in students will need to complete a criminal record check for each adult in the house. I hope we are able to make these students feel at home. We will be working with the same adjudicator that was in Grande Prairie.
Grade 5 Instrument Try-Out Night: As part of our annual recruitment effort the Sr. Concert Band and Sr. Jazz band that we will be performing for the Grade 5s at RL Angus on Tuesday this week. Students are expected to come to the band room at the beginning of A block, change into uniform, and set-up at Angus. This means students will need to bring their 'blacks' to school on Tuesday! We still need a few students to help out with the try-out evening which begins at 7pm at RL Angus. If you are interested please sign up on the bulletin board by the door in the band room.
Sectionals: There is a very short time left until the concert so we will be having a few sectionals this week to work on our new pieces:
Tuesday @ Lunch: Grade 7 Flutes and Clarinets (RL Angus Music Room)
Wednesday @ Lunch: Grade 6 Trumpets (RL Angus Music Room)
Wednesday @ Lunch: Tour Band Flutes / Clarinets / Saxes (Band Room)
Thursday @ Lunch: Grade 6 Flutes / Clarinets (RL Angus Music Room)
Homework Report:
FNSS Concert Bands
Music Term Quiz No. 1 - Monday
Scale Playing Test - Wednesday
RL Angus
Continued review for Year-end Talend Showcase. I have attached the requirements for parents and students to look over. A sign-up sheet for dates / times will be posted next week.
Have a great week!
Mr. J
Music Notes: April 30 - May 6
Posted on Sunday, May 6 at 17:04
Greetings from the Band Room:
1. Tour Band GP Trip: The FNSS Tour band will be traveling to Grande Prairie on May 1/2 to participate in the local music festival. I want to extend a huge thank-you to the chaperones who have volunteered their time to come along and a special thanks to Connie Croin for stepping in to the be the school sponsor. I will not be traveling with the students on this trip but I have no doubt they will perform well at the festival and learn lots. I have attached a copy of the itinerary with a few updates / corrections from the one I gave out to students on Thursday (sorry, 'Ron'). Students will need to be at the school on Tuesday morning at 7:30am so they can depart at 8am. Although it is a short trip students need to make sure they pack everything they need for the trip - including some sort of sleeping bag / blanket as they are spending the night in a school gym. Students will also need to be sure to bring some money as no group meals will be provided. Chelsea Klubi has offered to be the official trip tweeter - so you can follow their progress either on the FNSS website or by following @fnssmusic on your own twitter account.
Students are to be reminded that we have switched the gym / band blocks this week - Monday, Thursday and Friday will all be PE days, as Tuesday and Wednesday you will be on your band trip. In otherwords, there will be no regular class band this week.
2. California 2012: As I'm sure most of you are aware by now, after many phone calls around the province and discussions with my local union, I WILL be traveling with the students to California. I am very pleased that this is the final outcome as I certainly was disappointed by the prospect of not being able to travel with such a great group of kids on what will undoubtably be a fantastic trip. We will be having our final trip meeting on Monday, May 7th in the band room at 7pm. Please ensure you are there as it is a chance to ask any last minute questions. I will be posting the information online for those of you who have already informed me that you are unable to make it. Only 20 days until we leave!
I received an e-mail from our travel agent on Thursday that we need to preselect our meals for Bubba Gump's restaurant. All students / chaperones / parents who are traveling with us need to let me know what they wish to eat by completing this quick online form. I will track down those who don't by Tuesday!
3. Grade 5 Instrument Try-Out Night: Another year has flown by and it is now time to get our new grade 5 students pumped up for band next year. We will be holding our instrument try-out night on Tuesday, May 8th at RL Agnus starting at 7pm. I am still looking for some volunteers to help out on each instrument - the sign up sheet is posted in the band room. It also looks as if we will be having Grade 5 band as an option for ALL students next year (not just those in a grade 5/6 split). We will be having an instrument try-out night for those students later on in June when they come and visit the school. The Senior Concert band will be performing for the students on Tuesday morning during the first of the double blocks.
4. Year-End Concerts: Thanks to those parents who offered their feedback on which time worked better for them. It looks as if the 1-3 time slot is best so mark it on your calendar! Both the RL Angus Year Concert (June 6) and FNSS Year End Concert (June 7) will be held at the Phoenix theatre starting at 1pm. I will arrange for bussing for students to get to and from the school.
