Announcements
(NEWEST ANNOUNCEMENTS ON THE TOP)
Embedded Files
SPRING CONCERT INFORMATION:
WES: - Monday, May 5
SES: - Tuesday, May 6
MES: - Monday, May 12
Times and details coming! :) We will be wearing black on black again, for our Spring Concerts students may wear a purple accessory (much like the red accessory from our Winter Concert).
FRIDAY, APRIL 25th, 2025
Great job everybody! Things are really starting to come together at all three campuses! I am so proud of everyone, we are playing tough music and they are doing a fantastic job with it!
Next week's schedule has been posted. Have a great weekend!!!!
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16th, 2025
Next week's schedule has been posted.
I am so proud of the
FRIDAY, APRIL 11th, 2025
Good afternoon 5th grade band families!
The end of the school year approaches! Our students had been busy testing for about a week, but we (WES and SES) jumped back into band now that testing is wrapped up. Our concerts are coming up soon, so we’ll want to be sure to prepare as much as we can over the next few weeks. Please have your students play their music for you, and show you all the work we’ve done this year! It is really fun to hear how far everyone has come since first making sounds back in September!
Just as a reminder, our upcoming concert dates are:
WES: Monday, May 5th - 6:00
SES: Tuesday, May 6th - 6:00
MES: Monday, May 12th - 6:30
Also, a friendly reminder that all important information - including weekly schedules - can be found on my website: https://sites.google.com/msd19.org/bryan-fenzl/announcements The announcement page is usually updated weekly, and all announcements are kept on the page for your convenience.
We are looking to run things very similarly to our Winter Concert last December.
While we have not finalized what we will play, the music we have selected so far is:
#90 - Variations on a Familiar Theme (Mozart)
#57 - Ode to Joy (Beethoven)
#55 - When the Saints go Marching In
Prehistoric Suite (sheet music)
*You can listen to Prehistoric Suite here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsHpWbdgpyI
This can be a great resource for practicing! :)
As our concert quickly approaches, please be sure that instruments are coming home and being played outside of the school day. We have noticed more and more instruments that are not being taken home - please remember that our target at-home practice total for each week is 100 minutes per week (20 minutes a day 5 times a week). Also, brass players with valves: please be sure to oil and use the valves regularly so they don’t become stuck. We are starting to see stuck valves due to minimal use and maintenance, which is becoming an issue during our class time (keeps students from being able to participate).
I also would like to inform everyone about the free 6th grade band camp put on by our middle school band directors this June. This is an OUTSTANDING opportunity for our rising 6th grade students to meet their peers from the other campuses and meet the middle school directors and get a preview of the MMS band experience as well. Here is the information in the attached letter and form from the middle school band directors ( will also send the paper form home next week):
INCOMING 6th GRADE SUMMER BAND 2025 JUNE 23-27
“Mascoutah Middle School is providing a free 6th grade summer band camp June 23-27 for all incoming 6th grade band students. All current MES, SES, and WES 5th grade band students are encouraged to attend. Summer band is scheduled each day from 9:00AM-12:00PM in the cafeteria at the middle school.
This week-long camp is a great opportunity for students to continue playing over the long summer break. In addition to full band we have daily section rehearsals with instruction from local band teachers and professionals. On Friday, June 27th at 11:30 A.M. we will play an informal concert in the cafeteria.
Enter the MMS parking lot across from the water tower. Follow the parking lot around the cafeteria to the drop off/pick up line. Drop off students at door 10C. Please try the Mascoutah Band Facebook group if you are looking to carpool/transportation for your student.
Complete and return the enrollment form at the bottom to your band teacher by Wednesday, May 7th
.If you have any questions, please email or contact us at the Middle School: 618-566-2305.
Sincerely,
Christopher Gore, Band Teacher gorec@msd19.org
Alexondria Gore, Band Teacher goream@msd19.org “
I highly recommend this free opportunity, the directors at the middle school are great and their students have a lot of fun!
Please reach out with any questions. Thank you so much!! Have a great weekend!
-Mr. Fenzl
FRIDAY, APRIL 4th, 2025
Next week's schedule has been posted. We will wrap up with the IAR testing and get back into our normal schedule with band mid week. Please continue practicing at home: #57, #55, #90, and Prehisoric Suite.
Have a fantastic weekend!
FRIDAY, MARCH 28th, 2025
Please note the schedule for next week. WES and SES will have band on Monday only, and then will not have band the rest of the week due to IAR testing. MES will have band as normal.
Please continue work on all four movements of Prehistoric Suite, as well as When the Saints Go Marching In, and Ode to Joy. All of the bands sound wonderful so far, and we'll need to keep practicing next week even though WES and SES won't have as much band in school.
Great job this week! Have a great and restful weekend!
FRIDAY, MARCH 21st, 2025
Next week's schedule has been posted. Mr. Fenzl will be absent on Monday, and then the remainder of the week looks to be normal. We are continuing our work on our new piece, as well as adding some additional material from the book.
Please be sure to continue practicing outside of the school day. Instruments have been noticed at school for multiple days, or even a full week or more, without going home. This has led to stuck/frozen valves, and other maintenance issues due to not playing the instrument. We also want to be as prepared as possible for each class as we continue putting things together for our concert.
Have a wonderful weekend, and we will see you next week!
FRIDAY, MARCH 14th, 2025
Next week's schedule is posted. Mr. Fenzl will be absent on Thursday, and we will not have band on Friday due to the half day.
All three campuses did an awesome job as we begin to prepare for our Spring Concerts! We are playing some challenging music, but have already started putting things together! Please be sure to continuing practicing at home - we are striving for 100 minutes a week outside of school (20 minutes a day, 5 times a week).
Enjoy the weekend, and we will see everyone next week!
FRIDAY, MARCH 7th, 2025
Next week's schedule has been posted. Awesome job this week everybody! We are really coming along - we are finishing up with pages 16 and 17 and getting ready to turn the page!
Next week we will start pages 18 and 19 as well as start our concert music for May! Have a good weekend!
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28th, 2025
Next week's schedule has been posted. No school on Monday, so we will start back up on Tuesday.
SPRING CONCERT INFORMATION:
WES: - Monday, May 5
SES: - Tuesday, May 6
MES: - Monday, May 12
Times and details coming! :) We will be wearing black on black again, for our Spring Concerts students may wear a purple accessory (much like the red accessory from our Winter Concert).
Also, a quick reminder that students need to attend band during their scheduled band time - even if they forgot their instrument. Teachers that need to hold students for academics will communicate that with me, however we have had some students that have been missing their band classes (not being specifically held back by a teacher).
Have a great weekend!!!
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21st, 2025
Next week's schedule has been posted. Hopefully we will stay warm next week! :)
We are working hard on pages 14 and 15 now, and getting ready for page 16. Feel free to look ahead!
Enjoy your weekend!
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 17th, 2025
We will be running a shortned schedule tomorrow, releasing one hour early due to the weather. Band will see our normal Tuesday students - brass and percussion, I have slightly adjusted the times to fit with the early release schedule. Please see the posted schedules under each campus.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14th, 2025
Next week has been posted. No school on Monday!
