Marching Band Scholarships — Lakota West families looking for assistance with their student’s marching band fees are encouraged to apply for grant consideration. Upbeat Club money is set aside each year from fundraisers and donations to cover 1/2 of the marching band fee assessed to students participating in the Lakota West Marching Band, including Color Guard.  This need based scholarship opportunity is for students in grades 9-12.  Families interested in this scholarship must submit an application per student to Sue Tanner at president@lakotawestbands.org. A limited number of scholarships are available. The deadline for consideration for the 2013 marching season is this Friday, May 24, 2013.  Please CLICK HERE for more info and to access the application.  *All applications must be submitted by the deadline date.

Need a graduation gift? – The Upbeat club will be at the final concerts (5/20 & 5/21) selling Macy’s spirit wear, uniform pillows, and other assorted items.  Stop by and shop and (re) register your Kroger card.  If you bought a uniform jacket in November you may pick up the pants we owe you at the Monday concert.

Looking for a musically themed gift? Now’s your chance to order sterling silver charms (most instruments and more!) and necklaces while supporting the bands at the same time. Maribeth Schrudder will be showing jewelry samples and taking orders and payment at both the Freshman and High School concerts this week. Inspired Designs will donate 20% of every sale to benefit the band so be sure to bring your cash or checkbooks and stop by before or after your concert to take a look. Maribeth is one of our long-time Jazz ‘n Cakes vendors and donated a beautiful sterling silver music charm and necklace for our silent auction as well!

Kroger Rewards Renewal at Concerts – The Upbeat club will be at both concerts next week (5/20 & 5/21) to help people (re) register their Kroger cards.  EVERYONE who has registered their card with Kroger needs to re register to our Upbeat Community Rewards number in order for the band to continue to receive credit past 5/1/13.  Please CLICK HERE for instructions on how to re register your card.  This is the easiest fundraiser for the band.

Marching Firebird DVDs (final call) – Don’t miss your chance to own the DVD of this year’s Marching Band season – “Empire.”  Each DVD is $35 and is delivered to the address noted on the order.  We will take orders through May 23, 2013 for all DVDs.  The Empire DVD will ship after October 1, 2013.  You can also still order the 2011 DVD “Bravo” for $35 each.  The “Bravo” DVD will ship after June 30, 2013 (possibly in October with Empire).  To place your order, please CLICK HERE.

Lakota Summer Jazz Clinic – For students entering grades 7-9 in the fall, please click for more information and the registration form:  The Lakota Summer Jazz Clinic flyer 2013

Upbeat  — Due  to the conflict with the Freshman concert, the next Upbeat meeting has been rescheduled to Tuesday, May 28 at 7:30 in the band room.  We are still in need of a Treasurer & DVD/Video owner for next year.  If you are interested, please contact Malinda Anderson at malindap1@netzero.net 

PAYMENTS & TRIPS — The following payments are due 5/31:  MB fees #3 ($100) and Macy’s student/chaperone trip #5 ($100).  Please check all of your account balances in Charms and make payments promptly so that we can meet our payment schedule with Gateway.  There are still seats available on the followers bus.  CLICK HERE to sign up.

…supporting our bands one bite at a time.

The next ‘Taste’ will be Wednesday, May 29, 2013 from 11 a.m. – 10 p.m. at Red Robin across from the Rave!  Bring your Scrip cards.

Simply bring in the attached Red Robin Flyer and the band will receive 10% of your check (excluding alcohol) in donation. Print as many as you like and email them to your friends and family.  Start off with a “Three-for-all” appetizer: signature steak fries, crispy onion straws, and sweet potato fries with 4 delicious dipping sauces.  Try one of their fabulous burgers like the Banzai or Burnin’ Love, or maybe you have a taste for chicken?  Perhaps the Whiskey River BBQ Chicken Sandwich?  Fish, salads, and wraps too!  And of course a Groovy Smoothie to wash it all down.  Something for everyone, come hungry!

