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Updated Wednesday, April 8, 2026
Band Notes 2025 - 2026
April
KISD Band Camp - Sign ups close April 15, 11:59 p.m.
This is a fun summer camp for students of all instrument skill levels going into 7th-9th grade. Students will get a chance to learn from awesome band directors and experts on their instrument, hear local professional music groups, and have fun with their friends!
Students will also attend classes in Intro to Jazz, Intro to Marching, Music in the Movies, and Intro to Composition
Follow this link for more information on dates, times, and details.
Scales for Scoops Party
Our Beginning Band students will be celebrating their success on our Scales for Scoops project with an ice cream sundae party during advisory on Wednesday, April 22! Students who earned ice cream on our project during the 5th six weeks will receive an advisory pass during class that week.
We need parent help to pull this party off! Please click here to sign up if you can come help serve ice cream and toppings.
End of Year Assessment
See this letter for information about our End of Year Assessment project. This project includes:
Major Scales - in class, Major Grade
Prepared piece of music - submitted online through Canvas, Major Grade
Sight Reading - in class, Minor Grade
Music Theory & Literacy Test - in class, Minor Grade
Because this is an assessment of what students have learned this year, ALL students will participate, regardless of their grade or their choice of elective for next year. Parents, please talk to your children about this project so that you can encourage them to practice and be prepared for each piece.
Falcon Band Festival - April 30th
Beginner Band - see this letter for information about this band contest for our Beginner Band. The letter contains information about student eligibility to attend, our itinerary for the day, and audience information for parents who can come watch our performance. We hope to see you there!
Students who attend the festival will have a rehearsal on Wednesday, April 29 from 7:15-8:30 a.m.
Please click here to sign up to chaperone this trip!
Spring Trip - May 9
Trip sign-ups are closed. Parents who said they would like to chaperone should receive an email later this week.
Spring Concert - Save the Date!
All Band Students - Tuesday, May 12th @ Seven Lakes HS PAC
Beginner Band will have a required rehearsal on Monday, May 11 from 4:15-5:45 to prepare for this concert.
Band Notes 2025 - 2026
October
Band Fundraiser
The band students are off to a great start with our Fundraiser Kick Off this week. At the time of this writing we are 39% of the way to our goal! The fundraiser remains open through the next week, so there is time for students to contact their potential donors to raise money for musical instruments, equipment, and enrichment activities. Thank you to everyone for participating and for your support of the BDJH Band!
Performing Band Fall Concert and PARTY- Permission Slips Due Friday 10/24
The formal band concert for the Fall Semester featuring performances by the Wind Ensemble, Honor, Concert, and Symphonic Bands is next week on Thursday, October 30. ALL BDJH Band students are invited to the party afterwards. Please see the letter linked below for more details.
We are doing permission slips for the party on paper for this one.
Please have your student turn their paper permission slip in to their band director by Friday, 10/24.
Fall Concert Letter and Permission Slip
Band Uniform / Concert Attire
All band students will wear the formal band uniform / concert attire for the band picture that will appear in the school yearbook and for upcoming concerts later this semester. Now is a good time for students to try on the pieces they already have to make sure they still fit, and/or purchase items that they need. Thanks!
Beginner Band: Band t-shirt, long blue jeans with no holes or rips, casual athletic style "tennis shoes" no sandals, no Crocs
Concert, Symphonic, Honor, Wind Ensemble: Concert black attire.
Please see the last page of the Performing Band Supply List for details.
Upcoming Events
10/24 Fall Concert and Party
11/7 & 11/8 All Region Band Auditions - Honor and Wind Ensemble Students Only
11/11 Jazz Band Concert
11/14 Band Pictures
Band Notes 2025 - 2026
September
We have had a great start to the school year! The Beginners are working on learning to read music, making their first sounds, and establishing strong instrumental foundations. Families, be on the look out for an email from your child's teacher letting you know when instruments will start coming home very soon.
Performing Bands (Concert, Symphonic, Honor, and Wind Ensemble) are working hard on learning music for our first "pep" performances; more information about that below.
All Band students are invited to our first social event of the year, Band Trivia Night, next Friday, September 12 in the BDJH Cafeteria. It will be a fun evening of Trivia Games. Seating is limited and offered on a first come, first served basis. Please click or scan the QR Code in the flyer below to sign your child up for the event. The sign up will close on Tuesday, September 9.
