February 14, 2008

Dear Parents of Band Students,

Every year at this time, I get questions about how band can fit into the 9^th grade schedule with all of the other requirements and electives available to students.  I wanted to share with you how this is possible.  I would encourage that your child comes up with a 4-year plan as they get ready for 9^th grade.  Have them think ahead about what type of classes they would like to take in high school.

On the back of this letter, I have included a year-by-year schedule of classes.  The required courses are shaded.  The other requirement that colleges generally ask for is two years of foreign language.  So this is included on the schedule.  Notice students can take band all the way through senior year, and there is still room to take additional electives.

Keep in mind, in 9^th grade the students are on a 7-period day.  5 of those periods are required courses.  In 10^th through 12^th grade, the students are on a 4-block period day.  This means that the students take 4 classes per semester.  Each one lasts 90 minutes a day.  One semester block counts as an entire year (since it’s the equivalent of taking a 45-minute course for an entire year). 

Here are some common misconceptions about scheduling band that I would like to make clear. 

1)       Students don’t have to take every class they ever dreamed of taking in 9^th grade. Notice how much elective space is available in 11^th and 12 grade.

2)       Foreign Language is not required in 9^th grade.  Most colleges require 2 years of a foreign language.  Students can wait until high school and take 2 semesters of a language to fulfill this requirement (since 1 semester counts as 1 year with the block schedule).  The advantage of taking a foreign language in 9^th grade is if a student wants to take up to Spanish 4 or 5 (or whatever the language is).  If you’re still torn between what to take, choose band and the foreign language as your two electives in 9^th grade.

3)       Driver’s Education can be taken outside of school through community programs.  Sometimes these programs can be cheaper.  The biggest plus of not taking it during the school day is it doesn’t take the place of an elective (such as band or a foreign language).  You can take both band and Driver’s Ed if you wish.  You will also still have room for three quarter electives as well.

4)       In my experience, an overwhelming majority of students who say they’re not going to take band in 9^th grade and rejoin in 10^th grade, never return to band.

Keep in mind the variety of activities the members of the high school bands get to do:  award-winning jazz band, marching band, award-winning pep band, pit orchestra, trips around Minnesota, tours to Europe and of course playing challenging music and building friendships that will last a lifetime.  Many colleges also offer students music scholarships to play in their bands, even if they don’t become music majors.  Music also looks impressive on high school transcripts when applying for colleges.  Finally, students in music tend to have higher grades in their other courses.  Please call me at 556-7459 if you have any questions about registration.  I do not want your child to drop band because he/she feels it won’t fit in the schedule.  Thank you!

Musically,

Chaska Middle School Music Home