Johnson's Jive

Final Push for First Semester!!

Congratulations to 6th Grade!! Your first concert was great and we are very proud of the progress that you have made!!

HONOR BAND AND ALLSTATE AUDITIONS ARE THIS SATURDAY. If you are auditioning for  Honor Band or AllState, you need to be at Dodgen Middle School at least 30 minutes before your scheduled audition time. If you have not already received your audition time, please see Miss Johnson or Mr. Sessoms for that information.

The University of Georgia Honor Band is coming up Dec. 6-8. If you are involved in this, you should have already turned in all permission and medical release forms. The $30 Registration Fee is due and the Hotel fee will be due next week before we leave. Please refer to the UGA Packet for answers to any questions or feel free to contact us at awtreyband@yahoo.com.

ATTENTION ALL 7th and 8th Grade Band Members: Your Winter Concert is on TUESDAY (Dec. 4) at 7:00PM. The 7-1 Band needs to be on stage no later than 6:30pm, the 7-2 band needs to be in their roped off section no later than 6:45pm, and the 8th grade band needs to meet in the Band Room no later than 7:00pm. All 7th Grade band members should wear their band polo shirt with khakis and dress shoes. 8th Grade band members should wear black pants or long skirt, white shirt/blouse/sweater (Guys wear a tie!) and black dress shoes and socks. All Band Members (7th and 8th) will be allowed to wear Holiday hats as long as they are not distracting! :)

NEW PRACTICE LOGS! <---------Have been printed. Please pick one up in the Band Room Today!

We have a special concert coming up on Dec.18th. On this night, the Jazz Band, Vivace Orchestra, and Select Chorus will be performing. It is sure to be an exciting concert event that we would encourage all to attend! Remember! If you are not participating in the concert, you can receive 2 extra points on your final grade for attending the performance!

Week of Oct. 1

This week is ITBS testing week for 8th Grade! We will only be seeing each 8th grade class once this week. We will see 1st hour 8th grade on Tuesday and 2nd hour 8th grade on Thursday! Because of this, please be practicing at home or encouraging your student to practice at home! Our combined 8th Grade Concert will be on Thursday, October 11, at 7:00PM.

The Jazz Band Auditions are over and we have had our first rehearsal! We are going to have a great group this year and we are excited about things to come! Please encourage your jazz band students to practice their music outside of our normal rehearsal hours. We have to prepare and perfect music for our concerts in only 2 days a week and because of this, it is important for not only students be in attendance for ALL rehearsals, but also practice at home. Congratulations to those students who made it! Almost 100 Students auditioned for only 40 spots! Rehearsals will continue this week on Wednesday from 8:00am-8:50.

ATTENTION STUDENTS WHO COME TO MORNING PRACTICE! Morning practice times will not be changed because of Jazz Band. Below is the schedule we will follow for the morning times:

Monday: 8:00AM, Jazz Band ONLY

Tuesday: 8:15AM, Morning Practice (ALL)

Wednesday: 8:00AM, Jazz Band AND Morning Practice

Thursday: NO MORNING PRACTICE

Friday: 8:15AM, Morning Practice (ALL)

Week of Sept. 24

JAZZ BAND AUDITIONS ARE HERE! 

We are in the process of hearing all 7th and 8th Grade students who are interested in auditioning for jazz band. We hope to have everyone heard by Tuesday/Wednesday of this week, posting the participant list late Thursday/Early Friday, and having our first rehearsal Monday Morning at 8:00AM. If you make this year's jazz band, please be prompt at getting to rehearsal on time!

ATTENTION STUDENTS AUDITIONING FOR ALLSTATE AND HONOR BAND!

Please go to the following website and follow the directions below to print out your audition materials. Those auditioning for Honor Band need to print out the "Scales" page for their instrument and AllState Auditioners need to print out BOTH the "scales" and the "etudes" for their instrument. If you have any questions please see me or Mr. Sessoms for help!

Go To:  www.gmea.org , (on the left) Band Division, (then in the middle) All-state Band etudes!, (then in the middle) Middle School Scales and Etudes, Then click on your instrument

ATTENTION STUDENTS STILL NEEDING TO ORDER BAND APPAREL!

I need to place the shirt/jacket/sweatshirt order THIS FRIDAY. If you are a 6th Grader and have not ordered your shirt, this is your last opportunity to purchase your shirt before the first concert. We will NOT be ordering any extra shirts, so if you don't order, you will have to provide your own black polo shirt for the concert in November.

Our first concert for 8th Grade will be combined on Thursday, October 11, 2007, @ 7:00PM in the Awtrey Theater. The 8th Grade Orchestra will also be performing that night. Please be in seats no later than 6:45PM. The concert dress in "Sunday Best". No Jeans, T-shirts, tennis shoes or flip flops.

