Solo and Ensemble Festival 2018

Saturday, March 3rd, 2018

The Solo and Ensemble Festival is an exciting opportunity to showcase our music scholar’s hard work and talent, and allows students to receive invaluable feedback on their playing from professional musicians.

The event is taking place at Kalles Junior High in Puyallup (501 7^th Ave SE, Puyallup, WA 98372), and families will be responsible for the transportation and supervision of their child. Parking is available on both sides of Kalles Junior High, but please do not park in the Puyallup Foursquare Church parking lot. Once you arrive, Kalles music students will be there to assist, and Sequoyah students should proceed to our warmup classroom (room 237) to set up their instruments and prepare for their performance. I will also be at Kalles throughout the day should you need assistance.

Students should plan to arrive no later than 30 minutes prior to their performance with music and instrument in hand! Performances should last no longer than 10 minutes, and students may choose to leave following their performance, or may stay to watch other performances taking place throughout the day. Students should dress as if performing in a concert – no t-shirts, sweatshirts, sweatpants, etc. The performance schedule is as follows:

Flute Duet I (Mia and Lily) – Room 149 – 11:10 AM (arrive by 10:40)

Flute Duet II (Renae and Dialla) – Room 149 – 11:20 AM (arrive by 10:50)

Brass Ensemble (Joseph, Tyler, Adrian, Ismail) – Room 108 Drama Room – 11:20 AM (arrive by 10:50)

String Ensemble (Adrienne, Chris, Richard, Te’Ja, Nikki, Landon, Hannah) – Room 147 Library – 1:50 PM (arrive by 1:20)

Cello Trio (Hannah, Sheridan, Dasha) – Room 140 – 2:20 PM (arrive by 1:50)

String Duet (Brandon and Aaron) – Room 140 – 2:30 PM (arrive by 2:00)

This is a fun opportunity for our scholars, and family/friends are encouraged to attend their child’s performance! Because our scholars are performing in small ensembles of two to four students, it is critically important that everyone attend their performance. These performances are a team effort, and if even one team member fails to attend, the ensemble will likely be unable to participate. Please make every effort to arrive at least 30 minutes prior to the performance!

The group participation fee ($20 per each ensemble) has been distributed evenly amongst each group’s members. This fee has been charged to your child’s school account.

If you have any questions, please contact me at any time.

See you Saturday!

Chris Leslie, Director of Bands and Orchestra
Sequoyah Middle School
cleslie@fwps.org
SequoyahMusic.com

After School Jazz Band

Jazz band will now be held after school on Tuesday and Thursday from 2:30-4:00. We will no longer meet before school. Students needing transportation from Sequoyah at 4:00 may utilize the activity bus. For more information, contact Mr. Leslie!

Join our Google Classroom

Students in our Instrumental Music Department will submit performance assessment videos through their google classroom account. To join our google classroom, follow the instructions below.

Google Classroom Codes:

• 6th Grade Orchestra: cbjlqho
• 7th Grade Orchestra: bzsirw
• 8th Grade Orchestra: l218lyy
• 6th Grade Band: nmfi7ir
• 7th Grade Band: tad1oit
• 8th Grade Band: elbbaz

1.  Go to the google classroom website by CLICKING HERE
2.  Enter your school email and password. This should be the same username and password that you use to log into the school chromebooks.
   • Username: (student ID number)@p12fwps.org
     • example: 12345@p12fwps.org
   • Password: Sequoyah1 (with the captial “S”)
3. Click on the plus sign in the top right corner and select “join class”
4. Find your class code above on this page, and enter the class code in the popup window. Double check to ensure that you have entered in the correct class code!
5. You’re in! If you need assistance, contact Mr. Leslie.

Regional Band Festival (Kilo Middle School)

On Wednesday, May 24^th, our Advanced Band music scholars will be performing at the Valley Region Band Festival at Kilo Middle School. This is largely considered our most educationally significant performance of the year as our band will be performing for (and will be adjudicated by) some of the finest music educators in the state. Please sign and return the attached permission slip.

Itinerary

• 8:45 Depart Sequoyah Middle School
• 9:00 Band warm up
• 9:30 Performance and adjudication
• 10:00 Listen to other performances
• 12:15 Depart from Kilo Middle School
• 12:30 Lunch at The Crossings
• 1:40 Return to Sequoyah, students will attend 6^th period

Lunch

• We will be stopping at The Crossings in Federal Way where are students will have the opportunity to purchase food at one of the many fast food restaurants in the area. Students may also bring a lunch from home, or order a sack lunch from school.

