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Jim McCartney, NHS Band
Michael McDermott, NHS/Wood Band
Kathy McMillen, Wood Band
Orchestra Notes
The orchestra finished the year by performing for the North High School graduation. Eighth grade students from Wood were invited to participate, and over 30 students were present for the graduation. Orchestra starts early again next fall with orchestra camp on Tuesday and Thursday August 24th and 26th . We will meet in the instrumental room from 2-4 pm on those two days, and we will perform at the instrumental Ice Cream Social on August 26th. To give students an opportunity to prepare for the performance, and also to give students something to practice, summer music folders have been prepared for every student. Watch for official notice of the camp and more complete information in the summer orchestra mailing.
We are looking forward to growth and improvement in the coming year. The block schedule will provide us with both challenges and opportunities. Please read the section on scheduling options later in this letter, especially if you are having problems with scheduling everything you want to take.
SCHEDULE:
North has gone to a straight block schedule for the coming year. This may cause some students to have difficulty in scheduling the classes they wish to take along with music classes. We have worked very hard with our counseling department and managed to get several courses offered in an early-bird time slot. The early-bird classes start at 6:50 and run until 7:35. They meet for an entire semester. A student taking early bird classes both semesters would be able to take up to 18 classes during the year instead of the standard 16 classes. These classes give students more flexibility and options, and we strongly recommend them for students who run out of space for music in their schedule. Check with your counselor to see what classes are being offered (PE is being offered along
May 2004
Jerry Henry NHS/Wood Orchestra
Kris Kendell, Wood Orchestra
with several academic classes). If you run into a problem in the counseling office please talk to Mr. Henry or Mr. McCartney so we can try to help solve the problem. One other thing that will come up, because of the way the computer program works you can only sign up for one class during a block. Students wishing to take multiple music classes during the same block will only have one class on their schedule. Band, Orchestra, and the Chorale all meet during first block. If you plan to participate in multiple groups during this block please inform the teachers involved. They will be creating a schedule internally which allows you to participate in any combination of these three groups.
All state
Summer is the best time to prepare for next fall and All State auditions. Find someone for private lessons and work on your scales, a solo, tone quality and technique. Etudes will come out on August 1st. You can find these at IHSMA.org. It is best to have all of your other audition materials prepared before August, so you can focus on the etudes from that point on. All State auditions are October 23rd in Muscatine Iowa. Any band students auditioning are encouraged to attend a workshop designed to help you with the etudes and general technique. This workshop is in Cedar Falls at the University o f Northern Iowa on Sunday, Oct. 3rd. Information will arrive in September. All State is a great honor and is very competitive, but the reason we encourage everyone to audition is because the audition itself makes you a better musician as well as a better person. Auditions prepare you for life skills such as, interviews, pressure performance, preparing to perfection, and many others.
August Meeting
Our first Instrumental Music Booster Meeting will be held Monday, August 2nd at 7:00 pm. It is important to have involvement from everyone in band and orchestra. Please mark your calendar and make every attempt to be here.
FLORIDA TRIP
The band, orchestra, and choir had a great trip to Florida this spring and performed at Disneyworld. What a wonderful experience for all. Our students represented our school and music department with great performances! We will be touring again in two years. Plan on building your student account this year with the fundraisers we offer. Don’t procrastinate. This year’s tour was almost $600.
Birdies For Charity
Once again this year the instrumental music department will be collecting pledges for the Birdies for Charity program. This is a great way to collect donations for the music department and the students’ accounts because 100% of the money collected is returned to our organization. People are asked to pledge one cent or more for every birdie made during the John Deere Classic Golf Tournament, held this year from July 5-11. The grand prize for the one guessing the correct amount of birdies is a 2004 Buick Rendezvous, but more than 500 other prizes are also awarded to entrants through a random drawing.
We are asking each student to request pledges from grandparents, aunts, uncles, or friends so that as much money as possible can be raised. This year 80% of the collected pledges will be credited to each student’s account to help pay trip expenses, with the remaining 20% being deposited in the department’s (Instrumental Music Boosters) general fund. However, the student collecting the most paid pledges will receive 100% of the money! Parents, donations made through this charity are tax-deductible! This is a great way to help out your student and the instrumental music department and still receive a tax advantage. Enclosed with this newsletter is one pledge card with all the official rules. Be sure to put the student name at the top of the pledge card so we can credit them with the amount pledged. More pledge cards may be obtained from Mr. McCartney’s mail box in the front office of North High School, or by contacting Kathy Johnson at 388-0764. Completed forms may be returned to: 1) Placed in his mailbox at school: or 2) delivered or sent to Kathy Johnson at 1401 W. 47th Ct, Davenport, before June 30th. The money will be credited to the student’s accounts AFTER the pledges are collected.