5. Homework Report:
New: Playing tests are easier than ever to complete - Students can now record their test on their phone or home computer then e-mail it to fnssplayingtests @ gmail.com
RL Angus Bands
Prep for year-end band interview (end of May / early June): I will be sitting down with students on a individual basis and reviewing what they have leant this year in band. Together we will decide upon their final grade in the course. I will be providing students with a list of items we have covered this year so they can review some of the items they may have forgotten. Areas that will be evaluated include music terminology and symbols, rhythms, knowledge of fingerings, tone quality, sight reading abilities, attitude, and work ethic.
FNSS Concert Bands
Tempo Term Quiz - Monday, May 7
Scale Playing Test - Wednesday May 9
FNSS Sr. Jazz
Listening Log #1 / 2 (link to playlist is found on the website)
Have a great week everyone!
Mr. J
Music Notes: April 23 - 29
Posted on Sunday, April 22 at 10:32
Greetings from the Band Room:
Please read through this e-mail carefully as there is a lot of important info regarding the impact of the teacher's vote last week.
1. FSJ Trip 2012: I would like to say a huge thank-you to all the students who made the trip to FSJ last week! It was a fantastic trip and I am very proud of how the students represented Fort Nelson. The Grade 6s earned a gold rating and the Grade 7s earned a silver rating from the adjudicator. He offered us lots of valuable feedback and we now have more stuff to work on for the year end show. Bravo! All the hard work and practising paid off! I would especially like to say a huge thank-you to our 5 chaperones who came along with us: Mrs. Reimer, Mr. Abraham, Mrs. Kennedy, Ms. Schindler, and Mrs. Dancevic. Without your support these trips are not possible. I have been receiving lots of great feedback from the students on things they thought went well and things we can tweak to make next year's trip even better. Over the next month I will be working on putting together the trip DVD and will hopefully have it ready for viewing by the end of May.
2. Impact of Teacher's Action Plan: As many of you are already aware, last week BC Teacher's voted in favour of an Action Plan to oppose Bill 22. In the Action Plan it states that teachers are to “refrain from all extra-curricular/voluntary activities.” Many students and parents have been asking me what impact this will have on the remainder of the year, in particular the two trips planned in the upcoming weeks. Although nothing is 100% set in stone as the situation still fluid, here is my best prediction based on the current information I have.
Grande Prairie Trip: I will be unable to travel with the students on the trip. I have been in contact with administration both at the school level and board level in hopes of finding an admin to travel along with the students. There are a few senior students who have volunteered to conduct the group at the festival. We are also in need of a male chaperone for the trip. If no one steps up by tomorrow (Monday), then this trip will have to be cancelled regardless of whether or not admin is able to travel. Although this trip is really short, I believe the festival experience and feedback would be very valuable to our students and I do not want to see the trip scraped.
California: I know many parents are very concerned about the status of this trip. I will tell you know I am doing and will continue to do everything in my power to make sure this trip still occurs. The students and parents have worked too hard over the last year to allow something like this to result in its cancellation. At this moment, like the Grande Prairie trip, I will not be travelling with the group and will be replaced by an administrator. The itinerary will be modified slightly to remove any of the extra performances where a director is required, but the workshops, clinics, and all other activities will be kept as is. Students will still be required to bring their instruments!
The question has arisen about refunds if in the worst case scenario it does have to be cancelled. At this point I do not have a real answer to the answer as it depends on a number of factors (how late we cancel for example). We did pay a deposit for the trip BEFORE job action begun in September so our RBC Youth Student Insurance Package will help to cover some of the costs. Here is an excerpt from Ellison's Memo they sent out in September:
"If you paid a deposit on the tour prior to September 2nd, 2011 (when the action was announced) your tour would be covered by RBC in the event that the tour is cancelled due to the job action or strike. Written notice from your school board would be required. Your payments would be refundable (less the cost of the insurance premium) for these participants plus chaperones. Students who join the tour and pay a deposit after September 2nd, 2011 would NOT be covered by your RBC insurance. However, Ellison Travel and Tours Ltd will refund as much as possible to these students in the event that the tour is cancelled due to the job action or an eventual strike with written notice from your school board."