This is the only participating location:

West Chester  -  9434 Civic Center Dr  -  Across from the Rave Theater

Check out their menu here:

Why Music Education Is Important
When educational cuts are made, music and art are amongst the first subjects to go. Unfortunately, it means that parents, educators and even board members are overlooking each subject`s importance. Music education is more than just introducing students to beats, notes and songs. Instead, it completely transforms a child`s mind and opens up endless possibilities to their learning potential.
One of the most notable studies on music and the brain, the Mozart Effect, began as a college research experiment. College students were given the chance to listen to ten minutes of a piano sonata before completing a test. The assessment involved tasks such as finding the patterns in both numbers and objects. The result showed that with just ten minutes of music, their skills were improved greatly.
After seeing these results, the study was extended to pre-schoolers. Some were given the opportunity to listen to ten minutes of similar music before completing a puzzle. Again, those listening to music before the task tended to perform better. Each of these examples suggests that music can have a direct effect on a person`s learning.
These studies are not unusual. Several studies and surveys have demonstrated that students` academic scores in subjects, such as math, were greatly improved when they were able to participate in some form of music education program. In other subjects, it was noted that students are less likely to draw conclusions that were completely unfounded.
While listening to music is beneficial, music education provides even more benefits to students. The ear is not the only part of the body used in music class. From tapping out patterns of sounds with their hands to testing out an instrument, students are working on hand-eye coordination. This becomes even more pronounced as students look to read music and perform the notes with various instruments.
While there are several different subjects offered in school, few can compete with the creative element offered by music education. Students have an outlet in which they can express themselves. They can relate to the words, notes or instruments they are experiencing. Many teachers, students and parents would admit that music, along with the traditional means of education, gives a good feeling they carry with them throughout the day.
Besides academics and specific subjects, students with music education tend to completely change their outlook on education, learning and their own performance. They see the experience as more beneficial and even see themselves as more successful because of their newfound skills. In one study, students who worked on a musical instrument were less of a discipline issue than those that did not.
With all the evidence pointing to the benefits of music education, it is difficult to see why this subject continues to be downplayed and in some cases completely removed from education today. If you, or someone you know, is looking into musical education as a college major, consult a college advice blog to get the latest information on your options as an educator and advocate for music.

Please continue below for band announcements from Mr. Snyder.

Taste of Music, McDonalds –The next dining date is this Thursday 5/16  6-9 pm at McDonalds on 747 and Smith (across from Kroger).  This fundraiser involves getting as many families to come eat as possible.  No flyers are required.  Or for a “double dip,” buy gift cards that night and then use them to buy dinner.  ALL SALES qualify towards band credit during the sale hours (coupon books, gift cards, food).  We still need adult and student volunteers for this event.

We receive 15% of total sales from both drive thru and dine-in for these 3 hr blocks. Students can perform on the patio and grass (instruments & flags), as many kids that can fit out on the patio to play during this time, and have a tip jar present. This would be in addition to jars inside.  The first 2 events earned almost $600 each including tips towards the trip fund.  Please CLICK HERE for more information and to sign up.  Our continued participation in the program is in jeopardy due to lack of participation of adult/student volunteers and sales.

Marching Band Scholarships — Lakota West families looking for assistance with their student’s marching band fees are encouraged to apply for grant consideration. Upbeat Club money is set aside each year from fundraisers and donations to cover 1/2 of the marching band fee assessed to students participating in the Lakota West Marching Band, including Color Guard.  This need based scholarship opportunity is for students in grades 9-12.  Families interested in this scholarship must submit an application per student to Sue Tanner at president@lakotawestbands.org. A limited number of scholarships are available. The deadline for consideration for the 2013 marching season is Friday, May 24, 2013.  Please CLICK HERE for more info and to access the application.  *All applications must be submitted by the deadline date.

