East River High School Bands - Announcements

MPA Date Reminders and Changes

noreply@blogger.com (East River High School Band) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 20:04:00 +0000

Upcoming dates and important changes that you need to know about:

February 28th - Concert Band Pre MPA performance - 7:00pm @ ERHS Auditorium (Symphonic band required to attend)

March 2nd - Symphonic Band Pre MPA @ University High School Auditorium. Report time 6:45pm.

March 7th - Symphonic Band rescheduling of rehearsal. March 8th is no more. The UCF associate director of bands, Scott Tobias will be in to work with our group. Rehearsal on Wednesday the 7th starts at 2:00pm and ends at 4:00pm.

Week of MPA - All rehearsals will remain in place!

Physicals

noreply@blogger.com (East River High School Band) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 11:44:00 +0000

It is that time to start thinking about getting physicals for next marching season! Physicals are required for ALL band members next year. To make it really easy on you, physicals can be done right here at East River HS during Physical Night.

When: Monday, April 30 at 5:30 pm
Where: ERHS gym
Cost: $20

Proceeds from Physical Night go to the ERHS sports medicine program. Don't miss this opportunity to get your required physical!

Band Parent Meeting on Tuesday, Feb 7

noreply@blogger.com (East River High School Band) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 14:02:00 +0000

Parents:

This is a reminder that on Tuesday the 7th at 7:00pm, we will have our monthly parent meeting. At this meeting we will be accepting final nominations for board positions and voting on positions for the parent board members. Other items to be discussed are: Fundraising, Lunch cart rules, gate rules, bylaws, and shaping the parent group. Please plan on attending. Your participation in this group is crucial in the forward progress of our program. Looking forward to seeing you there!

Feb Band Parent Meeting and Fundraising Rules

noreply@blogger.com (East River High School Band) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:09:00 +0000

February 7th is the band parent meeting where we will discuss the way we handle lunch cart and gate rules. If you have any issue with any of the below statements, please bring them to the meeting. Your input is wanted!

Parents and Students,

It seems as though my email a week or so ago drew many questions and some were most upset by the email I sent. I want to clarify some of the misunderstandings regarding Fundraising, Lunch Cart and Athletic Gate earnings. Thank you very much for your continued assistance with fundraising. We have a long way to go though!

Best Wishes,
Mr. Sall

If I have a credit or a zero balance, does that mean that any fundraiser we do goes towards the sponsor account and we cannot work towards our balance next year?

This misconception has led to some being very upset. Let me clarify, what was stated previously. In an attempt to be constant with rules from years past, I stated that any who worked the lunch cart and gate will not earn any money toward their account and it would all go toward the sponsor account. That was a misunderstanding on my part. Apparently, it was only the Lunch Cart that this rule was for. Please reference below for specific mandates for the lunch cart.

If my student is a member of the Winter Guard, can they earn money towards that account or will the money be donated?

All gates, fundraisers, and lunch cart money earned will go toward the winterguard member's account. Once the money is earned, they will fall into the category of paid off and the Lunch Cart/Gate Rule will apply.

Here are the specific rules that will apply to each area of fundraising:

Lunch Cart: Students in debt will be given priority for signing up. Parents who would like to volunteer and work, can work lunch cart at any time. If you reach a zero balance, a parent can work still. They can earn up to $100.00 towards next year. Once that amount has been reached, that parent can still work but will then have the money transferred into the Sponsor account. Winter guard students can work lunch cart at any time and get credit towards the winter season. We make close to $15,000 each year from lunch cart. This band would not be able to afford half of what we have spent if we do not have lunch cart any more. Please help, even if you already have a zero balance. Parents, we need you.

Gate: This is for adults only. Any time an adult works, they will earn towards their student's account. If you reach a zero balance, a parent can work still. They can earn up to $100.00 towards next year. Once that amount has been reached, that parent can still work but will then have the money transferred into the Sponsor account. Winter guard students can work gate at any time and get credit towards the winter season.

All Other Fundraisers: Anything else that the band does (pizza cards, door-to-door, candy sales, etc.) goes directly towards your account. You can earn as much as you want for next year!

*Please note that the Gate and the Lunch Cart are not the property of the band. The Lunch Cart belongs to the cafeteria manager and the Gate belongs to Athletics. We are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to fundraise through these two amazing opportunities. They can be taken away at any time!