As I said, this is the ABSOLUTE last resort and I am working very hard to make sure this situation does not occur.
Year-End Concerts: Part of the action plan is not to participate in activities outside of regular school hours - including concerts and musical performances. This has an impact on our June concert dates which usually begin at 7pm. I am going to leave the concert dates as is (Wednesday, June 6 for Angus and Thursday, June 7 for FNSS) but move the start time to fit within the regular school day. I am very aware this means some parents may not be able to get off work to attend the concert, but it is the best option at this point. I will make sure the concert is filmed and a DVD is made available for those who are unable to attend. I would like some feedback as to which time works best for parents. I would either like a 10am - 12pm concert, or a 1pm - 3pm concert.
Please take three seconds to fill out this poll:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dHRxQmRSV0dZWjd3a3AyU1lmRnBXT1E6MQ
I know it won't satisfy everyone but it will be the best we can do in these circumstances.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact me and I will do my best to answer them to the best of my ability.
Music Notes: April 16 - 22
Posted on Sunday, April 15 at 20:37
Greetings from the band room:
1. FSJ Trip 2012: The week has finally arrived for our FSJ trip! I hope everyone has been busy practicing over the weekend to ensure they know their parts and are ready to perform on Wednesday morning. Students will be going to class as usual on Tuesday morning and we will all meet in the RL Angus library after lunch on Tuesday. A reminder that the buses are VERY full so please try and pack as light as you possibly can. Any snacks that students wish to eat during their trip must be purchased before hand as we will NOT be stopping to purchase food on the trip down. A reminder as well that any personal electronics such as iPods and laptops are brought at students own risk and should be well identified with their name. Please also ensure that students instruments are well identified as all the cases look exactly the same and it is very easy to mix up cases. A final reminder that if you plan on driving your own child or having a relative pick them up at ANY point during the trip I MUST have a note from you saying so. This is school board policy. If I don't have the note the student must remain on the bus and stick with the group for the entire duration of the trip.
You can follow our progress if you have a twitter account - @fnssmusic - or simply visit the www.fnssmusic.ca homepage and check the right hand side of the page for regular updates of our progress. We will be posting pictures as we go!
Note: If your son or daughter is NOT traveling with us, there will still be a TOC in for me to cover the band block, but students will not be playing and are not required to have their instrument.
2. California / Grande Prairie 2012: A reminder that two forms are due in by next Monday - the permission form for Grande Prairie and the California Rebate form for anyone who has money coming back to them. A reminder that if I do not have the form in the money will automatically be rolled forward to next year's trip.
3. New Late Policy - Pilot Project: Term 3 marks have now final and posted on the website. Unfortunately many students neglected to hand in their term three project and this significantly affected their grade. I can not stress enough the importance of completing all assignments as it is very different that a math or science course where there are a large number of assignments and one or two missing doesn't change the grade. Starting in term four I am going to be instituting a new 'late assignment policy' for all FNSS courses (including jazz band). For every day that an assignment is late students will have to serve a 5 minute detention on Tuesday. They do NOT get to go to the lunch line first!! During that time the student is expected to be working on the late assignment. For example, if a student hands in a assignment that was due on a Monday on Friday, they owe 20 minutes of detention time the following Tuesday. If a student is absent on the day it is due they are expected to hand it in the next class. I hope this will encourage students to hand their work in on time (and ask for help if they need assistance).
4. Skeena Band Visit: On May 30 - June 1 the Skeena Junior Secondary School band from Terrace, BC will be visiting us in Fort Nelson as part of their northern tour. We will be having workshops with them under the direction of Dr. Rob Taylor, the director of Bands at UBC and participating in various activities with them during their short stay in our town. In order for their visit to be a success we need to arrange for billets! If you are able to take a few of their students during this time please complete this billet information form. There are a total of around 50 students who we will need to find places for who are in grades 8 through 10. Please note that if you have billets any adult who is staying in that residence will need to have a criminal record check completed at the RCMP office. There is NO cost to you for this service. Host families will be required to provide lunch for the students.
5. Sr. Jazz Wednesday: As I will be away in FSJ with the grade 6/7 students there will be no Sr. Jazz Band rehearsal on Wednesday morning. I suggest you wake up early anyways and practice in your house. I know your parents and siblings will appreciate the wake-up music! Have a great week everyone!