News

8/10/23

Dear Students and Parents,

I hope everyone has had a rockin summer! I am currently getting ready for the next school year so that we can have the best music experience possible at Darby. All of your students will be receiving a letter that will direct you to read the Music Hand Book on this website. Once you have read the handbook you'll need to sign the paper and return it to me no later than Wednesday, September 6th!

 If you are unable to locate the handbook here is a link.

I am looking forward to practicing and performing some great music this year. As always if you have any questions please feel free to reach out!

Let's have a great school year and GO TIGERS!

-Mr.P.


8/24/20


Dear Students & Parents,

As of last week the music schedule has changed greatly! I will be watching one group of students all day in room 108 which is located in the High School building. I will still be posting assignments on Google Classroom but as far as I know I will not be teaching music in person to students.  Additionally, we are still working on getting the 5th-8th grade students  time in their day to learn and complete their music assignments.  

We are also still working out the details of how distance learning will work, specifically in regards to zoom (video conferencing). 

We will be rolling out the appreciation side of music class to begin the school year. You can find more information about this in the post below. The practice side of music class might take a few weeks to get rolling. As I mentioned before, until the schedule changes, I won't actually see any of the music students in person.  This makes implementing the practice  side of class a little more difficult.

For now,  in school/distance learners should keep checking Google Classroom for assignments. 

The way school is being rolled out is new to everyone! I will do my best to answer any questions you might have. My goal is to give students at Darby Schools the best experience in Music class that I can.  Thank you for your patience and understanding.


-Mr.P.



8/18/20

Dear Students & Parents,


Greetings from the Music Room. Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. I hope you and your families are doing well in these challenging times. I am writing to you today to give you a brief overview of what music class will look like for at Darby Schools going into the next few weeks, month, and possibly, year.


Music class will be split into two different areas of study, appreciation and application. Music appreciation will take place during the school day. We will focus our attention on music history, theory, and composition. We will facilitate growth and learning in these areas with exercises, games, and experiences.

I hope to explore a wide range of topics including classic rock, note reading, and music creation.  


While music class during the day will look a little different than it has in years past,  after school has ended for the day is when we will focus on music application. More specifically this means choosing, practicing, and performing on an instrument.

Traditionally we have focused on ensemble playing. This manifested itself as a concert at the end of each semester.  Unfortunately we do not have the resources to play our instruments at school. The way in which I am trying to solve this challenge is that I will ask that each student choose their own instrument to practice at home, after school.


Here are my expectations for the application portion of music class.


I believe that learning about and playing music is a great experience for every child to have. I am confident that by working together we can make this school year fun and exciting for every student in Music class!


-Mr.P.



3/7/19

Greetings,

It has been a while since our last update but I would like to share with you a few things that have been going on in the Music Department. We just got back from our annual Middle School Band festival and the kids had a blast. We will be hosting the event next year in Hamilton and I hope to see all of you there for the evening performance.

I have some info regarding Google Classroom. Your students will now have the ability to see their grade in real time. As a teacher I also have expanded capabilities with my grade book. I look forward to using these new features to help all of students grow and learn as musicians!

We also will be changing our policy on late work. Students will now have the opportunity to turn in assignments throughout the entire year. I will leave all Q3 and Q4 assignments posted until the end of the year. Please feel free to get a hold of me for further questions.

If you ever have any question, comments, or concerns please feel free to get a hold of me at the school. Until next time.

-Mr. P.


1/2/19

Happy New Year Everyone!

I am excited to see what this new year brings to all of the Music Classes at Darby Schools. This is just a quick reminder to keep up on recording your Musicianship points and to always check Google Classroom to see what assignments are due and when. As always if you have any questions please feel free to get a hold of me at the school, 821-3252.

-Mr. P.


11/28/18

Greetings,

I hope everyone is having a great Holiday Season. I just wanted to post a quick reminder that our annual Winter Concert will be on Thursday, December 13th at 7 pm in the Junior High Gym. All 5-12 students need to be in the High School Music room by no later than 6:45 pm. We will all head over as a group at 6:50 pm. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to get a hold of me 406-821-3252.

-Mr. P. 

11/9/18

Good morning,

I would like to share with you a few quick things we have going on in the Music Department. The first being if you haven't already, please go check out our Podcast page. We have four episodes posted with the most recent episode being a debate featuring Darby High School Students speaking on whether or not 8th graders should be viewed as High Schoolers. On November 16th we will be having our second debate, the topic will be, "What is the best sport to play and why?" Please be sure to listen and enjoy.

The next important thing going on in the Music Room has to do with Google Classroom. Moving forward I will be posting/grading all of the students assignments to this platform. All assignments will have a due date, however, if a student does not turn in a assignment on time they will have until the end of the quarter to make up all missing assignments for the current quarter. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to get a hold of me.

-Mr. P.


10/26/18

Greetings,

We have a few things going on in our classrooms first is Google Classroom. This can be accessed by going to classroom.google.com and entering in our class code. (Students will have to get the class code from Mr. P.) All students in grades 6-12 will need to sign up for Google Classroom because all of their class work will be posted there. Some assignments will require and internet connection. If you do not have the internet at your house students will need to come in and complete the assignments in person, at the school, or the library. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to get a hold of me.

This weekend the Drum Line and Pep Band will be heading to Missoula to play at our annual District Volleyball Tournament. All students in these two classes are required to attend. 

Have a good weekend and GO TIGERS!

-Mr.P. 


10/10/18

Greetings,

I just wanted to send out a quick reminder of two assignments that are due on the same day. The first is signing the Handbook Agreement Form and the second is turning in the first round of Musicianship Points. Both of these assignments are due on Wednesday, October 17th. If you have any questions or concerns regarding these two things please feel free to get a hold of me.


-Mr. P.


9/28/18

Salutations,

I hope everyone is having a great school year so far. Please check out our new Podcast page. This is where you will be able to find The Darby Beat. A podcast produced by the Darby High School Audio Production class. The content of these podcasts range from student questionnaires, faculty interviews, and round table discussions. We hope you will listen. 

Also please don't forget that the first round of Musicianship Points is coming up very shortly! Please remind your students that these will be due at the end of the quarter. If you need more info on how this all works please visit our Musicianship Points Page. I am looking forward to see what musical activities your student(s) have been working on!

-Mr.P.


8/17/18

Greetings!

Mr. Petrusaitis here. I am hoping everyone had a great summer. I am looking forward to seeing all of you in class and learning about what great experiences you had over the summer break. 

There are a few changes I wanted to go over regarding the Music Department this year. The first being our new Music Handbook. Please read through the new handbook with your student(s) and then fill out the Handbook Agreement Form. If you have any questions or concerns about the Handbook please feel free to get a hold of me.

The second thing to be aware of is the Musicianship Points section. This will be a part of your students grade and I will be going over how it works in class with all students in the department. If you want to know how this new section of our class works please refer to the Music Handbook or Musicianship Points page. 

I am very excited to be back in school and I look forward to seeing all of you throughout the year at our different School events.

-Mr. Petrusaitis

P.S. Don't forget to check out our Educational Resources page. This is a great resource you can use at home or on the go to help reinforce what we have been learning in the classroom.


5/31/18

Parents/Students,

If you happen to stumble across this website over the summer you are more than welcome to start working on your Musicianship Points  for the first quarter of school over the summer. 


5/24/18

Have a good summer. Check back soon for more updates.