Need a graduation gift? – The Upbeat club will be at the final concerts (5/20 & 5/21) selling Macy’s spirit wear, uniform pillows, and other assorted items.  Stop by and shop and (re) register your Kroger card.

Kroger Rewards Renewal at Concerts – The Upbeat club will be at both concerts next week (5/20 & 5/21) to help people (re) register their Kroger cards.  EVERYONE who has registered their card with Kroger needs to re register to our Upbeat Community Rewards number in order for the band to continue to receive credit past 5/1/13.  Please CLICK HERE for instructions on how to re register your card.  This is the easiest fundraiser for the band.

Because the current Kroger Chair’s student is a senior, we are looking for someone to take over the Kroger Card Chairperson duties (after 7 years!).  The duties are outlined HERE.  Suzanne can talk to anyone in person about time commitments for this. (Time commitments for this are much less than in the past. The new Community Rewards Program has taken away a lot of work from the Chairperson)

May Scrip orders due Friday 5/17 – Don’t forget to get your Scrip orders in this month.  There are several “specials” this month that make great graduation gifts.  CLICK HERE for more details.  We also have a “Taste of Music” event scheduled at Red Robin on 5/29, consider getting some cards for a “double dip.”

Marching Firebird DVDs (final call) – Don’t miss your chance to own the DVD of this year’s Marching Band season – “Empire.”  Each DVD is $35 and is delivered to the address noted on the order.  We will take orders through May 23, 2013 for all DVDs.  The Empire DVD will ship after October 1, 2013.  You can also still order the 2011 DVD “Bravo” for $35 each.  The “Bravo” DVD will ship after June 30, 2013 (possibly in October with Empire).  To place your order, please CLICK HERE.

Lakota Summer Jazz Clinic – For students entering grades 7-9 in the fall, please click for more information and the registration form:  The Lakota Summer Jazz Clinic flyer 2013

Upbeat  — Due  to the conflict with the Freshman concert, the next Upbeat meeting has been rescheduled to Tuesday, May 28 at 7:30 in the band room.  We are still in need of a Treasurer & Kroger owner for next year.  If you are interested, please contact Malinda Anderson at malindap1@netzero.net 

PAYMENTS & TRIPS — The following payments are due 5/31:  MB fees #3 ($100) and Macy’s student/chaperone trip #5 ($100).  Please check all of your account balances in Charms and make payments promptly so that we can meet our payment schedule with Gateway.  There are still seats available on the followers bus.  CLICK HERE to sign up.

Band Announcements

1. May 14, Saxophone Clinic at West from 3:00 till 4:15.

2. May 20, Spring Concert at West. Report time is 6:30, concert starts with White at 7:00, followed by Red and Winds. Bring a change of clothes to turn in uniforms following concert.

3. May 21, Freshman Spring Band Concert at 7:00 featuring both Freshman Bands and the combined Freshman Band.

4. May 22, Winds meeting, assignment to chamber groups and distribution of chair placement audition music.

5. May 23, M.B. Leadership Team meeting with Dr. Tim from 3:00 till 5:00. Band Awards for all 10-12 students at 6:30 in the auditorium.

6. May 27, Memorial Day Parade. All 2012 marching band students are expected to attend to honor our veterans and our country!! Meet at 9:30 across from the post office in summer uniform. School opens at 9:00 for larger instruments.

7. Grad Band rehearsals on May 28 from 3 till 4, and May 30 from 1 till 2. Meet at 11:45 for departure to Miami on Saturday, June 1.

