Marching Band and Year End Concerts

May 18 2022 UPDate for Marching Band

We have a few minor changes and additional information regarding the Parade on Saturday, May 21.  Please see the following pieces of important information;

All Grade 7s, 8s and 9s are to meet at St. Francis deSales Catholic Church in High River by 9:15 AM.  Mr. Windsor will be on site at 8:45 AM.

Mr. Windsor will bring tubas, drumline, and the baritone saxophone, as well as a radio-flyer wagon with two bottles of water per student.

Students are responsible for bringing;

• Instruments
• NDC Music Jackets (they've already been distributed)
• Running shoes (colour doesn't matter, not hightops, Vans, flats, or other such shoes without shoelaces)
• A white shirt for under our jackets that is as light as possible
• An extra layer of shirt in case it's chilly or windy.
• Black pants
• Extra Reeds, Drumsticks or Valve Oil
• Sunglasses and sunscreen

Parade Day Schedule

• 8:45 AM - Mr. Windsor will be at St. Francis deSales Catholic Church.
• 9:15 AM - All Grade 7s, 8s and 9s should be at the church by this time.
• 10:00 AM - Parade Begins
• After Parade - Go to George Lane Park, accept the generous gift of free food from the Highwood Lions Club.
• 12:00 PM - All Grade 7s, 8s and 9s meet beside the Public Washrooms in George Lane Park to prepare for Battle of the Bands.
• 1:30 PM - Absolute expectation of being finished.

A note from Mr. Windsor: The Parade Officials plan for the Battle of the Bands to start at noon.  Mr. Windsor thinks it is more realistic to think 12:30 PM.  We will absolutely be finished by 1:30 PM.

Maps and Other Thoughts

See the map above for gathering points.  The Timberwolf logo in the Blue region is where we will be meeting by 9:15 AM (St. Francis deSales), and the Timberwolf logo in George Lane Park is where we'll be meeting after we get food from the Highwood Lions Club.

Still Looking For One More Parent Volunteer!  If you can help, please email Mr. Windsor at jwindsor@redeemer.ab.ca.

Please note that parking downtown will be challenging.  It may be best to drop your child off at the barrier by the library instead.

Thank you once again!  The Rotary Club in particular has been truly excited about our band participating, and contributed to help us produce a much stronger banner for our band this year!  I'm excited, and I hope you are too!

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Original Post, Sent Out May 6, 2022 (with minor updates)

We are in the last month of music at Notre Dame Collegiate!  What does that mean for your students?  Read below for details about the Marching Band, the Family Night and the Year-End Concert.

Marching Band - May 21, 2022

We first start with the Little Britches Parade on May 21, 2022.  Students have already been practicing their marching formations and memorizing their music.  You can encourage them to continue their memorization work at home.

On May 21, 2022 at 9:15 AM all Grade 7s, 8s and 9s are to meet at St. Francis deSales Catholic Church in High River.  From there we will set up our formations.  We follow the instructions of the Rotary Club as they get the parade organized.  We will do the full route of the parade route.

Mr. Windsor needs at least 2, preferably 3 adults to accompany the group.  We have discussed safety and care regularly throughout the marching band, but as we will be more active in our performance than usual, I would like to have a few extra hands available to help students when a malfunction occurs, like a dropped stick, an untied shoelace, or an obstacle appears on the parade route.  If you can help out with this, please email me.

What students should have:

• Running shoes (colour doesn't matter, not hightops, Vans, flats, or other such shoes without shoelaces)
• A white shirt for under our jackets that is as light as possible
• An extra layer of shirt in case it's chilly or windy.
• Black pants
• A working instrument
• Sunscreen and Sunglasses

Mr. Windsor will provide the NDC Music Jackets (unless you own one) and water bottles.

Stage Band and Steel Pans
​A Night at the T-Wolf Den
June 1 2022

The Stage Band and Steel Pan Ensembles have been asked to provide musical entertainment during "A Night At The T-Wolf Den", our first NDC Family event since the pandemic!  The event begins at 6:00 PM, so students will need to be in the school by 5:30 PM that day.  There will not be a regularly-scheduled rehearsal that day, and this will also be the last day of Stage Bands and Steel Pans for the year.

Year-End Concert and Awards Showcase

Our Year-End Concert on June 8, 2022 will feature All Concert Bands and the String Ensemble.  We will also see various awards handed out that evening, including the NDC Music Hall of Fame Nominations and Inductions, and the Arlene Mann Memorial Arts Ambassadorship Award.  Tickets and details will be made available within the next two weeks.

Massive Thank You For A Successful Band Trip!

We had a wildly successful band trip!  Since our trip, I've discussed such excursions with other band teachers who balk at the idea of a single teacher taking 100 students anywhere.  They obviously don't know NDC students.

Your students, simply put, stepped up.  They were amazing ambassadors of Notre Dame Collegiate, they contributed to moving equipment, were helpful and caring to one another, and were genuinely filled with joy.  Their Gold Medal and High Gold Medal performances at the St. Albert Rotary Festival of the Performing Arts coupled with fantastic and well-received shows in West Edmonton Mall were testaments to their hard work, and the fantastic feedback I got from everyone including Mall staff and the Hotel staff indicates just how wonderful your students are.  You should be proud of them!

Thank you to the many chaperones and helpers who made the trip possible and eased challenges such as trips to Long & McQuade or Shopper's Drug Mart while other things were happening.

Photos of the trip are still being accepted on the Discord or in Google Classroom.  Please share all that you can!

God bless!
Joel Windsor