Greetings Eagle Family! We hope that you all had a super good weekend! We are down to our last week of rehearsals for UIL Concert and Sightreading which is next week. A detailed itinerary will be going out soon.
UIL Schedule for Parents:
Parents are invited (and encouraged) to attend their child’s performance on UIL day! This week, we have the following things: Monday: we are on stage for class. Tuesday: regular class day as usual - in the band hall Wednesday: Block day 1-3-5-7 periods, on stage Thursday: Block day 2-4-6 periods, on stage Friday: SHSU Jazz Festival - the Jazz Band will perform at Sam Houston State University for the Bill Watrous Jazz Festival. Itinerary posted soon. Saturday: The High School Drumline will perform at the Humble Civic Center. A detailed itinerary will go out this week, and the performances are at the following times:
Leadership Applications 2023: Applications will open up on April 10th, and they will be due on April 21st. Any and all students interested in serving on the leadership team (including prospective drum majors), will fill out the application. Go to https://www.atascocitaband.com and click on Resources -> Current Students -> Leadership Team Applications and check back for the link to open. Leadership Interviews will be on the week of April 24th in class with the band directors. Drum Major Audition Training 2023: All drum major candidates interested in serving as the Atascocita High School Military Marching Band will be required to attend trainings on Mondays and Wednesdays starting at 3:15. This begins April 10th and goes up to April 28th. Drum Major Auditions will be on April 28th, at the HS Band Hall. Go to https://www.atascocitaband.com/drum-major-auditions.html for more information regarding the auditions. 2023-2024 Class Placement Evaluations will begin on the week of May 1st. We will have more information on the evaluations, as it will be slightly different than how it was done last year.
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Greetings Eagle Family! And Welcome back!! I hope that you all had a terrific Spring Break! We really don’t have much to cover this week, except that we are back in full swing.
Booster Meeting: There is no Booster meeting today. We will have our next planned Booster meeting on Monday April 17th. After school sectionals and full band rehearsals resume this week and will continue all the way to UIL time. Concert and Sightreading: It is upon us, my friends. And it is coming up fast! This is our primary focus. We only have about 10 rehearsals left until the big day. After school activities as far as sectionals and full band rehearsals will continue all the way up to the days. A more detailed itinerary will go out soon. 2nd, 3rd, and 4th period bands will be performing on April 4th, and the 5th period band will be performing on April 5th. CONCERT AND SIGHTREADING PERFORMANCE TIMES @ Westfield High School Concert Band (3rd period) April 4 Concert: 8:30am Sightreading: 9:00 Symphonic Band (2nd period) April 4 Concert: 11:00am Sightreading: 11:30 Wind Symphony (4th period) April 4 Concert: 3:30pm Sightreading: 4:00 Wind Ensemble (5th period) April 5 Concert: 2:15pm Sightreading: 3:00 -------- Jazz Festival: This Saturday, the AHS Jazz Band will be performing at the Aldine Jazz Festival and the Alief Jazz Festival. More information will be provided through the BAND App. That’s all for now! It’s Concert and Sightreading time! Be practicing at the minimum 30 mins a day. That is your daily homework. Greetings Eagle friends! We have one more week left to spring break, and it's a pretty busy one! Here is everything that you need to know for this coming next week, because this is our pre-UIL concert and sightreading evaluation week.
