February 2019 – Lake Highlands Area Bands

LH Band update

Good afternoon,

We had an AWESOME day at Chamber Music Festival yesterday!

LHHS Band student data: 134 solos and 11 Ensembles received 1st divisions! 14 soloists and 6 ensembles were given 1’s with Honors – the highest award of the contest! What an incredible accomplishment for members of the Wildcat Band! WOW!!!

The feedback we received from judges, directors, parents and students centered around how helpful and polite all of our volunteers were. The contest ran smoothly thanks to your efforts – both Friday night setup and Saturday night tear-down ended ahead of schedule, concessions and hospitality were a big hit and the contest ran without any major delays! To ALL students and parents who helped make this massive event happen – THANK YOU!! You represented our program with the highest level of class and professionalism.

Please double-check the band calendar for this week! We are beginning to shift some sectionals as we approach Spring Break. There was one instance last week where a rehearsal was not listed online, but other than that the calendar has been extremely helpful and a useful tool for everyone! All adjustments made are discussed in classes by the directors. CB 2 (Concert Band 2) sectionals are NEW this week on the calendar! Those are students that rehearse in the Orchestra Room each day 3rd period with Mr. Rees and Ms. Saucedo.

Good luck to the Percussion ensembles competing in Forney on Friday and the Jazz Band as they compete in Plano this Saturday!

CONGRATULATIONS to our incredible winter guards! On Friday night, Varsity won 1st place again and JV placed 4th in their class. We are so proud of the great work they’re doing. Their next competition is March 8th in Mansfield!

Important dates coming up:

March 4: LHABC General Meeting
Malcolm Helm Solo competition: Prelims will occur during classes this week and Finals is Tuesday, March 5 at 7pm in the H-building Auditorium.
March 7: Percussion Concert
March 11-15: Spring Break!
March 19: Side by Side Rehearsal – This is a NEW event this year! Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble will be rehearsing with the LHJH and FMJH bands after school that day on their UIL music.
March 20: RISD Winterguard Showcase
March 21: Pre-UIL immediately after school (ALL Bands)
March 22: Final Spring Trip payment due

Have a great week!

-Levi Chavis

Chamber Music Festival Week

Good evening!

Hopefully everyone had a restful weekend and enjoyed no school today.

Sectionals for this week are all accurate on the calendar – please double check with the 4-day week that you know what’s coming up! Some things are different due to the shortened week.

Google assignments were due over the weekend for the Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band and Concert Band. It was discussed early last week in band classes and students were given time in class on Friday to complete it. Please encourage them to get it done!

The 2nd installment of the Spring Trip fee should be turned in to the safe in the Band Hall if it has not been. Payment due dates are on the band calendar. If there is a delay in payment or you are on a modified payment schedule, please confirm with a director via e-mail. Thank you!

The RISD Chamber Music Festival is THIS Saturday at LHHS! Not only are almost all of our band students performing, but they also work the contest as the hosts for the entire district. All students received their performance times last week and will have the opportunity to sign up for a job that doesn’t conflict with their performances. A separate e-mail will go out with final reminders of the event once all students have signed up for jobs. A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone in the LHABC and Band program that help make this event successful for band kids throughout RISD.

Basic Chamber Music Festival reminders:

Please dress up for the event (no blue jeans, tennis shoes, shorts, flip flops, etc). You are not only representing yourself but also LHHS
Warmup is in the Student Center
Concessions are available in the Cafeteria
Arrive early enough to get a good warmup and be to your room early in case they are ahead of schedule

$40 accompanist fees for Chamber Music Festival are past due to the safe in the Band Hall! Checks can be made out to LHABC. All students who are playing a solo at this Saturday’s Chamber Music Festival owe this fee – it covers two rehearsals and the performance.

Good luck to our Winter Guards as they compete at Lakeview Centennial this Friday in their 2nd NTCA competition of the season. If you’re interested in attending, check http://www.ntca-online.com for more information. JV Guard performs at 7:13pm and Varsity Guard performs at 9:25pm.

Only 3 weeks until Spring Break!

-Levi Chavis

Band Weekly Update

Good evening! Sectionals this week are updated on the calendar. Wind Ensemble (1st period) does NOT have Woodwind/Brass sectionals this week!

All bands have a Google classroom assignment that is due while the directors are gone at the All-State convention this Thursday-Friday. Mr. Smit will be running classes those two days.

The Chamber Music Festival is quickly approaching – Saturday, February 23 at LHHS! ALL students are performing during this event and are also expected to work a shift during the day. The schedule along with job sign-ups will be posted in the Band Hall this week.

All students who are performing solos are currently practicing during classes and before school with their piano accompanist. If you have not already done so, please turn in your $40 accompanist fee to the safe – checks should be made out to LHABC.