Band Parent Meeting

noreply@blogger.com (East River High School Band) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 11:31:00 +0000

On Thursday, January 5th at 7:00pm, we will host a band parent meeting in the auditorium that I urge all of you to come to. What will be discussed is a different look at parent volunteering and a new distribution of responsibilities. It is important that if you are a volunteer or ever plan on volunteering that you attend this meeting. Your involvement in the future of our program is welcomed and very much needed!
Have a wonderful and blessed holiday break!

Musically Yours,
Joshua Sall

Prism Concert and Financial Statements

noreply@blogger.com (East River High School Band) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 14:25:00 +0000

Falcon Vanguard Families:

This is an exciting week for everyone! We will be premiering our first ever Prism Concert featuring the entire Performing Arts Department! I am very excited for everyone to see the final product. It will definitely be entertaining!

The schedule for this week is as follows:

Tuesday - 2:30-4:30pm Practice (*Extra time for ensembles until 5:30*)
Wednesday - 1:30-2:30 Ensemble Practice time 2:3-4:30 Prism Practice*
Thursday - 2:30-4:30pm Prism Practice 4:30-5:30pm Dinner Break 6:30pm Dress Rehearsal. All families that are not capable of attending Friday night are welcome to attend the Dress rehearsal that night.
Friday- 2:30-4:30pm Prism Practice 6:00pm Report Time for the Concert 7:00pm Prism Concert

*Certain groups struggling with performance may be asked to stay later.

STATEMENTS:

Financial statements were emailed out yesterday. Please understand that even though the Marching Band season is finished, our financial responsibilities are still present. We set a goal for $5000.00 before State marching competition. We received $3500.00 toward that goal. We still have many bills due to our staff, show design, and many other things.

Many of you have worked the gate at many sporting events. Please note that your accounts will be credited the amount you worked once the Athletic Department transfers over the funds to us. They will transfer those funds at the end of each semester. If you have been working gate, please keep track of what you should have earned.

Fundraising is a must. We are anxiously planning many fundraisers to come and your involvement is crucial! Please participate in all activities that we do.

Thank you for your continued efforts in support our students!

Have a wonderful week!
Mr. Sall

Prism Concert Meeting

noreply@blogger.com (East River High School Band) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 22:54:00 +0000

Attention parents: Anyone interested in helping out with the upcoming Prism concert backstage, chaperoning, decorating or donating decorations, please attend a mandatory meeting on Monday, Dec 5 at 5:30pm in the ERHS performing arts center (auditorium). We will meet until all items are discussed. It should only last about 1 hour. Please consider coming out to help!

Marching Band and State Wrap Up

noreply@blogger.com (East River High School Band) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 18:44:00 +0000

Vanguard Family,

I hope your Thanksgiving Break is off to a great start! I know it is great to sit back and relax (or catch up on house chores). The Falcon Vanguard celebrated a fantastic season on Saturday evening. We never expected to get as far as we did Saturday, but somehow our group did. What a memorable weekend. If you could have seen our Semi-Final performance, you would have been very impressed with the level that they performed. I know that staff and I were extremely impressed and very emotional about the day. We finished top 5 out of 16 in our class (3-A). That semi-final performance granted us the opportunity to have one more performance and it was a great one. Your children were able to perform and compete on the amazing field that is Tropicana Field/Dome in St. Petersburg, Fl. With an 82.5, the Vanguard finished 5th in the State. What a great accomplishment for our very young school and program. We should all be proud.

Unfortunately our weekend did not go without issues. You all may have heard that we had an unfortunate and untimely departure from State Finals. Our students were unable to participate in the finals retreat. Only a few captains and drum majors were able to participate in the retreat. Unfortunately, I was put in a situation that required making a very difficult decision. Our bus company made a claim that we did not provide them with a proper 8 hour break throughout the day and that they had not received ample time to rest. This dilemma caused for the bus company owner to angrily threaten leaving our students at Tropicana Field right in the middle of retreat and the middle of the night. If we stayed, the students would be without proper transportation for 8 hours. With threat of no transportation back to Orlando that night, I made the decision to load the buses and head back to school. At the last minute we were able to bring together our drum majors and captains to attend retreat as the bus drivers threatened to leave us at the stroke of midnight. Instead of having 108 students leave retreat unexpectedly, I decided to represent our school with our drum majors and captains and quietly exit the stadium as they announced 4A champions. This was a difficult time for everyone involved.

