We Have Lift Off!

Welcome to a new music year!  I'll be your host, Mr. Windsor, and it is my pleasure to have you all back once more!  This blog entry is to give you as many details about what you need to know as quickly as possible.

Important Dates

September 3, 2019 - Lunch Meeting for Extra-Curricular Music (details below)
​September 3, 2019 - Instrument Rental Night (details below)
September 7, 2019 - High River Half Marathon (Steel Pans only)
September 12, 2019 - Meet the Teacher Night and HRCFAPA AGM (All Parents)
September 13, 2019 - Startup Camp (Grade 7s and New Instrumentalists Only)
September 27, 2019 - Balloon Glow (Steel Pans Only)
December 11, 2019 - Christmas Concert (All Bands)
April 30-May 3, 2020 - Toronto Trip (Senior Band)
May 16, 2020 - Little Britches Parade
June 3, 2020 - Year-End Concert (Concert Bands)
June 4, 2020 - 4S Showcase (Stage, Steel, Strings and Solos)
June 13, 2020 - Okotoks Parade

Important information

Fees
All fees must be submitted prior to the activity they are designated for.  But we also have good news!  Thanks to a generous donation from the Highwood Lions Club, Startup Camp fees and costs to get to our initial performances have been covered!  If you know a Lions member, make sure you say thank you!

Charmed, I'm Sure

The Music Department uses Charms to manage permission forms and communications, record student work and practice logs, and for volunteer signups.  With regards to communications, Charms ensures not only are parents emailed, but so are students any time a message is sent home, ensuring the clearest communication possible.
Sign in to Charms (www.charmsoffice.com) as a Parent/Student/Member with the school code NDCMusic.  If you've used it before, your password will be the same as last year.  If you haven't, your first password will be your student's school-based username (usually similar to JW036746).  Once logged in for the first time, we ask that you set your new password to be the same as your school-based password to ensure everything is clear.  Remember that Parents use their Student's Accounts, therefore parents need to know the password to enter Charms.  If a password needs to be reset, just email Mr. Windsor to have it reset for you.

1. Please update your contact information once you log in, especially your email addresses (to ensure you consistently get communications).
2. Notice that there is a Recording Studio and the Practice Log component.  Your students will be using these tools throughout the year.
3. I will send you further instructions in the future when it comes time to permission forms and practice logs.

If you would like, you can also download the Charms Blue App for Android or for iDevices.  Students are encouraged to do so, as this will make tracking their practice logs far easier.

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Startup Camp - Grade 7 Band only - September 13

Students will need their instruments in good working order on this day.  If you still haven't got your student their instrument, please visit Long & McQuade in Calgary to rent the instrument.
On Friday the 13th, students will be staying at the school at the end of the school day.  Lunch will be provided, and they will be workshopping with professionals on their instruments.  These professionals have a great deal of experience on their instruments and teaching them to youth, so this is an invaluable experience.  After dinner is provided, students will also be performing for you for the first time that evening.
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12:30 PM - School is out, lunch is served
1:00 PM - Students are split into their sections to work with their professionals
2:20 PM - Clinicians demonstrate their instruments for all students
2:45 PM - Students go back to their clinics
4:00 PM - Team Games and setup the Full Band Setup
4:45 PM - First rehearsal as a Full-Sized Grade 7 Concert Band
5:30 PM - Dinner is served
6:15 PM - Doors open for our Startup Camp Concert
6:30 PM - Evening Performance for Parents
7:00 PM - Students released into the weekend

Your student is also responsible for keeping a good supply of maintenance tools including

• reeds
• cork grease
• slide or valve oil
• mouthpiece brushes
• microfibre cloths

Students will need all these tools on Friday, September 13 to take advantage of the guest professional musicians we have coming in to work with your students.

lunch meeting for Students Interested in Stage Band, Steel Pans or the  String Ensemble - september 3

Any students across all grades interested in The Woodshedders (also known as Stage Band, Jazz Band or Blues Club), Panorama (the Steel Pan Ensemble), or the St. Cecilia String Ensemble meet on September 3 at lunch hour in the music room.
Each of these ensembles provide marks that affect a students average (usually by increasing it) and they meet once each week at a time chosen by the students in collaboration with other after-school activities like sports or Synthetic Biology.

The Woodshedders is a jazz group consisting of saxophones, trombones, trumpets, piano, bass and drums (and sometimes guitar) and plays rock, swing, latin and pop music.  To participate you need to be enrolled in Concert Band at your grade level.  All students receive a Locally Developed Course credit, but Senior High students may elect to form their own 3-credit ensemble.

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Panorama is a steel pan ensemble where instruments are provided, and plays calypso, salsa, soca, rock and pop music.  Participation is open to all students.  Students receive General Music credits in this class.

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The St. Cecilia String Ensemble is a classical music group consisting of violin, viola, cello and string bass players.  Participation is open to all students.  Students receive a Locally Developed Course credit in this class.

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If your student(s) are interested in any of these ensembles, please remind them to attend the lunch meeting on Tuesday, September 3 to sign up and to find out more.

Meet the Teacher and Fundraising - September 12

Meet the Teacher Night is September 12.  That same evening we will have our initial informational meeting about fundraisers that support the Fine Arts.  This is your best time to meet your Fine Arts teachers (Mr. Windsor, Mrs. Cote, Mr. Hamilton, Mr. Sekura, Mr. Phu) and learn how fundraising supports you directly.

practice plans and reports

This year we will be sending home practice plans every two weeks.  These are small slips of paper that record what the student is currently working on in music, fits nicely on your refrigerator door, and can be use to help you keep connected with what your student could (and should) be doing at home for practice.
Students are also encouraged to record practice logs in Charms.  Practice logs demonstrate how they are Responding to music, which can be used for their Responding marks.

New for Grade 8 and 9 families

This year the Junior Concert Band has been split into a Grade 8 Concert Band and a Grade 9 Concert Band.  Although both these bands may still be doing some activities together, the groups will have different expectations as they develop their skills.  This is an exciting stage in our Music program's growth, and we are happy you get to be the pioneers for these bands!

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any further questions?  contact mr. windsor

There is always a lot of information at the beginning of the year.  Please read through the Department Information Booklet that should have gone home, and check out this website for all the information you could possibly want.  If you still have an unanswered question, please feel free to comment below or email me to have it answered.

have an amazing musical year!