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It is OCTOBER! :) One of my personal favorite months. I will keep you updated on the plan for the assemblies throughout this week. I know that for at least one of those assemblies we will be playing some pep tunes. I'll let you know as soon as I do! :) Few things to remember coming up throughout October: 1. The Homecoming Parade and the Homecoming Football game is this Friday. You do NOT have school on Friday since it is a District Institute which means you should be well rested for the parade and game! :) Call time for the parade is 2pm - however, you may want to get there earlier since it will be a packed situation! Last year, we lined up in the circle drive in the front of the school. Plan to meet there AT 2pm wearing marching shoes, tall, black, and clean socks, black pants, band polo (tucked in!). Hair pulled back in a ponytail if applicable (*cough* Mark and Jake *cough*) Sun glasses may also be worn! If you are interested, we will be supplying pizza after the parade for $5 per person. This money is due to me by Thursday! Also - fill out this form. There is NOT a lot of down time from the parade to the call time for the game, so I highly recommend you eat at the school with the band. 2. ILMEA All-District Auditions are on Monday, Oct. 9. This is for select students only. We will take a bus to Highland High School where the auditions are. Meet time is TBA, I'll let you know ASAP. Dress nicely (no jeans!) and make sure you have everything you need with you! I would like to listen to all auditioning one last time before Friday. 3. Our Butter Braid fundraiser will begin on Monday, Oct. 16 and forms with payment will be due Friday, Nov. 3. Pick up will be at CMHS on Friday, Nov. 17. 4. Batavis HS from Batavia, IL will be rehearsing at CMHS on Thursday, Oct. 19. This is a required night for our band and will be a wonderful, educational experience. More information TBA, but please plan on being at the school from 4pm-8pm. 5. Your first quarter playing test is required by Friday, Oct. 20 at 11:59pm. This is a strict deadline - any videos posted after that deadline will not be accepted. Reminder that this playing test will also be your audition for seating placements in concert band. Failure to turn in a playing test will put you at the bottom of your section. 6. Our Marches with Munchies awards ceremony will be on Saturday, October 21st. While this is not required, it is a time that we bond with each other over the season. It will be from 7pm-9pm in the CMHS commons. 7. The Bethalto Halloween Parade is on Thursday, Oct. 26. Wearing a costume (either individually or as a small group effort) is required and we will have a Best Costume Contest! Call time will be 5:15pm at CMHS; we will take a bus to the parade route. 8. The pep band schedule will be coming out soon. Please be aware that pep band games are required as a part of your grade. This Week: Monday, Oct. 2 - Marching Eagles Rehearsal (4pm-7pm) Wednesday, Oct. 4 - Tri-M Meeting (2:45pm) - Percussion Rehearsal (3pm-3:30pm) - Guard Rehearsal (4:30pm-7pm) Friday, Oct. 6 - Homecoming Parade (2pm call - find dress requirements above) - Homecoming Football Game vs. Mascoutah (5:30pm call - uniform) Next Week: Monday, Oct. 9 - ILMEA All-District Auditions (Select Students Only) Tuesday, Oct. 10 - Fine Arts Booster Meeting (6:30pm in CMHS Commons) Wednesday, Oct. 11 - Percussion Rehearsal (3pm-3:30pm) - Guard Rehearsal (4:30pm-7pm) Friday, Oct. 13 - Load all equipment and large instruments onto trailer after school (Extra credit for those who can help!) Saturday, Oct. 14 - Potosi Bi-State Invitational (Itinerary can be found here!) Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns. Musically yours -- Michaela Davis