8. May 31, Rookie Marcher Day, 2 till 5 for Rookies and Leadership Team only. Parent meeting at 4:30 in the auditorium.

1. There are only 18 days of school left. That means, Rookie Marcher Day is in 18 days. Rookie Marcher Day starts at 2:00 pm on Friday, May 31. School will be dismissed at about 12:15 that day. Students will have 1 hr & 45 minutes to get lunch and get to Main Campus with their MARCHING instrument (that means clarinet players with wood clarinets need their plastic clarinets, horn/trumpet and baritone players need their mellophones and marching baritones, and sousaphone players need to bring their sousaphones). Unfortunately, there is no activity bus running that day so students will need to be brought to Main Campus.
2. The Final Quarterly Assessment for Freshman Bands will be on Thursday, May 30 in the morning. We are going to be on Exam Schedule for Thursday and Friday, May 30-31. We will have periods 1-3 on Thursday, periods 4-6 on Friday. Due to this schedule, students will not need their band instruments at the Freshman School on Friday, May 31 (this includes jazz band). The Final Quarterly Assessment is to play the entire circle of 4ths, from memory.
3. The Freshman Spring Concert will be held on Tuesday, May 21, 2013. The concert will start at 7:00 pm. This will be an expanded concert. 1st and 2nd period bands will play 3 pieces each, followed by a performance of the combined Freshman Bands (105 members). The combined band will also play 3 pieces. Because of this, we will have a rehearsal with the combined bands prior to the beginning of the concert, beginning at 6:00 pm. Please make note of this time. It is very important that we have everyone at school and ready to play at 6:00. We will have extremely limited rehearsal time as a combined band and this time is extremely critical.
4. We have one more “Dining for Dollars” evening scheduled, and that is on Thursday, May 16, from 6-9 pm at the McDonald’s on 747 across from the Beckett Kroger. This is an excellent opportunity to help raise money to send the band to Macy’s next Fall. McDonald’s pays us a higher percentage of their receipts, so, more people = more money to us. Please mark this day on your calendars.
5. We have a special opportunity for our saxophone players. On Tuesday, May 14, Dr. James Bunte, Professor of Saxophone from the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music will be at Lakota West Main Campus after school from 3-4:15 pm to present a session on saxophone and will hear some of our students play for the group. Dr. Bunte is an AMAZING saxophonist and I can’t urge you strongly enough to try to be here to hear him play and to gain some insights into the world of the saxophone. Freshman saxophonist can ride the activity bus over to main campus for this event and, yes, you should bring your instruments and be ready to play along with Dr. Bunte.

1. Congratulations to the Red and White Symphonic Bands and to Symphonic Winds. All three bands earned the Superior Rating at the OMEA State Large Group Adjudicated Event held on Friday night at Lakota East Freshman School. Lakota West is the only high school in Ohio to have two Class A bands and one Class AA band that earn the right to perform at the State level. That all three ensembles earn the top rating is a testament to the extremely high performance standards that are maintained at Lakota West.
2. The Freshman Spring Concert is coming soon (23 calendar days away). It is scheduled for Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at 7:00 pm. This concert is one of the highlights of our year. Both Freshman bands will perform followed by a performance by the combined Freshman Bands (105) members. You will not want to miss this performance.
3. Final Quarterly playing exams will occur after our Spring Concert. The exact date of the exam will be announced as soon as it is announced for the school. The students have to play the Circle of 4ths from memory. This is something that they have known about since the beginning of the school year and that we have been working towards all year. Hopefully, everyone has learned these scales and everyone will play brilliantly.
4. The new marching band uniforms arrived last week and they are stunning. We are really looking forward to the new marching band season and our trip to New York City and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. It’s less than 7 months away…

That’s it for this week.

Please click for more information and the registration form:  The Lakota Summer Jazz Clinic flyer 2013

Hope to see everyone at McDonalds for dinner Thursday 5/2 from 6-9 pm!

Hello Lakota West Band Members:

Don’t forget to start ordering Scrip gift cards if you haven’t been in the habit to start building the band’s general trip account. Macy’s is right around the corner and wouldn’t it be nice to have money in the trip account to bring down the cost of the trip for every student?

Combine Scrip with “Taste of Music” to get a fun double dip for the band!  Upcoming “Taste of Music” events that you can buy cards for:  May 29 Red Robin (8.74%).  (the flyer for this event will be coming to the web site soon)

MAY ONLY promotions: 

i-Tunes cards are on a 5% increase in May…these make great graduation gifts!

