Band Updates

Parents and Students,

I just wanted to pass along several bits of information that will be helpful over the next few weeks.

Come join us at our Football Game versus Citrus HS this Friday night at Citizen's Field (where we play all of our home games). We will be hosting a whole bunch of students from six different middle schools. The middle school students will play the National Anthem with us and then join us in the stands during the first half. I hope you will come sit in our parent section as we will be seating the MS parents in the same area and I am sure they will have plenty of questions to ask about high school band.

We will be performing at halftime for the Citrus Game.

NOTE: THIS IS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT FOR NEW BAND PARENTS:

Competition season is upon us. I will give the students the itinerary and special instructions for the Middleburg Competition on Monday. Ask your child for this information! Right now, we are scheduled to play at 1:30 for prelims and finals start at 7:15 PM so we will play sometime between 7:15 and 10:00 PM for Finals. We will not know what time we play for Finals until prelims are over. We hope you can be there and join the sea of purple as we take the field in competition. Admission is usually $10.00 for the whole day.

With competition season being so close, it is time to stock up on your GHS Band and Guard Swag. I have Band Parent Polo Shirts available in mens and ladies sizes ranging from small to 3XL. They are $25.00 each.

We also have the band hoodie sweat shirts available for $35.00.

Hats are $12.00

The student shirts and shorts are available for $10.00 each.

You can never have enough purple stuff, so come on in and stock up.

Be sure to join us at our next Booster meeting on Monday, October 10th at 7:00 PM. I will have plenty of information about the Middleburg Competition.

Albertsons Community Partner Challenge Grant

Dear GHS Band Families and Friends:

Because we support Albertsons through their Community Partners program, we have an exclusive chance to earn a $10,000 grant for our Band to purchase new instruments. We can only earn this grant with your help! Please follow the steps below to vote for our project:

BEGINNING OCTOBER 1 --

1. Go to albertsonscpchallenge.com and log in, by entering your email address.

2. If this is your first time to the site, you will be taken to the email verification page.

3. Once your email is verified, you can log in and vote using just your email.

4. Enter Charity Code # 0498 in the upper left hand corner, and click "go".

5. When you see the GHS Band & Guard Boosters entry, click on "VOTE."

You can vote up to five times per day from October 1st through October 15th.

Please spread the word to your family, friends, and co-workers by forwarding this email or printing it for them. Please also announce our grant challenge on your Facebook and Twitter. If you tweet about it, include our Community Partners Challenge Charity Code ( 0498 ) in your tweet and the Twitterverse will follow you and retweet it to Albertsons followers. If you post the challenge on Facebook, please click over to www.facebook.com/AlbertsonsMarket, click "Like" and tag Albertsons in your post so all of your FB friends can see our grant challenge. Include our Charity Code in your post so your friends can find our project and vote for it.

We will send reminders during the voting period -- the success of this grant challenge depends on getting as many people as possible to vote the maximum number of times each day. Thanks for your support!

GHS BAND & GUARD BOOSTERS FUNDRAISING COMMITTEE

Band Booster Minutes

Band Booster Meeting 9/12/11

Meeting Minutes

Meeting began at 7PM.

Approved minutes from prior meeting.

Band Director Update

• Please make sure students are bringing water/Gatorade/snacks on practice days. Practice was tough today, students were not prepared nutritionally.
• Thursday’s football game … Olive Garden is going to donate Thursday’s dinner – pasta and marinara sauce and breadsticks. Kids need to provide drinks … water/Gatorade. No carbonated beverages, please.
• Pep rally Thursday AM – game-day … students need to be here early.
• Thursday is going to be a long day. Please be prepared.
• Students are not allowed to have food or any non-watered beverages in the stands.
• The students get 3^rd quarter off to have food.
• Will get back to school sometime between 10:30pm and 10:45pm.
• Friday – off completely.
• This Wednesday (9/14) – practice is from 3pm to 6pm – not as stated in schedule. This is the only Wednesday practice we have this year.
• Tomorrow (Tuesday, 9/13) is open house. No need to come if you are at the band booster meeting. Will be in TA building if you want to come.
• After this Thursday’s game, next football game is Sept 30 – Eastside.
• October 7 – an additional football game. Added to calendar.
• Good job of having kids at practice thus far, however some students are getting sick. Please do what you need to do to keep them healthy.
• Parent Bus and Hotel for state (November 18/19). Not same hotel as last year. Staying at a Days Inn in Clearwater. Will go down on Friday, rehearse for a couple of hours at a high school. Form is for the bus for both days (40 seats available), and for hotel. Right now, just taking reservations for people who are taking the bus and staying over. $80 per person. Have about 20 rooms (double occupancy). If you want to room with someone specific, let Mr. Pirzer know.