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We have a football game this Friday, Sept. 29. Call time will be 5:30pm which is a half hour later than last time, but students will need to be fully dressed and on the practice field at this time! If you are willing to help with anything this evening, please sign up here. Dress will be marching shoes, tall, black, clean socks, marching uniforms, and show shirts. The Homecoming Parade is on Friday, Oct. 6. This is a District Institute Day, so there is NO SCHOOL! However, the time between the parade and the game goes by pretty quickly. We will buy pizza for those that are interested for after the parade and before the game - it will be $5 per student. Money will be due to me by Thursday, Oct. 5 - also, if your child will be joining us that day, please fill out this GoogleForm. We will provide water to drink. Call time for the parade will be 2:00pm. Dress for the parade will be marching shoes, tall, black, clean socks and the new polo. Dress for the game will be marching shoes, tall, black, clean socks, marching uniform, and show shirt. If you are willing to sign up the help with the parade or game, you can find those sign ups here (parade) and here (game). On Oct. 16, we will begin our Butter Braid fundraiser! This fundraiser will be for the band and order forms with payment will be due Friday, Nov. 3. Pick-up will be Friday, Nov. 17 in the CMHS commons. If you are available to help with pick-up, please let me know! Also, be aware that orders will be ready by the time school lets out, so students can always take the orders with them on their way home that day. More information about our competition on Oct. 14 will come out soon, but if you are available to help chaperone that day, please let me know! The more, the merrier! Our rehearsal on Monday, Oct. 16 has been moved to Thursday, Oct. 19. We have a chance to watch Batavia HS from Batavia, Illinois rehearse for their performance the next day at the Bands of America St. Louis Regional. This is a required evening! The Halloween Parade has been moved to Thursday, Oct. 26. Please be aware of the change - more information TBA. Our Fine Arts Boosters truly do need YOUR help! Please make an effort to attend any of the meetings they hold monthly, or simply like them on Facebook to keep up to date on what they are doing for our fine arts students in Bethalto. We have a Disco Bingo fundraiser coming up in November to help support our students. This Week Monday, Sept. 25 - Marching Eagles Rehearsal (4pm-7pm) Tuesday, Sept. 26 - ILMEA Nominations due! Wednesday, Sept. 27 - Percussion Rehearsal (3pm-3:30pm - note the time change!) - Color Guard Rehearsal (4:30pm-7pm) Friday, Sept. 29 - Football Game vs. Highland (5:30pm dress) Next Week Monday, Oct. 2 - Marching Eagles Rehearsal (4pm-7pm) Wednesday, Oct. 3 - Percussion Rehearsal (3pm-3:30pm - note the time change!) - Color Guard Rehearsal (4:30pm-7pm) Friday, Oct. 6 - Homecoming Parade (3pm step off @ CMHS; 2pm call) - Homecoming Football Game vs. Highland (5:30pm dress) Following Week Monday, Oct. 9 - ILMEA Auditions @ Highland High School (Select Students Only) Tuesday, Oct. 10 - Fine Arts Boosters Meeting @ 6:30pm in CMHS Commons Wednesday, Oct. 11 - Percussion Rehearsal (3pm-3:30pm - note the time change!) - Color Guard Rehearsal (4:30pm-7pm) Saturday, Oct. 14 - Potosi Parade and Field Competition (Early call - more info. TBA) As always, if you have any comments, questions, or concerns, please let me know. If you don't communicate them, I don't know! Musically yours -- Michaela Davis Hi, hey, hello!
