This is a reminder that students will meet for the Memorial Day Parade, Monday, May 28, 9:15 am across from Post Office on Cincinnati Dayton Road.   Summer uniform will be worn.

Since it is expected to be quite hot this year, we encourage all student to get acclimated to the weather over the weekend.   Also the morning of the parade, please eat a good breakfast and make sure you are hydrated before reporting to the parade.   The Lakota West Upbeat Club will have water for the students when the arrive at the end of the parade prior to the program at West Chester Cemetery.

The annual Lakota Upbeat Corporation general  meeting will be held Wednesday, June 13^th at 7 pm in the Lakota WEST band room.

The next regularly scheduled Lakota West Upbeat Club meeting will be held Tuesday, August 21^st at 7:30.

Have a safe summer.  Keep checking the band website for all the latest band info.

…supporting our bands one bite at a time.

The next ‘Taste’ will be Wednesday, May 23 from 5-9 p.m. at Smashburger, 7598 Cox Lane West Chester, Across from VOA Center.

Bring in the attached Smashburger Flyer and the band will receive 20% of your check in donation from Smashburger. Print as many as you like and email them to your friends and family. Smashburger will also accept this flyer electronically. Show them your smart phone with this flyer on the screen then order your favorite Burger and shake (made with Haagen-Dazs!!), veggie burger, salad, chicken sandwich or whatever suits your mood! …you can even get sweet potato fries and fried pickles!!

Whatever you order, it will be served to you by our fabulous director staff! It’s their way to say ‘Thank You’ for a smashingly successful year!!

Check out their menu here:

Uniform Collection is after Monday’s Concert. Jackets and pants will be collected–make sure to bring something to wear home. Winds will also be turning in garment bags and tuxedo hangers–make sure you bring those in. There are still some marching parkas and hats still out–we can accept those. A donation box will be available for ties, cummerbunds, etc, that are no longer wanted so we have loaners etc on hand for next year. Email uniforms@lakotawestbands.org with questions or to volunteer to help.

1. Spring Concert for Red & White Symphonic Bands and Symphonic Winds on Monday, May 21, 7:00 pm, Main Campus.
2. Spring Concert for the Freshman Bands, Tuesday, May 22, 7:00 pm, Freshman Auditorium. Report time for the Freshmen is 6:00 pm. We will be rehearsing the combined Freshman Bands for about 20 minutes. This is the ONLY time the combined bands can rehearse. Please make arrangements for the students to be there.
3. Final exams for Freshmen: 7th period, Tuesday, May 29; 6th period, Thursday, May 31.
4. Rookie Marcher Day is Thursday, May 31 from 1:00-4:00 pm. There are no activity buses running this day as the kids will be dismissed earlier in the day. Please plan on having your student at Main Campus in the band room by 1:00 on Thursday. All Freshmen who will be in marching band in the fall are expected to attend.
5. There will be a meeting for the rookie marching band parents at 3:30 pm in the Auditorium at Main Campus. Even if you’re not a “rookie” parent, we encourage you to come to this meeting. Band camp plans will be discussed and band camp is NOT the same as prior years-we are NOT going to Wright State University and you may have questions about how this is going to work.

That’s it, it’s been another great year and we’re almost done!

A directory will be posted soon in Charms with student name, address, phone, cell phone and e mail address.  This information came from the marching band registration info you submitted.  If you do not wish to have your information listed (either entirely or a specific field), please send an e mail to membership@lakotawestbands.org by Wednesday May 25^th.

You will need your Charms password to access the directory and this document should not be circulated outside of the band family.   If the information listed is not correct, please update your Charms account AND e mail the changes to membership@lakotawestbands.org so the document can be updated.    If you need help with Charms access, please send an email to membership@lakotawestbands.org.

As we’re getting closer to the end of the school year, there are lots of things happening. Here’s what’s happening.