In no way should we blame anyone for this situation. Myself, staff, parents, and chaperones all did what was planned and discussed with the bus company as we gave ample time for rest that day. The first time I or a chaperone was notified of this issue was only when the bus company was threatening to leave us. This led us to the choice of leaving early.

We all have experienced a situation that puts us in unfortunate decision making rolls. It is never easy and sometimes we have to make a difficult decision, whether it is or isn't what we or our students want. Last night, for me, I had the unfortunate task of making one of those decisions. I ask that we all respect this and discontinue any further negative statements being made about the situation. I trust that all of us have a maturity to understand the issues and will halt further negative discussion that will only breed further negativity. Remember, we weren't even expected to afford and go to state 4 weeks ago. We weren't expected to qualify for finals. We weren't expected to have the season we did with one month full of rainout practices and performances. This program should relish in the success that we have experienced together. No matter what. I was taught at a young age about perseverance. I ask that we take this opportunity to learn that lesson and see that we all have persevered this season. Our band has shown strength in very difficult times and the unity that we built from it, only shows how much of a family WE are.

So remember, speak positively about Saturday, because it was AMAZING to be there and get that far. Be proud of yourselves. Be proud of your program. Thank you for a great season. I am honored to have served you as your band director this year and I look forward to future endeavors from all of you.

Have a blessed and Happy Thanksgiving!

Musically Yours,
Joshua Sall

State Competition Schedule (Updated 11/18)

noreply@blogger.com (East River High School Band) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 23:04:00 +0000

Here is the schedule for FMBC State semi-finals and finals competitions on Saturday, Nov 19. Semi-finals for class 3A will be held at Braden River High School in Bradenton. Finals for all bands will be held at the Tropicana Dome in St. Petersburg. For those who would like to come watch the Vanguard perform in competition and who are not chaperoning, we are selling extra seats on the charter buses that we are taking to the competition for $20 each. Please get the money to Mr. Sall ASAP. They are first-come, first-served and once they fill up, that's it. So reserve your seat NOW.

Semi-finals tickets can be purchased at the site for $14.00. Finals tickets can be purchased at all sites for $20.00. Ticket sales are CASH ONLY. No credit cards are accepted. We know it isn't cheap, but this is what the Vanguard has been working toward all marching season, so you don't want to miss this!

4:45am (SHARP!) - Arrive at ERHS

5:15am - Depart for Braden River HS

7:30am - Arrive at Braden River HS

8:56am - Performance

9:00am - Full band picture

9:35am - Breakfast/snack time

10:00am-1:30 - Watch bands

1:36pm - Retreat (Finals announcement)

1:45pm - Leave for Tropicana Field (site of Finals)

2:45pm - Arrive at Tropicana Field

If we make finals

1:30pm - Relax time/snacks

3:15pm - Warm-up music/visual/stretch

4:14pm - Performance

4:30pm - Changing/dinner time

5:20-11:00pm - Watch bands perform

11:00pm - Finals retreat

Midnight - Depart for ERHS

2:30am - Arrive at ERHS

If we don't make finals

1:30-4:00pm - Nap time/relax time/dinner time

4:15pm - Watch bands perform

9:00pm - Depart for ERHS

11:30pm - Arrive at ERHS

MPA Performance Video

noreply@blogger.com (East River High School Band) — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 14:59:00 +0000

Congratulations Vanguard on receiving straight superiors at MPA! The video of your performance is now up for you to watch.

District Marching MPA

noreply@blogger.com (East River High School Band) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 12:16:00 +0000

Please see the MPA schedule posted above. We will be having a BBQ dinner with Winter Park High School band right after we perform. Dinner time will be around 5 to 5:30PM. Then we will return to the stadium to watch bands and watch the retreat at the end. We will depart at 10PM.

Students will complete an order form for dinner on Monday and it will be due on Wednesday. A meal includes hamburger/hotdog, chips and a drink for $5.00. You can add on a hamburger/hotdog for $1. MAKE SURE YOUR NAME IS ON THE FORM!!!