Parent Volunteers - We need some help with signing students in and helping to monitor them during the event. If you can help, please follow the link included at the end of the student sign up form, and be sure you are registered through the Katy ISD Raptor Volunteer Initiative by Wednesday next week. Thank you!
Upcoming Events
Friday, September 12 Band Trivia Night 5:30PM - 6:30PM
Friday, September 12 Band Parent Meeting CANCELLED Everyone enjoy the SLHS Homecoming. GO SPARTANS!
Friday, September 26 Tunes N' Trucks Concert Bring your lawn chairs and have a picnic while enjoying performances by the Concert Band, Symphonic Band, Honor Band, and Wind Ensemble. Food trucks will open at 6:00 PM, concert starts at 6:30 PM.
to see more events, please navigate to the Calendar page of this website
Purple And Yellow Trivia Night Instagram Post.pdfBand Notes 2025 - 2026
Back to School!
The band directors, Mrs. Steber, Mr. Churak Simpson, and Mrs. Kemp, are very excited to welcome the students back to school next week. This note is just to touch base before school starts.
Band Information: Please bookmark the band website and check it from time to time. We have noticed that email blasts can get blocked by well intentioned spam filters or buried under the masses of email that we all seem to get these days. We will still email, but if you notice that you haven't heard from us in awhile, check the "Band Notes" page. It is our goal to copy any mass communication here so that all parents can access it as needed.
Start of Year Information: We have linked all the Start of Year band information on the band website. You will find links to:
Beginner Band: Need to select your instrument? If you have not met with a band director to select your instrument, please follow this link to fill out the New Student Survey as soon as possible. Different instruments meet at different times during the school day, we want to make sure we get you scheduled correctly to avoid any schedule changes after the school year starts.
Need to rent an instrument? If you have selected your instrument, but have not made arrangements for it yet you will want to take care of that as soon as possible. This close to the beginning of school there is often a rush on the stores. The sooner you make arrangements with the music store, the better. You can find supply lists and a map to local music stores via the links above or by visiting the Resources page of the band website.
Concert/Symphonic/Honor/Wind Ensemble Band Instruments and Supplies If you are continuing in the Beckendorff Band, you likely already have most of the items on the supply list, but it never hurts to double check and make sure you can find it all before school starts. Please refer to the Performing Band Supply List linked above to check. If you are missing something, you should be able to get them from one of Katy's local music stores.
Please don’t bring anything band related on the very first day of school. We will need to show you where to store your things and don’t want you to have to carry it to all of your other classes! You will bring it on the second day.
Can I drop off my instrument at the Bear Blast? Sorry, no. This year the band hall will not be open during the Bear Blast. Please bring all of your band supplies on the SECOND day of school. Thanks!
2nd/3rd year students: Make sure your instrument is in good working order this week. It is a good idea to oil valves/grease slides/check reeds/etc. this week. If you need to get supplies at the music store, now is a good time to do it. If you need a supply list you can visit our band website to access it on the Forms/Resources page.
How do I know which band I am scheduled in? Beginner Band classes will have the instrument listed on your class schedule so you should be all set by looking at your schedule. But performing bands are coded differently. Those students will see Band 1, 2, or 3. The number only refers to how long they have been in band at Beckendorff, not the name of their band.
To know which band you are in, look at what class period it meets.
2nd period – Concert Band
3rd period – Symphonic Band
4th period – Honor Band
5th period – Wind Ensemble
Parent Volunteers It is impossible to manage a band program of this size without the generous support of our parent volunteers. There will be many opportunites throughout the year to help; from donations of post rehearsal snacks, party organization and planning, to chaperones at our many band performances and events. We truly couldn't do it without you.
Katy ISD uses the Raptor Volunteer Initiative to help streamline volunteer activities across campuses, and it is time to register or renew for the new school year. Please visit our Band Volunteer page where you can find information about how to register as a volunteer. Thank you!
Other questions? We have tried to address the most frequently asked questions with this note. If you don't see the answer to your question here, please visit the FAQ page on our website, or send one of the directors an email. We are happy to help with any questions you might have. We are so excited to start the school year and can't wait to see you!
Susan Steber, Head Band Director
Jonathan Churak Simpson, Assistant Band Director
Lela Kemp, Assistant Band Director
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