8th Grade Band Field Trip LMEA District IV Large Ensemble Festival Zachary High School Friday, March 25, 2022 The festival is an opportunity for the band to perform three prepared pieces and sight-reading in front of a panel of judges to receive assessment and feedback. The highest rating a band can receive from a judge is a “1” or “Superior”. Receiving this rating from the entire panel of judges is called a “Sweepstakes”. The students have been working extremely hard to prepare for this event so we are looking forward to a great field trip and our first time going back to festival since COVID! DRESS: Maroon band polo TUCKED IN THE ENTIRE TIME, black pants with belt loops, black belt, black TALL socks, all black shoes (no joggers, leggings, or tall boots) COST: We will collect a $10 fee to cover the cost of entry fees, lunch, and the bus. Please pay here: SCHEDULE:
7:10 am Arrive to school in band uniform. Please go to advisory as usual, eat breakfast, etc. We will call you out when it is time to report to the band room. Chaperones please plan to report around 8:00 a.m. 8:30 am Leave for Zachary High School 10:40 am Warm-up *We will need chaperones to help unload the trailer and possibly help carry some of the large percussion equipment inside the building. The percussion traditionally report straight to the stage door and have a chaperone watch them while the brass and woodwinds enter the warm-up room. It is extremely important, as per festival rules, that the kids are quiet and do not make any sounds on their instruments while we are moving from one location to another, esp. inside the building. Once the band enters the warm-up room, any parents accompanying us can go into the theatre. 11:05 am Performance *After the performance the band will go into the sight-reading room. This room is closed to spectators. This will be a good time for any volunteers to set up for our lunch. After sight-reading, we will have pizza for the students at a location on ZHS campus. By the time the students have finished eating, we should know the results. If there is enough time, we will watch a band perform before leaving. 12:30 am Leave for CMS. We will arrive before dismissal. ---
Letter emailed on 2/25/2022: The LMEA Solo & Ensemble Festival is next weekend on Saturday, March 5, 2022 at Bluff Middle School. TIMES: Please find the student's individual assigned times attached here. Working around students with schedule conflicts and performing in multiple events is very difficult, but I believe we were able to make everything work. At this time, there will be no changes to the schedule. LOCATION: Bluff Middle School, 15464 Bluff Rd, Prairieville, LA 70769 CHECK-IN: At least 20-30 minutes before your assigned time in order to warm-up. Check-in table will be in the gym lobby (drive towards the back of the school, it will be the last building). WHAT TO BRING: Your music and your instrument (percussion check with your band director to see what you will need to bring) DRESS: Band Uniform -OR- Dress *NICE* (think collared shirt/dress shirt with dress pants, dresses, or "concert black") RESULTS/AWARDS: Results will be released at the end of the day and posted at www.cmsmustangband.com and www.districtiv.org/solo--ens.html Medals and awards will be given to the child's band director who will then distribute to students. Students will perform for a judge who is a specialist on their instrument. The judges will give written feedback and a rating of 1-5. 1 or "Superior" being the highest rating. Medals are awarded to Superior ratings. The judges will also be asked to give some verbal feedback of things that the students did well on and things they should improve. The judges use the following rubric to rate the performer:
AUDIENCE POLICY: Traditionally, Solo & Ensemble Festival is a closed event (similar to Honor Band Auditions) where spectators are NOT allowed in the room with the judge and the performer. This year we will allow the student to bring in any family or friends, but only at the PERFORMER'S discretion. Some performers feel more comfortable if they are allowed to have someone watch them but for many it may make them more nervous. If they want no audience, do not pressure the performer to do something they are uncomfortable with! "Audience" members may NOT interact with the judge, the performer, or the process in any way and must remain silent during the process (with the exception of a big APPLAUSE at the end of course). PLAYALONG TRACKS: Play-along Tracks (or accompaniment tracks) are available for most all solos (with the exception of percussion). Performers, make sure you have communicated with your band director about the exact track you are using and if you have changed the speeds. On the CMS website, you should be using the "Accomp" track or the "Practice" track, not the "Demo" track . The judge will have all of the tracks pre-loaded and will start it for you. If you have ANY questions about the event, please let me know. The best way to make sure you are not nervous is to be the best prepared you can be and play your solo in front of people before the event. Use the upcoming break as an opportunity to practice playing (without stopping!) for your friends and family. And remember next Saturday to be COOL, CALM, COLLECTED and CONFIDENT! You've got this! The Gonzales Christmas Parade is back on! Our 7th and 8th grade band members march in this event along with the cheer and dance.
Sunday, December 12, 2021 Here are the details: Report by 11:00 am in the back parking lot of Central Middle School Uniform: We will let you know via Remind text which top we will wear.
