Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Saturday 9/24/11

Our first contest is this weekend. Actually, it is two performances. The first will be the WTSBOA Marching Festival. This will not be a contest, but a ratings festival. This means we will not receive 1st, 2nd, etc. Instead we will receive a rating of I if we are superior, II if we are excellent, III if we are good, IV if we are poor. The second will be the Liberty Invitational. This will be a contest. There will be 6 bands in our class, and 4 in our division. A class is made up of bands close to the same size, and they usually give awards for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place band in a class. A division is made up of 2 or more classes. They usually give awards for 1st and 2nd place percussion, guard and field commander in division. Then they give an overall grand champion in a division. With 6 bands in our class and 10 in our division, we will have to perform at our best to receive a trophy.
1) Report time is 9:15 for guard 10:15 for band. We will depart SGCHS at 10:45. WTSBOA performance time is 12:45 pm. Performance time for Liberty Invitational is 6:25 pm. We will be arriving back to SGC around 10:30 pm.
2) I have a few parents signed up to chaperone and help with pit crew/props. It would be great to have 4 or 5 more. The people who travel with the band will get in for free. All others will have to pay the gate fee to get in and watch the events.
3) We will be cooking hot dogs after the first performance for the students to eat lunch. They will need to eat supper in the concessions area in the stadium. We will need a few things to go with this lunch, and I want the kids to help provide some of the food. I will need all woodwind instrument players to help bring hot dog buns and some fruit (bananas, apples) . All brass players are responsible for Chips and Little Debbie dessert cakes. Percussion need to bring some type of drinks (water, cokes, gatorades) Guard need to bring paper plates, napkins, and condiments.
4) Uniform reminders: No jewelry, no make-up, hair needs to be tucked into the hat. We will change out of our uniforms between performances, so they need to bring (or wear) a change of clothes to wear while watching other bands. They may need a jacket that evening.
5) The chaperones job during the competition is to keep an eye out and make sure that no student is behaving improperly, or walking around by themselves. They have been instructed not to travel anywhere alone.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Milan Game Video

Here is the link to the video for the Milan Game Halftime Performance

Sunday, September 11, 2011

The Milan EVENT

So this Milan game is going to be a big night for many reasons: 1) It's 8th grade night. They will join us for the National Anthem and pep songs. I think they will be pumped for band after this experience! 2) We are doing concessions! I need as many parents there as I can get. All we do is show up, throw the burgers on the grill, and sell the food. We do not have to buy the food or plan in any way. I just need people to man the stations. It will take about 10-12 parents (a lot at the main concession, and at least two at the drinks-only Pepsi trailer they are bringing in for this game). My goal is to have about 24 parents sign up - that way we can switch out between halves. I realize this means some of you will not get to see the field show, but there will be plenty of shows later (and they will be cleaned up by then). I will have one parent recording the show from the pressbox, and I will put that on youtube or the website ASAP so that you can see it. Besides, a lot of bands have to do concessions at all the game, including buying the food and preparing everything, so this isn't really that bad. 3) I still need 4 parents to sell pom-poms, 2 at each gate. I have ordered orange pom poms that we will sell with the blue ones this Friday night 4) We will be doing the full show with props Friday night. I will need 8-10 parents to help carry them on and off the field ( I will also accept little brothers and sisters and friends, etc.) For this reason, I am changing Thursday's rehearsal to a night rehearsal from 6-8 pm. We will not have an after-school rehearsal from 3:15 to 5:15, we will only have the one that night. We need this so that the parents who plan on helping with the props can know what to do. We will not have another performance before the first contest since next week is the bye week for the football team, so I want to go ahead and get the logistics as organized as possible for this performance. As you can see, I am going to need everybody and then some. I appreciate all the work that you are putting in this year, as we continue to step it up a notch as a school and as a band!

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

9/7 Announcements

1) We are wearing uniforms this weekend. I will need all students to wear the Band T-shirt underneath, and they need to make sure they are wearing Black Socks. Also remind them that during the 3rd quarter they are only allowed to eat food with no condiments and only drink water or Sprite/Sierra Mist. This keeps stains off of the uniforms.

2) I will need a couple of parents to get here a few minutes earlier (5:15 pm )on Friday to help pass out and inspect uniforms. I had a couple of parents do this last year, and if you want to do it again, just let me know since you know the procedure already.

3) Remember if you signed up as a chaperone or pit crew member for this Friday's game. If you can't remember, I will tell you, or if you do want to be a chaperone, let me know.

4) New York trip deposits are due tomorrow. If you have forgotten, it is ok if they are a couple of days late. I will send in the fundraising money from the Butter Braids last year. If you are not sure how much your student has in their account from that fundraiser, I can let you know.

5) I need the BBQ money in by this Friday. Also, I will need a lot of coolers by next week so that we can store the chicken and ribs in ice after we buy them.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Announcements

1) Booster meeting this Thursday, September 1 at 6:30. I will have sign up sheets for chaperones and pit crew help for all the games and contests. We will need lots of help moving props and equipment as we add more songs to the performance. We will also be talking about different fundraisers in the coming months.

2) All West music is available for students who want to get a head start. The recordings are now also on the website.

3) Try to sell as many chicken halves and ribs by Friday, September 9. We will need to start getting the tickets turned in by then to get a count on how much we need to cook.

4) Report time this Friday will be 6:30 pm. Due to the high heat and other factors, we will not be wearing uniforms yet. We will definitely be wearing them for the Milan game, though.

Monday, August 22, 2011

Drumline Tuneup day

For Percussion members (Drumline and Front Ensemble both)

For Drumline and Front Ensemble students: The UTM Drumline Tuneup day this Saturday, Aug 27 has been on your calender, but without specifics. I have finally received the schedule from UTM. We are one of 8 schools that were chosen to participate in this, so I hope that everyone can still make it.

Our time is going to be 9 in the morning. We will have to leave SGCHS by 7:45 that morning, and will be leaving UTM at 1:15, which means we will get back here at 2:15. A full itinerary will be available tomorrow when I can get it typed up.

At this event, we will be taking all of the drumline instruments, but not the front ensemble instruments (they will be provided by UTM). You will get to work with the UTM Drumline, Julie Hill, and Julie Davila - a renowned percussionist.

You will only need to bring money for lunch. I will, however, need 3 or 4 parents to help drive and carry the students and drumline instruments.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Fundraiser

Today during class, I am passing out information for a fundraiser that we will start immediately.

V. Jones is a Mary Kay representative and has offered to let us sell out of her catalog to raise money for the New York trip. Each student will receive a catalog and instructions on how to collect/turn in money. Each product will have a 40% profit margin, and on this particular fundraiser, all of that profit will go toward that student's New York trip account. That means if a student sell $200 worth of Mary Kay items, $80 will go toward their account.

They have from now until a month before the trip (the trip is in April) to sell these items. They will turn the money into me the 15th of each month.

I am preparing our Barbecue fundraiser right now and will pass out the info on that next week.