We are finishing up with pages 12 and 13 and now jumping into page 14 and 15. Dots, ties, and new notes! Please play the instruments at home for families, friends (and pets too)!
Also, a quick reminder that students need to attend band during their scheduled band time - even if they forgot their instrument. Teachers that need to hold students for academics will communicate that with me, however we have had some students that have been missing their band classes (not being specifically held back by a teacher).
Remember, no school on Monday, and BRASS and PERCUSSION will have band when we return on Tuesday. Have an awesome long weekend!
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7th, 2025
Great job this week! We are now playing all the songs on pages 12 and 13, and getting ready to move on to pages 14 and 15! Be sure to be play at home for friends and families! :)
We are also getting ready to get our music for our Spring Concert in May! Please stay tuned for dates soon!
Next week's schedule is posted. Have a great weekend Stay warm!! Is that snow I see in the forecast?
FRIDAY, JANUARY 31st, 2025
Next week's schedule has been posted. We will not have band on Monday, and will resume our normal schedule on Tuesday. Please take a look at #48 on page 11 as well as pages 12 and 13.
Have a great weekend!
FRIDAY, JANUARY 24th, 2025
The bands did really great work this week! We continued counting rhythms, worked in 2/4 time, and began exploring dynamics with crescendos and decrescendos. We also started looking at page 12 which has a new full band warm-up.
All students, please spend some time on #48 on page 11 so we can put it together quickly next week.
Next week's schedule has been posted. We will not have band on Thursday or Friday as Mr. Fenzl will be in Peoria attending the Illinois Music Educator's Conference.
Have a great weekend!
FRIDAY, JANUARY 17th, 2025
Awesome job this week! All of the students began work on pages 10 and 11, so we have been getting into 8th notes! We are starting to play more complex rhythms, and will continue learning new notes - so practicing at home is very important. Please continue to strive for 100 minutes of at-home practice time each week (20 minutes per day, 5 times a week).
Next week's schedule has been posted. We will not have school on Monday, and will resume our normal schedule on Tuesday. Have a great weekend!
SATURDAY, JANUARY 11th, 2025
Next week's schedule has been posted. Stay warm! Brass players - please take a little time over the weekend to do a little maintenance on your instruments so we can jump right in playing on Tuesday. We don't want to have to take class time for stuck valves/slides.
MONDAY, JANUARY 6th, 2025
Happy New Year! I hope everyone had an awesome break, and is now staying warm on this cold snow day!
We will resume our normal band schedule on Thursday this week (flutes/clarinets/saxophones on Thursday and trumpets/low brass/percussion on Friday - purple day schedule).
Please take this time to go over instruments to be sure they are in working order (reed instruments break in a new reed, brass instruments please check trumpet/euphonium/tuba valves or trombone slides) so that we don't have to take class time for Mr. Fenzl to do maintenance on instruments before we can play.
I am excited to see everyone again and to play some new music and learn some new things!
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6th, 2024
Next week's schedule has been posted. Please be on the lookout for some differences.
Wow, SES had their concert last Tuesday evening and sounded FANTASTIC! I am so proud of each and every one of the band students!!! What a great performance! We've had a lot of compliments on a terrific program! Next up, MES will have their concert on Tuesday (6:30 performance time, arrival at 6:00 at MES) and WES will have their concert on Thursday (6:00 performance time, arrival at 5:30 at WES).
All friends and family are invited to attend. Student call times will be 30 minutes prior to the concert. Our outfits for the band students will be all black - black shirt (collar preferable)/blouse, black pants/slacks. Red accessories (ties, bows, etc.) are allowed but not required. :)
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 26th, 2024
Next week's schedule has been posted. Please check as some campuses have some unique changes.
SES - ALL BAND MEETS on MONDAY from 11:15 - 12:15.
We are so excited for our concerts!! Please refer to this announcement page for dates, times, and locations (at the top of this page). Our outfits will be black on black - (black top with black slacks, black socks/shoes).
Please have your students play for you and show you their progress! :) All three campuses have made FANTASTIC progress as our concerts get closer. SES will start us off next week!
I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving break! Enjoy your week, and we'll see you soon!
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22nd, 2024
Next week's schedule has been updated and posted! Only two days of school and then Thanksgiving break! :)
We are so excited to have our concerts next month! We have been working very hard preparing our music for our first performance, and the students are sounding great! Each campus will host its own elementary band concert. The dates have remained unchanged since the October announcement, here they are once again:
WINGATE - Thursday, December 12th @ 6:00 (WES Multi-Purpose Room)
SCOTT - Tuesday, December 3rd @ 6:00 (SES Gym)
MASCOUTAH - Tuesday, December 10th @ 6:30 (MES Gym)
All friends and family are invited to attend. Student call times will be 30 minutes prior to the concert. Our outfits for the band students will be all black - black shirt (collar preferable)/blouse, black pants/slacks. Red accessories (ties, bows, etc.) are allowed but not required. :)
Once again, I am very proud of all the hard work the students have been putting in! Please have students play for you regularly and show you their progress. All students should be practicing 100 minutes per week (~20 minutes a day 5 times a week). We should be able to play pages 4 - 9, with some students able to move on to pages 10, 11 and beyond.
Enjoy the weekend!
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18th, 2024
This week's schedule has been posted! My apologies -- I updated the schedule on the webpage last week and then never hit "publish" to make it visible to everyone.
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 11th, 2024
This week's schedule has been posted. We are getting back to a normal schedule as we prepare for our concert - less than a month away!
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 6th, 2024
We will not be having band on Thursday, November 7th. Mr. Fenzl will be home with his son who is not feeling well.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 1st 2024
Next week's schedule has been posted. We will not have school on Tuesday (election day) and Mr. Fenzl will be absent on Wednesday, so we will not be having band on either of those days. Please refer to the campus schedule to verify times.
Our concerts are now next month! :) Please be sure to be practicing at home. We should be striving for about 100 minutes of outside practice per week (about 20 minutes a day 5 times a week) to be prepared to play our instruments. We do have a number of students that are either not taking the instrument home, or not practicing at all outside of the school day. Please have your students play for you and show you what we have been working on in class. We have now learned 6 notes and are working on our concert music.
Campus-specific details about our concerts will be sent out soon. Our outfits for the band students will be all black - black shirt (collar preferable)/blouse, black pants/slacks. Red accessories (ties, bows, etc.) are allowed but not required. :)
Enjoy your weekend! I look forward to seeing the bands again next week!
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24th 2024
Next weeks schedule has been posted! We are back to a normal week next week. Please check your particular campus schedule for any special circumstances.
We are already learning music for our first concert! (See dates above.) All of our music selections will be out of our books. We will be doing numbers:
1, 2, 4, 6, 8
11, 12, 13
17, 14, 18
24, 25
30, 31
56
39, 38
Campus-specific details about our concerts will be sent out soon. Our outfits for the band students will be all black - black shirt (collar preferable)/blouse, black pants/slacks. Red accessories (ties, bows, etc.) are allowed but not required. :)
Enjoy your weekend! I look forward to seeing the bands again next week!
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 18th 2024
Next weeks schedule has been posted! It will be a pretty short week due to parent/teacher conferences and no school on Friday, but we will have band normally Monday - Wednesday.