Marriott Hotels are on a 2% increase in May…great for summer travel!

Walmart® is offering a savings of 10 cents a gallon on gas purchases made when using a Walmart Gift Card, effective through July 7, 2013. The Princeton Road Walmart is participating in this promotion.

Here is all you need to do:

Ask friends and family to order gift cards that they will use anyway to purchase fast food, fine dining or use at department stores. They receive full value for the amount paid and an extra percentage (1-18% per retailer) is provided to the general trip account.

Fill out the order form including all student information and phone number and send the completed form with payment to the SCRIP program coordinator.  We have a new Scrip coordinator so please note this on the form.

For a copy of the order form and complete details concerning the SCRIP program CLICK HERE.

The deadline for orders this month is May 14, 2013  if you mail your order, and May 17th if you drop it off.

URGENT Parents of Seniors (MB & concert) – Please submit photos – baby and current – of your student for the slide show on Awards night on May 23.   Photos can be scanned (200-300 dpi) and sent to president@lakotawestbands.org or there is an envelope on the bulletin board in the band room.  Please make sure all photos are marked with the student’s name.  Please submit by Friday, May 3.  (You can get your photos back on awards night)

Taste of Music, McDonalds –The next dining dates are Thursday 5/2 and 5/16  6-9 pm at McDonalds on 747 and Smith (across from Kroger).  This fundraiser involves getting as many families to come eat as possible.  No flyers are required.  Or for a “double dip,” buy gift cards that night and then use them to buy dinner.  ALL SALES qualify towards band credit during the sale hours (coupon books, gift cards, food).  We still need adult volunteers for these events.

We receive 15% of total sales from both drive thru and dine-in for these 3 hr blocks. Students can perform on the patio and grass (instruments & flags), as many kids that can fit out on the patio to play during this time, and have a tip jar present. This would be in addition to jars inside.  The first event earned almost $600 including tips.  Please CLICK HERE for more information and to sign up.

Marching Band Scholarships — Lakota West families looking for assistance with their student’s marching band fees are encouraged to apply for grant consideration. Upbeat Club money is set aside each year from fundraisers and donations to cover 1/2 of the marching band fee assessed to students participating in the Lakota West Marching Band, including Color Guard.  This need based scholarship opportunity is for students in grades 9-12.  Families interested in this scholarship must submit an application per student to Sue Tanner at president@lakotawestbands.org. A limited number of scholarships are available. The deadline for consideration for the 2013 marching season is May 24, 2013.  Please CLICK HERE for more info and to access the application.  *All applications must be submitted by the deadline date.

URGENT Kroger Community Rewards Renewal – It’s time for the annual re registration of Kroger cards to our Upbeat number.  EVERYONE who has registered their card with Kroger needs to re register to our Upbeat Community Rewards number in order for the band to continue to receive credit past 5/1/13.  Please CLICK HERE for instructions on how to re register your card.  Please do this by 4/30.  This is the easiest fundraiser for the band.

Because the current Kroger Chair’s student is a senior, we are looking for someone to take over the Kroger Card Chairperson duties (after 7 years!).  The duties are outlined HERE.  Suzanne can talk to anyone in person about time commitments for this. (Time commitments for this are much less than in the past. The new Community Rewards Program has taken away a lot of work from the Chairperson)

Upbeat  — Due  to the conflict with the Freshman concert, the next Upbeat meeting has been rescheduled to Tuesday, May 28 at 7:30 in the band room.  We are still in need of a Treasurer and Video Crew/DVD & Kroger owners for next year.  If you are interested, please contact Malinda Anderson at malindap1@netzero.net 

PAYMENTS & TRIPS — The following payments were due 4/30:  MB fees #2, Macy’s followers #2, and Macy’s student #4.  Please make payments promptly so that we can meet our payment schedule with Gateway.