Weekly Updates

Good Morning!
I hope you have been enjoying this fall weather!

The past few weeks have been exciting for the music program at Holy Trinity. There have been at least one or two students who have decided to join the band or take piano every week since school began. It's been wonderful to watch my class size grow. It's been even more wonderful to hear the beginning sounds of someone learning an instrument for the first time. I'm also very pleased and excited to see the growth and hear the progress of all of my returning students.

I have made some small but significant changes to the lesson schedule this week. Remote students should have received 2 Zoom links: one for lesson and one for Band Rehearsal. Please look carefully at the attached schedule and remind your child to bring their instrument and their books/music to school on the day of their lesson. It is very difficult for me to give a lesson when a student does not have all of their materials.. I do not have extra music nor is it safe for me to temporarily loan instruments when students forget their instrument or books. Unfortunately, there are no extra times for make -up lessons.

Individual reminders were sent out this past week for Band Fees. The monthly October fee is due October 15th. A $10 late fee will be charged to anyone who has not paid for September by this time. Please let me and/or Mrs. Smith know if you are having problems with the band fees.

Ms. Warkenda Williams-Casey and I will soon begin planning a December music program. We are not certain what that will look like yet or what that will entail. I promise to keep you updated on any new developments.

In the meantime, please encourage your child to continue practicing on what I have assigned them. Help your child find time in their busy schedules to sit down and play for just 10 minutes a day. That little bit goes a long way.

As usual, if you have any questions or concerns, please let me know.

Thank you!
Have a great week!

Good Afternoon!
I hope everyone is enjoying the warm rainy weather we're having and you are all finding some time to relax.

Full Band and lessons are in full swing. I can tell that many students are establishing some good practice procedures and habits in place. I am starting to hear some progress from all of my students including my piano students. I love seeing all of the enthusiasm that happens at the beginning of the year. It's a lot of fun!

I am having lessons this week. I have attached this week's full band schedule. While there are a lot of similarities in this week's schedule, there are one or two minor changes. I hope to have a final schedule ready next week. Please take the time and look closely at this schedule and note when your child has a lesson. All students need to bring their method books and their instruments to their lesson. I do not have extra books. Due to safety precautions, I cannot loan instruments to students if they forget their instruments on the day of their lesson. If a student forgets their instrument or their book on the day of their lesson, they will simply either have no lesson or a very short lesson. There is no room in the schedule for make-up lessons.

There will be no full band this week. Holy Trinity has staff development on Wednesday. This is the day full band is scheduled. If you have a lesson scheduled on Wednesday, then unfortunately, you will not have a lesson this week.

Instrument rental fees and band fees are due. Please send in your payments as soon as possible if you have not paid for the month of September. October payments are due October 15th. I will be sending individual emails to parents who I have not received payments from no later than Wednesday evening. Please email me if you are uncertain about what you owe.

Please encourage your child to check the Band/Piano Google Classroom Page. I still need to invite some 4th graders. So, please let me know if your child is having trouble logging into that page. 5th and 6th grade Band Students should be logging into Essential Elements Interactive and tracking their practice times for a reward.

As we move into October and cooler weather, I will have to alter some of  my safety procedures. On days in which the weather is cold or raining, I will move lessons inside. Students will wear a mask when they are not playing their instrument. I have placed an order in for special instrumental face masks and bell covers. They are a similar design to the ones used at Central York High School. I am hoping they will be ready to use in 2 or 3 weeks. Please email me if you are interested in what they look like.

If you have any questions or concerns that need my immediate attention, please contact me via email. I am not able to check Class Dojo as often as I would like. I am trying to use that page as a place to post pictures and as an extra resource should emails get lost or misplaced.

I hope everyone has a great week!

Happy Sunday!
I hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful fall weather this weekend.

This past week the 5th and 6th grade band were able to play a little more together in class. We are slowly establishing a routine and procedures.

The 4th Grade Beginning Band had their first full band rehearsal this week. Some students got to show off what they have been working on.