The bands are doing FANTASTIC! We have started on page 8 which includes our 6th new note! Please continue working on the previous material to reenforce what we know. #16 and #22 are probably the best ones to review because they contain all of our previous notes. Play those 2 exercises to start every practice session! :)
Band students: please come to your designated band time even if you forgot a book/instrument. We very often will be learning new material and every session is important! Students may only miss for teacher approved reasons (i.e. tests, teacher directed work/review, PE tests like the mile, pacer, etc.).
CONCERT DATES
WINGATE - Thursday, December 12th
SCOTT - Tuesday, December 3rd
MASCOUTAH - Tuesday, December 10th
Times and details to come soon!!
Have a wonderful weekend!
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 10th 2024
Good afternoon! Next week's schedule has been posted!
The students are making great progress! We are getting more comfortable with pages 6 and 7 and will most likely start looking at page 8 next week, which has our 6th new note!
Please make sure students are practicing at home outside of their band time. This is extremely important currently as our students are still learning to read the notes while also learning the fingerings. The time we see each other at school is limited, so we strive to spend 100 minutes outside of school practicing per week (about 20 minutes a day, 5 times a week with 2 days off). This will help all students get comfortable remembering their new notes quickly.
We have a four day weekend! Band will resume with its normal schedule on Tuesday. Enjoy the next four days!! :)
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4th 2024
Good afternoon!
Happy Friday! Next week’s schedule has been posted.
This week, we really dove into page 6 as we start our transition to not seeing letter names on the notes. This can be a challenging time, and it can be tempting to want to write letter names in – but please don’t do it! The longer we go looking at letter names, the longer it will take to learn the notes on the staff with the fingers! Hang in there! We will not be learning any new notes for a while as we “digest” the five notes we have so far 🙂
This weekend feel free to keep working on page 6 and look ahead to page 7. These two pages are all about getting some repetition on our first 5 notes.
Please be sure to be playing and practicing at home. We are striving for 100 minutes a week, or 20 minutes a day 5 times a week.
Once again, please be sure that every student’s name is in their book. We are starting to see more and more left behind after band classes, and it is becoming challenging to pair them back up with their rightful owner.
I am so proud of our band students! We are turning our first notes into our first songs!! Enjoy your weekend!!
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 27th 2024
Good afternoon band families!
Another awesome week is wrapping up, and next week’s schedule has been posted!
Woodwinds have been doing amazing with assembling their instruments outside of the band class times, keep up the great work! :)
Brass players - continue to do any oiling of valves and slides at home so that our instruments are ready to go during our short band times.
PROGRESS
We continued re enforcing our first 5 notes in exercises 1 - 10. Then, we put everything together with 11, 12, and 13. Please continue these two pages at home over the weekend, and feel free to look ahead! We will begin pages 6 and 7 next week!
Please DO NOT write in the note names!!! This is a very important phase of our band journey, where we will be spending some time on the 5 notes we know. It is a fantastic time to get a lot of repetition looking at just these 5 notes. We will eventually start learning more notes a few weeks, so now is our chance to get a solid foundation reading the first 5 (if students write in the notes, they will be looking at the letters they wrote instead of the notes on the staff).
**PLEASE PUT YOUR NAME IN YOUR BOOK!** We have already had a few books get left behind with no name in them, and they all look the same.
Again, great job this week! Try to stay dry this weekend! As always. please play for your families as much as possible and show them what we’ve been working on so far! :) Have a wonderful weekend! :)
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20th 2024
Good afternoon band families!
Wow, wow, wow! What a great start! We are already assembling instruments and already playing some notes! I am so proud of our students for learning how the schedules work, and doing such a great job so far with their instruments!
Next week’s schedule has been posted!
Please continue working at home assembling the instruments, particularly the woodwinds with cork. Some of the newer instruments have cork that is pretty thick which makes it extremely difficult at first (especially for smaller hands) to get the sections together. We can use cork grease - but also we want to be sure that we are putting it together often, that will start to compress the cork and make the connections not quite so tough. If the instruments are never being assembled outside of band class, that process will take much, much longer.
Brass players - please be sure we are working our valves often so they don’t seize up and get stuck. If the instrument sits too long unused, this will often happen which can make for a frustrating experience when it is band time at school. We don’t have a lot of time to play once we are all set up (20 - 25 minutes of play time) so time spent on stuck valves can add up quickly.
PROGRESS
We did great work reviewing the 5 first notes (exercises 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9), and putting them together with exercises 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10. We will continue working on these, as well as beginning to read notes without the help of letters with numbers 11, 12, and 13.
After exercise 10, the book stops providing letter names for the notes. It is very important that we do not write in the letter names, as this is a vital time for our new band students to get familiar with the notes on the staff. It will be a slow process, but a very important one. We will only be playing songs that use these 5 notes for a while - it will be a few weeks before we learn another new note, so students will have the time they need to get used to them and memorize the notes with the fingerings/slide positions.
**PLEASE PUT YOUR NAME IN YOUR BOOK!** We have already had a few books get left behind with no name in them, and they all look the same.
Again, great job this week! Please play for your families as much as possible and show them what we’ve been working on so far! :) Have a wonderful weekend! :)
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 13th, 2024
What an awesome week! We made our first sounds this week, and all three of our campuses did AMAZING! Here is what we did and what the students should be working on this weekend:
Clarinets - We worked on assembling the reed/mouthpiece/ligature/barrel. We have not yet done the rest -- please wait to do this until we do it together on Monday. We need to make sure we don't bend that bridge key! Keep working on and getting comfortable with putting the reed on the mouthpiece with the ligature. Go slow and be careful - those reeds split and chip very easily! Next week we will be going over page 4 and 5 in the book.
Saxophones - We worked on assembling the reed/mouthpiece/ligature/next, and some of us attached it to the body. This weekend feel free to assemble the entire instrument - be careful to attach the neck strap first! Next week we will be going over page 4 and 5 in the book.
Flutes - We worked on making a sound on our headjoints, and properly assembling the flute. Feel free to get a head start in the book, we will be going over page 4 and 5 in the book.
All brass - we worked on getting a good buzz on just the mouthpiece first. Then we assembled our instruments and played our first note (#9 in the book). Next week we will be going over page 4 and 5 in the book.
Percussion - we learned matched grip (and briefly learned about traditional grip) and played #2 and #4. Next week we will continue with page 4 and 5 and begin mallets.
Next week's schedule has been posted. If you are still waiting on an instrument/book, they should be coming in very soon. If you ordered from somewhere other that Sweetwater or Nottelmann, please make sure that I know if it is being delivered as I won't know to be expecting it. Also, please remember to have an Essential Elements Book 1 for your instrument as soon as possible, we will be heavily using it every day.
Please let me know if you have any questions! Have a fantastic week!
-Mr. Fenzl
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5th, 2024
Good afternoon!
I am so excited to get our bands finally up and running! We had an amazing band drive last week that was attended by over 100 families, followed by a “first lesson night” that also had a great turnout with a lot of fun getting our new instruments out - and we even made some sounds! In addition, we are currently at 47 more families that have expressed interest in band since last week so we are still growing! If you were unable to attend either of the events so far, do not worry! We will review everything, and take our time to make sure everyone is having success on their instrument!
