In This Issue
- Family Night Show TONIGHT
- St. George Trip Information
- New Uniform Fittings
- Clothing for New Uniforms
- Rose Parade Final Payment
- Making a Difference Service Competition
- SignUpGenius Summary
- Upcoming Events
- Upcoming Rehearsals
There are 63 days until the 2018 Rose Parade. Rose Parade fun fact of the week: The other bands that will be joining us in Pasadena for the 2018 Rose Parade are from Colorado; Alabama; California; Missouri; New Hampshire; Pennsylvania; Texas; Washington, DC; Massachusetts; Maryland; Canada; Panama; Australia; and Japan!
Family Night Show TONIGHT
Our family night show is TONIGHT (Monday, October 30) at 6:00 PM on the Westlake football field. This is our last performance before we head to the Red Rocks state and Bands of America regional competitions in St. George this weekend. This free performance is the perfect time to invite your family and friends to come watch our amazing show!
The band boosters will be providing hot chocolate. Families are invited to bring potluck “finger food” desserts (brownies, cookies, donuts, etc.) to share. We will not be providing plates or forks, so please make sure desserts are napkin friendly.
Come support our kids for all their hard work so far this season and enjoy an awesome evening free of charge. If you have any questions, please contact Charlotte Ducos (cdducos@gmail.com) or Becky Barney (beckybarney6@gmail.com).
We will be feeding the band students pizza between the afternoon rehearsal and the evening show.
St. George Trip Information
After the competition on Saturday night, students were given the itinerary for the St. George trip. A copy of the itinerary can be downloaded here.
Students were also given a behavior contract which must be signed by both the student and a parent. The signed behavior contract must be returned before the buses leave on Thursday morning. Please sign this and have your student turn it in as soon as possible.
New Uniform Fittings
We will be fitting students with their shakos (uniform hats) to wear for practice on Monday (TODAY) and Wednesday so they can get used to wearing them. Students, please arrive early to this afternoon’s rehearsal if possible. We would like to fit as many students as possible before rehearsal begins. Any parents who are available to help with fitting shakos this afternoon, please contact Charlotte Ducos (cdducos@gmail.com) for information. We could use several helpers so that we can complete this as quickly as possible.
We anticipate that we will receive the last pieces of our new uniforms this Wednesday, November 1. We have scheduled a uniform fitting immediately after Wednesday afternoon’s rehearsal and will need a large number of parent volunteers to help with the fittings. If you are available Wednesday evening and willing to help, please sign up at http://www.signupgenius.com/go/409094cafa82ba13-newuniform.
Clothing for New Uniforms
On Saturday night, students were given information about clothing to wear under their new uniforms. Please review this information so that your student is prepared for this weekend’s competitions.
The band has supplied a navy blue compression shirt for all students. Most students have already received this shirt. Those who have not received their shirt yet will receive them on Wednesday night. If your student has a shirt but requested a new size, they need to bring their shirt to exchange at the uniform fitting on Wednesday.
Students have been asked to wear a pair of dark-colored (navy or black), thin shorts under their uniform. Shorts should be dark so that bright color does not show through if a seam splits during a performance. Because they will be worn under the uniform pants, shorts should be thin rather than bulky or baggy so that they do not bulge or bunch up. Other than being dark and thin, the style does not matter. Students who received a pair of compression shorts in previous years should wear those. We do not have enough additional shorts for new students, so please simply follow the dark and thin guideline. If finding or purchasing a pair of shorts will be a hardship or prohibitive, please contact Charlotte Ducos at cdducos@gmail.com.
Please ensure that your student packs the following uniform items to take to St. George:
- Uniform shirt as described above
- Uniform shorts as described above
- Long black socks (send several pairs, we have 3 performances this weekend)
- Marching shoes
- Hair ties, hair spray, gel, etc. needed to pull hair up under their shako with no flyaways
Rose Parade Final Payment
The final tour payment for the Rose Parade tour is due on November 15. Bob Rogers Travel will send final invoices shortly and will draft payments on November 15.
As we mentioned in the July 31 email regarding tour payments, this final payment will be significantly larger than the previous payments. The total price of the tour is $1359. If you are current on payments, the remaining payment should be about $500. You can see your student’s outstanding balance by logging into the Bob Rogers Travel web site.
We have been hoping to offset a small portion of the tour cost for each student through booster fundraising. This year, the most significant expenses covered through fundraising have been part of the cost of the new uniforms and food expenses for competitions. After reviewing the booster funds, we have determined there is enough money to offset $75 of the cost for each student who is going on the tour. With 167 students participating, the booster fund contribution toward student costs is about $12,500. We will be sending this amount directly to the tour company, so your final invoice will reflect this credit.
For those who would like more details on booster funds, we will provide a more detailed report of our fundraising and expenses at the next booster meeting. Thank you to all who supported our fundraisers this year!
Making a Difference Service Competition
The season is winding down and so is the service competition. So far, the brass section is ahead with woodwinds trailing close behind. Drumline and pit (including drum majors) are close behind, with color guard in the rear. Don’t forget, the winning section gets an ice cream party in January! There is still time to pull ahead! We have two service events left.
The first event is Lifting Hands International. We will be gathering hygiene and school kits for refugee camps in Jordan and Lebanon. The donations need to be exactly the items listed (but you can donate a package of something). Sizes don’t matter, except NO travel sizes will be accepted. All items need to be new. You are welcome to donate individual items or to donate a complete kit in a gallon ziplock bag. Points will be per item donated. Be sure to fill out the SignUpGenius (coming later in the week) to get credit. You can ask friends, neighbors, and extended family for donations. We will be collecting items today through November 21st. Please put all donated items in the specified bins in the band room.
Hygiene kits contain two bars of soap, one shampoo, one comb, one toothbrush, one toothpaste (must not expire for at least one year), one spray deodorant, and one wash cloth.
School kits contain three pencils (please donate a closed package of unsharpened pencils—it can have fewer than or more than three pencils), one pencil sharpener, one eraser, one box of crayons, one plain notebook, and one glue stick.
The second service event is the Festival of Trees. We will be decorating our small tree and putting our Lifting Hands International kits together, immediately following the band practice on Tuesday, November 21. We will begin at 5:00 PM in the band room. Please stay after rehearsal to help with these service events. There will be a sign up sheet at that time to sign your name to so that your section gets counted in the contest.
Also, the Festival of Trees committee has asked if our band would pass out their flyers to the community. Please take as many flyers and bookmarks as you can to put in business and public building windows and counter tops, with permission first of course. This part is not for points. The flyers will be next to the bins.
Thanks to all you students and parents who have given so much time to serve our community and world through the service events this band season. You have blessed many lives and you are truly making a difference!
SignUpGenius Summary
- Uniform fitting help (Wednesday, November 1)
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/409094cafa82ba13-newuniform
Upcoming Events
- October 30 – 6:00 PM – Marching band family night show
- November 1 – 6:00 PM – Uniform fitting
- November 2–5 – St. George trip (Red Rocks State Championship and BOA Regionals)
- November 10 – All-state audition deadline
Upcoming Rehearsals
- October 30 – 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM – Marching band rehearsal
- October 31 – 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM – Percussion sectional
- November 1 – 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM – Marching band rehearsal
- November 8 – 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM – Rose parade rehearsal
You are receiving this email because of your association with the Westlake High School band program. If you no longer have a student at Westlake or wish to be removed from the mailing list, contact us at thunderbandnews@gmail.com or reply to this message to be removed from the mailing list.