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WE MADE IT! Well, okay - we do have a few days to go before spring break but I mostly say "we made it" because last week was one of the busiest we have, and takes a ton of parent & student help to make it happen.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM LAST WEEK
On Tuesday and Wednesday of last week our students relocated to the gym for rehearsals. Each day they handled it incredibly well and got better at their music each day as well! On Thursday, our Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble traveled to Ferris High School to perform at the Spokane Falls Music Educators Association (our GSL equivalent) Band Fest where both groups had awesome performances and received Superior/Blue Ribbon performance ratings. In fact, Wind Ensemble received a perfect score from one of the judges! Also on Thursday, we played host to a great jazz event featuring incredibly talented jazz students from Highland MS, Northwood MS, and of course, Mead HS.... that Highland singer! that NW trombone section! The Highland Sousaphone player! ... WOW!! And how about the amazing talents of our very own Mead HS jazz musicians! On Friday, we setup for the Mead Jazz Festival that took place on Saturday. What an incredible day watching about 700 students from around the state perform and be inspired. Huge thank you to Mark Rodewald, Angelica & Jason Moore, Carrie Babcock, Lisa Forsyth, Matt & Kori Baker, Mr. Campbell and many more for your volunteer work.
THIS WEEK
Monday, March 25 - MONDAY REHEARSAL CANCELED!
No playing in classes today. We will be cleaning up and organizing/resetting things from the jazz festival.
CANCELED!! Symphonic Band and 4th Period Percussion rehearsal 5:30pm to 7:30pm. These students are ready to give you a great performance on Wednesday evening!
(it is canceled - stay tuned)
Tuesday, March 26, 7pm - Wind Ensemble (2nd and 3rd periods) performs Khan at Northwood band concert.
Percussion - plan is to load equipment during 3rd period, unload at Northwood approx. 6pm, reload following concert. Wind players please report by 6:30pm DRESSED in concert blacks!
Wednesday, March 27, 7pm - Festival Concert @ Mead HS Theatre
Usual report time of 6:30pm for changing into concert attire
Percussion in by 6:15pm please.
Saturday, March 30 - SPRING BREAK BEGINS!
VOLUNTEER HELP PLEASE! As we celebrate everyone that helped.... I must also say we need more help from students and parents. Mr. Rodewald, Mr. Campbell and I didn't walk out of the building until 12:30am on Sunday morning due to the lack of volunteer help. Again, THANK YOU THANK YOU to those that did chip in; we truly do have some special students and parents. I must be honest and transparent and let you know that this is our lowest turnout for volunteers for this event in years. Mr. Rodewald no longer has kids in our program. He volunteers for the reward of seeing so many students have a truly life-altering/inspiring experience and to help our students raise a few dollars. Let's fix that please!
CONDUCT CONCERN .. In addition to our volunteer spirit running thin, I must mention that we have some adjustments that need to be made while we are together as a group. Whether it is your behavior and conduct in class or while we travel, we have improvements to make and the appropriateness of our behavior given the situation we are in. And while music doesn't have to be your life, you do have a responsibility to our team to know your music and behave during class. I adore the personalities of each of our students. They are funny, intelligent and have good heads and hearts along with a sense of right and wrong. However, when they get into the high school climate and are surrounded by many of their friends, they tend to lose that sense of time-and-place appropriateness. Please encourage your student to think about this concept and have those genuine conversations about their focus in class. I have a teenager, I completely understand they act differently at home and around their family, than they do around their friends and at school. Thank you for reading, and being open to this topic. Email me if you have specific questions about your student.