Before I continue, I would like to remind everyone to please bookmark my website https://sites.google.com/msd19.org/bryan-fenzl/fenzls-home as this is where all information I’ve sent out will be kept. I always add new information on top of the “announcements” section, bumping everything else down - so you can always scroll through and find older information. I try to put topic headers above paragraphs to make things a little easier/quicker for you. The weekly schedules will always be posted on my site as well (I usually post the following week’s schedule on Fridays, but this week I’m posting it today).
SCHEDULE
Next week’s schedule is posted! You can find it under the “schedules” section of my website, simply find your campus under the schedules section. We use a color system to determine the band time on each particular day. There is a chart showing the times each instrument meets for any given color on the bottom half of your campus schedule page. Each instrument has: purple, white, black, red, and blue. Flutes, Clarinets, and Saxophones will be having band on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Trumpets, Low Brass (Trombones, Euphoniums, and Tubas), and Percussion will be having band on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. *YOUR DAYS FOR BAND DO NOT CHANGE, JUST THE TIMES.*
I will be going over this chart with every band class on Monday and Tuesday of next week, to help students understand how to read it. For this week, since the schedule says that Monday is a PURPLE day, the instruments that have band on Mondays (flutes, clarinets, and saxophones) need to find when they come to band on PURPLE days. Also for this week, since the schedule says Tuesday is a PURPLE day, the instruments that have band on Tuesdays (trumpets, low brass, and percussion) need to find when they come to band on PURPLE days. All instruments have the same 5 colors, we just need to remember the days OUR instrument comes to band.
We will NOT be bringing or using our instruments on Monday or Tuesday! The first time I see every instrument group, we will not need instruments - instead, we will be going over procedures, schedules, checking the rosters, etc. We will plan to start with instruments on Thursday and Friday!
INSTRUMENT AND BOOK
With band quickly approaching it will be important for all students to have an instrument and book as soon as possible. I am including links to both music stores that were represented for instrument rentals on the night of the band drive. These are the stores that service our schools by sending a rep out once a week for any repair or other needs. If you are going another route for your instrument, please check with me first so that we can make sure your instrument will be appropriate for your student (brand, model, etc.. Amazon and Ebay, while tempting, almost always backfire when it comes to band instruments. Off-brand instruments are not constructed with the same quality as the brand names, and as a result cannot match the sound quality or durability/longevity of the recommended brands. Additionally, the need for constant repairs usually quickly drives up the cost above what the brand name rentals would be - if a shop that agrees to work on the off brand instrument can be found. Used instruments can sometimes be like finding a diamond in the rough, but it is much like buying a used car - it is hard to know the honest history, so it is best to have an expert take a look, especially if the price seems very low.
Nottelmann Music (instrument rentals)
https://nottelmannmusiconline.com/aerntschoolselect
Sweetwater Music (instrument rentals)
https://www.sweetwater.com/instrument-rentals/rent
We will be using Essential Elements for Band book 1 this year. This is a phenomenal resource that I have been teaching from and using since 2003. It will have almost all of the music our students will play for the year all in one place. We will start from playing single notes, and before too long we will be playing recognizable tunes. Essential Elements now also includes “Essential Elements Interactive” which is a useful and helpful online resource to make learning more convenient and fun for the students, and is helpful for parents to monitor progress. We will explore this Essential Elements Interactive (EEI) together when band begins.
If you rented your instrument from Sweetwater or Nottelmann, you probably also have this book coming as well. Please check your paperwork/receipts to make sure the book is on its way. If you already have an instrument, please make sure your student has the correct book (book 1 is yellow, there is a book 2 that is red and a book 3 that is green. We’ll want Book 1 in YELLOW). Please make sure to get the correct instrument (for instance Amazon sells the book, but be careful to order the right instrument because they all look the same). Also, euphonium players please be sure to get the bass clef (B.C.) version of the book NOT treble clef. . Euphonium players will use the Baritone B.C. book (euphonium = baritone for the book).
Once again, I am super excited to see our band students next week! Flutes, Clarinets, Saxophones on Monday and Trumpets, Low Brass, and Percussion on Tuesday - no instruments yet! We will start with instruments on Thursday and Friday. I know this was a lot of information, and I will soon be transitioning to primarily using the website for all announcements.
Lastly, those still waiting on instruments/books - please still plan to come to band on your day. We have a number of students in this situation, and we can still get started! :)
Please reach out with any questions! Have a great day!
-Mr. Fenzl
FRIDAY, AUGUST 30th 2024
Good afternoon!
I am unbelievably excited that so many families come out to our MSD19 elementary band night! We had well over 100 students come through and get screened on band instruments - and we heard some pretty amazing things! We have had even more testing with me this week! All of our band teachers in the district strongly agreed that the future of band here in the Mascoutah District looks extremely bright!
I have been very busy preparing everything for our year, have compiled rosters and email lists both by campus and by instrument. We will continue to see a few more additions to our bands in the next week or two, but we are just about up and running and ready to go!
I am sure there are many questions on what comes next, so here are some “big picture” pieces of information. I have tried to segment things as best I can with titles for quick reading. There will be even more coming over the next week, so be on the lookout!
FIRST LESSON NIGHT
Tuesday, September 3rd from 6:00 - 7:00 at Mascoutah MIDDLE School. This event is for all 5th grade band students from all three MSD19 elementary campuses: Wingate, Scott, and Mascoutah. All three campuses will meet at the same time.
This will be a very important introduction to the new instruments. We will have very experienced musicians leading instrument-specific sessions. Students (and parents!) will learn how to carefully assemble and disassemble their instrument properly to avoid costly mistakes. Band instruments are quite delicate, and untrained hands can bend/break vital pieces to these expensive instruments very easily. We will also cover the basics of making the first sound - and how to avoid common errors often made by beginning students.
I will also be in attendance to answer any questions. I will have my computer with me to help me document things so I don’t forget them - we have a lot of new band students!
Instruments rented at the band drive night (August 26) that were not taken home from Nottelmann are scheduled to be available for pick-up at Mascoutah Middle School during the first lesson night on September 3rd. Please contact Mr. Fenzl fenzlb@msd19.org if unable to attend First Lesson Night in order to get the instrument to the proper campus. Sweetwater should be mailing instruments directly home. **It is very important that students not try to handle an instrument that is unfamiliar to them, and to wait until they have properly been instructed to do so.**
SCHEDULES
I will be traveling each and every day to all 3 campuses and working with small groups this year as students learn the fundamentals of their specific instrument. We will be rotating 30 minute small-group (by instrument) classes during the school day. Band time is centered around specials, with some instances occurring outside of the specials time (during tier 2). By rotating both the days and the times students come to band, students will not be pulled from the same window every single time. This means that students will still be able to participate in all the specials, and miss minimal class time outside of specials. I will begin seeing band students the week of September 9.
