Hello Parents!

I want to take a moment to say thank you for all you have done to ensure a successful start to band for your child. We are excited to see the students each day! There are some wonderful performances taking place in our classroom. This note provides a few reminders and updates pertaining to band.

• Equipment – Students receive an Equipment grade for having their instrument, band book and band folder. We tell the students to “Put the instrument by the door, the night before.”
• Homework Sheets – New ones are distributed at each class. These are to be filled out, signed by a parent and turned in the following week. The Homework grade is determined by the number of minutes practiced.
• Sticker Chart – Students earn “pass off” stickers for successful performances of their assigned exercises. These assignments are in the Red Book for Beginner Band and Advanced Band, and in the Blue Book for Cougar Band. This is also tied to the Achievement Grade.
• McLean Area Band – This exciting opportunity for Advanced Band students will begin Tuesday, November 14. This group is comprised of our “Area” elementary schools – Haycock, Kent Gardens, Chesterbrook, Churchill Road, Lemon Road, Franklin Sherman, and Timber Lane. Area Band is a large ensemble which meets once per week, from 4:45p.m. to 6:00 p.m. from November through February and will perform one concert on February 22. Students participating in Area Band earn 45 minutes of Homework Practice Minutes for free! We have a carpool list for anyone needing transportation help. I encourage students to take part in this challenging and exciting group. For most band students, this is one of the highlights of the year.
• Metronome – Students will want to use a metronome during their at-home practice. Several apps are available for your devices. I use Tempo. It’s simple and inexpensive. Free metronomes are available on the web as well. Check out https://www.metronomeonline.com/.
• Winter Concert – January 18 at 7 p.m. in the gym. Please mark calendars for this exciting evening.
• Instagram! – We are building an Instagram account for sharing photos and short videos from our classes. New pics posted daily. Follow us: @hes_band.

Thanks again for all of your support! Please feel free to contact us at [email protected] or [email protected] with any questions or concerns you may have.