Thank you for considering band here at Stito:s!
Band 6 is alternate course for students to take for their Fine Arts block that is taught by their Classroom teachers. Student's do not miss any CORE time with their teachers and they do not miss out on anything fun like their regular Exploratory class like shop or foods. Band and Fine Arts happens every other day all school year long.
Students are assessed throughout each term using in class assessments like group playing tests and have a end of term concert in December, Feb-March, and June to showcase the amazing growth these students have over the course of the year. Students will also have a practice log that they must keep up on and each week turn in.
In Band 6 students will make a list of their top 3 choices out of Clarinet, Flute, Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Trumpet, French Horn, Trombone, Baritone, and Bass Guitar. Students in Band will have the option in January to audition for Percussion, and will be given the opportunity to switch instruments as well. We do an in class lottery draw for instruments together so please do not get your instruments early. I do encourage families to look up each instrument together so everyone has an understanding of size and sound quality.
Please let me know if you have any questions as I am happy to schedule a meeting, please contact me at brad_patrick@sd33.bc.ca.
Students in band 6 are required to provide their own instrument and accessories (reeds, valve oil, etc.) as well as have their own copies of Essential Elements for Band Bk 1 for their instrument, and Alfred's Essentials of Music Theory Bk 1. They may be purchased from the local music stores or online.
- Instrument Info, including rentals
The most exciting part of band is getting your instrument, my hope is this will make it easier for parents/guardians to navigate how to do this. I highly suggest renting from a reputable music store like Tapestry Music, King's Music, or Long and McQuade. They all have a slightly different system for rentals but they share 3 choices to choose from: Rent month-month, Rent for a school year (usually best deal), Purchase with Buy Back Guarantee. They can all be done online or in store, Tapestry Music and King's Music are my top choices because they always work closely with our schools and help families where able and both companies are BC family owned and operated.
You can sometimes find deals on used instruments through things like Facebook Marketplace but this comes with a warning. Only purchase reputable brands like Yamaha, Selmer, Bundy, Jupiter, Bach, Buffet. Even if these instruments need some repair they are worth it and can be fixed. Brands that are inexpensive on Amazon, like Glory, Btuty, StarQuest, Eastar etc. should be avoided at all costs. Their build quality is extremely low and the repair shops for instruments will refuse to work on them. If getting an instrument is proving to be a significant barrier please contact Mr. Patrick @ brad_patrick@sd33.bc.ca.
- Tapestry Music
Tapestry music is a proud BC family owned and operated business founded in White Rock. They offer competitive pricing for New and Used instruments on a Monthly Rental, School Year Rental (a one time payment rental for the school year-pay for 10 months, get 12 months of rental), and a buy back guarantee where you outright own the instrument and if your child decides band isn't for them they will buy it back from you minus what you would have paid for rent from purchase date to return date. Rental options also give you the option for additional accidental damage insurance should it be accidently dropped or damaged in any way. All rentals, books and services can be done at the convenience of your couch with their excellent online portal and customer service when you call the store.
Tapestry Music also has a fantastic repair shop that works quickly at getting your instruments back to you and provides a free loaner instrument.
Tapestry Music also provides a free delivery service to the school as well as will pick up from the school so you never have to actually go to the White Rock store.
Please check them out here: https://www.tapestrymusic.com/t-rentalprogram.aspx
- King's Music
King's Music is a proud BC family owned and operated business founded in Abbotsford. They offer competitive pricing for New and Used instruments on a Monthly Rental, School Year Rental (a one time payment rental for the school year-pay for 10 months, get 12 months of rental), and a buy back guarantee where you outright own the instrument and if your child decides band isn't for them they will buy it back from you minus what you would have paid for rent from purchase date to return date. Rental options also give you the option for additional accidental damage insurance should it be accidently dropped or damaged in any way. Rentals may be done online however you will need to go into the store to purchase the 2 required books listed above. You can also do the rental process in person in their Chilliwack store.
King's Music also has a Local repair shop that works quickly at getting your instruments back to you.
King's Music also offers free instrument delivery directly to the school.
Please check them out here: https://www.kingsmusic.ca/online-rent-to-own.htm
- Long & McQuade
Long and McQuade is another Canadian family owned music store. They offer competitive pricing for New and Used instruments on a Monthly Rental, School Year Rental (a one time payment rental for the school year-pay for 10 months, get 12 months of rental), and a buy back guarantee where you outright own the instrument and if your child decides band isn't for them they will buy it back from you minus what you would have paid for rent from purchase date to return date. Rental options also give you the option for additional accidental damage insurance should it be accidently dropped or damaged in any way. Rentals may be done online however you will need to go into the store to purchase the 2 required books listed above. You can also do the rental process in person in their Chilliwack store.
Long and McQuade has the largest stock of instruments as they have locations all over Canada this gives them the ability to sometimes come in a little cheaper than the others however the staff may not be as knowledgeable about some of the Band products as King's or Tapestry.
They also have a repair facility in Vancouver and instruments can be sent for repair and picked up at the Chilliwack Location. They often will exchange your instrument if it is needing repairs as it can take a bit to get in to and from the Vancouver shop.
Please check out their rental page here: https://www.long-mcquade.com/rentals/band/