Dear Band & Orchestra Parents,

For weeks 9 & 10 we are pleased to advise that rehearsals and tutorials will be held in-person at school.

Updated rehearsal timetable below. All rehearsals will be held in the school hall, except for Jazz Band which will be held outside the music room. Students are to remain within their cohort/stage groups.

Tutors have contacted parents regarding updated lesson times/location. If you have a question regarding music lessons, please contact your tutor directly.  

Band registrations for 2022 are now open! See below for details.

Auditions for 2022 will be held next Monday, Thursday and Friday. Parents will be emailed details.

We still need a volunteer Band Convenor for 2022!  Interested? Email Serena at band@artarmonpandc.org.au before the end of term 4.  

Thanks again to students and parents for their continuing cooperation and support of the Band program.

Band Registrations for 2022 are Open!

We are happy to announce that Band registrations for 2022 are open!

If your child is already participating in the Band program and would like to continue with Band in 2022, please log into the Parent Portal & complete your re-enrolment.  

For those students in year 2 and above who are interested in joining Band for the first time, we encourage you to read the Band Information Pack Available on the Artarmon Public School website under ‘Music Programs > Band’ and register online through the MySchoolMusic Parent Portal:

• https://portal.msmusic.com.au/artarmonmusic

Please register online by Friday 3^rd December 2021.

Note: When re-enrolling or registering online we recommend you use a laptop/PC instead of a mobile device, where possible.  

2021 (Term 4) Calendar Dates:

Band & Orchestra in-person Rehearsal Times:

For weeks 9 & 10 we are pleased to advise that rehearsals will be held in-person at school in the school Hall, except for Jazz Band which will be held outside the music room. Students are to remain within their cohort/stage groups.

Updated rehearsal timetable following:

Mon 7:50 am Concert Band (stage 3, years 5&6) – Hall

Mon 10:55 am Junior Band (stage 2, years 3&4) - Hall

Tue 7:50 am Senior Band (stage 3, years 5&6) - Hall 

Wed 7:50 am Orchestra (stage 3, years 5&6) - Hall 

Thurs 7:50 am Junior Band (stage 2, years 3&4) - Hall 

Thurs 12:20 pm Concert Band (stage 3, years 5&6) - Hall 

Thurs 2:00pm Senior Band (stage 3, years 5&6) – Hall

Thurs 3:00 pm Jazz Band (stage 3, years 5&6) - Outside Music Room

Fri 7:50 am Training Band (stage 2, years 3&4) - Hall

If your child is sick and/or unable to attend a rehearsal, please notify your Band Coordinator.

Band instrument return and rehire – PLEASE READ CAREFULLY

Return date: Thursday 9th December (8.30am – 8.55am)

Rehire date (only if arranged): Friday 10th December (8.30am – 8.55am)

This year due to COVID restrictions and infection control, we will not be conducting the usual return of all instruments. If your child is returning to band in 2022, they will keep the instrument they have been using this year. If your child has any concerns about their instrument, please ask them to speak to their tutor or Mr Walmsley at band rehearsal before Thursday 9^th December.

All hired band instruments belonging to students leaving school or NOT continuing Band in 2022 must be returned to the music room at the latest on the morning of Thursday 9^th December before the school bell from 8.30am to 8.55am. The instruments will all be checked, and a stock take done. Any instruments requiring repair or service will then be sent off over the holidays to the relevant repairer.

If you are handing back an instrument, please ensure the case is labelled with your child’s name on it.

Please ensure the instrument is returned with all accessories (e.g. neck straps and harnesses, ligatures and mouthpieces).  Any personal items such as reeds and cleaning cloths should be removed from the case as they will otherwise be taken out during stock take and disposed of.

On Friday 10th December we will hand out clean replacement instruments if required. Students can come to the music room to collect from 8.30 am until the morning bell at 8.55am.

All current year 6 instruments will be sent for professional cleaning over the holidays.

If your child does not collect their hired instrument on 10^th December, it will be stored securely over the holidays. We will let you know details for collection of these instruments at the start of next term.

If your child will not be at school on these dates, please contact us separately via email to make alternative arrangements. If there are any other problems with returning or collecting instruments on the dates above, please contact the instrument coordinators at APSbandinstruments@gmail.com

Please help us by:

1. Updating the name label on your instrument to your child’s name and “2022”
2. Returning instruments on time, no later than 8.55am, Thursday 9^th December

We are currently trying to work out a new system for the pink indemnity slips so please bear with us while we do this.