I plan on posting the schedule weekly, so that students, parents, and teachers know exactly when students are to report to band each week.. I will also be communicating with each campus separately about locations and other things specific to each campus (this current message is going out to everyone). This communication will primarily happen on……
MY WEBSITE (please bookmark it)
https://sites.google.com/msd19.org/bryan-fenzl/fenzls-home
My website will be our main form of communication for announcements, schedules, assignments and other important information. It will be a fantastic place to go with any questions, as I will keep all announcements up throughout the year (you can even scroll through last year's announcements to get an idea of what we do). It will be extremely important for students and parents to check in with my website regularly to know what we are working on and when we will be meeting each week. Once we really get going with our school year, I will try to reserve mass emails (like this email) for the most important announcements, and not as my main form of making weekly announcements.
INSTRUMENT
With band quickly approaching, it is important that all students have an instrument ready to go. While the majority of students have rented an instrument from one of the two companies working with our district (Sweetwater and Nottelmann), we have other students that already have an instrument in the household or have one through other means. If your instrument is not being newly rented, please make sure to have it checked out at a music shop to make sure it is in working order. Instruments are very similar to cars - they don’t do well if they sit for years (or decades) without being played. Just like a car won’t start right up in that case, an instrument won’t play properly (or sometimes won’t play at all). And even if they have been played, they need to be maintained (again, similar to a car). The last thing we’ll want is for a beginning student to struggle because the instrument itself is letting them down.
Additionally - PLEASE contact me BEFORE purchasing an instrument. Not all instruments are created equal!!!!!!!!!! Even good instruments can be made to look fine but if they have a bad history, it could be a long road ahead (also, very much like cars). Be very careful of online marketplaces, when in doubt - please ask me first!
Please do not buy a Mendini, Glory, Lagrima, Lazzaro, or any colored instrument. They will not last, they will break easily, and are not repairable by local music stores.
For reeds:
Please buy Vandoren, Juno, Rico or Rico Royal Reeds. Avoid Cecilio, Glory, Lazarro, and Kmise reeds.
If you don’t already have an instrument, I highly recommend renting during the first year.
BOOK
We will be using Essential Elements for Band book 1 this year. This is a phenomenal resource that I have been teaching from and using since 2003. It will have almost all of the music our students will play for the year all in one place. We will start from playing single notes, and before too long we will be playing recognizable tunes. Essential Elements now also includes “Essential Elements Interactive” which is a useful and helpful online resource to make learning more convenient and fun for the students, and is helpful for parents to monitor progress. We will explore this Essential Elements Interactive (EEI) together when band begins.
If you rented your instrument from Sweetwater or Nottelmann, you probably also have this book coming as well. Please check your paperwork/receipts to make sure the book is on its way. If you already have an instrument, please make sure your student has the correct book (book 1 is yellow, there is a book 2 that is red and a book 3 that is green. We’ll want Book 1 in YELLOW). Please make sure to get the correct instrument (for instance Amazon sells the book, but be careful to order the right instrument because they all look the same). Also, euphonium players please be sure to get the bass clef (B.C.) version of the book NOT treble clef. . Euphonium players will use the Baritone B.C. book (euphonium = baritone for the book).
PRACTICE
Practice is important! Band is not an activity intended to just be attended at school with no other exposure to the instrument outside of school. Band students should be practicing consistently at home each and every week. Band is very much like body building - simply seeing a personal trainer for 30 minutes twice a week (or even 3 times) with no other physical activity will not yield much result at all; it takes working out between sessions to really get stronger. Band works the same way - we will go over the content in class and get good feedback - but then the “work out” has to happen at home. Our progress will be posted on my website weekly, so please have your student play for you and show you how they are doing. My goal for beginning students is 100 minutes a week of practice outside of school. This equates to 20 minutes a day at home with 2 days off per week. **Percussion students need to have the practice xylophone at home - we will attempt to have equipment at each campus so they aren’t lugging the whole xylophone back and forth.
Once again, I am super excited to start band with so many awesome students. I wish I could have spent more time getting to know everybody at the high school the other day - I can tell this will be a really fun year! I can’t wait to hear these students as they learn their instruments!
In the meantime, please email me with any questions, and I’ll do my best to get back to you quickly!
Mr. Fenzl
-End of 2023/24 Year-
FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2024
WOW!!! What a great concert at SES! The band and chorus played amazing!!!! We are so proud of our students, way to go!!
MES - full rehearsal in school on Monday at 2:30 (specials time), please remember to bring your instrument to school Monday! MES concert Monday evening at 6:30.
WES - full rehearsal in school Monday morning at 8:30. We will be preforming for the 4th grade as well! :) Please remember to bring your instrument to school on Monday! (We are rehearsing Monday due to the MMS trip on Tuesday).
WES concert Tuesday evening at 6:00.
I am so incredibly proud of each and every one of the band students!!! It has been amazing seeing and hearing the concerts come together these past few weeks and months! Have a wonderful weekend!!!
FRIDAY, MAY 3, 2024
Next week's schedule has been posted. Concert week for SES! SES families, please check email for concert details. WES and MES will get emails next week about their concerts.
As we get closer to our concerts, please take this weekend to prepare the music and have students play their music for the family! :) We will be playing:
#90
#113
#103
Warp Speed
Dragon Dance
The students have been working very hard, and we are excited to perform our music for everyone! Have a great weekend!
FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2024
Next week's schedule has been posted. WES and MES are back to a normal schedule, SES please look carefully as the schedule is altered due to the 3rd grade play rehearsal schedule.
We are closing in on our concerts! A reminder to all students that band rehearsals are mandatory during your scheduled times. We are starting to have some issues with students not coming to band to stay with their class at specials. This really puts the band in a bind and is unfair to the students that attend as we then have to redo any work. Please double check times, and write band schedules in agendas to help remember. 2 more weeks!
I am very proud of all of the band kids as we are making some great strides as we near the finish line! Stay tuned for specific campus details for each concert! Have a great weekend!
FRIDAY, APRIL 19, 2024
Next week's schedule has been posted. Please, please look very carefully as it a bit different this week due to science testing.
Our concerts are fast approaching! All the bands are doing a tremendous job preparing, keep it up! Be sure to play for friends and families as we get ready.
Have an awesome weekend!!!
FRIDAY, APRIL 12 2024
Next week's schedule has been posted.
The end of the school year approaches! Our students have been busy testing this week, but we will be jumping back into band next week. Our concerts are coming up soon, so we’ll want to be sure to prepare as much as we can over the next few weeks. Please have your students play their music for you, and show you all the work we’ve done this year! It is really fun to hear how far everyone has come since first making sounds back in September!
Just as a reminder, our upcoming concert dates are:
WES: Tuesday, May 14th
SES: Tuesday, May 7th
MES: Monday, May 13th
I will give out the specific times very soon. We are looking to run things very similarly to our Winter Concert last December.
Our bands will be performing:
#90 - Variations on a Familiar Theme (Mozart)
#103 - Minuet (Bach)
#113 - Sea Chanty
Warp Speed (Sheet music)
Dragon Dance (sheet music)
Extra copies of the sheet music pieces have been posted by instrument in Google Classroom just in case. 🙂
I also would like to remind everyone about the free 6th grade band camp put on by our middle school band directors this June. This is an OUTSTANDING opportunity for our rising 6th grade students to meet their peers from the other campuses and meet the middle school directors and get a preview of the MMS band experience as well. Here is the information from the letter that went out a few weeks ago:
“Mascoutah Middle School is providing a free 6th grade summer band camp June 24-28 for all incoming 6th grade band students. All current MES, SES, and WES 5th grade band students are encouraged to attend. Summer band is scheduled each day from 9:00AM-12:00PM in the cafeteria at the middle school.