Students will be allowed to change after the performance into jeans and black show shirt. Students may bring hoodies, jackets, and sweaters, however please make every effort to make it uniform/school colors compatible. In other words, solid red or gray and no other logos of any kind. If you have a warm sweatshirt that says ERHS or East River that is the best option. Gloves are fine, but no hats, beanies, caps, etc.

Parents, come out and watch the Vanguard perform! The Citrus Bowl is a great venue to watch our band and the other bands perform as the sound is good in the bowl plus you can sit up high and see the formations well. If you've only seen our band perform at the ERHS stadium then you haven't really seen the whole show! When you watch them from up high in the Citrus Bowl, you will see formations and patterns that the band works very hard to perfect that you may have never noticed before! So let's get a good group of parents and families to come out and cheer on the Vanguard! It is also very entertaining to watch the other bands from our district perform their shows. Tickets are available at the Citrus Bowl box office (not sure on price, but it's reasonable) and parking is available on site and in the surrounding areas.

Car Wash This Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (East River High School Band) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 11:59:00 +0000

The band and guard are having a car wash this ~~Saturday, Oct 29~~ Sunday, Oct 30 at the Walgreens on the corner by the school.

Time: 9am-3pm
There is a signup sheet in the band room on the main board. We need 2-4 parent volunteers to come for each shift. The shifts are broken down to 9-12 and 12-3.
Students will earn money towards their accounts. The total pot from the day will be divided up by 6 hours. The people who signed up for the shifts will be paid on an hourly basis. Those who would like to sponsor someone may do so, but must specify it when they sign in.
Students and parents will need to sign in when they arrive to receive credit for working.
Dress code will be enforced. No bikini's, speedo's, shirtless men/boys, etc. If you can't wear it to PE, don't wear it!
We need families to donate or lend car wash supplies such as hoses, connectors, sponges, buckets, soap, etc.
We are also having a bake sale during the car wash so we need families to bring baked goods to the Walgreens at 9am.

Please come out and support the band and guard! Thank you!

Vanguard at University Classic Competition

noreply@blogger.com (East River High School Band) — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 12:10:00 +0000

Congratulations once again to the Vanguard on another terrific competition performance! At the University Classic Marching Invitational this weekend, the Vanguard placed 1st in 3A with a score of 80.2 and 4th place overall in a competition that featured some of the best bands in the state!

Watch the Vanguard perform at the competition.

Game and Senior Night Friday and Contest Saturday

noreply@blogger.com (East River High School Band) — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 21:57:00 +0000

Hello Vanguard Family!

This week we are preparing for a great football game against Winter Park High School and our next competition at University High School. It is also our Senior Night on Friday! We have some specific instructions for our senior families out there. At the end of this message you'll find the instructions that were given to me from our Athletic director for our senior families.

Also, do not forget our concert next week! We have our Fall Concert on WEDNESDAY OCT. 26! It will start at 7:00pm and doors will open at 6:30pm. The concert is free and will be in the Performing Arts Center at East River. See you there!

Our schedule for Friday:

4:30 Guard Report
5:00pm Vanguard run through practice
5:45 Uniform Distribution
IMMEDIATELY START GETTING READY!
6:15 March Over
6:30 Senior Night Begins
7:30 Game Time
10:45pm Pick up

Saturday's Schedule:

9:00am-12:00pm Practice
12:00-2:30pm Break
2:30 Polish Parties, Get Ready time
3:30 Load Truck
4:30 Depart for University
7:00pm Performance time (WEAR A JACKET!)
9:45PM Arrive at ERHS
10:00PM Pick Up Time

Friday's Details for Senior Night:

Parents/guardians who will be escorting their children will be admitted to the game for free. (They will have their hand stamped an opposite color that is used for general admission to get onto the field)
Parents/guardians will meet on the concrete area of the south end zone (closest to the field entrance) at 6:30pm. We will actually start closer to 6:45pm.
Parents and senior will follow the path along the visiting team's sidelines and stop at the 50 yard marker where they will meet the Public Address Announcer, Mr. Cangemillo.
Mr. Cangemillo will receive and begin to read the senior's questionnaire that they will have in hand.
The senior and his/her parent/guardian will walk down the 50 yard line to the center of the field where they will be greeted by the coach/director/head trainer and the principal.
At mid-field, the senior and his/her parent/guardian will shake hands, have their photo taken, and exit the field.
This will be done for each senior acknowledgement. Note: Please make sure that you are at mid-field when the time comes for your seniors to be acknowledged. Thanks for your support.