For those students who need to make up their Solo and Ensemble performances, we will do it in class this week before the break is over for students to receive credit. MONDAY NON-VARSITY PRE-UIL: on Monday after school, our non varsity students will be performing in a pre-UIL concert and sight reading evaluation at Atascocita High School. This includes any student that is in the second, third, and fourth period bands. ELIGIBILITY: First and foremost: Students – EVERYONE IS ELIGIBLE FOR OUR PRE-UIL CONCERT & SIGHT-READING PERFORMANCE!! BE HERE!! STICK TO THE SCHEDULE!! UIL ATTIRE:
**There will be a visual uniform inspection when we meet in the Orchestra Room. Please understand that if you are not dressed correctly, you will not be able to perform with the band at Pre-UIL. Please verify that you have the correct attire and solve any issues that arise before Monday!** All bands will be here after school in various locations after school. Warmup times are as follows:
See the button at the very top of the post for performance times. TUESDAY ACT TESTING: I am completely new to testing here at AHS, so I am not entirely sure of what to expect when they have the whole entire school testing on this day. Plan on us all not having classes this day. All three band directors are testing administrators this day. WEDNESDAY: Classes will resume as normal this day. THURSDAY: Best will be out judging UIL Region 14 Concert and Sightreading contest. Therefore, there will be no after school Wind Ensemble varsity band rehearsal on Thursday. FRIDAY VARSITY PRE-UIL: on Friday after school, our 5th period varsity students will be performing in a pre-UIL concert and sight reading evaluation at Atascocita High School. See the button at the very top of the post for performance times. Plan on staying right after school, then being there until 6:30. Then Spring Break can commence! Greetings eagle friends! We've got one big thing happening this week that involves the members of the Full Orchestra. This is our last week of varsity full orchestra, as we are reaching the end of the competition season.
Sectionals: are all at the normal times this week. Monday Full Orchestra rehearsal: 3:00 to 5:30 Wednesday Full Orchestra final rehearsal: includes a clinician with the Sam Houston State University orchestra director. Same time, 3pm to 5:30pm. Thursday UIL Concert and Sightreading: this is during school, and we will be back in time for full band rehearsal. Be on the lookout for an itinerary coming soon - we are still ironing out the details as we just recently received the performance schedule from our region. Our performance times are right in the middle of lunch, so details on that are being worked on.
Friday Make-Up UIL Solo and Ensemble: If you were on the list to make up your solo and ensemble performance, we need to see you this Friday to make it up for full credit. Please refer to your performance time located on the sheets provided to you. If you need help, come find a band director and we will help you. Greetings Eagle family! We hope that everyone had a really awesome weekend, and here is your weekly update for February 20!
UIL Solo and Ensemble contest: AHS band earned a total of 113 division one medals on Friday and Saturday. That's super amazing, and we are very proud of everyone who participated. Congratulations to the following students who have qualified for TSSEC (Texas State Solo and Ensemble contest):
The judges also selected students who were memorable to them and were awarded Outstanding Performer:
ELIGIBILITY: This week is GAIN ONLY, meaning you can’t lose it. If you have your eligibility, and you get your progress report and you are failing a class, you will not lose your eligibility. However, if you had not had your eligibility previously and you are passing all classes, then you will regain your eligibility. The LOSS period for eligibility is after spring break, so you have three weeks left to get grade life in order so that you do not lose your eligibility when the time comes. MONDAY Booster Meeting: the booster board will meet at 6:15 to discuss new items. The general parent meeting begins at 7:00 p.m. and will contain new items pertaining to the band program. All band booster parents are invited to attend at the high school band hall at 7pm after the board has met. TUESDAY full Orchestra pre-UIL contest: Students participating in the full Orchestra with the strings program will perform in their first ever pre-UIL concert and sight reading event this coming Tuesday. The times of this event are below:
WEDNESDAY Full Orchestra: practice resumes, regular time 3:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Thursday is a late arrival day. FRIDAY PICTURE DAY: This Friday is Atascocita military band picture day! Texas group photo is the company that will be coming out during our class time taking individual photos of our band students for parents and family members to purchase. We will also be creating a group composite photo with all band students. Your students have been sent home with an order form from Texas group photo, and you can click the link below to access the form. If you are interested in purchasing photos, you will need to bring this order form along with cash or check made out to Texas Group Photo in an envelope with the student's name on it on Friday the day of pictures. This is a one shot deal, so if you are absent from school, you will be missed for the composite photo all together.. It will be important to come by either first through 7th period anytime to get your picture taken in your uniform. Greetings Eagle Family! I hope that