This week-long camp is a great opportunity for students to continue playing over the long summer break. In addition to full band we have daily section rehearsals with instruction from local band teachers and professionals. On Friday, June 28th at 11:30 A.M. we will play an informal concert in the cafeteria. “
I will attach the form in Google Classroom in case you need an extra to print out. I highly recommend this free opportunity, the directors at the middle school are great and their students have a lot of fun!
I have missed that band students this week as they have been testing!! I cannot wait to see everyone again soon! Please reach out with any questions.
Thank you so much!!
-Mr. Fenzl
FRIDAY, APRIL 5 2024
Next week's schedule has been posted. We will have IAR testing Tuesday - Friday which will mean no band, and SES and MES will miss Monday due to eclipse activities (and the eclipse itself). I will still see WES Monday morning.
As we will be missing quite a bit of band for testing, it is extremely important to be practicing 100 minutes per week (20 minutes a day 5 times a week), and playing at home for the family. Our concert is only a few short weeks away and we will not have the same in-class preparation as we did for our Winter Concert.
I am so proud of all the bands!!! It is amazing to compare and contrast where they are now and where we were a month prior to our last concert!
Have a great weekend, and good luck to all during testing!
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2024
Next week's schedule has been posted. We will be off on Monday for Spring Break, and then we are back to a normal week.
Once again I would like to remind students that attendance in band is required on the days we have band, unless held back by the teacher (testing, etc,). We have a concert coming up and attendance is vital for our preparation.
Please see the following about the middle school band camp from Mr. Gore. I handed forms out a few weeks ago, but will be posting the forms online as well in the following days:
"Mascoutah Middle School is providing a free 6th grade summer band camp June 24-28 for all incoming 6th grade band students. All current MES, SES, and WES 5th grade band students are encouraged to attend. Summer band is scheduled each day from 9:00AM-12:00PM in the cafeteria at the middle school.
This week-long camp is a great opportunity for students to continue playing over the long summer break. In addition to full band we have daily section rehearsals with instruction from local band teachers and professionals. On Friday, June 28th at 11:30 A.M. we will play an informal concert in the cafeteria."
FRIDAY, MARCH 22, 2024
Next week's schedule has been posted. I will be out on Monday, and Spring Break will start Thursday, so we will only have band on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Have a great week!
FRIDAY, MARCH 15, 2024
Next week's schedule has been posted. Great job this week, and have a great weekend!
FRIDAY, MARCH 8, 2024
Next week's schedule is posted. Back to a normal week - please check the schedule for some slight changes at WES and MES.
We had an awesome 2 days! We got information on the middle school band camp and our first song for the concert!
We did a great job with attendance this week, thank you to all!
FRIDAY, MARCH 1, 2024
Next week's schedule is posted. It is a short week with no school on Monday. We will continue our work to get to page 18 (and the new warm-ups!).
Our concert dates have been set. I will send out times and more info soon, though I am hoping to run things very much like our winter concerts:
WES: Tuesday, May 14th
SES: Tuesday, May 7th
MES: Monday, May 13th
I also want to remind all students again that band students present at school need to attend band on their assigned band day. We still had a handful of students this week bring their instruments to school, but not attend band. I will be contacting parents about individual absences just so everybody is on the same page.
I am so proud of the amazing work the band is doing! It is incredible to compare where we are now from even our winter concert only [just under] 3 months ago!! I am excited to start working on our spring concert music soon!
Have a great long weekend!
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2024
Next week's schedule is posted. We will not have band on Friday as it is an early release day with no specials.
Just a quick reminder that students that are present at school need to come to band on their assigned band day. We are starting to see some students miss some band classes, which negatively impacts our pacing as students are missing new notes and concepts. Also, please still come to band even if the instrument is left at home so that no instruction is missed. Finally, please do not bring outside books and materials to read during band time.
Thank you, and have a great weekend!
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2024
Next week's schedule is posted. It will be a short week with a holiday on Monday, and I will be out on Tuesday. Things should return to normal Wednesday - Friday.
Have a wonderful weekend!
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2024
Good evening,
Band will unfortunately have to be cancelled again tomorrow, Thursday February 15th. My apologies for the cancellations this week!!
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2024
Good evening,
Despite my previous plans, I am going to have to cancel band again tomorrow, Tuesday February 13. While my son is definitely on the mend, I am now not feeling well.
Again, I apologize for the late change. I will see everybody Wednesday!
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2024
Good afternoon,
Unfortunately I am going to have to stay home tomorrow, Monday February 12, as my younger son is not feeling well and won't be going into school tomorrow. Band will be canceled for the day (Monday).
I apologize for the late notice! Hopefully he gets better soon, but my wife should be able to take off on Tuesday to stay with him if it is necessary (hopefully it won't be).
Thank you,
-Mr. Fenzl
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2024
Next weeks schedule has been updated! AWESOME JOB this week to all of our band students! We are moving right along and are now entering pages 16 and 17 in the book! We are learning more new notes and some other neat concepts that will help make our music even more fun!
Have a great weekend!!
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2024
This week's schedule has been updated. MES and SES please note the slight changes this week due to SEL days. WES will have SEL day the following week.
Mr. Gore was so excited to meet the band students last week! He had really great things to say about our students, and was impressed with what everybody could do! The high school jazz band had a blast playing at our schools last week as well!
SATURDAY 20, 2024
Next week's schedule has been posted! A bit of a short week for band as Mr. Fenzl will be attending the Illinois Music Educators Conference on Thursday and Friday. As a result, we will not have band on Thursday or Friday.
Enjoy your weekend!
FRIDAY, JANUARY 12, 2024
Awesome job this week! The bands at all 3 campuses jumped right back into things and all sounded great! The schedule for next week has been posted. It should be a straightforward week - no school Monday and WES has and SEL day on Friday (SES and MES had theirs this past week).
Thank you to everyone for your flexibility and patience as we have started using the new system to show the weekly schedule. Everyone's band days are the same as last semester - students just need to find out what color day they have on their band day at the top of the page (updated each week), and find that color on the chart below (the chart will stay the same all year) to see their time. Woodwinds are on the left side of the chart, brass and percussion are on the right side.
Enjoy your weekend!
THURSDAY, JANUARY 4, 2024
The schedule for next week has been posted! You will see that our schedules have a new look. The days, times, and rotations are all remaining the same - I have just streamlined how I will post the weekly schedule. Please take a look at the schedule and let me know if you have any questions. I will still update the campus schedules every Friday afternoon, and post the class order on Google Classroom as well.
We will begin band for the semester on Monday, January 8, 2024. Please remember to bring instruments and books to school. Please take a moment to open the instrument case this weekend and check that everything is in working order (valves aren't sticking for brass, etc.) so we can avoid stopping for maintenance during our band time next week.
I am looking forward to seeing everyone again and doing some fun things this semester!!