Such a wonderful weekend. Thank you to all who helped make Saturday a success - from the students who performed wonderfully on a quite hot day - to the parents that supported them - to the staff that helped make sure everything went smoothly. Saturday could NOT have happened without all of your help and dedication. We happened to see a few groups this past weekend that did not have the same parental support as we are lucky to have here in Bethalto. The band in front of us in the parade didn't have any water - and, as I'm sure your child has told you, we definitely needed water this past Saturday! Again, thank you, parents. The band received third place in both the parade and field competition. Congratulations! We will be listening to some judges' tapes on Monday to discuss how we can improve our performances from here on out. We have a full show - which not a lot of bands can say at this point in time, but we still have quite a lot of work to do until we can say we are satisfied with our product! There is a football game on Friday, Sept. 29. If you are interested in helping out the band this night, please sign up here. The Homecoming parade and game are also coming up. You can find those sign ups here (parade) and here (game). Please read the following updates carefully to make sure you know what is going on: 1. On Oct. 16, we will begin our Butter Braid fundraiser. Because of our music department being on such a budget this year and students are unable to save money for individual accounts unless we are going on a trip, this fundraiser will be for the band! Forms with payment will be due on Friday, Nov. 3 and orders will be delivered on Friday, Nov. 17. 2. On Oct. 19, we have a very unique opportunity! Batavia High School from Batavia, Illinois is needing a practice area. They contacted Civic Memorial about using our stadium and we have been given permission to allow them to use the stadium to practice on. We are making this an educational opportunity for our students as well as a chance to get to know another band! Instead of having a rehearsal on Monday, Oct. 16, we will be moving our rehearsal this week to Thursday, Oct. 19 and we will observe this band rehearse. More information to come on what exactly will be happening, but this will be a required date for the band! The time will be from 4pm-8pm. This Week Monday, Sept. 18 - Marching Eagles Rehearsal (4pm-7pm) Wednesday, Sept. 20 - Tri-M Meeting (2:35pm) - Percussion Rehearsal (3pm-4:30pm) - Color Guard Rehearsal (4:30pm-7pm) Next Week Monday, Sept. 25 - Marching Eagles Rehearsal (4pm-7pm) Tuesday, Sept. 26 - ILMEA Nominations due! Wednesday, Sept. 27 - Percussion Rehearsal (3pm-4:30pm) - Color Guard Rehearsal (4:30pm-7pm) Friday, Sept. 29 - Football Game vs. Taylorville (5:30pm call - we will be staying the entire game) Please let me know if you have any comments, questions, or concerns! Musically yours -- Michaela Davis Hi, hey, hello!
Congratulations, band, on a wonderful football performance on Friday! A HUGE thank you to the parents that helped us set up for the game - including water, podiums, the various amount of instruments we have to move on the sideline. It could not have gone as smoothly as it did without you! Here is our video from the performance on Friday. I have a request of everyone: please make sure both you, as a parent, and your child are reading these updates. I've been having quite a few people ask me specific questions that I have already answered either in these updates or in class time. It would be much appreciated! This week is exciting - we are preparing for our first competition! Here is the itinerary for Saturday. If you haven't already signed up to help with either the parade, lunch, or the field competition, please do so here! It truly takes a village to make these awesome days happen for our kids. The first Fine Arts Boosters meeting of the year is this Tuesday at 6:30pm in the CMHS commons. Please come out to find out what this group is about! They help support all of our fine arts students in the Bethalto district, from kindergarten to high school, and they really need as much support as possible! Here's what's going on this week: Monday, Sept. 11 - Marching Eagles Rehearsal (4pm-7pm) Tuesday, Sept. 12 - Fine Arts Boosters Meeting (6:30pm @ CMHS Commons) Wednesday, Sept. 13 - NO percussion rehearsal! - SIUE ILMEA audition clinic (Select Students Only) - Color Guard Rehearsal (4:30pm-7pm) Thursday, Sept. 14 - CMHS Meet the Teacher Night (6pm-7pm) Saturday, Sept. 16 - Murphysboro Parade and Field Competition (Itinerary - this is a LONG day. Please make sure to rest up Friday night!) Next Week Monday, Sept. 18 - Marching Eagles Rehearsal (4pm-7pm) Wednesday, Sept. 20 - Tri-M Meeting (2:35pm) - Percussion Rehearsal (3pm-4:30pm) - Color Guard Rehearsal (4:30pm-7pm) Friday, Sept. 22 - School Improvement Day - Early Dismissal *For those auditioning for ILMEA All-District, I will need to meet with you to hear the audition material sometime before Wednesday, Sept. 27.* As always, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please do not hesitate to ask them! Musically yours -- Michaela Davis Hi, hey, hello!