Sept. 10-14

All Deadlines for Solo & Ensemble, All-State, and Honor Band have passed! We will be getting information out to those students involved in the next couple of weeks! ALSO, Practice Logs were due on Sept. 12. New practice logs are below for you to print out.

JAZZ BAND AUDITIONS ARE COMING!!!  All Audition materials are now available. Please know that Mr. Sessoms and myself will NOT be helping with the preparation for this audition. We want to see how much the students can learn outside of school, on their own. Please seek help from older students, musically inclined parents and/or other adults. Auditions will begin next Thursday (Sept. 20) with the majority of the auditions taking place Friday Morning between 8:15-9:00AM. We will be posting sign up sheets for times later this week. Once Auditions are over and the band has been selected, we hope to start rehearsals on Monday, Oct. 1st from 8:00am-8:50 with rehearsals continueing on Monday and Wednesday after that.

If you want to purchase a shirt, jacket or sweatshirt, please turn in order form and money by Friday of this week. (Sept. 14)

NEW PRACTICE LOGS:

Download practice_log.xls

Deadlines, Deadlines, Deadlines...

The Solo and Ensemble Deadline has passed. We will be getting music out to those students involved within the next week or so.

The All-State and Honor Band Audition Registration Deadline is Friday, Sept. 7. Please make sure that your students bring in the permission form and money on Friday so that they can participate. We cannot accept any late entries. If you need the form, please look in the "More Forms" blog entry.

ATTENTION ALL 6TH GRADE PARENTS! All 6th Graders must purchase a band shirt. The deadline for the apparel form and money by Friday, Sept. 7. If you need a form, please look for the "handbook forms" link on the "Important Forms" blog entry.

PRACTICE LOGS ARE DUE ON SEPTEMBER 11! TURN THEM IN EARLY IF YOU ARE FORGETFUL!!

Parents, please remember our new email: Awtreyband@yahoo.com

6th Grade Begins!!

6th Graders will be starting with instruments this week!! Parents, if your student does not have an instrument yet, please provide us with a note briefly explaining why and when your child will be able to have one. This just helps us in the planning process and helps us ensure that your child does not fall behind in class.

We are very excited about this years 6th Grade class. As with anything new to your student or family, you may have several questions. Please refer to the handbook first, and if it can't answer your question, do not hesitate to email us.

6th Grade students should have come home on Friday with the Handbook and the Forms that go along with the handbook. Please take the time to look over this handbook and fill out the necessary forms. If it did not make it home, you can find them on my blogs post from August 14th.

ALL PARENTS! If you are interested, I have set up an email account strictly for band parents to use to contact us. Email me and tell me your name and your child's name and I will add you to the address book. This email is best used for your questions!

AWTREYBAND@yahoo.com

More Forms!!

Come on, I know you're excited! Who doesn't want to fill out more forms?!?!?!

The following links are for students in 7th and 8th Grade. The first is the registration form for Solo and Ensemble. If your student is interested in performing a solo or participating in an ensemble for this year's festival, please fill out the attached form and send the proper money with your child to school. The deadline for registration is Sept. 5, 2007.

The second link is for the registration form for Allstate and Honor Band Auditions. Honor Band is our district's version of an All-Star team for any sports team. Allstate is just that, an All-star team pulled from around the state. For both activities, students must pass an audition process. All information needed should be on the form, if not, do not hesitate to email me with any questions!

Download solo_and_ensemble.doc

Download hb_and_allstate_perm. Form

The Final link is for 8th Graders Only. This is their permission form for the 8th Grade Band Night at North Cobb High School. Several students have already turned their permission slip in, but sometimes papers don't always make it home to mom and dad! This evening will surely prove to be very exciting and entertaining for the kids!!

Download 8th_grade_night.doc

Have a GREAT Weekend!!!

Attention Parents!

I am in the process of setting up a new email account specifically for band parents. If you would like to receive periodic emails concerning the activities in band, please send me an email with your name and your student's name at

AwtreyBand@yahoo.com

and I will make sure to add you to the list. Also, you can use this email to contact me about questions you may have about the program.

6th Grade Parents! We will begin sending home the band handbook today. Please take some time to look it over and fill out the green information sheet and the blue Band Apparel Order Form. If you have any concerns, feel free to email me!

We're off to a great start!

Important Forms!!!

Here are some of the important forms that the kids have received during this week of band. Please ask your students about the handbook if you have not already seen it! Thanks!!

Download ams_band_handbook.pdf

Download handbook_forms.doc

Download generic_practice_log.xls

WELCOME BACK!!

I hope that everyone had a restful summer and you're ready to come ino this year with an attitude of excellence! We will be giving out handbooks for 7th and 8th grade students on the first day of school. Please note that there are two forms, separate from the hand book, that need to be filled out and returned ASAP. On Monday, I will post an electronic copy of the hand book, along with the forms, as well as the first practice log. We're looking forward to a great year!