Information for the 2023-2024 School Year!!
Welcome back to school! The directors all hope that you have had a wonderful summer break. We are looking forward to getting started on August 3. We hope that you all are ready, too!
Included in this memo will be info regarding dates, fees, and materials that will be needed for the upcoming school year. It will be split up by grade level.
Band Website/Social Media
This will be the most important piece of information that you will see on this memo.
All parents and students will need to visit our band website:
This is our one stop shop for everything concerning the Muscle Shoals Band Programs.
- Once you visit our website and look over the page, please locate the “Subscribe to Our Email List” button. Please click it.
- Enter your email address and select “MSMS Band”
- Click the word in red “Subscribe”
- Check your email for confirmation that you are now receiving emails from www.msband.org (you may need to check your spam folder as well)
Information will be posted periodically on this website concerning your child. If you have subscribed to the website, you will receive an email notification each time a new post has been made.
NEXT IMPORTANT PART!
We will need each parent of each child to fill out the medical form on the band website. This is different from the school’s medical form. You can locate the medical form by going to www.msband.org, hover over “Resources”, and then click “Medical Form” from the drop down menu. You should be taken to a Google Form to fill out for the 2023-2024 school year. This is just for band, this is not for the school or the school nurse. That form will be separate.
There is also a Muscle Shoals Middle School Band Facebook page. If you would like to join that page, just search on Facebook and ask to become a member. We will review each request before approving it. When posts are made on www.msband.org, I will also post a link to the post on our Muscle Shoals Middle School Band Facebook page.
It will be rare that we send home information on a piece of paper. Please check the website, Facebook page, and your email for the majority of the information you will need regarding your child in the band program.
Band Fees
7th and 8th grade – $100
6th grade – $75
The easiest way to pay these fees is through My School Bucks. The app has been updated for band fees and is now ready for you to use!
*If your child plays or will play a SCHOOL OWNED instrument (baritones, tubas, french horn, tenor saxophone, bass clarinet, or percussion), there is an instrument rental fee of $50. If you are renting an instrument from Counts Bros or Alabama Music, you do not need to pay this fee. Percussion students will pay this fee because they will be using many of the school owned percussion instruments in addition to their personal drum kit. This is only for those students who will be renting school owned instruments that are kept here at school.
All of these fees can be paid online by going to www.msband.org. Click on “Payments”. You should see the options for middle school band. We ask that these fees be paid by September 29, 2023. If you are unable to access My School Bucks through www.msband.org, you can use the My School Bucks App.
Performance Schedule
Let’s begin with the band schedule (which is attached). We have many events planned for the bands at MSMS this year. Please look over the attached schedule so you won’t miss out on anything! Events that are in BOLD are for all middle school grade levels (6th, 7th, and 8th). These will be our three concert dates where each group will be performing:
November 7, December 7, and May 9
Student attendance for these concerts is required. Please make all preparations that you can to get your child to these concerts! These concerts will all take place in the auditorium at Muscle Shoals High School.
MSMS Pep Band
We have 3 MSMS Football home games this year. Our 7th and 8th grade band members will be performing at those games. These performances are required for your 7th and/or 8th grade child. We will be working on music for these games as soon as we start back to school as our first game is August 31. The other two games will be October 3 and October 10. The 8th graders will also participate in the Homecoming parade on October 13.
Materials Needed
7th Grade AND 8th Grade
- Lyre and flip folder for their specific instrument. These can be purchased at Alabama Music in Florence. (Tubas will only need a flip folder. Percussion will not need a lyre and flip folder)
- Essential Elements for Band Books 1 and 2 (for their instrument)
- Valve Oil (trumpets, baritones, and tubas)
- Slide Oil (trombones)
- Cork Grease (saxophones and clarinets)
- Reeds (saxophones and clarinets only) Each student will need multiple reeds at the start of school. We like to see them with at least 3, and have them rotate each reed every day. Juno, Rico, or Vandoren brands are the ones we would like for the kids to have.
6th Grade
- Essential Elements for Band Book 1 (for their instrument)
- Valve Oil (trumpets, baritones, and tubas)
- Slide Oil (trombones)
- Cork Grease (saxophones and clarinets)
- Reeds (saxophones and clarinets only) Each student will need multiple reeds at the start of school. We like to see them with at least 3, and have them rotate each reed every day. Juno, Rico, or Vandoren brands are the ones we would like for the kids to have.
All of these items can be picked up at Alabama Music in Florence or Counts Bros. Music in Muscle Shoals.
Concert Attire
7th and 8th Grade
Here’s what we would like for the kids to wear for their performances this year.
Boys – black dress pants, black dress shoes, black belt, and a white, long sleeved button down dress shirt.
Girls – (3 options)
#1 (this is preferred) – A long black dress that looks similar to this (please click the link or copy and paste) and black closed toe dress shoes with low heels:
Dresses must have sleeves and a back.
#2 – An all black pant suit (black pants, black blouse with sleeves and a back, black closed toe dress shoes with low heels)
#3 – black dress pants, black dress shoes, black belt, and a white, long sleeved button down dress shirt.
Parents, let’s try to have these items for the band kids by October 23, if at all possible.
Fundraising
We will have our Fall Fundraiser kickoff on August 21. Each band member (6th through 8th), will receive a packet of information concerning our fundraiser that day. We will be asking the kids to sell a certain amount of items per family. We haven’t yet determined the number of items per family but we will pass that on to you as soon as we can. If you choose to not participate in the fundraiser, we would kindly ask that you pay our “Fair Share” fee of $50. That payment can be made on the band website, www.msband.org, by clicking on the “Payment” button, selecting the “Band” tab, and choosing the “Fair Share” option. We would love for you and your child to participate in this fundraiser. There are incentives for the kids to sell items. We went with a new program of prizes last year that included gift cards, a really cool MSMS Band Nike hoodie, as well as cash awards for top sellers!
Band T-Shirts
Each child, 6th grade through 8th grade, will receive a MSMS Band T-Shirt. We will be collecting the kids shirt sizes when they start coming to class on August 3. These shirts will be Adult Sizes. Please let your child know their Adult T-Shirt size so we can notate that on our order form.
Lockers
Each band member will be assigned a locker. There is no charge for a band locker. Each morning, the band room will be open by 7:15 a.m. for kids to come and drop their instruments off before heading to class. The mornings are also a great time for kids to practice on their instruments before heading to their 1st period class.
The band room will also be open after school each day until approximately 3:15 p.m. Once the bell rings at 3:00 p.m., students may come down to the band room and pick up their instrument to take it home to practice. It will be locked each day by 3:15 p.m.
That’s all for now!
Seay everyone in the morning!