everyone had a really awesome and restful first Spring Break! The band directors are excited to return to our students and get our classes going back again and making awesome music with our students. When we come back, we get right back to it and have multiple events happening that affects almost everyone. But first… a look back at Spring Break! DISNEY TRIP IS A SUCCCESS!: Our 2023 Disney trip was a HUGE success! The kids had a blast, they got to visit six different parks in three days, and they learned about the craziness of airport travel. We loved spending time with our kids, and we hope that they had an unforgettable experience. TMEA 2023 IS IN THE BOOKS!: The band directors attended the Texas Music Educators Association in San Antonio and got a lot of work done there. Also, while there, our very own Jake Casilio attended the conference as this year's TMEA All-state musician. The performance was stunning, and we are so proud of our All-state musician this year! Okay, here are a few things happening when we come back:
TIMBERWOOD SIDE BY SIDE: All members of the varsity band will attend the timber with side-by-side on Monday after school 4:30 p.m. The schedule is the same as AMS schedule, and we will meet there and have our event in the cafeteria. Pizza will be provided by the Timberwood Middle School band. SECTIONALS: All sectionals after school resume tomorrow. FULL ORCHESTRA: all practices resume as normal. But if you are involved in full orchestra, please be aware that pre-UIL full orchestra competition is next week on Tuesday. Please see the band calendar on the website for all the orchestra dates. SOLO AND ENSEMBLE: This Friday and Saturday is the solo and ensemble contest for Atascocita High School band. Schedules will be posted in this update. Here are a few notes about the contest:
More information will be provided over the BAND app as the week goes on. We hope that everyone has an awesome week back, and we will see you soon! Greetings friends! One more week until Spring Break v 1.0. The band directors will be out of the office starting February 2nd and will be returning on February 13th after attending the Disney trip with the students and the Texas Music Educators Association clinic and convention in San Antonio. This week, the big item is…
DISNEY TRIP! It’s that time friends. Please make sure that you have access to the Big Trip page at www.atascocitaband.com and download the full itinerary of our trip.
Let’s get past the Disney trip, and then we can focus on the next item for us which will be SOLO AND ENSEMBLE CONTEST February 17th and 18th. Student performance times have been posted on the band whiteboard. Percussion performs on the 17th and woodwinds/brass perform on the 18th. If a student opted for the state track, they perform at Humble High School on the 17th. We will have all the information when we get back from the break. Until then, HAPPY DISNEY TRIP everyone! We’ll see you in Florida! Greetings Atascocita Band Familia! Better late than never, I always say! This week was jam packed with things happening, in terms of eligibility, rehearsals, sectionals, recruiting events, group photos, and all the things. Now that we are already on Wednesday, here is your update on all of the things that are happening currently and the things that are about to happen.
SIDE BY SIDE (varsity only): The Varsity Band has side by side middle school performances this week. Due to the weather, we had to reschedule the Timberwood Middle School event to Monday February 13th. The next event is as follows:
DISNEY TRIP: OMG IT’S NEXT WEEK! We are getting super close to departure. We will have lots more updates coming out soon before it gets to be that time. Here are a few things that you should know:
SOLO AND ENSEMBLE: Times have been posted on the whiteboard in the band hall. Students need to take a look at the schedule to see what time they play. Our official contest days are Friday and Saturday February 17th and 18th.
ELIGIBILITY: Progress reports are going out soon. If your child is passing all of their classes this week, they will have regained their eligibility if they had lost it previously. If your child is failing a class on the progress report coming up and they passed everything on the report card, nothing will happen since a progress report is a gain-only. Calendar Additions: We have some dates to add to the calendar!
More information to come on these events soon. TMEA All State: When we return from Disney, the directors will be out beginning that Wednesday at the Texas Music Educators Association clinic and convention for professional staff development. This year’s AHS TMEA All-State Musician will be performing in San Antonio at the clinic and convention. The TMEA All-State Concerts are Saturday, February 11, 2023, in the Henry B. González Convention Center in San Antonio (900 E. Market Street). If you are traveling to San Antonio for the All-State Concerts to support this year’s All-State musician, you will want to consider heavy traffic, parking, shuttle wait time/walk time, and convention center navigation time when you plan your travel. You will need to arrive very early. Parking & Shuttle Information
Alright! That wraps it up for all things band this week. That’s a lot, and sorry it took me so long to get it out. Thank you for following up and reading! We will have more next week as we get ready to wear our Mickey ears! Let’s finish the week strong friends! Greetings fellow Eagles! Here is your weekly update for 1/17/2023! A few things to cover this week, as we have a slightly shorter week. Hope everyone had a great MLK day off!
