Sunday, March 30, 2014

STAAR Tests this Week - UIL Contest next Week

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STAAR Tests will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday this week.  We will not have morning rehearsals on those days but we will have rehearsal after school for Advanced band after school every day except Friday.  There will be morning rehearsal for all students on Monday, Thursday and Friday

UIL Regional Contest is Next Week - Advanced band students should attend every before and after school rehearsal this week and next week.  Please see the schedule below


This Week in Band 3/31 - 4/4


Monday
8:00 AM   Advanced Band and Beginning Band rehearsals
3:45 - 4:45 Advanced Band Sectionals

Tuesday
 No Activities before School
3:45 - 4:45 Advanced Band Sectionals

Wednesday
No Activities before school
3:45 - 4:45 Advanced Band Sectionals

Thursday
8:00 AM Advanced Band and Beginning Band rehearsals
3:45 - 4:45 Advanced Band Sectionals

Friday
8:00 AM Advanced Band and Beginning Band rehearsals
Nothing after school



Next week in Band  4/7 - 4/11



Monday
8:00 AM   Advanced Band and Beginning Band rehearsals
3:45 - 4:45 Advanced Band Sectionals

Tuesday
8:00 AM   Advanced Band and Beginning Band rehearsals
3:45 - 4:45 Advanced Band Sectionals

Wednesday
8:00 AM Advanced Band and Beginning Band rehearsals
3:45 - 4:45 Advanced Band Sectionals

Thursday
8:00 AM Advanced Band and Beginning Band rehearsals
UIL Concert and Sight Reading Regional Evaluations - Cedar Hill High School - Cedar Hill TX


Friday
8:00 AM Advanced Band and Beginning Band rehearsals
Nothing after school

Monday, March 24, 2014

Progress Reports / Report Cards and Eligibility

Progress Reports / Report Cards and Eligibility


Student progress reports will be sent home this week.  A Report Card or  a Progress Report determines the student's eligibility to participate in competition for the next three weeks.  All classes must be passing with a 70% or higher in order for a student to be eligible.

Mark your calendars - Upcoming competitions


April 9 - UIL Regional Concert and Sight Reading - Advanced Band Only
April 26 - Sandy Lake Music Festival - Beginning and Advanced Bands

This Week in Band


Monday
8:00 AM   Advanced Band and Beginning Band rehearsals

Nothing After School

Tuesday
8:00 AM   Advanced Band and Beginning Band rehearsals
3:45 - 4:45 Advanced Band Section Rehearsal

Wednesday
8:00 AM Advanced Band and Beginning Band rehearsals
3:45 - 4:45 Advanced Band Rehearsal

Thursday
8:00 AM Advanced Band and Beginning Band rehearsals
3:45 - 4:45 Advanced Band Rehearsal

Friday
8:00 AM Advanced Band and Beginning Band rehearsals
Nothing after school


Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Contest Tomorrow!


Pre-UIL Band Evaluations - Wednesday March 19
Itinerary
  • The students that are involved were notified and given a permission slip. 
  • Students should arrive to the band hall in their Concert Dress Black clothes by 8:00 AM ready to play their instruments.
  • Boys - Black or grey dress pants, shirt, shoes and socks.  Tie and jacket is optional.  
  • Girls - Black or grey dress, or dress pants outfit.  Skirts MUST be knee length or longer.  
  • Students should bring $7 for lunch at CiCi’s pizza, their instrument, their music, reeds, valve oil and all needed accessories and their permission slip. 
  • All parents are welcome to travel with us and attend the performance
8:00 - Meet in the band hall, warm up and rehearse
9:15 - Pack and Load the bus
9:30 - Depart for Tasby Middle School 7001 Fair Oaks Ave., Dallas, TX 75231 | Phone:(972) 502-1900
10:00 - Arrive Tasby Middle School unpack and line up
10:15 - Warm time
10:45 - Concert Performance
11:15 - Sight Reading Performance
12:15 - Pack and load the bus
12:30 - Depart for CiCis pizza 7879 SPRING VALLEY RD
12:45 - Arrive at CiCis
1:30 - Depart for Walker Middle School
1:45 - Arrive at Walker - Go to 6th and 7th period classes

Friday, March 14, 2014

Back to School - Contest Wednesday!

Back to School Monday - Contest on Wednesday!


Our first Contest of the Spring is Wednesday March 19.

