Grade 7, 8 and 9 band students are reminded that yearbook pictures for band will be taken tomorrow morning. Students are reminded to please bring their uniforms and instruments for the photo. 

Tuesday, April 18: Grade 7 Early AM Band

Wednesday, April 19: Grade 8 Early AM Band and Jazz Band after school (3:15-4:15)

Thursday, April 20: Grade 9 Early AM Band

Upcoming Events

April 18th, 7:30 p.m. – Holland College Welshmen Community Band Concert, Florence Simmons Performance Hall. Selected students from schools participating in the Band for Life program will perform with the community band, including four participants from East Wiltshire.

May 11th, 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.- Grade 7 Beginner Band Day at Athena Consolidated in Summerside

May 17th-May 18th– Grade 9 Band Trip to NS and NB

May 31st (date to be confirmed this week)- Spring Concert!

*To be scheduled: EWS Band Orientation Concert for grade 6’s: All four bands will perform in the EWS gym

*regular attendance at rehearsals is required for participation in extra-curricular events

I recently received this invitation from Tim Doyle from the Holland College Welshmen Community Band. Ideally, the students will have made a connection with one of our two Band For Life volunteers during grade 7, 8, or 9 early morning band rehearsals, but this is not required:

We would like one or two students from your group to join us and play a piece with us at our April 18th concert (Theme from Jurassic Park).

Expectations of students:

-learn their music

-attend the run through with the band on Sunday, April 16th between 1:30-2:00 pm at FSPH (Florence Simmons Performance Hall, Charlottetown)

-attend warm up on stage at FSPH at 6:45 pm on April 18th

-wear their school band uniform to concert

Students who are interested in this opportunity are asked to please let me know tomorrow (Tuesday) at school. Thank you!

Tuesday, April 11: Grade 7 Early AM Band

Wednesday, April 12: Grade 8 Early AM Band and Jazz Band after school (3:15-4:15)

Thursday, April 13: Grade 9 Early AM Band

Upcoming Events

April 20th, 10:00 a.m.(tentative)- EWS Band Orientation Concert for grade 6’s: All four bands will perform in the EWS gym

May 11th, 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.- Grade 7 Beginner Band Day at Athena Consolidated in Summerside

May 17th-May 18th- Grade 9 Band Trip to NS and NB

*regular attendance at rehearsals is required for participation in extra-curricular events

Just a friendly reminder that we will be finalizing the bookings (bus, hotel, bowling, zoo, theatre, etc.) for the grade 9 band trip on Tuesday, April 11th. If you haven’t already done so, please send in your $50 deposit to confirm that your child will be travelling to Sackville, Moncton and Amherst with us in May.

*E-transfer is the preferred method of payment. Payments can be made online to East Wiltshire through e-transfer. The address for e-transfer is eastwiltshire@edu.pe.ca

Band Trip Slide Show (sorry about the long link)

2023 Grade 9 Band Trip Information Slides

Please feel free to contact me with any questions (ampeters@edu.pe.ca).

Thank you!

Congratulations to the Grade 8 and Grade 9 band students on their excellent performances at the PEI Band Days music festival in Summerside this morning! Both groups played extremely well and received very positive adjudications.

Thank you to the students for their hard work leading up to the festival and thank you to parents for organizing drives and offering your support this week as well.

Enjoy the long weekend!

I am really looking forward to participating in PEI Band Days on Tuesday with the grade 8 and the grade 9 bands!

I have decided to order pizza (paid for by our Recipes in Jars fundraising campaign) for the grade 8 and 9 band students to celebrate their performances and anticipated good behaviour at Band Days. Students should still bring a water bottle and snacks for the road, but we will be having pizza at the school when we return from Summerside. *Beverages won’t be provided.

If you are planning to drive your student to Summerside, please let me know as soon as possible. Thank you!