Many of the piano students got their books and had their first lessons this past week.

I am slowly getting a schedule established for the students. I try very hard to schedule lessons during times when students do not have specials or recess. That means that students are expected to find out from their teacher what assignments and material they missed during their lessons and make it up. The teachers are very good at making allowances for the band students. I have not had any problems with this in the past.

Please look closely at this week's schedule. While much of it is the same as last week, there are some minor changes. This is NOT the final schedule. I am giving it one or two more weeks before I declare a final schedule. Please note which days and times your child has their lessons and help them remember to bring their books and instruments to their lessons.

Band rehearsal will be EVERY WEDNESDAY! All band students need to bring their instruments and music every Wednesday unless I specifically tell them not to. Piano students only need to bring their books on the days they have lessons.

Also, please help your child to remember to log their practice time into the Essential Elements website. (This is for 5th and 6th grade band students only.) I have  a reward system set up for all of their recorded practice time. If it's difficult for your child to log into this website, please send me an email and let me know so that I can make other arrangements.

As usual, if you have any questions or concerns, please let me know.

I hope everyone has a great week!

Good Morning!
I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!

Lesson Schedule
I was grateful that I was able to start lessons last week. I have attached this week's lesson schedule. If this schedule works out this week, then this will become the final lesson schedule for the school year. Some people have lessons first thing Monday morning. I tried to schedule everyone's lessons so that they would not miss a special or PE. Please check to see what day and time your child has lessons. Help them remember to bring their instrument and method book on that day. I have a copy of the lesson schedule posted on Class Dojo, Google Band Classroom page, and the school's website.

Google Band Classroom Page
I am trying to encourage the students to take some responsibility for their schedule and their practice time. I have told the students they are responsible for checking the Google Band Classroom page at the beginning of the week. There they will find the lesson schedule and anything else they need to prepare for their lesson or Full Band.  Please encourage them to check this page every Sunday evening to get ready for school.


There are still one or two students who have not joined. I have sent invitations to them through their school email addresses. If they cannot find the invitation they can use the following code to join: f3nrezl

Essential Elements Interactive 
I am using a new website this year to encourage students to practice. It's https://www.essentialelementsinteractive.com  I will also be using this website to monitor students progress if we have to go into lockdown again. I want the students to get used to the website right away. I believe it can be a very useful tool and make it easier for students to record themselves and see their progress.

Several students still have not logged on and created an account. I have detailed instructions on how to do this on the Google Band Classroom page and the school's website. I have also shown the students how to do this step by step. Please help your child create their account. Once they do, encourage them to log in whenever their practice.

Forms and Payments
I still have not received everyone's registration form. Payments for instrument rentals, music stand rentals, and September's lesson fees are due this week. I know everyone has been swamped with beginning of the year paperwork. I ask that parents help students check their backpacks to make sure these forms are turned in either to their teacher, the front office, or me. I am at the school early every morning except Fridays. I will send out individual emails later on this week to those people who I am still missing forms.

Everyone is off to a great start this year. I'm grateful that things are starting to settle into a routine. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you for your patience with all of the beginning of the year craziness.

I hope everyone has a great week!
Thank you!

Good Afternoon!

I hope everyone is enjoying their Labor Day weekend! I hope you're able to get some rest.

The students did a great job last week for their first full band rehearsal for the year. It was great hearing all of the students play again. We went over A LOT of material. We went over procedures and important websites that the band will be using on a regular basis. The two most important ones are the Band Google Classroom Page and Essential Elements Interactive. Please make sure your child joins both of these pages immediately.  The code to join the Band Google Classroom page is  
f3nrezl
-- 
If your child needs help joining the Essential Elements Interactive Page, click on this link and follow the instructions: https://htcsyork.org/links-1

LESSONS START THIS WEEK! I am attaching the lesson schedule for this week. I will have lessons on the day we go back to school on Tuesday. Please look at the schedule and find out what day and time your child has a lesson. Please make sure they bring their instrument and method book/music to school on the day of their lesson. I will post the lesson schedule on the Band Google Classroom Page as well as the school website under band and Lesson Schedules. I will also post the lesson schedule on the Class Dojo page. The students who are learning remotely will receive a Zoom Link for the time of their lesson. THIS SCHEDULE IS TEMPORARY! I am still working on recruitment for 4th graders. Expect some changes for the following week.

