Three BVSD High School Marching Bands Finish in State Marching Band Finals

Marching bands from all over Colorado each year participate in the Colorado Bandmasters Association regional and state marching band competitions.  The culminating even is the state marching band finals.  In order to make the final competition, marching bands have to score in the top of their class at the regional competition and the state preliminary competition.  Regardless of your "place" in the finals, when a band "makes the finals," they are among the elite marching bands in the state.  In order to score well enough to make the finals, marching bands must play and march exceptionally well.  Our BVSD marching band finalists are:

• Class 3A - Centaurus High School finished 5th in the state competition, Pam Mullen, director
• Class 4A - Monarch High School finished 6th in the state competition, Kent Jones, director
• Class 5A - Fairview High School finished 4th in the state competition, Travis Keller, director

Groups to Perform at Colorado Music Educators Conference

The select choir from Louisville Middle School, Enchantment, the select Fairview women's choir, and the 5th grade choir from Douglass Elementary School have been selected to perform at the Colorado Music Educators Convention in January, 2007.  It is an honor to be selected to play at the convention as there is a very competitive audition process.  The Louisville Middle School Choir is directed by Emily Martin, The Fairview select women's choir is directed by Janice Vlachos, and the Douglass Elementary Choir is directed by Tula Roberge.  Hundreds of Colorado music educators from all over the state attend the CMEA convention and this is an excellent opportunity for students to perform for a prestigous audience.  Last year, the Boulder High School Chamber Orchestra, the Fairview High School Classic Knights Orchestra, the Bear Creek Spotlights, and the Fairview Festival Choir performed at the CMEA Convention.

Music Students Perform Well on the District Music Assessments

In music, the key standards selected for assessment are “sing,” “play,” and “read” for elementary and “sing/play” and “read/notate” for secondary.  A separate score for each of these standards is published.  Assessment scores range from 1 to 4, not proficient to advanced.  Students in grades 4, 8, and 11 are assessed.  In order to assess those students who have had a significant experience in music in grades 8 and 11, only students who had two consecutive years of music instruction are assessed.  The music assessment has a performance component for all grade levels.  In addition, there are aural and visual identification tasks for elementary students and a written portion consisting of analyses and music notation for secondary students. 

Art Students Perform Well on the District Visual Arts Assessments

At grades 4 and 6, the Visual Arts Assessment is a paper and pencil test which includes embedded drawing tasks.  4th and 7th grade students must demonstrate proficiency in the elements of art.  At the high school level, students complete a three page critique which requires them to analyze a piece of art for technique, style, meaning, social commentary, how the viewer interacts with the art, and the impact the piece has on the viewer.