Monday, April 3rd: Grade 8 Early AM Band Rehearsal (7:45-8:50 am), Grade 9 Full Band Rehearsal during period 5 (2:00-3:00). Please come prepared with instruments and music. Students must participate in the final full band rehearsals in order to participate in the field trip. As always, the usual reasonable exemptions (illness, medical appointments, etc.) will apply.

Tuesday, April 4th: Grade 7 Early AM Band is canceled. Grade 8 and 9 Band students meet at EWS at 7:10 am to travel to Summerside to perform in the PEI Band Days Festival. Students will return to EWS for lunch (pizza) and afternoon classes.

Wednesday, April 5th: Grade 8 Early AM Band is canceled, and after school jazz band is canceled (I will be attending Day 2 of the PEI Band Days festival)

Thursday, April 6th: Grade 9 Early AM is canceled. There will be a Jazz Band Rehearsal from 7:45-8:45 am for this week only.

There has been a lot of activity in the band area this week as we prepare for upcoming spring band events for all four bands!

The first big event is PEI Band Days which is being held in Summerside at the Scott MacAulay Theatre at the College of Piping this year. Both the grade 8 concert band, and the grade 9 concert band will be performing on Tuesday, April 4th in the morning. Full participation in this event includes performing, participating in a clinic with an adjudicator, and listening to other bands.The students have been working hard to prepare their music, and they are excited to have the opportunity to go on a band field trip with their classmates.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ’s)

What should I bring? Students have been asked to check to make sure that they know where their band uniforms are this week! Full uniforms (including black pants, band vests, white shirts, and dark shoes if possible) are required for these performances.  In addition to their instruments and music, students should bring a water bottle, a snack, and a packed lunch to eat when we get back to the school. 

How are we getting there, and when are we leaving? Organizing transportation for all of the intermediate and high school bands on the Island has been a huge challenge for the transportation folks at the PSB, but they have been able to make it work. They have provided two school buses outside of regular school hours so that we can arrive in Summerside on time. Grade 8 and Grade 9 band students must be at the school no later than 7:10 a.m. on Tuesday to load the buses and to load large instruments into the van. We are on a schedule and, unfortunately, we will not be able to wait for students who arrive late. If transportation is a problem, please let me know and I will try to help you find car pool options.

Can parents and guardians attend PEI Band Days performances? All performances are free, and the public is welcome to attend. We have decided to rent a small cargo van to transport the large instruments, so parent volunteers are no longer needed. If you are planning to drive to Summerside, and will be taking your student (and their instrument) in your own vehicle, please let me know.  Please note that the festival organizers have requested that all students arrive at the College of Piping at least 45 minutes before their performance time.

Two teacher chaperones (Mrs. Campbell, grade 8 VP, and Mrs. Scully, grade 9 teacher) will also be coming with us to Summerside to help out, and to enjoy the show. Mr. Cusack has offered to drive the van! Please remind your students of your expectations for their best behaviour during field trips. We want this to be a positive experience for everyone involved.

Grade 8 Concert Band Schedule for Tuesday, April 4th

7:10 a.m.:  Arrive at East Wiltshire; load large instruments into van, load school bus, and depart for Summerside

8:30-8:45 :  Watch SIS Grade 8 band perform in the Scott MacAulay theatre

8:45-9:00: Set-up instruments

9:00-9:30:  Rehearsal and warm-up

9:30-10:00:  Perform on stage and receive onstage clinic/adjudication

10:00-10:15:  Put away instruments and return to the theatre 

10:30-11:00:  Watch the EWS Grade 9 Band perform

11:00-11:30:  Watch the Charlottetown Rural Concert Band performance

11:40:  Load buses and return to East Wiltshire

12:40:  Eat lunch and return to classes for the afternoon

Grade 9 Concert Band Schedule for Tuesday, April 4th

7:10 a.m.:  Arrive at East Wiltshire; load large instruments into van, load school bus and depart for Summerside