Timber Creek Competition

noreply@blogger.com (East River High School Band) — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 03:46:00 +0000

Congratulations Vanguard on your performance at the Timber Creek Marching Arts Festival! 1st place in 4A with a score of 74.5. You can watch a video of your performance here.

This Week's Schedule

noreply@blogger.com (East River High School Band) — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 16:38:00 +0000

Hello Falcon Family! We are now finally approaching our first competition and I hope you are all excited for this upcoming event. The weather has been the only thing fighting us but the Vanguard continues to push on and get better. We were able to overcome a very rainy Saturday and we got so much accomplished. Each student was equally fantastic as we all had a great shortened Rehearse-a-thon. Corey, staff, and I discussed a plan of action and also received student input about what would be best for the band regarding practice this week. As a band, we decided that our week schedule would now include a short Friday practice.

Here is the schedule that we all worked out:

Monday: Practice 5:00pm-8:00pm (if rainy, we will still have practice)
Tuesday: 7:00pm - Parent Committee Meetings (All parents should attend!)
Wednesday: Practice 3:00pm-7:00pm (school gets out at 1:15 and our staff is readily available at this time)
Thursday: Game day versus Oviedo. Report time 5:00pm Pick up time 10:30pm
Friday: (No-School) 8:00am-12:00pm practice (This makes up the 4 hours lost on Saturday's practice)
Saturday: Competition Day - Practice 9:00am-12:00pm, Break 12:00-2:00pm, Report Time 2:00pm, Depart for Timber Creek competition at 3:45pm, Performance 6:30pm. The full competition schedule can be found here. You can view when each warm-up we have is, where it will be, and when we perform. You can also see who else is going to be at the competition.

Also, just to help all of you out with preparation for next week, here is the competition schedule for the University Classic competition that will be held on Saturday, Oct 22.

Hopefully the weather will be kinder to us for the latter part of October so our schedule practice shouldn't change from the ordinary. Thank you all for your patience with this crazy weather and constantly adjusting practice schedule. Students, your hard work and efforts will pay off! Keep pushing!

Musically yours,
Josh Sall

Rehearsathon Schedule Changes

noreply@blogger.com (East River High School Band) — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 14:23:00 +0000

Despite the rain, yes we are still having rehearsal today! There are some schedule changes though and those are as follows:

10:00-12:30: rehearse
12:30-2:00: potluck (we are doing this early in case we stop early today)

* Decision will be made at this point whether to continue until 4:00

2:00-4:00: rehearse (if we decide to continue)

* Decision will be made at this point whether to continue until 9:00

Rehearsal will take place between the gym, cafeteria and band room. We need to run as much drill today as possible so we need the large open spaces. We are hoping for a break in the weather somewhere along the way today which is why we are making decisions along the way of whether to stay or stop early. If we stay the entire time the kids should have brought a lunch as originally planned. Instead of eating their packed lunch early, they will just eat it at the dinner break since we are having the potluck during the lunch break. Please keep checking your email, the band website and Twitter today for updates. Thank you for being flexible!

Saturday Rehearsathon Schedule

noreply@blogger.com (East River High School Band) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 02:09:00 +0000

Our second rehearsathon is coming up this weekend. Here's the schedule for Saturday:

10-10:30 Game Field Visual Basics
10:30-12:30 Show (learn the rest of the show)
12:30-1:30 lunch on campus
1:30-2:15 sectionals
2:15-2:30 Full ensemble music run through and spot check
2:30-5:30 Chunk show
5:30-6:45 Pot luck dinner
6:45-8:30 Finish chunking show
8:30-9:00 Run Thru's

If the different sections want to bring food according to the following schedule that will ensure we have a good balance of everything:

Percussion: Dinnerware and drinks (paper plates, napkins, plastic utensils, water, gatorade, etc.)
Guard: Desserts (sweets are good......let's also incorporate some fresh fruits too!)
Brass: Side dishes ( fresh vegetables, salads, potatoes/rice etc.)
Woodwinds: Main Dishes

Please make note that lunch must be on campus so kids please remember to PACK AND BRING YOUR LUNCH!! Leaving campus will not be allowed for anyone regardless of whether you drive or not. Parents if you are bringing food for the pot-luck please bring your dish around 4:30 so we can get everything set up. Please let Dawn Williams know if you have any questions. Thank you!