Treasurer report – Suzanne Clark and Susie Hummel

Fair share -

· 18K+ has come in for Fair Share, but it is getting depleted quickly. Have not gotten all the money in from fundraisers yet. Cup fundraiser generated over $3K in cash. Another $75 in fair share due the end of this month … but if you want to pay early, that would be great.

· 2^nd trailer was paid for this summer.

Fundraising – Laura Netardus

Lots of fundraisers going on right now.

October 28 – Chicken dinner fundraiser. Looking for a volunteer (s) to head this up. Non school day. Kids will be practicing for Showcase. This is also the same day as the alumni event.

Wreath fundraiser – money and orders are due in Monday, 10/17. Have the traditional program ($25 per item) as well as the holiday gift program ($35 per item) this year. For the holiday gift program, you are able to order and have the order delivered directly to the recipients. This is different than last year. This makes the deadline earlier. At least $5 per item goes to the students’ fair share accounts. Delivery will take place week of December 2.

Pancake breakfast – this Saturday, 8am-10am. Volunteers need to be there at 7:15am. If your student is working, must wear band shirt and closed toe shoes. Can still use a few more student volunteers. Any checked-out, unreturned tickets will be charged to individual fair share account, so please be sure your student returns any unsold tickets to Mr. Pirzer. People can buy tickets at the door, as well, and there will be a tip jar. Tip jar is distributed amongst the students who work. Laura Netardus suggested buying a bunch of tickets and giving them to friends. They tend to leave good tips!

Gator Concessions – now MUST be 16 or older to be able to work it. 1^st game $832 sales, $54 in tips. $55 per person for each person who worked. Next game – total $797.50. $56 per person who worked. Will actually not divide up the money until the very end so it is fair for everyone. Should work out to no less than $50 per person per game. Games have gone great. Still have openings for this week’s game (and others, as well). If interested, contact Ruth. For this weekend’s game, all volunteers must be “in the system” by Thursday (9/15) – need full name and driver license (or SSN and GHS picture ID).

New possible fundraiser: popcorn bucket - $15 - $5 goes to student’s fair share. More to come on this one.

Volunteer Coordinator Report – Mike Grantham

24 people have volunteered for pit crew. Mike will send an email tomorrow (Tuesday) with specific instructions.

Needs

· A large van/suburban to take the uniforms back to GHS (after game half-time performance) with the uniforms.

· Servers for dinner on Thursday – parent/booster volunteers need to be there at 4:15pm.

Uniforms – Susie Hummel

Thanks to all who helped with uniform alterations. Still waiting for a few (that are being tailored) to come back … please return as soon as possible.

Other – Mr. Pirzer

• Oct 7^th game – hosting a middle school night. Middle school students will play national anthem on the field at pregame, and play in the stands, as well.
• Put together goodie bags for this game. (Ruthie Dean to lead this effort.)

• October 28^th game – GHS band and guard alumni – night before Showcase, and GHS homecoming. Check out Facebook Gainesville Marching Band Alum. Putting out a registration form to come out and play with the students at pregame. $20 – tshirt, chicken dinner, and admission to the game. If alumni need instruments, need to get to Mr. Pirzer to make a reservation.

• End of year trip – once you have paid off fair share, you can apply $ to this 3 day trip to Daytona Beach. This past year, cost was $120 per student. Will likely be similar this year.

Next meeting, Monday, October 10^th.

Meeting adjourned approximately 8:30pm.

Band News

Parents and Students,

We are finally getting close to our first performance of the year. Our first football game will be next Thursday, September 15th at Citizen's Field. Since we have a Thursday Football Game, our weekly schedule will be a little different.

• Monday, Sept 12: Full Band 3:00 to 5:00 PM
• Tuesday, Sept 13: Horns 3:00 to 5:00 PM and Pit/Battery/Guard 5:30 to 8:30 PM
• Wednesday, Sept 14: Full Band 3:00 to 6:00 PM. This is a slight adjustment from the calendar. We were scheduled 5:30 to 8:30, but have decided to rehearse earlier to avoid two late nights in a row.
• Thursday, Sept 15: Football Game, Itinerary will be posted on the website
• Friday, Sept 16: No rehearsal.

We are in need of volunteers to be on pit crew for the games and competitions. It is helpful if we have the same basic crew for each event. If you are interested, please email Mike Grantham at mgrantham@clayelectric.com.

Our first band booster meeting will happen this Monday, September 12th at 7:00 PM in the band room. I hope that you can make it for the meeting.

GHS Open House will be Tuesday, September 13th at 6:00 PM. All of my classes will meet in the TA Auditorium for Open House. The band room will be occupied by the pit that night, so come see me in the TA.

Pancake Ticket money and extra tickets are due on Tuesday. Please turn in everything to me here in the office.

Thanks and have a great weekend.