PLEASE CHECK WITH YOUR CHILD THAT THEY HAVE THEIR LYRE AND FLIP FOLDER as they may have misplaced these since football Pick-up: Central Middle School back parking lot at approximately 3-4:00 p.m. (REMIND message will be sent when we are leaving the route, text @cmband7 or @cmband8 to 81010 to sign up). We will not be releasing the students at the end of the route. Please pick up at the school. Rehearsals for the Parade:
We would love to have you chaperone and we are also looking for someone to pull the trailer. Please indicate on the online permission form if you are available! Click here for the Permission Form and Sign-up Looking forward to having our students perform for the community! Parade Chaperone Informational Google Meeting at 6:00 pm (should only take 15 minutes!) click here: https://meet.google.com/aqb-zjvs-dqj --- Other dates to have on your calendar:
7th & 8th Grade Band students are encouraged to audition for the District IV Middle School Honor Bands, which rehearse and perform the weekend of January 13-15, 2022 at Southeastern University in Hammond. The Mustangs who have been selected in the past have had an unforgettable experience participating in a fun trip, performing new and challenging music, meeting other musicians from schools in the Greater Baton Rouge area, and learning from an accomplished band director. Earning membership in these prestigious groups is a great addition to any young musician’s resume. CMS has continued to have some of the highest number of students gaining membership into the ensembles and we hope to keep this record going! Please see the attached information to register (no later than October 29) for the Honor Band Auditions to be held Saturday, December 11.
WHO IS INVOLVED IN FOOTBALL BAND?
All 8th grade band members NOT involved in Cheer, Dance, Mascot, or Football. 7th graders are also encouraged to attend the October and November games but are not required. HOME GAME DATES 2021 Thursday, September 30 Thursday, October 21 Thursday, October 28 Tuesday, November 9 REPORT TIME Students report no later than 4:30 pm in band uniform to the CMS Bandroom. Games start at 5:00 pm and typically last until approximately 6:30 pm. TRANSPORTATION Students are required to go home and come back for the 4:30 pm report time. As always, CONTACT ME If you are having trouble getting transportation sorted out and I will help you find a solution! BAND UNIFORM Maroon Band polo tucked in (can be purchased online for $20) Black pants (no leggings, joggers, or faded black jeans) Tall black socks Black belt Black shoes PICK-UP TIME Games typically finish around 6:30 pm. We send a remind message in the last quarter to let you know when to pick-up. But…. STAY and watch the kids play! We play a lot of music and have a great time! TICKETS Performing students are NOT required to purchase a ticket. Any spectators should purchase their tickets online through the school online payment website. VOLUNTEERS Volunteers to hand out water, monitor students during break, etc. are greatly appreciated. Please contact our Booster Club President Kayla Lafleur at klafleur614@yahoo.com to volunteer. We are very excited to get back to performing! Please let me know if you have any questions about these games coming up! Remind Codes: 7th Grade: Text @cmband7 to 81010 8th Grade: Text @cmband8 to 81010 UPDATE AS OF 5/5:
We will be performing inside in the gym! Everything else remains the same except please do not bring camping chairs. All audience members MUST BE MASKED! UPDATE AS OF 4/28: PLEASE NOTE TIME CHANGES! 5:00-5:20pm - 7th Grade Woodwinds 5:20-5:40pm - Transition 5:40-6:00pm - 7th Grade Brass & Percussion 6:00-6:20pm - Transition 6:20-6:40pm - 8th Grade Brass & Percussion 6:40-7:00pm - Transition 7:00-7:20pm - 8th Grade Woodwinds Thank you for your understanding in this change. We are still outside for this performance, so we needed to make sure that a) we had enough transition time to sanitize between performances and that b) the last group would be finished before the sunlight faded too much. A few other notes:
Things went VERY smoothly last when we followed all of these protocols with our 6th grade concert, so I am looking forward to another great performance from our Central Mustang Band. Thank YOU for everything you have done to continue to support your child through this very unusual band year! -- Original message: Parents, I am so excited to announce our one and only concert of this year!!!!! It has been quite a challenging year for music and live performances, but nevertheless our students have been working hard all year and have some great tunes prepared to play for you! We are planning for the concerts to be outdoors at Central Middle School with staggered times to allow for smaller audiences and to follow COVID protocols. At this time, plan for 4 audience members per student. We will send more details as the concert gets closer! This performance is required and for a grade (*see the note at the bottom for Virtual students). Please save the dates! 6th Grade Band - Wednesday, April 21, 2021 at 6:30 pm Download Concert Program Here 7th & 8th Grade Bands - Thursday, May 6, 2021 (SEE TIME CHANGES ABOVE) Uniforms: Due to this being our only full group performance of the year and many students not owning a band polo and/or their current one doesn't fit anymore, these are the guidelines for uniforms that we will follow:
*Band polos: We do have many on hand and will still require them in future performances next year (as things should be more normal!). So if you would like to purchase one and have your child wear the band uniform for this concert, you can purchase them through the website here: http://www.cmsmustangband.com/store/p2/Band_Fee.html - For our virtual students who have not been performing in class with us on a daily basis, they can either: 1) Do an alternate at home assignment -or- 2) Start coming to class to rehearse with the group. For the students that do this already they just get dropped off by the back bandroom door and get picked up at the end of class. - We will send more details as the dates get closer, but please let me know if you have any questions! Each year over a thousand students from across the Greater Baton Rouge area audition for the District IV Honor Band. There have been substantial modifications to the audition process and event this year in order to meet COVID requirements. Students who are selected for this prestigious group will perform in small ensembles along with their peers from across the area.