Important Week

noreply@blogger.com (East River High School Band) — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 02:10:00 +0000

Hello Band Families.
As you have been aware, our practice schedule has been interrupted by terrible weather. We have lost so much time learning our show this year due to bad weather.
Due to these unfortunate events, we have been put in a tough position and have added 1 hour to each of our practices this week.
We originally were going to have those practices be 4-8pm but many of our families were concerned with the lack of time our students would have to do homework and spend time with their families.
Taking this into serious consideration, we have decided to move practices this week to 3-7pm. They will have 45 minutes to snack and do homework. The band room will be a quiet study for those 45 minutes. This new schedule gives students the chance to get home earlier than before and they will be able to do their homework for classes the next day.
Thank you for all your patience with the weather. I know how frustrating it can be. Staff and I are extremely frustrated with the weather. But we will survive!
Remember that this week our schedule includes a Saturday rehearse-a-thon that is REQUIRED.
It is important that we have full attendance this week. We have yet to have 100% attendance at a single rehearsal (including band camp).
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email me at joshua.sall@ocps.net.
Thank you and GO Vanguard!

Mr. Sall

Final Drill Is Available

noreply@blogger.com (East River High School Band) — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 11:56:00 +0000

Students - The drill for the show closer is now available for you to download.

Changes to Friday's Schedule

noreply@blogger.com (East River High School Band) — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 13:18:00 +0000

Parents and students, some changes have been made to the schedule for this Friday's homecoming game. Here is the new itinerary:

All band members are to report to the band room for 6th period Friday to get ready for the pep rally. Pep rally will be 7th period. We will be playing all of our stand tunes.
The homecoming parade starts at 5:00pm. Report time will be 4:00pm. Students will need to get their uniforms as soon as possible. If there is a problem getting parents to pass out uniforms at this time then drum majors will need to be prepared to help with this.
The band will lead the parade at 5:00pm that starts in the practice field to and around the track. We will then get water and go and get the field set up in the homecoming set. The homecoming court will be announced and walk down the 50 before the game. After the court is announced, we will stay on the field for the Star Spangled Banner. We will hopefully be able to make a “tunnel” for our team to run through to start the game.
At one minute before halftime the homecoming court will be asked to report to the track to be crowned. Bands will be in warm up for an actual halftime show!!! Right after the king and queen are crowned, Colonial band will be able to perform their show as well as our band. No post game performance! Bands will just have to be aware of time lost to the homecoming court. They intend for it to be quick so bands can perform. SGA wants halftime to be for the bands. This is fantastic news.

Orlando Sentinel Vanguard Photos

noreply@blogger.com (East River High School Band) — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 18:07:00 +0000

Photos of the Vanguard halftime performance at the Oak Ridge game are featured on this week's Orlando Sentinel "2011 Bands and Fans" page. Check out photos 14-22! And MANY more photos are posted weekly to the ERHS Vanguard Facebook page. You don't need a Facebook account to view the photos.

Drill Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (East River High School Band) — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 15:28:00 +0000

Students - The drill for part 2 of the show is now available for download.

Parent Meeting - Important Points

noreply@blogger.com (East River High School Band) — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 14:52:00 +0000

Thank you to all parents who were able to make the meeting last Tuesday! I know many more of you wanted to be there but were not able to make it for various reasons.

The main points of the meeting were:

Putting together parent committees to assist with running the various aspects of our band organization
Lunch Cart fund raising
CHARMS

1. Parent Committees
Attached you will find the meeting agenda and the form that was passed around where parents could sign up for different committees they would be interested in serving in. Basically we are putting together various committees that will assist Mr. Sall in the running of the band organization such as chaperones, concessions, fund raising, finances, public relations just to name a few. One of the issues is that most of the parents who currently head up these areas are mainly the parents of juniors and seniors. Some of us will be gone in a year or two and we think it would be a wise thing to work alongside some of our freshman and sophomore parents and train them so that they are ready to take over these areas next year. This is a cycle that we need to put into place for future years as well so that we always have our new parents learning the ropes in these different areas so that the organization never has any gaps where nobody knows how to do things. We also want to encourage the fresh ideas new parents often have.

