- Mr. Pirzer thanked everyone for their support during all of marching band season. The results of the state championship were disappointing, but it is what is. The students were happy with their performance, as was he, and that’s what counts. Mr. Pirzer reviewed the judges’ scores (one, in particular) and indicated that he and some the some of the directors of the Alachua County bands have (or will be) preparing a response to the FMBC group to share their feedback – productively and professionally - on the process. It won’t change the result, however at least the communication will be made.
- Mr. Pirzer also thanked those of us who participated in last Friday’s playoff game. He heard all went well. If the football team wins the next game, finals will be on Saturday, 12/18, at 1pm in the Citrus bowl, and the school will pay for one charter bus of students to go as a pep band.
- Next Monday, 12/13, is the holiday concert. Students need to be here at 6:15 and concert starts at 7. Will do Scheherazade first, then short break to get set up for holiday band, and then 4 or 5 pieces. Should be done in less than an hour. If any parent has a desire to decorate the auditorium, please contact Mr. P.
- Next Tuesday (the day after our concert), Westwood Middle School concert will be held at GHS at 7pm.
- Cambridge candidates will be coming to shadow soon. When it gets closer, Mr. Pirzer would like to have parents call prospective students. There are many of them. Stay tuned for more info.
- We will not have a booster meeting in January.
- Over next 2 weeks, there will be sign-ups for solo and ensemble. The first week of 2011, All State will take place. We have a couple of participants. Last week, we had All County auditions. 11 or 12 GHS students tried out, 6 students made it. This was a disappointing turnout. Parents need to encourage more participation next year.
- We are very behind on fair share. Marching band students should be up to $425 paid in as of 11/30. We still have several students who haven’t paid anything yet. Fundraisers have not yielded a huge amount, and as is the case most years, the same people seem to participate in all of them. We talked as a group about strategies to encourage fair share payments. Going forward, may have a commitment letter to include parent and student signature. Also, anyone who plans on doing indoor percussion must be fully up-to-date, including the indoor percussion fee. The band is going to need to order some new marching jackets at $250 each and we do not have the money at this point. Mr. Pirzer asked that we email suggestions to him the fair share topic. Also, need to tap into alumni group for fundraising. Mr. Pirzer will get the list. We need a small group to spearhead the alumni focus.
Treasurers Report – Suzanne Clark
- As per the previous bullet points, we don’t have much money in the bank (if you are interested in knowing the amount, feel free to check with Suzanne), and we still need to pay for the wreath invoice, as well as many leftover expenses from Marching season. Staff expenses will now drop significantly with the end of Marching season, which is good news.
- We need Fair Share $$ in order to be able to pay bills through the end of the year.
- Wreaths arrived today. 20 students participated. There are a few extras that are for sale through Mr. Pirzer.
- Ornaments to be sold at the holiday concert are currently in process of being made (out of Scheherazade music).
- We are still looking for donations for gift baskets, which will be auctioned off at the concert. Need items for a spa basket, tool basket, home improvement basket, and pet basket. Contact Laura Netardus with questions (email address on blog), or just bring the items into the band room.
Volunteer Coordinator – Mike Grantham
- Now that Marching Season is over, Mike indicated he had nothing to add (that Mr. Pirzer didn’t already say). He did say to let him know what volunteer needs exist for indoor and he would help out in any way he could.
Uniforms – Adela Van Antwerp
- We will use uniforms for holiday concert as well as the football championships (if they take place. Won’t do anything with uniforms (as far as cleaning goes) until we know what is going on schedule-wise. Once we know the season is truly over, will send pants home to wash with parents (like we usually do), and jackets will be dry cleaned.
- Mr. Pirzer reminded us that all boys and concert band girls must have black dress pants for concert season. All students must have a tuxedo shirt. Please get these items prior to Monday’s concert. Symphonic band girls are provided with long black skirts.
Next meeting is Monday, February 7th
Meeting adjourned 8:05pm.