Chaperones

• We are in need of three chaperones! If you are willing and able to help out, we would love for you to join us! Please contact Mr. Leslie if you are available to chaperone.

Questions? Contact Mr. Leslie at cleslie@fwps.org or 253-945-3895

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Leavenworth Information!

When are we traveling to Leavenworth?

We will be traveling to Leavenworth on Friday, May 26^th. Scholars will immediately report to the band room once they arrive for school. Our anticipated departure time from Sequoyah Middle School is 8:15 AM. Our anticipated return time is 7:30 PM. Please note that all participating scholars will need a ride home from Sequoyah Middle School at approximately 7:30 PM.

Who can participate?

This trip is for our 7^th grade and 8^th grade band and orchestra scholars.

Why travel to Leavenworth?

Our annual trip to Leavenworth is an exciting opportunity for our scholars to showcase their work with members of the public outside of our region. Our scholars will provide the soundtrack for the picturesque town of Leavenworth, all while representing our music program, our school, and our community with pride.

How much will this trip cost?

 Thanks to the many scholars who sold coupon books and purchased music department apparel, we were able to reduce the cost of the trip to $20.00 per scholar. Checks should be made payable to Sequoyah Middle School and must be turned in to Ms. Hall in the office by May 24^th. This travel fee will cover the two charter busses needed to transport our anticipated 90 participants. If you are unable to cover this travel fee, please contact Mr. Leslie or Mr. Walworth and ask about potential scholarships available to qualifying families.

 The $20.00 will not cover the cost of food. Options for meals include:

1. Order a sack lunch provided by the school
2. Pack own meal
3. Bring money to purchase lunch and dinner

What if there are unpaid fees on my child’s account?

 Scholars who have unpaid fees on their school account will be unable to participate unless the account balance has been paid. Please check with our financial secretary (Lorri-anne Hall) if you are unsure about the status of your child’s school account. You may email (lhall@fwps.org) or call Ms. Hall (253-945-3672) during office hours.

Do you need chaperones?

 Absolutely! We have room for approximately 10 to 15 chaperones on our busses, and would love the support! Led by our chaperones, our scholars will have free time to explore Leavenworth in groups of 5 to 10 students. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Mr. Leslie (cleslie@fwps.org) to reserve your spot. Please note, all chaperones must complete a background check (or have a background check on file) in order to volunteer.  Background check paperwork is available in the Sequoyah Middle School main office and takes approximately three weeks to process.

 Have any other questions?

Contact Mr. Leslie at cleslie@fwps.org 253-945-3895

Contact Mr. Walworth at twalwort@fwps.org 253-945-3893

Performance Assessment Information

Reasoning:

Scholars will be required to record themselves performing their assignment, and submit these recordings to Mr. Leslie electronically. The reasoning for this procedure is twofold: 1) These recorded assessments provide a tangible and documented record of student performance. Recordings may be reviewed as evidence of a student’s grade, and as a method to track student progress over the course of a year/s. 2) Performance assessments must be conducted, but the process takes away from valuable rehearsal time that is needed to prepare for concerts. By having students submit recordings electronically, in-class rehearsal time may focus on preparation for performance. Students may practice performance assessments on their own time, at their convenience, and submit their best product for evaluation.

Procedure:

Two to four performance assessments will be assigned per month. Students will have one week (7 days) to complete the performance assessment for evaluation, but may submit recordings at any time up to the posted deadline. Early submissions are accepted and encouraged!

Students may use any method of recording (video/audio or audio only recordings will be accepted): video camera, phone, tablet, personal recorder, or computer, as long as the audio quality of the recording is high enough for an accurate evaluation. Students who do not have access to this technology or internet at home may check out one of the department handheld recording devices. Please note: students may be held liable if the department recording device is lost, damaged, or stolen. Additionally, students may complete their performance assessment in the band room before school, after school, or during lunch hours (please schedule this in advance with Mr. Leslie!)

Recording Requirements:

• Clearly state your name at the beginning of the recording
• The recording must be one complete uninterrupted performance of the assessment. Do not stop and start over within a recording. If you need to start over, restart the recording. Edited/pasted audio/video will not be accepted.
• All Players: Make sure that the recording device is not too close to the instrument. Doing so may cause the recording device to peak, distorting the quality of the audio. It’s a good idea to test the position of the recording device, play a small sample, and check the quality of the audio prior to recording the playing assessment.
• Percussion: Percussion must submit video recordings. Ensure that sticking is clearly visible in the recording.

submit a performance assessment

performance assessment grading rubric