Mount Allison’s popular Honour Band will take place on-campus in Sackville, New Brunswick on Saturday, October 19, 2024. 

Last year, twelve EWS grade 9 band students participated in this enrichment program, and they had a very positive experience. Please follow the link below for more information!

Mount Allison Honour Band Information and Application Form

And that’s two in a row! The grade 9 concert band also got off to an excellent start this morning. The students are playing O Canada from start to finish, and they began to work together this morning on a new piece called The Dragon Lord. They are already sounding great.

Thank you to all parents for getting students to the first early morning rehearsal, and for getting them there on time for our 7:45 a.m. start. It is much appreciated!

I know that parents will be meeting with homeroom teachers this evening, so I wanted to provide a brief slide show which includes some basic information about the EWS Band Program.

If questions come up that your student can’t answer, please don’t hesitate to contact me at ampeters@edu.pe.ca. Thank you!

WELCOME TO THE EWS BAND PROGRAM

Thank you to the grade 8 band students and parents for making the first early morning band rehearsal of the year so much fun! All of the students arrived in the band room by 7:45 am, and we were able to set up quickly and start making music. We even played all the way through a new song which is not always possible this early in the year. I know as a former band parent myself that getting students to school for early morning practices can be challenging, but it makes a huge difference to the success of the band program!

Grade 9 early morning band begins tomorrow!

Extra-curricular early morning band rehearsals for Grade 8 and Grade 9 begin this week!

Wednesday, September 18th, 7:45 a.m. Grade 8 early morning band

Thursday, September 19th, 7:45 a.m. Grade 9 early morning band

Tuesday, September 24th: Grade 7 Woodwinds Only (Clarinets and Flutes)

Tuesday, October 1st: Grade 7 Brass Only (Trumpets, Baritones, Trombones, Tubas)

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!

This year the annual band fee will be $50 to help cover the rising cost of instrument repairs and maintenance. The band fee is also used to help cover the cost of band supplies (reeds, sticks and mallets, valve oil, slide cream, cleaning cloths, tuning slide grease, etc.) festival registration fees, clinician fees, and band uniforms. The PSB provides band instruments for students to use for free (no monthly rental fee) through the school budget.  The PSB also supplies textbooks and sheet music for the band program. Fundraising activities will be held throughout the year to support educational field trips for band students.

Band fees can be paid any time now online (SchoolCash). You may also pay cash or send in a cheque. Please enclose payments in an envelope labeled “Band Fee” and also provide  the student’s name and class.  If envelopes are as hard to find at your house as they are at mine, you may choose to place the payment in a Ziplock bag with a note inside stating the same information. I will also be available during parent-teacher interviews in November to accept band fees if you’d prefer to pay at that time.

Thank you for your support!

We are missing 3 tuba mouthpieces from instrument cases. If your tuba player had a home instrument last year, could you please check to see if there is an extra mouthpiece lying around? They are surprisingly expensive to replace, and we would love to get them back! Thank you 😊

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! 

*If you no longer have a student in the band program, you can unsubscribe to the band blog/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.

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

Band Website: 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 website in order to receive emails about upcoming events, rehearsal schedule, updates, etc. (see pictures below). I like to keep all of the band information in one easy to find place, so I don’t usually send mass emails through PowerSchool after the first week or two. If you have any questions at all about receiving emails through the website, please let me know and I will be happy to help.

To subscribe on a laptop, chrome book, or desktop:

To subscribe on a 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 2024)

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 (we will start with sectional rehearsals)

Woodwinds Only (Clarinets and Flutes): Tuesday, September 24th

Brass Only (Trumpets, Baritones, Trombones, Tubas): Tuesday, October 1st

Wednesdays, 7:45 a.m. Grade 8 early morning band (First rehearsal: Wednesday, September 18th)

Thursdays, 7:45 a.m. Grade 9 early morning band (First Rehearsal: Thursday, September 19th)

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.

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

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

I hope everyone is having a great summer! Band Camp 2024 is just a few days away 🙂

Please visit the Band Camp website for camp dates, times, camper information, and all of the most up-to-date information:

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

Band camp instrument assignments for East Wiltshire beginners are listed below. All students have been assigned one of their top three choices. I encourage students to make new friends, embrace new challenges, and to have fun learning to play a new instrument next week!

See you soon!

I am wrapping up all of the band camp registrations today, and it would be really helpful to me if you could check the list below to make sure that I haven’t omitted anyone, or made any mistakes transferring the information from the paper and online forms to this alphabetical master list. Please check carefully to make sure your student is signed up for the correct instrument (especially if they have switched to sax or percussion) and level at camp.

*Grade 8’s who are moving to saxophone have been registered as beginners for now. This can be changed after the first morning of camp if the instructors feel that they are ready to play in the intermediate band.

If you see an error, please send me an email at ampeters@edu.pe.ca so that I can make sure that the registrations that I send to the band camp director tomorrow are correct. Thank you so much!

Summer Studios spots are still available for flute, brass, piano, or percussion. Registrations will be accepted registrations up until July 1. (Clarinet and sax studios are full.)