Thursday, Jan 16 – No Sr Jazz or Jr Choir

Snowday

Considering the continued cold, snow and road conditions, along with the forecast for tonight and tomorrow morning, Ms. Caswell and I have decided to cancel tomorrow morning’s (Thursday, Jan 16th’s) Senior Jazz and Junior Choir rehearsals. Please check the SD35 website on Thursday morning regarding plans for the rest of the day.

Senior Jazz – I have already spoken with Brad Turner tonight and we will be rebooking our clinic. Please remember we still have the district festival with him as our clinician on the evening of Wednesday, January 29th at WGSS. 

Monday, Jan 13 – No Jr Choir or Sr Jazz due to road conditions

While the snow has stopped falling, neither of our neighbourhoods have been plowed and considering that the highway is currently closed at 248th, we are cancelling early morning classes today. Please check the SD35 website regarding plans for the rest of the day.

Senior Jazz – As we have the district festival quickly approaching and our workshop with Brad Turner Thursday, we will we will have a rehearsal Wednesday at Lunch in place of this morning. Please put it in your calendar now and spread the word.

Weather decisions for early morning classes

With the weather having finally turned to winter, a quick reminder around classes and snowfall. As the district doesn’t make the decision about closing schools until most people are on the road for our 6:45 rehearsals, I will make a decision regarding early morning rehearsals by 5:30am based upon what I see out our window and post to our website, Facebook, Instagram and via email.

Please assume rehearsals are running unless we post, but alway make safe decisions based upon your own circumstances. If you decide your/your child’s drive is unsafe due to the weather, as with any early-morning absence, please just email to let us know if you are keeping them home so we are aware and not worried they’ve had trouble on their way in.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate email and know that our priority, especially on these winter mornings, is always your child’s safety.

ESPRESSIVO is almost here!

If you’ve not seen the messages yet, below is information on tickets and message from the parents organizing this year’s ESPRESSIVO! On behalf of Ms. Caswell and myself, again, thank you to all the parents who have already gotten involved or made donations. You’re making a huge impact on the kids’ experiences so thank you so very much! We’re really excited to see everyone at ESPRESSIVO on December 4

(PS – Remember, doors and food trucks start serving at 5:00pm, show starts at 6:30 and music students only require tickets if you want them to set at the table with you when they’re not playing. ESPRESSIVO sells out every year, so don’t be disappointed – get your tickets soon!)

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Espressivo is only 1 weeks away! 

Espressivo is on Wednesday, Dec.4th and it is our biggest fundraising event of the year. It is a fantastic evening of seasonal music and dining presented by our incredible music department and dedicated parent volunteers. Tickets are on sale now on School Cash online viahttps://sd35.schoolcashonline.com/Fee/Details/18833/111/False/True

In addition to performances by our DW Poppy bands and choirs, the event also includes food trucks for dining at the concert, a silent auction, a 50/50 draw, complimentary desserts, and a balloon pop fundraiser. Preparations are well underway, but we are still looking for some help from our fantastic DW Poppy Music families. 

 

Here are some of the ways that you can get involved in Espressivo: 

 

1.  Contact Cathy Gropp (bercatnik@gmail.com) to see what volunteers are needed on the day/night of the event  

 

2.  Consider making a donation for our silent auction &/or approaching businesses you may have a connection with (see ideas below).

 

3.  Donate a gift card or 2 for our very popular balloon pop (if you plan to give a $20 card, please note that 4 cards with $5 amounts are preferable to a single card because it will give us more balloons to pop, a few higher priced gift cards are great too if you have other amounts lying around the house J)

 

Silent Auction Donation Ideas:

-event tickets (Canucks, concerts, etc) -winter sports/activities basket

-holiday/Christmas theme basket -rain/snow survival kit

-getaways -movie tickets and dinner gift card

-LEGO basket -gardening basket

-scratch ticket basket -bigger gift cards for dining, stores or services

-sports memorabilia -gourmet tea/coffee or chocolate basket

 

Tax receipts are available for the value of the items donated. Please include your name and contact information with your item. Donations can be mailed in, dropped off at the office or picked up as needed.

 

Proceeds from Espressivo go to support:

– integration of technology into the band and choir rooms

– growth of the department’s library of print music for band and choir

– additional music and resources for our elementary honour band program

– maintenance of our school instruments

– the purchase of additional instruments

– student opportunities to work with other professional musicians and educators

 

If you have any questions or would like to help at this year’s Espressivo, please contact Cathy atbercatnik@gmail.com , Jackie at godin.jackie@icloud.com or Laurel at laurelhorn@shaw.ca. Any and all help and donations are greatly appreciated and absolutely vital to the success of our event!

Fall Showcase Concerts Week is almost here!

As it’s now the waning days of October, we are in the final preparations for the two Fall Showcase Concerts. Juniors (8/9’s) are performing on Tuesday, November 5 and Seniors (10-12’s) are performing on Wednesday, November 6.

A “heads up” for grade 8 parents and reminders for returning families:

  • Students who have signed up for setup crews need to be in the band room right after school on their concert day at 2:30 and they will be dismissed as soon as they are done and our first concert of the year usually takes 45 minutes to 1 hour for setup. (Please note that all music students are required to do one setup per semester.)
  • Call for all musicians is 6:30pm. Students need to sign in on their class list in the band room as usual no later than 6:30pm, in uniform with all necessary materials for the concert. The show will start at 7:00pm and run times always vary – please stay for the show and support your child as they have worked very hard to prepare.
  • Uniform is “dress blacks” – black dress shoes, black dress pants, and black dress shirt. Juniors are encouraged to add red accents such as a tie. Seniors need to wear their Poppy Music Scarf or Tie along with their dress black (accent pieces will be distributed to 10’s in band on Friday).
  • As usual, all students are expected to help with cleanup after the concert. Once the dramnasium and band and choir rooms have been reassembled for morning rehearsal, we will post sign-out sheets and kids can be on their way.
  • Admission is by donation at the door and all proceeds go support your child’s music activities here at DW Poppy.

If you have any questions please send us an email and we will look forward to seeing you all either Tuesday or Wednesday evening.

Mr. Follett and Ms. Caswell