The pandemic has called for our students to stay at home until at least November 5th. PPS is doing a LOT of positive work to make online learning significant and supportive for students and families. However, the high school schedule is threatening the equitable access to music classes across all high schools because the district is heavily considering a 4×4 class schedule.
Please take time to read the attach PDF and, if you are able, please send this message to: Chief of Schools, Shawn Bird (shbird@pps.net) and reentry lead Brenda Martinek (bmartinek@pps.net) not later than Monday, August 10th (today) afternoon at 5:00 pm so that your voice of support for an 8-period schedule (as normal) will reach the school board directors before the meeting.
Our woodwind quintet and a Cleveland Choir number will be part of the event below.
There’s something exciting afoot for this week! Would you consider supporting kids in the arts by spreading the word and attending our PPS live stream arts showcase this Tuesday evening, June 9th. It’s a really thoughtful glimpse into this tough year, expressing joy and providing solace. See below for details.
With the interruption of in-person learning, students, staff and the community missed out on over 150 performances and art exhibitions, including the annual HeART of Portland district-wide event at the Portland Art Museum. Join us as we come together to provide a space to celebrate a small sampling of student and staff performances from across the district. We hope you enjoy the show!
When your video starts, you can interact with viewers in live chat and comments. Our hope is for it be a special evening at home while we celebrate together as a community.
Mark your calendars!
End of the Year Celebration and Awards Night Is May 28th at 7pm. (The YouTube link will be provided the week of.) The idea is for everyone to celebrate together while in their own homes. Maybe have a special dessert? Decorate? Watch with your family or while on the phone with your band friends? We will be celebrating our 36 seniors and remembering the highlights of the school year. Stay tuned for more info!
CONGRATULATIONS ON QUALIFYING FOR STATE in 2020!!! We would have had the privilege of traveling to OSU today to perform at the State Band Championships.
Top 5 would have been announced by now, and we would be loading the coach for a trip home.
I’m sorry we didn’t get to experience this, but I know you would have made me so proud!
Mr R
Not what any of us signed up for, but I am doing my best to help your young musician find some opportunity to make some lemonade out of the lemons we have been dealt.
Here is the current plan for our band classes.
I have also helped create a “Portfolio Framework” for our district to use. I have given the students access to this document which has a large number of options with links. It is categorized, as well to help the students find things they might be interested in. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1U84Ncg1Dl1Mu9Zliz6jAIO0AgxhdK9fn/view?usp=sharing
Students are given a new assignment every Monday at 8:00 am. I have staggered the due dates to coincide with our class meeting times which are listed on the school schedule for distance learning. The main sites that we are using are: SmartMusic, Sight Reading Factory & Tone Savvy. Passwords and codes are supplied in the Portfolio Framework or in Google Classroom under “Online Learning.” Here is a screenshot of what the Classroom Tab in Google Classroom looks like for your band student:
If you have any questions, feel free to check in with me. Email, Remind, whatever works for you.
End of the Year Celebration / Awards Night
One of the most important events on my radar for this program is our opportunity to celebrate the wonderful students in this program. We are still in the very beginning stages of planning, as we are learning what is truly possible. In the planning process I have three groups working independently at this moment:
Seniors (I have set up a Google Classroom for this group to collaborate with each other and myself.
Leadership (Another Google Classroom with students going through a Leadership course, and working on ideas for this event)
Parents (There have been some ideas shared back and forth, and I am hoping to address some concrete plans with our FOCB board at our next meeting.
Eventually we will be merging these groups together. There are some plans that each group has that must be kept “secret.” Once those are settled, we can put the finishing touches on the event as a whole.
That’s all for now.
In an effort to not overwhelm everyone, I will stop with addressing these two subjects for now.
My family is well and enjoying the sunshine when we have it. My biggest battle is to make sure that I am able to fit into my clothes or my stimulus check might end up being used to buy me a new wardrobe! Is it just me? This new reality sure makes me hungry!!
I pray that everyone is hanging in there, safe and healthy. Thank you for your tremendous support of your children!! This is not easy.
Congratulations to the members of the 2020-21 Jazz Ensemble. This has shaped up into an intriguing group. I am excited to see what this group can do next year. Thank you to all who auditioned!! – Mr R
SAXES
Auden Koeneke, Lead Alto (11)
Hayden Spurgeon, Alto (10)
Rena Marthaler, Tenor (11)
Caleb Goodrich, Tenor (12)
David Knight, Tenor (11)
Aidan Schauer, Bari (10)
This is going to be a major plot twist for our band students. Mr. Riler is in the process of producing a curriculum that will provide opportunity and flexibility for everyone. Students MUST keep their eyes on Google Classroom to be up to date with their band classes. Updates will be provided through the newsletter starting next Tuesday. If we can all be patient and creative, we will still be able to gain some valuable skills through this process. Thank you for your patience.
Google Classroom is where recordings are to be submitted. Instructions can be found on the Jazz Ensemble page of the website. If there are any questions or concerns, email Mr. Riler so he can help troubleshoot. ALL students interested in being in Jazz Ensemble must audition, including those that are currently in the ensemble this year.