CONGRATULATIONS to Mr. Martinez and our fabulous Winter Guards! BOTH groups won 1st place at Saturday’s contest and were moved up a class due to their strong first show. We are very proud of them!

Have a great week!

Levi Chavis

Happy February, Band Families!

Mattress Palooza was a BIG success (THANK YOU, Jennifer Newman and the Sandovals for your hard work in leading this fundraiser!)! So many of you helped make this successful – band students, parents, anyone who spread the word, our directors, our customers, and of course Steve Mills and the CFA employees! Preliminary counts are great and numbers may still change… 59 mattresses, 7 adjustable bases, 7 bed frames, 36 pillows, and 36 pillow protectors. There is still a chance for anyone who couldn’t make it or make up their mind on Saturday to get their mattress and help the LHHS Wildcat Band: spread the word to your friends and family that if they missed out and want to get a mattress and help the band, they can go to another area Mattress Palooza and say that they are with Lake Highlands! There is one on 2/9 at Plano West and another on 2/17 at Mesquite Poteet, so please share that info, and we can get them connected with Steve Mills at another location. Thank you all for your hard work!

Chamber Music Festival is right around the corner! On Saturday, February 23rd we will have all the RISD band students (7th-12th grade) rolling through LHHS! That is A LOT of band kiddos and their parents! LHABC runs the concession stand and provides lunch and food for the judges as well. To help offset the costs of the concession stand and create more profit for the band, we are asking our band families to help donate the drinks and a few other supplies. These items need to be delivered to the Chaperone room at the band hall by the end of the day, Tuesday Feb. 19th please.

Link for the drink sign up… https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0F44AEAA2D6-drinks

The Harlem Wizards fundraiser event will be happening in just over 3 months (April 22nd)! We need some help to start getting things ready for this event. Here is how you can help us out right now…

If you can be a part of the Harlem Wizard committee: please get in touch with Jennifer Newman THIS WEEK at jfernewman@sbcglobal.net or 469-441-5468. Jennifer is looking for 5-7 people to help plan the event. We will ask for event volunteers when it gets closer.
If you have a business or have connections with area businesses that might want to be Harlem Wizard event sponsors, please get in touch with Jennifer Newman for more information. We would love to promote band family businesses and neighborhood businesses. Information about this event will go to all the LHHS feeder pattern schools and families plus the neighborhood. This is a great way to get your business name out there!

More info will come as we have it – so please be on the lookout for Harlem Wizard 411!

SENIORS AND PARENTS OF SENIORS: It’s not too late to get your monogram information to Mrs. Jenkins! Please send your choices to cindy_jenkins@yahoo.com ASAP! Also, SENIOR PARENTS: please remember to send a baby photo (for the slideshow) to Starla Horstman at smhorst@sbcglobal.net. The deadline for photos is March 1st.

ARE YOUR BAND FEES AND TRIP FEES UP TO DATE? You can pay those online via Charms or drop a check in a MARKED ENVELOPE into the band safe. Please contact a director if you are behind and need to get caught up OR if you need to discuss financial payment plans!

To pay via Charms:

Go to the Charms website https://www.charmsoffice.com and log into your child’s account (school code is lhhsband).
Enter the area marked “Finances” (there is an icon of an open wallet and money).
For band fees choose “Pay Fixed Payment” and pay via PayPal.
For trip fees choose “Pay Miscellaneous Payment” and pay via PayPal, making a notation that the payment you are making is for your child’s Corpus trip.
Log out of Charms.

VOLUNTEER INFO: While the spring semester is less intense with regard to volunteer needs, there are still plenty of ways you can offer your time. Please email Amy at a_daryani@att.net if you would like to make sure you are getting the updates about volunteer needs, and don’t forget to complete your required RISD background check at http://www.risd.org/group/community/VolunteerOpportunities.html so you are eligible to help when needs arise.

Don’t forget to put these important dates on your calendars:

THURSDAY, 2/7: FMJH Play-a-thon from 4:30 to 7; we are still in need of volunteers for this, so please let us know if you can help!
FRIDAY, 2/15: Second payment is due for the Spring Trip!
SATURDAY, 2/23: Chamber Music Festival! Details to come!
FRIDAY, 3/22: Final payment is due for the Spring Trip!
MONDAY, 4/22: Harlem Wizards fundraiser! Details to come!
FRIDAY, 4/26- MONDAY 4/29: Spring Trip to Corpus!

Please let us know if you have any questions- we are always happy to help any way we can!

Amy Daryani 972-841-5005

Sherwin Daryani 972-824-1691

LHABC Co-presidents, 2018-19