ELIGIBILITY: We are in week no. 3 of the grading period. That means that this week is the last and final week that teachers can add or create assignments for the eligibility period. Students will have an opportunity to finish up work THIS WEEK for a chance to regain eligibility on January 30th, which is just 3 days before we leave for the trip.
BOOSTER MEETING: Tonight, we will host our first Booster meeting of the month. Parents who are on the Booster Board will need to meet at 6:30 for item voting. The paying members of the band parents in the Booster Club are invited to attend the general session at 7:00PM.
DISNEY TRIP: Meal selection for the Thursday dinner is happening today during class. We will be reaching out to chaperones and other guests to ask you for your choice. The choice of the Thursday dinner options are as follows:
SIDE BY SIDE: AHS Varsity Band students (the wind ensemble, 5th period) will travel next week to Timberwood MS on Tuesday and West Lake on Thursday. We are asking for all wind ensemble students to get a ride there, as there will not be a bus option that will take you there. Next week’s times are as follows:
SOLO & ENSEMBLE: UIL Solo and Ensemble is coming up fast! More details are being ironed out currently, but our official contest day is Saturday February 18th at Atascocita HS.
Lots happening fast these few weeks as we start to get closer to Disney trip time! We look forward to seeing our parents at tonight Tuesday’s Booster meeting, and let’s all have a super good week! Greetings to all my Eagle friends out there! It’s January 9th, and it’s time for another weekly update of all things happening in Atascocita High School band world. Let’s start from the beginning.
AFTER SCHOOL SECTIONALS: Begin this week. Make sure to look at the sectional schedule located on the MAIN PAGE of the band website. Students involved in full orchestra will also be on Wednesday, TMEA AREA AUDITION RESULTS: Congratulations to Atascocita High School's 2023 TMEA All-State musician, Jacob Casilio. Jacob placed at top of the F Horn auditions with the best musicians in the area and was selected for a chair in the TMEA All-State Band. He will travel to San Antonio in February to perform with the TMEA All-State Band as a State Champion on his instrument. All-State is the highest honor a Texas music student can receive. 1,830 students are selected through a process that begins with over 70,000 students from around the state vying for this honor to perform in one of 18 ensembles sponsored by the Band, Orchestra, and Vocal Divisions. All-State students participate in three days of rehearsals directed by nationally recognized conductors during the annual state TMEA Clinic/Convention. Their performances before thousands of attendees bring this extraordinary event to a close. Congratulations Jacob! And we would also like to congratulate our Area band members who also performed today for the TMEA Area auditions and represented Atascocita High School so well. The band directors are very proud of you all. (side bar: congratulations to Humble High School for having not one but TWO All-Staters, for the first time since 1990. That is an amazing accomplishment, and we send our congratulations to Mr. Roberts and his crew over there!) DISNEY TRIP: We have the full itinerary, and it is going to be posted on the Disney Trip page. If you are a Disney trip student or parent, that will be located on the main website for you to access at any time you like. Click here to go to the main Disney Trip 2023 page to find the detailed itinerary. All communication about the Disney Trip is now about to be transferred to the BAND group specific to AHS Band Disney Trip. If you are a student, chaperone, or parent of a student going on the Disney trip, you will need to download the BAND App on your phone and add the AHS Band Disney Trip group to your phone to receive all of the updates. BAND PARENT BOOSTER MEETING: Since that Monday is a holiday, we are going to have our first official Band Parent Booster Meeting of the semester on January 17th. The Booster Board will meet at 6:30PM, and then the general session will take place at 7:00PM where ALL PARENTS are invited to attend. WE ALWAYS NEED HELP IN OUR PROGRAM, and your attendance will give you all the information on everything we are doing for this semester. Solo and Ensemble will be coming up soon, and we are still working out the details on that for our students. That’s all I got for this week. I hope that everyone has a really great second week back to school, and we will see you on the other side! |
BRIAN BESTDirector of Bands, Atascocita High School Archives
April 2024
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