Bill

Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser

Students, Parents, and Boosters,

Reminder! The Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser at Gators Dockside will be held on September 17th.

• Breakfast is from 8-10am at Gator's Dockside-Plaza Royale Newberry Road.
• Volunteers need to be there from 7:15 - 10:30am.
• We need a total of 6 parent volunteers and about 8-10 kids, depending on the number of tickets sold. 3 of those parents need to commit to working in the kitchen (cooking).

Tickets for the pancake breakfast are now available for checkout. Tickets are $6 each and each student will check out groups of 10. Money for tickets sold/unsold tickets will need to be returned on September 13th so we can get an idea of how many were sold to let the restaurant know. PLEASE CHECK OUT SOME TICKETS IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY DONE SO!!! Also, we really, really, really need volunteers, so please consider doing so.

If anyone has any questions about the Pancake breakfast, please contact Sandra Reichert at 258-0365 (cell).

Band Updates - 1st Week of September 2011

Parents and Students,

I hope everyone has had a smooth and successful start to the new school year. Things are really starting to come together on the field as we prepare for our first performance.

A few quick reminders....

1. Please make sure your student is bringing water and sun block to our afternoon rehearsals. It looks like it is going to stay hot for the next few weeks.

2. Make sure they are eating lunch during the day. Some students have indicated to us that they have not eaten lunch for one reason or another and then they wilt on the field.

3. We have several fundraisers going on right now. Check below for details. Gators Dockside Pancake Breakfast Tickets are now available.

4. I just found out on Friday that we have another football game to go to. They switched the Citrus Game on October 7th to a Home Game.

Upcoming Dates of Interest

• · Friday, Sept 2: Cup Fundraiser Orders and Money Due
• · Tuesday, Sept 6: Yankee Candle Orders and Money Due
• · Monday, Sept 12: Band Booster Meeting @ 7:00 PM in the band room
• · Tuesday, Sept 13: GHS Open House
• · Tuesday, Sept 13: Gators Dockside Pancake Breakfast Money and Leftover Tickets Due
• · Wednesday, Sept 14: Scrip Gift Card Orders and Money Due
• · Thursday, Sept 15: Our First Football Game vs. Trinity (many details to come)
• · Saturday, Sept 17: All State Auditions at BHS
• · Saturday, Sept 17: Gators Dockside Pancake Breakfast
• · Friday, Sept 30: Football Game vs. Eastside

I look forward to seeing everyone at the Booster Meeting on the 12th.

Bill

Band Camp II - Beginning 8/6/11

Parents and Students,

Band Camp #2 starts this Saturday at 9:00 AM. Please plan to arrive by 8:45 AM so that we can get started at 9:00. I know that there is a Tropical Storm out there, but it looks like we will be good for Saturday. If the need arises to alter our plans, I will send out an email and we will place as many phone calls as we can. Remember, Camp happens rain or shine. If it rains, we move the fun inside.

For Saturday, students will need to provide their own lunch, dinner, snacks (From Carolyn: good snacks include pretzels, bananas, peanut butter crackers, Clif bars) and hydration. We will have water and snacks at the field, but make sure you have everything else. Also, bring plenty of sunblock, a hat, sun glasses and anything else you may need for the outdoors. Bring an entire change of clothes so you can get out of your sweaty clothes at lunch time.

Lunch will be held from 12:30 to 1:30 each day and dinner from 5:00 to 6:00.

On Friday, August 12th, we will be having a chicken bbq at our dinner break. You may pre-purchase a chicken dinner by using the flier attached to this email. Please return your order by Tuesday to Mrs. Hummel or Mrs. Clarke our band treasurers.

Band Camp fees can be paid in the morning or during dinner time. Our treasurers will be available to assist you.

The treasurers have asked if you are writing a check for fees, shoes, chicken dinners, bbq, etc. that you write separate checks for each item. All checks are to be made payable to the GHS Band Boosters.

Students, make sure that you eat a healthy breakfast and hydrate before you come to camp. (Note from Carolyn: Examples of good breakfast - bagel or 1/2 bagel with a thin layer of peanut butter, not cream cheese. Granola bar/Clif bars are very good. Something with Carbs and protein. Suggest you stay away from bacon (or anything high fat/greasy. No leftover pizza for breakfast!!), dairy (dry cereal is fine, lots of milk - not so good.)). You will get sick very quickly if you do not take care of yourself properly. Avoid any type of energy drinks!!! They will make you sick in a heart beat when you get out into the heat. (More from Carolyn: For those who like gatorade, suggest diluting half and half - water/gatorade - and having it cool but not ice cold. Also, no chugging. Small sips are best, even when you are really thirsty. No drinks with any kind of carbonation.)

I look forward to seeing everyone on Saturday,

Bill