Wow! This has been a busy year and I am a terrible blogger. :-) I need to blog more often. Well, this time I have great material for a blog. Lakeview got a grant from the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation. This foundation was founded by the composer of the music for the movie Mr. Holland's Opus, Michael Kamen.
We will be getting four clarinets, two trumpets, a brand new tenor sax, and a brand new bari sax. These instruments will be a big help to our program. I am excited that we will get to have these instruments in students' hands. To be honest, I am excited to try them out myself too. :-)
On Monday, November 17th a representative from the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation will be coming to observe the 6th grade band rehearsal and a few lessons. The sixth graders sound awesome so it will be great to show them off. There may even be members of the press on hand at our rehearsal to cover our grant award. That is exciting.
If there are any articles or air time for the band, I will be sure to post information about that either here in my blog or on the band website if I get the chance.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Thursday, August 21, 2008
The First Day of School
6th graders,
How exciting! The first day of school is here! It was great to see so many students coming to school with a smile on their face today. I love it when the enthusiasm is at its highest.
I just finished putting the sixth grade band folders together today and I think that we are in for a great year. There is some really fun music in those folders that I know you all will like. There is something for everyone.
Since we are starting a new year, I thought I would let you all know about this year of band. We have 61 kids signed up which, for me, is a new record in sixth grade! It is neat to see so many kids together having a great time.
Band starts on Monday so be ready for some fun kids.
-Mr. T
How exciting! The first day of school is here! It was great to see so many students coming to school with a smile on their face today. I love it when the enthusiasm is at its highest.
I just finished putting the sixth grade band folders together today and I think that we are in for a great year. There is some really fun music in those folders that I know you all will like. There is something for everyone.
Since we are starting a new year, I thought I would let you all know about this year of band. We have 61 kids signed up which, for me, is a new record in sixth grade! It is neat to see so many kids together having a great time.
Band starts on Monday so be ready for some fun kids.
-Mr. T
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Welcome Back!!!
Hello gang,
The school year is upon us. I hope you are all in for a great year. We have a lot of fun ahead and I know that I can't wait to get underway. Good luck with all of the first days and I hope that you have an easy time transitioning back into your school year schedule.
-Mr. T
The school year is upon us. I hope you are all in for a great year. We have a lot of fun ahead and I know that I can't wait to get underway. Good luck with all of the first days and I hope that you have an easy time transitioning back into your school year schedule.
-Mr. T
Friday, July 11, 2008
Information about Baby (Katie) Taylor
Hello again,
Two posts in one hour. That is definitely a record for me. I have had so many questions about Katie that I wanted to share a little bit with you all.
Katie is 4 and 1/2 months old and is starting to really enjoy exploring her world. She currently is learning to scoot around on the floor (not yet crawling) and eating baby food. The baby food is an adventure. She likes to smile when she eats which makes the food come out all over her. This, of course, makes her smile even more. :-)
Katie's best friend is her dog, Maddie. The two are nearly inseparable most of the time. I posted a few pictures for you so that those of you haven't seen her can.
End of Summer Lessons/Band
Wow, what a summer! Last night was our performance of the summer jazz band, youth band, and junior band. The concert went very well. It was really hot, but the music was excellent.
Jazz Band- I was proud of the work that you guys did this summer. We went a long way with some very tough music. The solos were well played. It was neat to see so many kids in the jazz band. I also appreciated the help that we got from the high schoolers and alums for the performance and in rehearsals.
Junior Band- You guys nailed that concert. It was really cool to see that so many of you decided to go ahead and play solos. After the concert, I had even more kids ask if we would do more soloing next year so that they could get a chance. I will absolutely try to find a way to make that happen. Many of the Municipal Band members heard our concert and said that you guys sounded great. I was also happy to see a lot of you all watch the Municipal Band concert, especially with as hot as it was last night.
High School Helpers- Thanks again for your help and support. It is great to see that so many of you care about helping out the younger students. You were indispensable this summer.
I hope that you all have a great ending to your summer and that you stay safe. See you in the fall.
-Mr. Taylor
Jazz Band- I was proud of the work that you guys did this summer. We went a long way with some very tough music. The solos were well played. It was neat to see so many kids in the jazz band. I also appreciated the help that we got from the high schoolers and alums for the performance and in rehearsals.