Thank you, Kirsteen and Oisze (Instrument Coordinators)

Tutorials:

For weeks 9 & 10 we are pleased to advise that tutorials will be held in-person at school.

Tutors have contacted parents regarding updated lesson times & location. If you have a question regarding your child’s lesson, please email your Tutor in the first instance or email Jane at tutorband@artarmonpandc.org.au

Band Convenor 2022 – POSITION VACANT!

We need a new parent volunteer to be our Band Convenor in 2022.

No prior band convenor knowledge or experience needed! This would suit someone with general organisational, communication and administrative skills.

To get started, all you need is a computer, internet connection and a phone. An interest in music education also an advantage. The Band Convenor role is flexible and can be performed from home with periodic visits to the school (COVID-19 guidelines permitting).

The band committee would ideally like someone to start in the Convenor role ASAP! This will allow time for handover, training, and involvement in end of year band activities. If you’re interested but cannot start in the Convenor role until 2022, we’d still love to hear from you.

Becoming a parent volunteer is a great way to contribute to your local school community, develop new skills, get to know other parents and have fun along the way.

Interested in volunteering to be our next Band Convenor? email band@artarmonpandc.org.au

Band Committee 2021

A big thank you to all the parents that have volunteered to help with the running of band in 2021. Your assistance is greatly appreciated!

Dear Strings Parents, 

We hope you and your child(ren) are enjoying being back at school and have settled into their school routines.

Please note that this week’s ensemble rehearsal sessions will be in the Music Room for Junior Strings and Concert Strings. In order to fulfil required social distancing the school hall will be used by Band.

Next week will be auditions. Please ensure the students are aware of their audition times and are prepared with their scales and pieces as this will assist Mr Mansukhani and ensures everything runs on time.

String Registrations for 2022 are Open

We are happy to announce that Strings Registrations for 2022 are open.

If your child is already participating in the Strings program and would like to continue with Strings in 2022, please log into the Parent Portal & complete your re-enrolment by Friday 4^th December 2021. 

For those students in year 2 and above who are interested in joining Strings for the first time, we encourage you to read the Strings Information Pack Available on the Artarmon Public School website under ‘Music Programs > Strings’ and register online through the MySchoolMusic Parent Portal: 

• https://portal.msmusic.com.au/artarmonmusic

Please register online by Sunday 5^th December 2021. 

2021 (Term 4) Calendar Dates:

Ensemble rehearsals times:             

Correspondence

If you are not receiving emails from the Strings Committee, you need to log into your parent portal and update your contact details immediately. A lot of information goes out via email that is not included in Newsflash.

If you have trouble logging into the parent portal, email your group coordinator or the strings convenor.

Please let your strings coordinator know if you have not received an email link to attend ensemble rehearsals for Training Strings, Junior Strings, Concert Strings, Senior Strings via Zoom run by Mr Mansukhani. Please check that these invites are not in your spam/junk/promotions folder.

If your child is sick and/or unable to attend a rehearsal, please notify your corresponding Strings Coordinator.

Informative videos to help with string instruments.

If your instrument is out of tune, do not forget to have a look at these informative videos to help with string instruments. These videos will assist with how to tune and take care of the violin. These have been most helpful to ensure the violin is in tune during practice. Please watch with your child. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOP1ht4mHt0bLr-boSTZ9ig/featured

Volunteers needed.

We still need to fill the following volunteer roles to assist with Strings in 2022:

• STRINGS CO-CONVENOR:  Assists Convenor with insurances, instrument purchases, newsflash writeups, replies to email queries, updates MSM portal, event planning, liaises with Strings committee, uniform shop, school, and Mr Mansukhani. Takes over the reins of Convenor for a minimum 2-year term. Requires work in your own home.  Approximately 2 hours a week.

Bunnings BBQ Fundraiser Success

We had so much fun organising and running the Bunnings BBQ Fundraiser last Sunday. We raised $1633.00 for our school. Thank you to everyone who helped including those volunteers who put in extra time and energy on the day and those volunteers before and after the event.

Check out these photos ——> https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0qGZYbYHGZPcqh

Want to raise funds for our school and children? Sign up here to volunteer at our Election Day Cake/Bake Stall and/or Brekky/Sausage Sizzle BBQ (THIS SATURDAY)

* Cake / Bake Stall Signup here —> https://signup.zone/jHg4LYzFvNzXWAeNZ We are still looking for volunteers to hand out cake boxes this week.

* Brekky and all day BBQ signup here —> https://signup.zone/iugSw6Ajds2WYJc6h Click on the morning and afternoon tabs at the top of the page to see available volunteer time-slots

---------------