I am looking forward to meeting all of the new grade 7 band students this week and to welcoming back the grade 8 and 9 band students! 

I know there is a LOT of information being shared at this time of year, but here are a few notes to refer to as we begin to get the band program back in full swing:

Grade 7 students do not need to bring instruments to school on Thursday. Grade 7, 8 and 9 band students are asked to please bring instruments back to school on Friday if possible.

The school email address that I check on a regular basis is ampeters@edu.pe.ca

Band Blog: Students are always informed and reminded about upcoming band rehearsals and events, and they are responsible for being aware of the band schedule. In order to support students, parents are asked to please subscribe to the band blog in order to receive email notifications from me about upcoming events, rehearsal schedule, updates, etc. (see pictures below). 

Laptop, chrome book, or desktop:

Mobile Device (Phone/Tablet): Scroll way, way down to find this option

Google classroom is another tool that students will be using again this year to support their learning in the band program.  Every band class will have their own Google Classroom and every student will be given a code to join their classroom.  Assignments, due dates, and learning resources will be posted regularly in Google Classroom. 

Early Morning Band Schedule (Fall 2023)

Extra-curricular early morning band rehearsals will begin after we have completed a full 6 day cycle.  Please note the dates below.

Tuesdays, 7:45 a.m. Grade 7 early morning band (First rehearsal: Tuesday, Sept. 19th)

Wednesdays, 7:45 a.m. Grade 8 early morning band (First rehearsal: Wednesday, September 20th)

Thursdays, 7:45 a.m. Grade 9 early morning band (First Rehearsal: Thursday, September 21st)

Grade 8-9 Jazz Band:  To Be Announced

Students are asked to be in the band room ready to play at 7:45 a.m. on early am band days. The doors to the school will be open at 7:30 a.m. Please send me an email if your child is unable to attend a rehearsal so that I can record the absence as excused. Thank you!

Thank you for your past and future support in providing transportation for your children to early morning band classes!

Instruments

Students are responsible for the care and maintenance of their instruments throughout the year. Cleaning and maintenance protocols for each instrument will be reviewed with students in September. Students will be asked to adhere to safety guidelines by not touching or playing instruments other than their own, and by following the guidelines for cleaning their own instruments. 

Early Morning Band Cancellation Policy

There may be times when I have to cancel or reschedule extracurricular practices. I will always give you as much notice as I can when this happens.

A detailed outline of the early morning band cancellation policy can be found on the blog: https://eastwiltshireschoolband.com/cancellation-policy/

Band Concerts

Participation in band concerts is a highlight of the band experience, and attendance at scheduled performances is a required element of the East Wiltshire band program; please note concert dates as they are provided, and mark them in your calendars. If conflicts arise, please contact me in advance and we will work it out together.

I am looking forward to another great year with the East Wiltshire band students!

I hope everyone is having a great summer! Band Camp is just a few days away!

Please visit the Band Camp website for up-to-date information:

https://sites.google.com/cloud.edu.pe.ca/bandcamp/home

Instrument assignments for band camp are listed below. Please note that all of the grade 7 students were accommodated this year with their first or second instrument choice. Changes to instrument selections cannot, unfortunately, be made for band camp. I encourage students to keep an open mind, be prepared for new challenges, make new friends, and to have fun learning to play a new instrument next week!

*If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at ampeters@edu.pe.ca so that we can take care of it before camp begins on Monday.  Thank you!

Hi everyone,

I hope your summer is going well 🙂

Just a quick note regarding the upcoming band camp. The decision was made by the organizers to invite beginner percussionists to stay for a full day of band camp in order to provide students with an opportunity to play along with the intermediate bands. There was some confusion about this amongst the band directors this year, and for that I apologize. If your new percussionist is unable to stay for full days, please just let me know.

A full list of registered campers (beginner, intermediate, and senior) including beginner instrument assignments, will be posted here at the beginning of next week.

Please find below the welcome message from Kirsten MacLaine which she also sent by e-mail on August 8th:

Welcome to our 2023 Central Area Band Camp! 

We are excited to make music with you at camp!  As you prepare for camp, please review the following information.  

General Information

Dates: Monday, August 21st – Friday, August 25th, 2023  

Location: Stonepark Intermediate School, 50 Pope Avenue, Charlottetown

Time:

Beginners* (1st year) – 9:00 am – 11:30 am

Intermediate and Advanced (2nd, 3rd and 4th year) –  9:00 – 3:00 pm

*Beginner Percussion:   You will be assigned to an intermediate band with your friends from school, so you are still considered intermediate (2nd year)  and will stay at camp until 3:00 pm. 

Transportation:

Parents are responsible for transportation to and from camp, and carpooling is strongly encouraged.  Please drive with caution while navigating the school parking lot and follow the one-way directional signage and directions from camp staff.  A lot of traffic is expected, and we appreciate your patience and understanding.  Should you wish to drop your camper off a bit earlier, they are welcome to wait in front of the building until the doors open at 8:55 am, however, they will not be supervised.

What to bring with you to camp:

• Beginners:   Please bring a water bottle and a nut-free snack.  Your band instrument, music, and a pencil will be provided at camp.

• Intermediate/Seniors:   Please bring a water bottle, a nut-free snack, and a nut-free lunch.  You are also responsible to bring your band instrument, your music, and a pencil will be provided.  Band campers will not be permitted to leave school property to buy lunch, so please bring everything you need with you.