Junior Band- You guys nailed that concert. It was really cool to see that so many of you decided to go ahead and play solos. After the concert, I had even more kids ask if we would do more soloing next year so that they could get a chance. I will absolutely try to find a way to make that happen. Many of the Municipal Band members heard our concert and said that you guys sounded great. I was also happy to see a lot of you all watch the Municipal Band concert, especially with as hot as it was last night.
High School Helpers- Thanks again for your help and support. It is great to see that so many of you care about helping out the younger students. You were indispensable this summer.
I hope that you all have a great ending to your summer and that you stay safe. See you in the fall.
-Mr. Taylor
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
This Summer
Hello again everyone,
I just was thinking yesterday how amazing this summer of band has already been. We have accomplished so much already and we have only had three of the six weeks of summer lessons.
Almost ten of the 6th graders have crossed off scales for next year. In fact, Cassidy came in to one lesson and crossed off five scales in one sitting. Many of those who have crossed off scales, have crossed off more than one. Way to go! If you want to join in the fun, just let me know at your lesson and I will help you to cross off your first scale so that you can get going. I would like to see all of the sixth graders cross off their band scale (concert Bb) by the end of the summer if we can. Since we are entering a new year, there will be a new scale challenge to see who finishes first. The first one gets a king sized candy bar. All other students who finish will get a regular sized candy bar or a can of pop.
We also have had a number of kids finishing books this summer. Keep up the great work with that. Remember you get a lovely "I Love Band" pencil when you finish your book. Since chair placements for sixth grade band are based upon where you are in your book, you also are helping to improve the chair you sit in if you work really hard at crossing songs off. In many of our sections the top few players are going back and forth each week, so the competition is fierce.
I hope that you guys are having a lot of fun this summer. I know that I am. Now, don't forget to go outside and play.
-Mr. Taylor
I just was thinking yesterday how amazing this summer of band has already been. We have accomplished so much already and we have only had three of the six weeks of summer lessons.
Almost ten of the 6th graders have crossed off scales for next year. In fact, Cassidy came in to one lesson and crossed off five scales in one sitting. Many of those who have crossed off scales, have crossed off more than one. Way to go! If you want to join in the fun, just let me know at your lesson and I will help you to cross off your first scale so that you can get going. I would like to see all of the sixth graders cross off their band scale (concert Bb) by the end of the summer if we can. Since we are entering a new year, there will be a new scale challenge to see who finishes first. The first one gets a king sized candy bar. All other students who finish will get a regular sized candy bar or a can of pop.
We also have had a number of kids finishing books this summer. Keep up the great work with that. Remember you get a lovely "I Love Band" pencil when you finish your book. Since chair placements for sixth grade band are based upon where you are in your book, you also are helping to improve the chair you sit in if you work really hard at crossing songs off. In many of our sections the top few players are going back and forth each week, so the competition is fierce.
I hope that you guys are having a lot of fun this summer. I know that I am. Now, don't forget to go outside and play.
-Mr. Taylor
Monday, June 9, 2008
Excellent First Day of Summer Lessons
Hello gang,
Today was a great first day of summer lessons. I had a lot of really good lessons and an excellent rehearsal of the Summer Jazz Band. I hope that we are able to keep this moment up all summer. Jazz band people, I hope that you had fun with the music I picked. I am going to look for a rock song to add to the mix since there are so many shuffles. I guess I just have an ear for shuffles. :-)
There is no Junior band this week but next week we get to start with it and I can't wait. Anyone who would like to attend, but hasn't signed up would be more than welcomed to come. I love having a lot of people around for that sort of thing.
I look forward to the next couple of days of lessons and the first rehearsal of Youth band on Wednesday. It is always fun to see the new seventh graders with the eighth graders. I know that I will be proud when I see that. :-)
Have a great day and go outside and enjoy the nice weather (when we finally get it again)!
-Mr. Taylor
Today was a great first day of summer lessons. I had a lot of really good lessons and an excellent rehearsal of the Summer Jazz Band. I hope that we are able to keep this moment up all summer. Jazz band people, I hope that you had fun with the music I picked. I am going to look for a rock song to add to the mix since there are so many shuffles. I guess I just have an ear for shuffles. :-)
There is no Junior band this week but next week we get to start with it and I can't wait. Anyone who would like to attend, but hasn't signed up would be more than welcomed to come. I love having a lot of people around for that sort of thing.