Band Registration Form: I need everyone to turn in their band registration form immediately! All you need to do is send in the last page. This serves as a contract for the year. I also expect payment for the first month of lessons. Please make the checks out to Holy Trinity Catholic School and put band or music lessons in the memo. Fees are listed in the Band Registration Form. This form is also used for piano lessons.

Instrument Rental: If your child is still using a school owned instrument, you will need to renew the rental fee. I will be sending new contracts home this week. Please return these contracts along with a payment. You may include the rental fee in with your monthly lesson payment. Just make sure you write "rental fee" on the memo line in addition to "music lessons" or "band" on the memo line of the checks as well.

As usual, if you have any questions or concerns, please let me know.

Have a great week!
I'll talk to you soon!

1. All students need a folding metal music stand at home. You can choose  to rent one from the school for $5 or buy one from Menchey's or Amazon.
2. I will be communicating with students and parents in 4 different ways this year. I will continue the weekly email updates. I will have a Band Class Dojo Page. I will have a Band Google Classroom Page. I will use the school's website:  https://htcsyork.org/band  I will keep copies of the weekly emails, the music calendar, and important forms such as band registration on the school's website. The private lesson schedule will also be posted on the school's website and on Class Dojo and Google Classroom.
3. Students who take band and piano lessons will only have one lesson per week. They will alternate weeks in which they have a lesson on their band instrument and piano. 
4. In regards to Covid 19, I have worked with Mrs. Smith to create safe practices for band. These practices and policies are listed in the Band Registration Form as well as the website:  https://htcsyork.org/policies-and-forms

For those of you who have chosen the remote learning option, you still need to fill out the form and turn it in if your child wishes to remain in band. I will schedule their lesson during the school day. They will need to log on during Full Band Rehearsal. I will email the Zoom link as well as post it on Class Dojo and in the Google Classroom Page. If your child experiences problems logging into their lesson or full band rehearsal, please send me a quick email so that I know they have not forgotten.

I know a lot of people are anxious and overwhelmed right now. I will do my best to keep all of you informed to help alleviate some of this anxiety. I will try to keep things as organized and simple as I can.

Please reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns. 

I hope everyone has a great week! I will see all of you very soon!

Thank you!

Good Morning!
Guess what it's time for? A BAND UPDATE!!! I am going to be starting these back up now that all of the teachers have officially started back at Holy Trinity.

I want to take a moment to let all of you know how much I have missed you! I hope you have all found a way to have fun and enjoy yourselves and enjoy your family this summer.

While I have spent some time enjoying the wonderful summer weather, I have spent a good deal of time working this summer. I have been researching ways to make band safe and enjoyable this school year. I have been exploring some new ideas that I'm looking forward to implementing when classes resume. I will share those with you in the coming weeks.

Some things will remain the same. We will continue to have private lessons and full band rehearsals every week. We will have our first full band rehearsal on the first Wednesday of school. So, please have your child bring their instrument and method book to school that day. In fact, I ask that all students be prepared to play a little something for the class. This will be an opportunity for everyone to show off what they have worked on over the summer.

I'd like to start working on my private lesson schedule right away. Please send me an email letting me know if you plan to remain in band. Also, please let me know if you are planning on doing remote learning. Students who have chosen remote learning may still participate in band. Everyone will be receiving a Band Sign Up packet the first week of school. I want all of my returning students to please fill this out and return it to me right away. 

I will also be utilizing the school's website a lot more this year. I will be saving all of my weekly band updates as well as other important information on the website this year.

I will be sharing more information in the coming days and weeks. Please reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns. 

I cannot wait to see everyone in a couple of weeks!

Have a great weekend!