And off we go! I'm so ready to show our community what the kids have been working so hard on for the past month. This Friday will be an exciting night for all and to make sure we are prepared as possible, there are a few things that need to happen! We have a few students who weren't here during band camp to get fitted for uniforms - the plan is to fit them before/after class this week. We will also spend some time getting shakos (hats) fitted for those who are new to the band. We need YOUR help on Friday night! Drum majors will move their podiums to the field, but we do need volunteers to help set these podiums up. It's an easy job and you still get to see the band perform - please sign up here if you haven't done so already. For those on water, please take a cooler or two of water to the stadium stands before or during pre-game. The kids will definitely want this water after pre-game is over and we head up to the stands. Unless we have a competition the next day, the band is expected to stay for the entire game. Call time will be 5pm, in uniform warming up on the practice field by 5:30pm. We will perform pre-game, then sit in the stands and cheer on the football team. Halfway through the second quarter, we will move down to the track to warm up and then we will perform This Love... during halftime. We will have a snack/food/drink break during the third quarter and then back on the stands during the 4th quarter. To be worn underneath the uniform: black marching shoes (everyone should have these at this point), tall, clean, black socks, shorts, and SHOW SHIRT. It gets hot on Friday nights, and I will allow students to take jackets off IF EVERYONE IS WEARING THE SHOW SHIRT. If not, then jackets stay on. If you are a cheerleader, in Pazzazz, or with the football team, remember to ask someone to bring your instrument or take your instrument to the track yourself before the game starts. Jump in with the band as soon as you're available - you will be in your uniform (cheer, Pazzazz, or football). I've said it before and I'll say it again: I absolutely LOVE seeing all the different activities we have represented in the band. It makes my heart warm. I don't quite have a finalized itinerary for Murphysboro (Saturday, Sept. 16), but I can tell you call time will be around 7am and we won't be returning until around 10pm. Once I get the exact performance times, I will send the itinerary your way. Thanks for your patience on this matter and please sign up to donate food/your time if you haven't already here! The Fine Arts Boosters first meeting of the school year is coming up on Tuesday, Sept. 12. As most of you are aware, the finances in Bethalto aren't doing so well and while we seem to be getting better news, we cannot rely on state funding which means we have to rely a little bit more on our Fine Arts Boosters. They fund quite a few things that we need throughout the school year and they need your help to continue funding our arts programs. Most recently, they purchased our two new drum major podiums (the old one wasn't quite the safest...). Please consider coming to this meeting to see what you can do for our arts students in Bethalto. It is held in the CM commons and begins at 6pm. Every time I plan to write up a band update, I tell myself it'll be short... then I start typing and realize how much information I need to share... Sorry about that! :) This Week Monday, Sept. 4 - NO SCHOOL! - NO REHEARSAL! Enjoy the day! Wednesday, Sept. 6 - Tri-M Meeting (2:45pm) - Percussion Rehearsal (3:15pm-4:30pm - starting a little bit later than usual) - Color Guard Rehearsal (4:30pm-7pm) Friday, Sept. 8 - Home Football Game vs. Olney (5pm call; 5:30pm in uniform) Next Week Monday, Sept. 11 - Marching Eagles Rehearsal (4pm-7pm) Tuesday, Sept. 12 - Fine Arts Boosters Meeting (6pm - CM Commons) Wednesday, Sept. 13 - ILMEA Audition Clinic (Select Students Only) - Percussion Rehearsal (3pm-4:30pm) - Color Guard Rehearsal (4:30pm-7pm) Thursday, Sept. 14 - CMHS Parent Night (6pm-7pm) Saturday, Sept. 16 - Murphysboro Parade and Field Competition (All day) I think that's it for this week - please let me know if you have any comments, questions, or concerns! Musically yours -- Michaela Davis |
Weekly UpdatesUpdates will go out weekly to all band parents and students. If you're not receiving these updates, double check Miss Davis has the most up-to-date email address for you! Archives
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