I look forward to the next couple of days of lessons and the first rehearsal of Youth band on Wednesday. It is always fun to see the new seventh graders with the eighth graders. I know that I will be proud when I see that. :-)
Have a great day and go outside and enjoy the nice weather (when we finally get it again)!
-Mr. Taylor
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Municipal Band and Summer
Yesterday was the first municipal band practice of the new season and it was neat to see so many students there. Hopefully we can keep up the great participation. It is nice to get to play sax too so drummers please keep showing up. :-)
Well gang, summer is here and that means summer band and baseball, and softball, and camp, and vacation, and relatives visiting, and soccer, and the list goes on. While you are busy this summer, don't forget to get a little bit of practicing in each week. While it is hard to practice as regularly as you do during the school year, it is nice if you get some time in. It will help you to be better next year so that you can concentrate more on having fun in band rather than hoping that you get the right notes at the right time. :-)
I highly recommend practicing those scales. Since the scales start all over for a new year at Lakeview, there will be a new challenge for the first done in each level. If you would like to get the candy bar for being first, start working towards it now.
Have a happy summer! I will see many of you next week at lessons.
-Mr. Taylor
Well gang, summer is here and that means summer band and baseball, and softball, and camp, and vacation, and relatives visiting, and soccer, and the list goes on. While you are busy this summer, don't forget to get a little bit of practicing in each week. While it is hard to practice as regularly as you do during the school year, it is nice if you get some time in. It will help you to be better next year so that you can concentrate more on having fun in band rather than hoping that you get the right notes at the right time. :-)
I highly recommend practicing those scales. Since the scales start all over for a new year at Lakeview, there will be a new challenge for the first done in each level. If you would like to get the candy bar for being first, start working towards it now.
Have a happy summer! I will see many of you next week at lessons.
-Mr. Taylor
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
WOW!
We have reached over 300 hits on our new webpage since we bought the new domain a week ago. This is excellent. To put this in perspective a little bit, I will tell you that our biggest month before was almost 200 hits. I went back to check our information and realized just how big a week it has been for this website.
To continue with this success, I just ask that you check back periodically. Offer any suggestions for material that should be on the site in various pages, help me to check for quality control (i.e. did I type something incorrectly?) and sign the ole guestbook.
Thanks gang. Have a great day and an excellent summer!
To continue with this success, I just ask that you check back periodically. Offer any suggestions for material that should be on the site in various pages, help me to check for quality control (i.e. did I type something incorrectly?) and sign the ole guestbook.
Thanks gang. Have a great day and an excellent summer!
Thursday, May 22, 2008
New Website and End of the Year
Hello everyone,
I am extremely happy to be working on the new webpage. Since we are now being hosted under a different company our storage space is so much bigger. We can now include a lot of pictures and original content in our webpage. If you have some ideas that you would like to share with me to help me to improve the website, I would be happy to include them.
This school year has been an excellent one. Thank you to the band students who have worked so hard this year to make all of our performances so successful. I look forward to working with many of you this summer through the summer bands and lessons. We should be able to build on our success and have a great time.
Thank you sixth graders for a productive year. It has been a pleasure to teach you the last couple of years and I wish you the best of luck in the junior high. I know that you will be successful there.
Also, seniors good luck in the "real world." We will miss you dearly and hope that you come back to visit us often. I hope that many of you one day return to Centerville with children of your own to join the band. :-)
-Mr. Taylor
I am extremely happy to be working on the new webpage. Since we are now being hosted under a different company our storage space is so much bigger. We can now include a lot of pictures and original content in our webpage. If you have some ideas that you would like to share with me to help me to improve the website, I would be happy to include them.
This school year has been an excellent one. Thank you to the band students who have worked so hard this year to make all of our performances so successful. I look forward to working with many of you this summer through the summer bands and lessons. We should be able to build on our success and have a great time.
Thank you sixth graders for a productive year. It has been a pleasure to teach you the last couple of years and I wish you the best of luck in the junior high. I know that you will be successful there.
Also, seniors good luck in the "real world." We will miss you dearly and hope that you come back to visit us often. I hope that many of you one day return to Centerville with children of your own to join the band. :-)
-Mr. Taylor
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