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 3, 2024
Good morning!
Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a wonderful break! I am excited to see everyone again, and play some new music! We will be starting band up on Monday, January 8, 2024. I am working on our updated scheduling system and will have it posted by this Friday.
I am looking forward to seeing our awesome band students again!!
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2023
Next week's schedule has been posted. SES and MES have finished with band for the semester. WES, please check Monday's schedule.
What an awesome semester!!! All three bands had AMAZING concerts over the last 10 days, and the students have received many, many compliments and congratulations from parents, families, friends, faculty/staff, admin, and members of our community! I am beyond proud of our students, who all did an incredible job preparing for a large concert on a brand new instrument. We went from not knowing how to assemble our instruments to making our first sounds to playing our first notes to playing our first melodies to playing recognizable music with multiple melodic lines -- all in about 2 and a half months! The future of the band program in MSD19 looks extremely bright in the hands of our 123 combined 5th grade band students!!!
We have winter break coming up! Please take this time to rest and relax! Do try to get the instruments out once in a while to maintain what we've done. Much like working out - if we stop altogether for multiple weeks, we will start to lose some of what we have. Try playing every few days - maybe for friends and family, or simply going through the book individually. Please feel free to look ahead to some new music - I think we all are ready to move past our concert music!! IMPORTANT - please do not simply leave the case closed for the duration of the break! Otherwise you may encounter a science experiment when it is time to start band next semester!
Also, be on the lookout for information from me on solo performance opportunities. Band is definitely a team activity - but we have individual performance opportunities too! I will post any and all information both on my website under "announcements" as well as everyone's Google Classroom feed.
I am looking to streamline our schedule next semester to make it easier for everyone. Instead of posting specific times for every instrument on every campus for every day (which works out to 41 different classes a week across the 3 schools), we will have 3 "color" days which will allow us to rotate schedules. For instance, we may have something like this:
PURPLE
Flutes - Clarinets - Saxophones
WHITE
Clarinets - Saxophones - Flutes
BLACK
Saxophones - Flutes - Clarinets
I will work on clearly detailing this and posting it before we start band up again! This should make things easier, as I can simply post colors each week (also displayed in each homeroom in the morning).
Once again, AWESOME JOB on AMAZING concerts! I am so proud of each and every one of our band students - and they should be proud too! Take some time to rest and relax over break, but don't let your instrument be a stranger! THANK YOU to all the families that have supported their musicians this semester. We will work on new music next semester and put on a fun concert in the Spring!
Happy Holidays!
-Mr. Fenzl
p.s. I will see WES Monday morning, don't forget your instruments and music!
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2023
Next week's schedule has been posted. Concert week for WES and MES! Congratulations to the SES band for an amazing concert last week! I am so proud of our outstanding musicians!
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2023
Next week's schedule has been posted. Concert week for SES! WES and MES will be the following week. Please review the concert dates/times and outfits here on the announcements.
I am SO PROUD of the bands! Have a good weekend!
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2023
Here is the updated concert music order list. I accidentally left off #30 (London Bridges) when I posted it earlier - here is the corrected order.
1,2,4,6,8
11,12,13
17,14,18
24
25, 30 ,31
56, 39, 38
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2023
Next week's schedule has been posted! Normal week this week, concerts are coming up! Please make sure you have reviewed the information that has been posted on the website, google classroom, and in email regarding the concerts (the same information is copied/pasted in all three locations, you do not need to check each one).
Have a wonderful week!!
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2023
Next week's schedule has been posted! Short week, enjoy the break!!
Please see last week's reminder about the concert dates as well as the concert attire. We are excited to have our first performance! For the students, here is the concert order:
1,2,4,6,8
11,12,13
17,14,18
24,25,31
56,39,38
Please remember to be practicing 100 minutes per week outside of the school day. We have learned 7 notes and are getting ready to learn some more!
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2023
Next week's schedule has been updated and posted! We have a full 5 day week, with all 3 campuses having SEL days (which will impact some of the band classes so please check the schedules).
CONCERT DATES
We are so excited to have our concerts next month! We have already been preparing our music for our first performance, and the students are sounding great! Each campus will host its own elementary band concert. The dates have remained unchanged since the September announcement, here they are once again:
Mascoutah Elementary Band - Thursday, December 14th @ 6:30
Scott Elementary Band - Tuesday, December 5th @ 6:00
Wingate Elementary Band - Monday, December 11th @ 6:00
All friends and family are invited to attend. Student call times will be 30 minutes prior to the concert. Campus-specific details will be sent out soon. Our outfits for the band students will be all black - black shirt (collar preferable)/blouse, black pants/slacks. Red accessories (ties, bows, etc.) are allowed but not required. :)
Once again, I am very proud of all the hard work the students have been putting in! Please have students play for you regularly and show you their progress. All students should be practicing 100 minutes per week (~20 minutes a day 5 times a week). We should be able to play pages 4 - 9, with some students able to move on to pages 10, 11 and beyond.
Enjoy the weekend!
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2023
The weekly schedule has been updated and posted! We will have a short week with no school on Friday. Some campuses may be impacted by Veterans Day activities this week, so please look carefully at band times.
Our concert is coming up! Please scroll down on the announcements to see the date and time for your campus. Please be sure to get practice time in at home. We are still striving for 100 minutes a week (20 minutes 5 times a day).
We should know 7 notes with fingerings. We have also started learning 8th notes and pick-up notes. Students should be able to demonstrate exercises on pages 4+5, 6+7, and 8+9 for their families and friends. We are are now beginning work on pages 10+11.
I am very proud of all the groups! There are a lot of great musical sounds coming from each campus!
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2023
The weekly schedule has been updated and posted! Mascoutah Elementary (MES) please note the change on Wednesday.
Please enjoy your long weekend! The bands are all doing great! We are already looking ahead to our winter concert!! Please scroll down on the announcements to find the dates for your campus.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2023
SCOTT ELEMENTARY (SES) ONLY - We will not be having band on Wednesday, October 25th due to the Fall Festival. WES and MES will still have band ion Wednesday.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2023
The weekly schedule has been updated and posted! Short week coming up with no school on Thursday or Friday.
We are now on page 8 and 9 in the book, which go through exercise #39. Be sure to play for your friends and families! Show them all of the hard work you've been putting in! Don't forget to keep playing the previous pages to keep your skills up.
Just a quick reminder to check the schedule weekly to know when to come to band. Adding the times into agendas every weekend is an effective way to keep track. Have a great weekend!
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2023
The weekly schedule has been updated and posted! We have a normal 5 day week. Mascoutah Elementary (MES) students, please note that your band times have been moved later by 10 minutes to line up with the transition time. Those seen at the end of the day will be released for the day from band.
I am so proud of every band student! We have come an incredible way in the last few weeks. Please remember to keep playing for your friends and families! Show them the new exercises we've been playing! That counts towards your minutes! :)
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2023
The weekly schedule has been updated and posted! We have a 4 day week as well as SEL days and some other conflicts, so a few of the normally scheduled classes had to be canceled.