  • Students should be practicing at least 15 minutes a day at home to prepare their music for performance
  • We will be having required practice before and after school Monday and Tuesday.  8:00 AM - 8:45 each morning and 3:45 - 4:45 each afternoon.  Make arrangements for transportation.
  • Wednesday morning we will meet in the Band Room at 8:00 am and load the bus to travel to the contest
  •  This applies to the advanced band members who qualified by:


  1. Making an "A" in band 90% or higher
  2. Passing all classes on the last report card 70% or higher
  3. Attended extra rehearsals and passed their music.   

Those students will be traveling by bus to Tasby Middle School Wednesday morning to perform at the Dallas ISD Concert and Sight-Reading Evaluations.

Students should "dress up" in their concert black or a combination of black and gray.   Boys should wear dress pants, shirt and shoes.  Ties and Jackets are optional.  Ties can be blue as an accent color.   Girls should wear a black or black and grey dress or skirt/blouse or dress pants outfit.  All skirts must be knee length or longer.  Girls can wear blue accessories as an accent color.  This is formal wear.  
What NOT to wear.  Students should not wear jeans, athletic shoes or anything outside of the guidelines listed above.  

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Happy Spring Break! Apps for Band.


Hope everyone is having a great Spring Break!  Here is what's happening in band.


Students should download a "Tuner" app for their phone or tablet.  These apps greatly improve the students practice and ability to tune their playing with the rest of the students.  There are many good apps, some are free and some cost a dollar or so.  here is a list of what we recommend:

Best *****        Tonal Energy Tuner     

this one costs 3 or 4 bucks but would be worth ten times that.  It has a tuner, metronome, sound analyzer and the ability to record and playback  


Very Good***   Clear Tune               excellent tuner  $2
                           Pitch Lab Pro          multiple screens.  Sometimes free, sometimes 1 or 2 dollars


Good**          LinoStrobe Lite            Free
                       Da Tuner                     Free

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Extra Credit Assignment!

Band Extra Credit assignment.

Parents!  An extra credit assignment was given today in class.  Ask your child if they have completed it.  Click on the "Documents" page of our website for details.  http://edwalkermsband.blogspot.com/ 

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

This week in Band! March Fourth! 3/4/14

Preparing for Contests

Only 6 rehearsals left until our first contest performance.  A little practice makes a big difference.
  • During the week Band students should be practicing assignments at home for 15-20 minutes each day to prepare for performance.
  • Take your instrument home over Spring Break and practice 20 - 30 minutes each day.
  • Attend as many before and after school rehearsals as possible.  8 - 8:45 AM Mon. - Fri. and 3:45 - 4:45 Tue., Wed, Thur.

District Pre-UIL -                   March 19 -               Advanced Band
Regional UIL -                       April 9 -                    Advanced Band
Sandy Lake Music Fest          April 26                    Beginning and Advanced Band

All students are working hard and learning in class and accountable for classroom assignments.  Not all students will qualify to attend the contests/field trips.  Advanced band students have their first contest 2 days after we return from spring break!

 In order qualify a student must  do the following:

-Be making an A in band 90% or higher and passing all tests with a 94% or higher
-Pass all classes with 70% or higher on the most current report card and progress report
-Attend 3-5 before or after school rehearsals per week  See the weekly schedule below.


Monday
No School

Tuesday
8:00 AM   Advanced Band and Beginning Band rehearsals
3:45 - 4:45 Advanced Band Sectionals

Wednesday
8:00 AM Advanced Band and Beginning Band rehearsals
3:45 - 4:45 Advanced Band Sectionals

Thursday
8:00 AM Advanced Band and Beginning Band rehearsals
3:45 - 4:45 Advanced Band Sectionals

Friday
8:00 AM Advanced Band and Beginning Band rehearsals
Nothing after school

Monday, March 3, 2014

Ice/Weather Day

No School Today - March 3, 2014 - Rehearsals this week are critical.

Rehearsals this week are critical as we go into Spring Break, especially since we don't have Monday.  All advanced band students that are getting ready for Pre-UIL and all beginning band students that are attempting to qualify for Sandy Lake should attend every rehearsal if possible.  

Click on "Calendar" at the right to see all scheduled rehearsals and events
Follow us on Facebook at E.D. Walker Middle School Band or follow me on Twitter @JohnFlemons for all the Walker Band updates

An honor and a privilege

Please see the band Facebook page for an important announcement. https://www.facebook.com/walkermsband/