Wildcat Marching Band 2004/2005
We are in the process of planning another exciting year of marching band. Samantha Valle and Ashley Janoski will be Drum Majors and Margaret Vogel will be our Field Commander. Student leaders will be elected at camp this fall. Marching band camp will begin July 29 & 30 with incoming Freshmen. Freshmen will rehearse from 1:00 pm until 3:00 pm. Marching fundamentals will be the focus of these two days. Marching Band Camp will run August 2-6 & 9-13 from 1:00pm until 6:00pm. It will be important for you to practice your music before, during, and after marching camp week in preparation for the Ice Cream Social on August 26. Ice Cream Social rehearsals will be held, August 11, 13, 15, 18, 23, 25 to prepare for our performance. Rehearsal times will be 6-8 in the evening. Plan ahead and make sure work schedules do not interfere. You should already have the music for our competition show and the rest will be handed out at camp. If you do not have music, call or email Mr. McCartney and we will get it to you. Memorization will be easier and the band will be better, if everyone will spend some time this summer practicing. I have really set the bar high for us this year. Our music is difficult but fun, our drill will be more demanding and I believe with the addition of new staff, we will have a terrific year.
Jazz Band Camp
Jazz band camp will be August 16-20 from 1:00 pm until 4:00 pm. This camp is for anyone interested in Jazz Band. We will be spending time on a variety of things, including, improvisation, music for the Ice Cream Social, as well as contest music for the winter season.
Color Guard
Hello,
My name is Trisha Young. I will be your new Color Guard Instructor. I am very excited to have this opportunity and looking forward to getting started. I wanted to let you know what my expectations of the girls will be up front so that there are no surprises. First and foremost, I expect the girls to be responsible young adults. By that I mean they should be at all practices and when they are not going to be able to be there I expect that they give plenty of notice. Not too much to ask I don’t think. There are a few dates that have already been decided that you should get on your calendar now. They are...
June 18th 7pm Color Guard Parent meeting in the band room
July 19-23 9am to 4pm Guard Camp at NHS High School
The girls will be expected to be at all other marching band practices and performances this summer.
I can not stress to you enough how important it is that the girls be at the guard camp in July. We will learn basics as well as the majority of the show that week. The cost for the camp is $50.00.
The parent meeting is very important as well. We need to discuss the uniforms as well as talk through the possibilities of making uniform parts and equipment. I have some great ideas for this show but I can’t do it on my own. I will need your help so please come and support your child. (even if you can’t sew, we will find something for you to do.)
Entertainment Books
Once again we are hoping to get a jump this year on everyone with an early start. We will be distributing books to everyone on August 2, from 5:00 – 6:00 pm in the band room. This is the end of the first day of camp. Students will be receiving 80% of the profit to their student accounts. This could be up to 12 or 13 dollars depending on how many books we sell as a group. These books are a great value and shouldn’t be difficult to sell. The other %20 goes into the general booster account and uniform replacement fund.
Ice Cream Social
Our annual fall Ice Cream Social, will be held on August 26th beginning at 6:00 pm. There will be performances by the Wildcat Marching Band, the Symphonic Strings, and the Jazz Band. This is a great opportunity for new NHS parents to hear our ensembles as well as receive information on our North High School Instrumental Department programs.
Upcoming events
July 18 Color Guard Parent meeting
July 19-23 Color Guard Camp
August 2 5-6pm Entertainment Book Distribution July 29-30 Freshman Basics
August 2 August Booster Meeting
August 2-6 & 9-13 Marching Band Camp
August 16-20 Jazz Band Camp
August 16, 18, 20, 23, 25 Ice Cream Social Rehearsal
August 24 & 26 Orchestra Camp
August 26 Ice Cream Social
August 30-31 Uniform Distribution
Sept 2 Football Game
Sept 13 Instr. Booster Meeting
Sept 17 Football Game Homecoming Sept 25 Geneseo Competition
Oct.2 Little Hawk Competition
Oct 1 Football Game Oct 5 Band Spectacular
Oct 14 Football Game
Oct 16 State Marching Contest
Oct 18 Band Spectacular Rain Date
Oct 19 North Area Orch. Concert
Oct 23 All-State Auditions
Oct 21 Football Game
Nov 1 Instr Booster Meeting
Nov 18-20 All-State Festival
Nov 20 Festival of Trees Parade
2004-2005 Band Officers
President Vote for at camp
Vice President Vote for at camp
Secretary/Librarian Vote for at camp
Drum Majors Samantha Valle
Ashley Janoski
Field Commander Margaret Vogel
Guard Captains TBA
Drumline Captain TBA
2004-2005 Booster Officers
President Marty Schlue
Vice President
Student Accounts Manager
Treasurer Dick Vogel
Secretary Kathy Johnson
Equipment Ed & Marty Schlue
Ice Cream Social Cal & Brenda Bolkema
Auction
Uniforms Helen & Marty Schlue Fruit Sale Julie Bernet
Clothing
Elementary/Inter.Solo Fest Sherrie Burmeister
Color Guard Parent
Contact Info
North – 388-9880
Wood – 391-6350
Please feel free to contact us about any questions or concerns you may have – we’re here to help!!
As directors, we all encourage you to contact us with concerns that you may have about anything. Although many of us travel to multiple schools, the secretaries are more than happy to take a note so that we may call you back. If you have access to email, that is a very reliable method of communication as well. Below you will find ways to contact any of the directors.
Jim McCartney – North Band
mccartneyj@davenportschools.org
Michael McDermott – North/Wood Band
mcdermottm@davenportschools.org
Jerry Henry – North/Wood Orchestra
Kathy McMillen – Wood Band
Mcmillenk@davenportschools.org
Kris Kendell – Wood Orchestra