8:30-9:00 :  Watch SIS Grade 8 band perform in the Scott MacAulay theatre

9:00-9:30:  Watch the Bluefield Concert Band perform

 9:30-9:45:  Watch East Wiltshire Grade 8 Band performance

9:45-10:00:  Set up instruments

10:00-10:30:  Rehearsal and warm up

10:30-11:00: Perform on stage and receive onstage clinic/adjudication

11:00-11:30:  Put away instruments and return to theatre if time allows 

11:40:  Load buses and return to East Wiltshire

12:40:  Eat lunch and return to classes for the afternoon

The full schedule for the PEI Band Days Festival can be found here: PEI BAND DAYS SCHEDULE

Please note these important changes to our rehearsal schedule for tomorrow and for next week. I will post the schedule again on Sunday evening, so please check back in case there are any changes.

Friday, March 31: Grade 8 Full Band Rehearsal during period 5 (2:00-3:00)

Monday, April 3rd: Grade 8 Early AM Band Rehearsal (7:45-8:50 am), Grade 9 Full Band Rehearsal during period 5 (2:00-3:00). Please come prepared with instruments and music.

Tuesday, April 4th: Grade 7 Early AM Band is canceled. Grade 8 and 9 Band students meet at EWS at 7:10 am to travel to Summerside to perform in the PEI Band Days Festival. Students will return to EWS for afternoon classes.

Wednesday, April 5th: Grade 8 Early AM Band is canceled, and after school jazz band is canceled (I will be attending Day 2 of the PEI Band Days festival)

Thursday, April 6th: Grade 9 Early AM is canceled. There will be a Jazz Band Rehearsal from 7:45-8:45 am for this week only.

Happy Easter! The regular early morning rehearsal schedule will resume after the holiday.

Band Days is back! Admission is free and the public is welcome to attend. Click on the link below to find out which Island school bands are performing and when!

We are still very much in need of some help with moving large instruments (which aren’t allowed on most school buses) to Summerside and back on Tuesday morning. Please send me an e-mail if you can help (ampeters@edu.pe.ca). Thank you!

Watch this page for more details over the next few days!

PEI BAND DAYS SCHEDULE

I hope you had a great weekend even with the wintery weather. Spring is a busy season for the band program, with lots of fun and important events for band students! Please note the changes to the band rehearsal schedule this week.

Tuesday, March 28th: Grade 9 Early AM Band Rehearsal. Grade 7 AM Band Rehearsal is canceled for tomorrow.

Following early morning band practice, the grade 9 band students (9B and 9D) will take a school bus to Bluefield to spend the morning with the grade 11-12 band. Students who do not attend the early morning rehearsal will not participate in the field trip unless the absence has been excused in advance due to a medical appointment, etc..

Wednesday, March 29th: Grade 8 Early AM Band, Jazz Band after school (3:15-4:30 pm)

Thursday, March 30th: Grade 9 Early AM Band

A few more upcoming band events include:

Tuesday, April 4^th:  PEI Band Day in Summerside (Grade 8 and 9 band students will participate). Students will travel by school bus. If anyone can help out that day by volunteering to take some of the larger instruments to Summerside please send me an e-mail. Thank you!

Here is the complete schedule for the two day event:

PEI Band Days Schedule 2023

Thursday, May 11^th:  Grade 7 Band Day in Summerside (Grade 7 band students will participate). As the date gets closer, I will again be looking for parents who can help to transport a few large instruments.

Wednesday, May 17^th-Thursday, May 18^th:  Grade 9 Band trip (details will be e-mailed to grade 9 parents by the end of the day today)

*Mrs. Smith and I are also working on organizing a band concert (7, 8, 9 bands and jazz band) for grade 6’s here at East Wiltshire in April….I’ll send that date out once it has been set.

Busy times! Please feel free to contact me at ampeters@edu.pe.ca if you have any questions. Thank you for your suport!