We are off to a great start in the band department and I’m looking forward to another great year of music-making at East Wiltshire.
I know that parents will be meeting with homeroom teachers tomorrow evening (Tuesday, September 16th), so I wanted to provide a brief slide show which includes some basic information about the EWS Band Program just in case you can’t make it to the band area!
Early morning band practices for grade 8 and 9 band students will begin this week!
Wednesday, September 17th, 7:45 a.m. Grade 8 early morning band
Thursday, September 18th, 7:45 a.m. Grade 9 early morning band
Grade 7’s will have their first full band rehearsal on Tuesday, September 23rd.
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!
Extra-curricular early morning band rehearsals will begin after we have completed a full 6 day cycle. Please note the starting date for each grade level:
Tuesdays, 7:45 a.m. Grade 7 early morning band (First rehearsal: Tuesday, September 23rd)
Wednesdays, 7:45 a.m. Grade 8 early morning band (First rehearsal: Wednesday, September 17th)
Thursdays, 7:45 a.m. Grade 9 early morning band (First Rehearsal: Thursday, September 18th)
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 for your past and future support in providing transportation for your children to early morning band classes!
I am excited to meet all of the new grade 7 band students this week and to welcome back the grade 8 and 9 band students! Being part of a large music ensemble offers an enriching and unique educational experience, and I’m confident that we are in for another fantastic year of music making at East Wiltshire.
*If you no longer have a student in the band program, you can unsubscribe to the band blog and automatic emails here: https://eastwiltshireschoolband.com/
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.
Band Website and Band Program Email: 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 receive email about the band program, please subscribe to the band website. I like to keep all the band information in one easy-to-find place. If you have any questions at all about how to subscribe to receive email about upcoming events, rehearsal schedules, etc., please let me know, and I will be happy to help.
To subscribe on a laptop, chrome book, or desktop, go to the home page at eastwiltshireband.wordpress.com and enter your preferred email address to subscribe.
To subscribe on a Mobile Device (Phone/Tablet): Scroll way, way down to the bottom of the page to find the option to subscribe.
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 2025)
Extra-curricular early morning band rehearsals will begin after we have completed a full 6 day cycle. Please note the starting date for each grade level:
Tuesdays, 7:45 a.m. Grade 7 early morning band (First rehearsal: Tuesday, September 23rd)
Wednesdays, 7:45 a.m. Grade 8 early morning band (First rehearsal: Wednesday, September 17th)
Thursdays, 7:45 a.m. Grade 9 early morning band (First Rehearsal: Thursday, September 18th)
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 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.
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.
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.
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 wherever possible. 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!
Some detailed information was recently emailed to everyone who is registered for the upcoming band camp. Just in case it ended up in your spam folder, here is the content!
This email was sent to you because, according to our records, you have a student registered in our 2025 Central Area Band Camp. If there has been a misunderstanding, please accept our apologies and inform us by replying to this e-mail. Thank you.
Welcome to our 2025 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 18th – Friday, August 22nd, 2025
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 playing) – 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 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 for bringing your band instrument with you. We will provide you with your music and a pencil. 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 22nd in the Stonepark school gym.
Beginner concert:Â Â 11 am
Intermediate/Advanced concert:Â 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.
Questions?
PLEASE DO NOT call or go to the Stonepark office for information regarding Band Camp. Use the email address ktmaclaine@edu.pe.ca to contact our camp director.
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.
The instrument list for beginning grade 7 students who have registered for band camp is coming soon. We have a very large grade 7 band class this year, and the list will be finalized this week based on available instruments. I am doing my best to give students one of their three top choices. The list will be posted here by Sunday morning at the latest.
I’m looking forward to meeting all of my new grade 7 students and reconnecting with my intermediate and senior band students, too!
The 2025 Central Area Band Camp will be held this year from Monday, August 18th to Friday, August 22nd at Stonepark Intermediate School in Charlottetown.
The schedule is: Beginner Camp: Monday-Friday, 9:00 – 11:30 am
I’m really happy with the number of EWS students who will be attending summer band camp this year!
I’m finalizing all intermediate and senior band camp registrations today, and it would be very helpful if you could check the list below to ensure I haven’t omitted anyone or made any mistakes while transferring information from the paper and online forms to this alphabetical master list. Please double-check that your student is signed up for the correct instrument (especially if they’ve switched to saxophone or percussion) and the appropriate camp level.
If you notice an error on the list, please send me an email so I can correct it as soon as possible. Thank you so much!
Note: I’ll be meeting with the new saxophone players on Wednesday to discuss camp levels. Beginners (mornings only) are not expected to have any prior experience on the saxophone. Intermediates (full days) should be able to play comfortably at a grade 8 band level. I spoke with students today to explain this, and they can let me know where they’d like to be placed (depending on how much work they want to put in over the summer!) when we meet.
Band Camp forms for intermediates (2025-26 grade 8’s) and seniors (2025-26 grades 9 and 10) are available in the band room. You can now pay through SchoolCash, or by bringing a cheque or cash to the main office. The deadline has been extended to Friday, June 13th. As I explained to students, band camp is the best summer camp deal on PEI, and paying for equivalent small group music lessons would be VERY expensive. It would be great to have a as many EWS students at the camp this year as possible!
Please see the MAY 21st post for all of the band camp details.
If you prefer to register for the band camp online, please click on the following link:
East Wiltshire School Band 
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