Past projects 5
Clean Instruments Keep Us Healthy
Funded Jun 23, 2020First, Thank YOU for your help and assistance in previous years. Without your help, the Band Students at KIPP Generations Collegiate High School would not have as many great opportunities or supplies to aid in their musical and education journey.
Second, due to the great advantage of every student having their own personal bottle of mouthpiece sanitizer, we were able to drastically reduce the spread and recurrence of COVID and other diseases in our Band classroom for several years.
Thank you again for your continued support and all you do to ensure our students have ample opportunities and great life experiences. Be on the lookout for our next project!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Sanford
Band- On the Move!
Funded Dec 1, 2019Thank you so much for your donations for our BandWagon!
In the short time we were able to use it, we were able to load up percussion equipment and a drum set to transport across campus for several performances, including our Black History Month presentation.
We are looking forward to using it in for future football games, soccer games, and basketball games to transport equipment safely and securely. What used to take many students carrying one item each plus their own instrument has now become safer by loading it on our giant BandWagon and having one or two students transport the equipment.
Thank you again for all your help!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Sanford
Environmentally Friendly Marching Band Hydration in the Texas Heat
Funded Aug 14, 2019This was a fun project to see come to life! When we first received the water bottles, the students were really excited to have a great resource to stay hydrated all day and during marching band rehearsals. The students continuously keep their bottles filled, and I see them carrying the bottles to classes to maintain the proper levels needed to be more healthy.
Most recently, we have performed at a home football game and the Fiestas Patrias parade in Downtown Houston. Our band students were able to attach some clips to the bottles and keep them on their belt during the parade. They have used the bottles continuously through football game performances and rehearsals in the 110 degree heat index.
Our next steps are to continue using the water bottles throughout the year. We have several more football game performances and local parades on our schedule, and it is an invaluable resource to be able to have that water bottle ready to go at any time. We will be investing next in a water cooler that we can use for refills during these performances and rehearsals.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Sanford
This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 4 other donors.Tiny Spaces Aren't For Bands
Funded Apr 4, 2019I would first like to apologize for posting this on the wrong donation project. This band has grown by 50% enrollment, which we were not quite prepared for, so the last two months have been a huge adjustment, both mentally and physically. I thank you for your patience in receiving these thank you packages.
Last semester when we received these sound panels, the students were very skeptical that it would make any impact. We immediately began recording some of our songs to see what type of impact it would actually have. The students began to realize these are also used in recording studios, and we could adjust different levels by rotating the band setup in different directions. The original intent was to reduce the amount of excess overlapping residual noises that are often produced by band instruments. The goal was justified and did indeed work rather well for the smaller class sizes we had last year.
The impact this year has been slightly less, not because of the product or intent, but because the advanced band classes doubled in size, and several beginner class sizes also increased. The sound panels worked really well for smaller class sizes, but for larger classes it is harder to change the set up in our small space. The benefits are still present, but not as much as our original intent.
We are now working on finding an adequate space that can promote our listening skills, not damage our ears, and use the same type of technology with the sound panels in a greater expanded use within a larger rehearsal space.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Sanford
Multicultural Music Education- Raising the Bar
Funded May 13, 2019Our students really benefit from the sound panels that we ordered last spring. Many students have mentioned it was easier to hear all the instruments playing at once during practice. Others said that the band does not sound as loud in the hallways and other classrooms in our building after the panels were installed.
They are definitely not sound proof, but they were never meant to be that. The number one priority was to cut down on echoing noise produced by the students when they played their instruments inside the classroom. The room is not well suited for band practice, especially with the volume these students can pump out. It is interesting how the sound panels are able to diffuse much of the echoing sound to enable us to hear how the instrument sounds blend together.
The students were completely baffled when they first saw the panels. They were very skeptical that it would do anything at all. Then a few in each class started to recognize the shape and the material, and were able to explain to other students about how they have seen these in music recording studios. We were able to also experiment with the panels in our own recordings to see how it would affect the recording quality. The results were mixed, dependent on the instrumentation of the class and the instrument parts. Overall, the overwhelming response was that we could definitely tell a positive difference.
Thank you to everyone that donated to this cause! We are able to fuse a few ideas about acoustics and science with music during the process.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Sanford
This classroom project was brought to life by Craig Newmark Philanthropies and 9 other donors.