What is the largest organization on campus? What group is comprised of all grade levels? What organization promotes musicianship, school spirit, community outreach, and a lifetime of fun? If you said band then you are correct!!! The award-winning Maplewood Middle School Band Program is a musical organization that is based on pride, excellence in achievement and camaraderie. It is a launching pad for hundreds of future musicians and music advocates. It also helps to provide a blueprint for building solid citizens in our community. Hard work, lots of fun and a sense of belonging are hallmarks of our program. Feel free to browse our band website at http://maplewood.cpsb.org/Faculty/teacherindexes/hsmithindex.htm, there you will find more information about the "Comet Band", including links for student resources, parent resources and a whole lot more. I believe music is essential to a student's education and I am excited to offer that experience to each and every student here at Maplewood Middle School. If you have any questions about the "Comet Band" please do not hesitate to contact me.
Thanks again for supporting your child's interest,
Huber "Mickey" Smith
Band Director/Faculty Sponsor
(337) 625-3457 middle school office
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Music Inspires Learning....... Music plays an important role in every child's development. Beginning at birth, music stimulates the brain and provides a platform for listening, language, and creativity. Research shows that children who play an instrument excel academically, including scoring higher on standardized test. Recent studies have shown that playing a musical instrument can measurably enhance children's development in the following ways: |
Intellectual Development
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Emotional Development
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Physical Development
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Social Interaction
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Band =
SELF-CONFIDENCE, Imagination, creativity, learning, inspiration, development, and most of all....... FUN!
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OUR STUDENTS HAVE BEEN VERY ACTIVE ON CAMPUS AND THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY!!!! |
Congratulations on a "Superior" performance at District Festival!!!
Maplewood Middle School band made history. For the first time in nearly 30 years the band received "Superior" ratings on stage and in sight-reading at this year's District V Band Festival. The band will now go on to perform at the State Band Festival which will be held this year at the Lake Charles Civic Center April 29th.
Congratulations on an "Excellent" performance at State Festival!!!
Maplewood Middle School band continues to make history. For the first time in nearly 30 years the band was invited to the Louisiana State Band Festival. There the band received "Excellent" ratings on stage and in sight-reading. Congratulations to all our band students.
Go "Comets"!
"Whale Done"!!! The following students were selected to represent Maplewood in the All-District Honor Bands:
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*Tyler Austin (1st Band All-District)
Sammi Hill (2nd Band All District)
Alex Odom (2nd Band All District)
Kalelb Womack (Honorable Mention)
These students were also named to the 5-Parish Concert Band. Congratulations again to some of Maplewood's finest.
*Tyler was named the 1st trumpet in the district for both concert and jazz bands.
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Maplewood School-University Partnership Our band students are excited about our School-University Partnership Our School-University Partnership (SUP) is an effort to connect our students with our local university's (McNeese State University) resources and instructors. |
| Our woodwind classes have been fortunate to have individual instruction from the faculty and staff from McNeese University. Our Flutes had the pleasure of learning technique from Dr. Judy Hand who is a professor at MSU. Clarinets had the opportunity to learn from Professor Jan F. Scott. She is also a professor at MSU were she teaches clarinet and double reeds. Our own Mr. Smith worked with the saxophones as well. Below you can see pictures from our many events.
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Our students that play trumpet had the opportunity to learn from Professor Dave Scott. He is the professor at McNeese State University. There he a member of the Department of Music were he teaches trumpet and many other classes.
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Give Back, Give Band!! From Pre-K to college, music provides opportunities for learning, communication and enjoyment. Our Band students recently performed for our Pre-K and 2nd grade elementary students. The performances were enjoyed by both the young audience members and aspiring musicians alike! Many of the elementary students expressed an interest in one day participating in band like the "big kids"!
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Band members spread Christmas cheer with their performance at this year's Christmas Concert!
Everyone in attendance enjoyed that added treat of having our 5th grade students perform on this year's Christmas concert. Below you can see Mr. Smith directing them as they play their recorders. They played songs such as theme from "The Nutcracker", the Beatles' hit "Twist and Shout" just to name a few. Great job 5th grade! We are very proud of you.
The MMS Band pays tribute to our country at the 2008 MMS Veterans' Day Program Our band was honored to perform at this year's Maplewood School Veterans' Day Program. The kids sounded and looked excellent, very impressive considering they only had a few weeks of practice after Hurricanes "Eduard" and "Gustav"! Below you can see that some of our band students served multiple roles in the program by performing, speaking and or presenting. Even our own Mr. Smith performed the Star-Spangled Banner on the alto saxophone. |
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Our band is............. GROWING! Welcome to our newest Comet Band Members!!!
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And more to come!!!
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