Band Camp Gives Back:

Band camp will be holding our empty egg carton collection for the PEI Humane Society once again this year.  The beginner sectional class and the intermediate/senior band who bring in the most empty egg cartons will each win the opportunity to push a whipped cream pie in the face of the band camp staff member of their choice!  It’s a lot of fun, and it helps out our local animal shelter.

Friday Celebration Concerts:

We encourage all of our families and friends to join us, and help us celebrate all we have learned during camp, on Friday, August 25th in the Stonepark school gym.

• Beginner concert:  11 am

• Intermediate/Advanced concert:  1 pm

Camper absence:

If your camper will be absent from camp on any day, please email ktmaclaine@edu.pe.ca to let us know before 9am.

If your camper is no longer planning to attend camp, we ask that you please inform us.  As camp staffing has been planned based on current enrollment, we regret that there are no refunds should your plans have changed.

Additional information and contact email addresses can be found on our band camp website:

2023 Central Area Band Camp

We look forward to seeing you at camp!

Kirsten MacLaine

PEI Band Camp Director

ktmaclaine@edu.pe.ca

Youth Talent 2023: Schedule and Contacts to register

https://www.peiae.ca/pei-youth-talent

1. Tignish Irish Moss – Sunday, July 2, contact : Tina Richard – 902-853-6532 trichard1976@hotmail.com Time – TBA
2. Summerside Lobster Carnival – Thursday, July 6, 7:00 p.m. contact: Marlene Campbell – 902-786-7813 marlene.campbell@city.summerside.pe.ca
3. PEI Potato Blossom Festival -Wednesday, July 19, 7:00 p.m. contact: Esther MacWilliam Cell: 902-856-2531
4. Prince Co. Exhibition – Thursday, July 27, 6:30 p.m. Contact: Moira Shaw -(902) 807-9358 moirashaw17@gmail.com
5. Crapaud Exhibition – Friday, July 28th, 7:30 p.m. – contact: Jean Tingley – 902-621-0526 tingley@pei.sympatico.ca
6. L’Exposition agricole et le Festival acadien – Tuesday, August 8th 7:00 p.m.- contact: Marissa at 902-854-3517 email – expositionfestival@gmail.com
7. Old Home Week – Wednesday, August 16th, 7:30 p.m. -contact: Sandra Hodder – (c) 902-969-1966 info@oldhomeweekpei.com 902-629-6623 (Old Home Week Office)
8. Kensington – Tuesday, August 22, 7:30 – contact: Robert Wood – 902-439-9726 cuc@kensington.ca

Provincial Finals (Abram-Village) – Friday, September 1st, 2023 at 2:30pm

10. Provincial Finals – Abram-Village – Friday, September 1st, 2:30 p.m.

Christopher Wilson, the newly appointed Artistic Director at The Guild, sent the following summer dramatic opportunities information:

Arts Education Summer Camps – Musical Theatre at The Guild

July 17-21 ages 10-12 plus August 21-25 ages 13-16 

As part of the 2022 Summer Festival, The Guild is excited to offer BROADWAY or BUST, a musical theatre camp this summer.  

BROADWAY or BUST | Musical Theatre Education

For more information, please contact Christopher Wilson cwilson@theguildpei.com 🙂

Good morning and happy last day of school! I am looking for the GUITAR and PIANO books from the Standard of Excellence Jazz Ensemble set, as well as a few others. If you see any of these books as you unpack kitbags for the summer, please drop them off here at the school 🙂

Thank you!

Just a reminder about the grade 8 band field trip tomorrow! Details are in the previous post.

The grade 8 band students will be going a field trip on Monday morning. We will leave EWS at 10:00 am and we will return for afternoon classes.

Students will be bowling at the Murphy Centre from 10:30-11:45 and then we will stop at Wendy’s for lunch before returning to school for afternoon classes.

Students are asked to bring $5.00 to help with the cost of bowling and transportation. Students should also bring money for lunch if they wish to eat at Wendy’s.

If you are free to come along and help chaperone, please let me know (ampeters@edu.pe.ca). Thank you!

Welcome back to our grade 9 travelers! I’m looking forward to hearing all about your trip. Grade 9 students should turn in their band vests and blue method books during band classes this week. Grade 9 instruments that were used at home this year (spare tubas, baritone saxes, etc.) should also be returned this week. All grade 9 students should leave their instruments at school from now until the end of June. Grade 9’s will continue to play during band classes, but students are asked to keep instruments in the band room unless they need to be signed out for a specific reason.

I have posted the slide show from the spring band concert in Google Classroom. Congratulations once again to all of the students on your excellent performances! It was one of my favourite concerts in recent years thanks to the effort, talents, and dedication of this year’s group of musicians!

Band camp forms are now available for all band students, and I strongly encourage students who are currently in grade 7 and 8 to attend. As most students will take a well deserved break from practicing over the summer, the band camp provides an excellent opportunity to dust off the instruments in August and get back into shape for fall! Grade 9 students who are continuing with band in grade 10 are also welcome to attend the camp.

You can register for the camp by clicking on this link. Payments can be brought to the main office at EWS or they can be sent via e-transfer (see information on the form). Paper copies of the form are also available in the band area.

Intermediate/Senior Band Camp Form