Welcome to NDC Music for the 2020/2021 school year!

Welcome to NDC Music For the 2020/2021 School Year!

This year is going to be a great, unique musical adventure, and I'm looking forward to what we are able to produce together.  I've had a chance to meet each of your students, and am now ready to give you a quick orientation to the music department.  This message will not get to everyone's questions, but I'm hoping it helps you figure out how to find the answers.
I encourage you to view these videos, which I shared with students already in their Google Classrooms.  Then you can read on.

For Grade 7s

For Grades 8-12

SCHEDULE CHANGE
STRINGS WILL NOW BEGIN September 22, Not September 15,
Due To Unexpected Scheduling conflicts.  There will be a
Lunch-Hour Meeting on September 15 instead to prepare for our first session.

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Fine Arts Parents Meeting - September 30, 2020 at 7:00 PM

The High River Catholic Fine Arts Parents Association has their Annual General Meeting via ZOOM on September 30, 2020 at 7:00 PM.  This meeting will not be recorded, but provides you with an amazing opportunity to hear about the Fine Arts programs directly from the teachers themselves, as well as how you can support them easily through some of our amazing fundraisers, like the ones shown below.  Please join the meeting!
LINKS WILL BE ACTIVE ON WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2020 AT 6:00 PM.

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Grade 7 Instrument Rentals - September 30, 2020 at 6:30 PM

By September 30, 2020, your Grade 7 students will know what kind of instrument they want to rent.  We will be hosting an online Instrument Rental Night that you can attend from the comfort of your pajamas on September 30, 2020 including our guest Dan Bergen from Long & McQuade.  This event will be recorded, but if you want your students to have an instrument as soon as possible, join this event Live!
​LINKS WILL BE ACTIVE ON WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2020 AT 6:00 PM.

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The Super Important Tools for your Musicians and you

The Department Information Booklet
This document was handed out to each student to take home to families already.  It includes information about how bands will operate at NDC in 2020/2021, how to rent instruments, and other important information about the operation of music classes at NDC.  Read that first, as many of your questions can be answered there.

​Instruments
Of course your student will require a working instrument with proper cleaning and maintenance gear.  Instruments will be used every class, even in the pandemic.  We may not be playing them every day, but they will be used.  At-home playing is also expected every week, so your student will need their instrument at-home regularly.

Renting Instruments
Notre Dame Collegiate heavily encourages instruments be rented from Long & McQuade (https://rentals.long-mcquade.com) whenever possible, as their rates are better than what Notre Dame Collegiate can afford, and their insurance program is unbeatable.  View the video above for an explanation of that process for students who are in Grades 8-12, or involved in the String Ensemble.  For students who are in Grade 7 Concert Band, you will have a special instrument rental night made available to you after your student has selected their instrument.
Tubas, Baritone Saxophones, Bass Clarinets, Steel Pans, Percussion and Electronic Instruments are instead rented through Notre Dame Collegiate.  Where possible, two instruments are made available to make transportation easier.  Mr. Windsor will connect with students who will be renting this equipment directly.

Instrument Maintenance
An Instrument Maintenance Checklist has been given to your students to ensure they have all the tools they need to ensure we meet not only regularly maintenance protocols, but the extensive safety protocols due to COVID19.  Please ensure your student has the tools their are responsible for, as this will count towards their Skills and Techniques mark.  You can again order them through Long & McQuade.

MusicFirst
We will be replacing Charms this year with a different tool for Performing and Skills & Techniques assessments.  MusicFirst will be the place where your students record playing assignments and practice Sight Reading for their instrument.  MusicFirst will be used in place of Charms.  New walkthrough videos on how to use MusicFirst will be sent home soon.

​Google Classroom
All assignments, announcements and documents will appear here.  As we will have weekly assignments sent home (short, easy assignments), you as parents may want to get updates.  Within the next two days you will be receiving an invitation to get those email updates.  If you don't receive that invitation, please contact Mr. Windsor, and he will send it again.

Headphones, Pencils, and Sheet Music
Students will be doing a great deal of listening to music, performing music along with accompaniments provided on the computers, or live streaming classes.  For each of these circumstances, headphones will be required.
Research has shown earbuds to be the least healthy of the options, running the risk of ear infections and hearing damage more easily than any other kind of headphone.  This is why Mr. Windsor expects students to have over-the-ear headphones, whether they are corded, bluetooth, or otherwise.  Although noise-cancellation is preferred, it is an expensive  option, so it is not required.  Earbuds are not acceptable tools for a music classroom.
Students will also need pencils regularly (pens are not acceptable), and sheet music is lent, so must be cared for appropriately.

This Website and Facebook
There are many resources available on  the website at http://music.ndcfinearts.ca, including explanations of the general program, assessments, and more.  In addition, any email sent home to parents from the NDC Music Department will also be posted on The Musicker Blog on the website.  Finally, the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/NDCFineArts is also our public face and announcement board, so you may see some activity there, particularly with regards to fundraising and performances.

Out of School Ensembles (Steel Pans, Strings, Stage Band)

Students can sign themselves up for the various after-school ensembles, including Strings (rehearsing from 3:25 PM - 4:45 PM every Tuesday beginning September 22, 2020), Stage Band (rehearsing from 3:25 PM - 4:45 PM every Wednesday beginning in late September/early October), and Panorama (rehearsing from 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM every Wednesday beginning September 9, 2020).  To sign themselves up, they need to join the appropriate Google Classroom, whose join codes are available in the video above (they will not be posted publicly to protect privacy).  Join those Google Classrooms to be able to participate.

Instrument Rentals

Instrument Rental information will be shared directly with those who need to rent instruments only when instrument rentals become available.  Currently much of our fleet is getting ultrasonic cleans completed at Long & McQuade, so once that equipment becomes available, individual messages will be sent home.

Thank you for SUpporting Your Child's Development in Music ... Music education has an incredibly important role,
especially in the wake of a pandemic.

Now more than ever we need our individuals, our communities, and our greater society to be as prepared as possible for whatever comes next.  This means being able to work together (collaborative ability), build together (constructivity), think of improved solutions to both new and old problems (creativity), be kind and considerate to one another (community-mindedness), and full explore the human condition to the betterment of oneself and all around them (complete human development).

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