We are making awesome progress!!! We are trying to finish up pages 6 and 7, and move ahead to page 8. Page 8 has our 6th new note! Please remember to play for your families and friends! Remember that the 100 minutes of practice a week can include reviewing notes on the staff and fingerings. It does not always have to mean making sounds! :)
Also - if you haven't already, please put your name on your book! We've had a few that get left behind, and it is hard to know who each one belongs to.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2023
The weekly schedule has been posted!
Fantastic job this week! Awesome progress at all three schools!
Please don't forget to be striving to practice 100 minutes a week at home - we learned a lot of new notes and we want to make sure we remember everything! Luckily we normally won't be learning that many new notes in one week, so we will have time to practice and rehearse the 5 notes we know! And remember to play for your families! :)
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2023
This week, our goal is to be able to play pages 4 and 5 in the book (exercise numbers 1-13, percussion pages may vary). These exercises are very important because they introduce our first 5 notes. From now on, we usually won't learn more than 1 note a week, so we will have plenty time to get more comfortable with what we are covering right now.
Awesome job so far! Remember to play for your families! And strive for 100 minutes of practice at home per week (20 minutes a day 5 times a week).
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2023
Good afternoon! What an amazing week of band we have had at WES, SES, and MES! I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every person reading this message for your patience, flexibility, and support as our band programs get started during this busy time of year. There are a lot of moving pieces and new concepts across all of our campuses, and coordinating all of the logistics has been an enormous undertaking. But we are off to a great start, and things should start settling down now that we are getting into a routine. I have some important announcements to close out the week. PLEASE scan through the topics to make sure you don’t miss anything, it is a lot of information!
WEBSITE
If you haven’t already done so, please bookmark my teacher website I have linked here. This will be a “one stop shop” for the weekly schedule as well as all announcements. I simply add each announcement to the top of the page, so all previous announcements will remain accessible. There will also be other useful content posted periodically. Both the weekly schedule and all announcements can be found at the very top of the page in the menu bar.
https://sites.google.com/msd19.org/bryan-fenzl/fenzls-home
BAND REGISTRATION
Most of you have already filled this out - but we have some late additions and I want to make sure I am not leaving anyone out. If you did not scan the QR code at the band drive night or fill out the Google Form in an email, please fill out the Google Form linked here so that I can be sure to include you in future emails, as well as make sure I have accurate roster information. I have 18 classes across 3 campuses - so I really want to do my best to stay on top of the rosters and contact information! 🙂 If you have already filled this out, there is no need to do it again.
https://forms.gle/6qARYeGUX3Cs8HGKA
I appreciate everyone's patience regarding email. I will do my best to respond as quickly as I can to every email I receive. During the school day I have limited access to email as I am traveling between campuses. I have noticed that I am having extremely similar email communications between families, and am finding that it can be difficult for me to keep track of what I’ve already said in each particular chain of emails. I do ask that if you are reaching out to me, please include: student name, campus, and instrument. Also, please try to use one email chain so I can go back through and “catch up” on everything so I don’t forget something or incorrectly assume I’ve told you something already. Thank you so much!!!
SCHEDULE
I have updated the schedule for this week, the week of 9/18 - 9/22. Everyone’s days should stay the same but we will cycle through the time slots. Please check in over the schedule and have your student add their times into their agendas. I will also share this schedule with the 5th grade teachers on each campus.
SEL DAYS
My sincerest apologies for the classes that were impacted by the SEL schedule last week. With all the excitement of band finally starting, I lost track of SEL days (which happen once a month) running on a Wednesday schedule. Additionally, our campuses do not do SEL lessons on the same day, so it makes the band schedule tricky. We had to cancel some classes last minute to accommodate the SEL training. Again, I apologize for this, and have noted the future dates to avoid the last minute cancellations!
INSTRUMENT ASSEMBLY
Please work with your student on carefully assembling their instrument. Some of the instruments - particularly saxophones and clarinets - have EXTREMELY tight fits when they are brand new (the cork is very thick). As the instruments are assembled/disassembled, the cork will start to compress making the connections easier. We played real notes on full instruments last week, so your student should be able to show you how to put it together (clarinets - watch out for that bridge key!!!) The more familiar the students are with putting their instruments together - the more time we can spend in class playing! I will work on posting tutorial videos on Google Classroom and my teacher website to help you with these concepts. Clarinet videos are already up!
PRACTICE
Now that we are getting rolling, it is important that each student is practicing 100 minutes per week. I cannot stress the importance of this enough! This will work out to 20 minutes 5 times a week, though the minutes can be divided into different ways. (i.e. 30 - 30 - 20 - 20, etc). I encourage you to have your student play for you and show you what we are working on in class. Any time playing the instrument counts towards that 100 minutes! :)
CONCERT DATES
Believe it or not, our awesome band students will be giving their first concert in just 3 months!! I already have the dates, so I wanted to share them with everybody now. Each campus will host its own elementary band concert. We will have more details as we get closer to the dates. Here they are:
Mascoutah Elementary Band - Thursday, December 14th @ 6:30
Scott Elementary Band - Tuesday, December 5th @ 6:00
Wingate Elementary Band - Monday, December 11th @ 6:00
GOOGLE CLASSROOM
As we have added some more students to our bands, I realize there has been some confusion/difficulty with Google Classroom and getting access for parents. Please don’t worry! We will make sure everybody gets invited in! As a clarification - parents are not able to actually be in the classroom. Once an invitation is accepted by the parent, the parent is then able to receive email summaries either daily or weekly of announcements and student progress in the classroom. All major announcements (concerts, schedules, etc.) will also be posted on my teacher website.
ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS INTERACTIVE
The Essential Elements book each student is using comes with access to “Essential Elements Interactive.” This is a useful practice resource that makes practicing even more fun! Students have the ability to listen to their instrument play every exercise in the book, as well as have an accompaniment backing track as they play! They also have the ability to audio record themselves and submit their recording to me. This works in a similar way to Google Classroom - but this is completely independent from school accounts. You can find your activation code on the very first page of the book, and here is a link to my teacher account:
https://www.essentialelementsinteractive.com/register/MascouBa8
That should do it for announcements this time. Thank you so much for all of your support and patience! We are off to an amazing start!!!
-Mr. Fenzl
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2023
Good afternoon! I can see many students have successfully entered their proper Google Classroom and have also been able to invite parents. Just to clarify - students are the only ones able to actually join the classroom. Parents may be “invited” - this is to get emails with posted announcements, etc. Please note that this can only happen once the student has joined the classroom using the code I provided last week.
IMPORTANT - MY WEBSITE
In order to make things as easy as possible for everyone, I have made a “one stop shop,” a website with quick references to the weekly schedules and announcements. Please bookmark this site!
https://sites.google.com/msd19.org/bryan-fenzl?usp=sharing
With weekly rotating schedules, it will be important for students and parents to check in with this website every week. I ask that all band students write in their band times every week once the site updates (I will try to have it updated before I leave for the day every Friday).
The schedules are posted by campus, and then again by section. Simply use the navigation bar at the top of the page to find your campus/section. Please note that high brass = trumpets and french horns, and low brass = trombones, euphoniums, and tubas.
Every mass email announcement I have sent is included in the announcement section, with the newest messages at the top for your reference.
Please let me know if you have any questions, and I am looking forward to seeing the band next week!
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