Honor Band is a great goal to work towards in a year when other performance opportunities are limited. We believe students who are selected will love the unique experience of performing in small ensembles. I am encouraging all 7th and 8th grade students who are capable of performing the audition music, at any level, to audition. Registration - $10
Honor Band Auditions - Prerecorded
Honor Band Event – Small Ensembles
COVID Protocols
It is official - we will be able to play at the football games! Only the 8th grade band plus 7th grade drummers will be allowed to attend due to COVID regulations. 100% Virtual Students: 100% Virtual Students are allowed to participate only if they attend the after school practice. After-School Full Band Practice for all 8th Graders and 100% Virtual Participants: Wednesday, October 7 - 2:30 pm (or as soon as 100% virtual can get here) - 4:30 pm Game Day Instructions: Thursday, October 8 at EA Stadium (Band cancelled due to weather) Wednesday, October 27 at EA Stadium
Download the Order Form for Tickets Below: ![]()
First, let me say how much I miss our Mustang Band students! I am very much ready to see everyone again and get back to our band family! All of the band directors in the state have been putting our heads together over the past couple of months to figure out how to best approach music education in this unusual time. Ultimately, our goals are to provide the best music education possible so students can advance on their instruments and grow as musicians, while also ensuring that the band remains an enriching activity which allows students to experience the joys of music. Although we cannot currently perform live together, I am excited for the opportunity to teach students musical skills that are often overlooked in typical band classes because of the need to push to prepare for live performances. Please read on for more information about how our band classes will operate for the time being. Safety in the Band Room
Do students need to bring their instruments to school? No, all instruments should remain at home for now. However, 7th and 8th grade students should still be practicing at home and will be given assignments to work on. 6th Graders please do not purchase or rent an instrument at this time. When it is appropriate to do so, I will hold a parent meeting to provide information on how we will instrument test and how to go about purchasing/renting instruments. It is extremely important that students end up with functional, quality instruments, or they will struggle to learn to play them. Please wait to acquire an instrument. What will be the band schedule?
What will happen in band class? We will delve into aspects of musicianship that do not involve playing an instrument. However, student progress on their instruments will remain first priority. Topics may include:
When will we play instruments at school again? LADOE guidelines state there should be no playing of wind instruments (percussion is allowable) indoors during Phase 2. We are allowed to play wind instruments indoors during Phase 3, but I will follow the guidance of APSB leadership when that time comes. 7th & 8th Grade students will always be expected to play instruments at home. Will there be band concerts this year? None are currently planned. However, there are other ways students can share what they have been doing with friends, family, and the school. Should we pay the band fee? Yes, the $35 band fee should still be paid through OSP. At this time we will NOT be ordering band polos, however, students can order a hoodie here: http://www.cmsmustangband.com/store/p2/Band_Fee.html Communication Bookmark our website www.cmsmustangband.com to stay up to date! Finally, CMS has a tradition of great bands and we value the meaning of a band family. We know your child will feel at home here in the band room. We are so excited that your child will be a part of this! We weren't able to do any recruiting this Spring in person, so please, if you know of anyone interested in joining the band, tell them to let me know so we can get their schedules changed ASAP!
Musically yours, Katie Codina Central Middle School, Band Director Louisiana Music Educators Association, District IV Director Louisiana Music Adjudicators Association, President katie.codina@apsb.org It was so great to see so many students today in our final Zoom. Unfortunately Zoom has a 100 person limit (that I wasn't aware of) so I know some had trouble getting in. The link to the slide show is included below. I also added some moments from the Zoom meeting at the very end!
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