2. Lunch Cart
We needed to clarify a few things regarding lunch cart fund raising. While fund raising for next year is encouraged, we need to reserve that for second semester. Why? Because we have current year bills that the band needs to pay and we need to make sure every student has the opportunity to work toward paying their band dues for this year first. Our most pressing and immediate needs are during marching season, so we are asking our Winter Guard folks to be patient as well for a little longer as we need to take care of marching dues first. Our kids are doing a fantastic job and I have had so many express a desire to work the lunch cart so they can take responsibility for their band dues. I think that is a phenomenal attitude and it speaks very highly of their character. I'm proud of all of them! But in order for lunch cart to be an opportunity for all, I have had to "re-calibrate" the schedule so that everyone has an opportunity. This discussion led to discussion about a program we want to implement immediately and that's a sponsorship program where parents/students whose dues are paid in full can fund raise to help another student. The sponsorship program would have certain requirements:

The student being sponsored needs to work the lunch cart a set number of times. We haven't yet established what that number needs to be, but the idea is that the student has to show initiative in wanting to take responsibility for their own fundraising in order to be eligible for the sponsorship program.
The student being sponsored will not know who their sponsor is.
The student/parent doing the sponsoring will not know who they are sponsoring
We feel the sponsorship program needs to be completely anonymous for a few reasons. Among them would be we don't want students being sponsored to feel uncomfortable around someone because they know that person/friend/parent is sponsoring them. We also feel that the individual financial circumstances of these students should remain confidential. Sponsors have to trust that their generosity is not being abused and that those running the sponsorship program will ensure the student being sponsored is meeting the necessary criteria to be eligible for sponsorship. Requests for sponsorship would be done privately and confidentially. Offers to sponsor would be done in the same way.

3. CHARMS
CHARMS has become a tremendous tool for all of us but we have to make sure we are all using it! If you want to volunteer you must sign up through the band website calendar which links to CHARMS. Parents and students must access their accounts through the band website link to CHARMS. If there is anyone who does not know how to use CHARMS, I (Dawn Williams) am usually at the evening practices anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour before they end and I am always available and will be happy to show you how it works. If you need to come in and walk through it with me, just e-mail me so I know to be there. CHARMS is our center of operations for student finances, volunteering, uniform assignments, communications and a lot of other things. Everyone needs to know how to use it so if you don't, please let me know!

For those of you who weren't able to make the meeting, please print out the committee sign-up form and read the meeting agenda on the form to see what committees you would be interested in. Fill out the slip and if you would give them to Mr. Sall by the end of the evening Friday that would be great. The more of you involved the better that makes our band and our kids. Please as always......if you have ANY questions please don't hesitate to let Mr. Sall or Dawn Williams know. Thank you all for your support and cooperation!

- Dawn Williams

Week 2

noreply@blogger.com (East River High School Band) — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 01:12:00 +0000

Hello Everyone. I hope you all had a great first week and a great weekend.
Here is what this week has in store:
Monday- Regularly Scheduled Practice. All paperwork is due (including ESPN paperwork).
Wednesday- The first sectional day! Percussion: Study Hall 1:30-2:30 Sectional 2:30-5:00pm, Brass: Sectional 1:30-3:30 Memorization test on the Opener! Must know it all to pass!
Thursday- Regularly Scheduled Practice. Parent Meeting 7:00pm in the Chorus Room. We will be setting up the East River Band Volunteer Organization. This group will be put together of parents willing to help the band in fundraising, chaperoning, traveling, and so much more. I hope to see plenty of parents there.
Friday- Away Game at ESPN Wide World of Sports Field. Report time:5:00pm, Uniform Distribution 5:30pm, Load Buses/Depart 5:45pm, Game Time 7:30pm, Return to ERHS 11:00pm.
Ticket costs are most likely the same as our home games. We will update this page when we know for sure.

As our season is underway, you need to remember a few things. Everyone needs to make sure they are fundraising. Lunch Cart, Concessions, Ticket selling, etc. This needs to happen to make sure our band can continue to be as successful as we have been in the past.
Everyone needs to make sure that they are fully prepared for our performances. This means you have purchased your white marching shoes. They must be the Dinkle brand that we provide. You must also have a flip folder and lyre for the stands. Wear long white socks, gray show shirt, and gray athletic shorts.
This Friday is going to be a great time out at the ESPN field. I hope you are looking forward to it as much as I am!
Have a great week 2!