1. Wednesday, May 16 – Lakota Ridge Spring Concert, 6:30, 8:15 pm
2. Thursday, May 17 – Lakota Plains Spring Concert, 6:30, 8:00 pm
3. Monday, May 21 – Spring Concert at Lakota West High School-Red & White Symphonic Bands, Symphonic Winds, Concerto Concert with Symphonic Winds (Stephanie Belieu, Marimba, Rebecca Frederick, Clarinet)
4. Tuesday, May 22 – Spring Concert at the West Freshman School, report time for BOTH bands is 6:00 pm. We are performing a piece with both bands combined and this rehearsal is the ONLY rehearsal we have with the combined band.
5. Wednesday, May 23 – Dinner at Smash Burger. Come and eat and the band makes money!
6. Tuesday, May 29 – 7th period band has final exam.
7. Thursday, May 31 – 6th period band has final exam.

ROOKIE MARCHER DAY, Thursday May 31st, 1:00-4:00 pm. All current Freshman who will be in marching band for the 2012-13 school year should be there. Students are dismissed early from school this day. There are no activity buses. Students need their instruments for Rookie Marcher Day.

Students should wear athletic shoes and socks (no flip-flops or sandals-they will have blisters in a matter of minutes), and they should wear comfortable athletic clothing.

ROOKIE MARCHER PARENT MEETING, 3:30 PM. All rookie marcher parents should plan on attending this meeting. You will learn everything you ever wanted to know about marching band at Lakota West and more.

That’s it, as you can see, lots happening. As always, if there are any questions, please contact Phil Chumley at Phillip.Chumley@lakotaonline.com or Greg Snyder at Greg.Snyder@lakotaonline.com.

Student Accounts – Effective June 1, 2012 students will no longer be able to accumulate funds in their student accounts.  Students will be able to apply any funds that are currently in the account following our previous guidelines, but cannot accumulate any additional funds.  This was done to bring us in line with the IRS guidelines for 501c3 organizations.   You will still need to check your Charms account to see what payments are outstanding for trips and other fees.   We are working with the school district and band directors to see if there is another way that these types of accounts can be offered through the school district.  Please continue to watch for updates on alternate solutions.

Charms Maintenance – At the start of each fiscal year we must “roll over” the Charms system.   The Lakota West Upbeat Club’s financial year is June 1 – May 31.   Charms and Pay-Pal will be off-line June 1^st – 3rd and will be back up on June 4^th.   Please do not make any updates in Charms or make any payments via Pay-Pal during this time.   We are moving the Band Camp payment that is currently due on June 1 to be due on June 15^th so this outage will be less of an inconvenience to everyone.

Because of the significant change to the Upbeat Club’s largest
fundraiser, we’re looking to spread the word about the “new” Kroger
Card Program which requires people to register their Kroger Plus Card
in order to earn money for the Lakota West Bands.

We’ll be setting up Laptop Registration Stations at the last concerts
of the year at the Junior Highs, the Freshman School and the High
School.

We’re looking for 1-2 extra people to help man the stations. You
don’t have to be an expert…. You just have to be able to follow the
step by step instructions we’ll have at each station. There will be
other “experts” working with you. We’re also looking for additional
laptops to use at the Registration Station. If you can volunteer as
well as bring a laptop with you, that would be appreciated.

The concerts we need help with are:
Ridge Jr. High Concerts – Wed. May 16 – 6:15pm until about 9pm
Plains Jr. High Concerts – Thurs. May 17 – 6:15pm until about 9pm
Red/White/Winds Concerts – Mon. May 21 – 6:30pm until about 9:30pm
Freshman Concerts – Tues. May 22 – 6:30pm until about 9pm

If you can help with any of these concerts, please contact Suzanne
Brungs at 759-0987 or email Kroger@lakotawestbands.org.

1. Congrats to all 3 bands receiving a Superior Rating at State Contest. Only Band program in the state of Ohio with 2 Class A Bands and Class AA Band to do so!!
2. All Sousaphone players report to Band room at 7:30 on May 19 for Sousa Day fund raiser of hosting Musical Carousel.
3. Important Dates and Times to finish year:
1. Spring Concert, May 21, 7:00
2. Freshman Concert, May 22, 7:00
3. Smash Bros Dinner, May 23 evening
4. Band Awards, May 24, 6:30
5. Memorial Day Parade, May 28, 9:15 across from Post Office
6. Grad Band rehearsal, May 29, 3 – 4
7. Grad Band rehearsal, May 30 , 1 – 2
8. Leadership Team Meeting, May 30, 2 -3
9. Mini-Camp, May 31, 1 – 4
10. Graduation, June 3, bus to Miami at 11:00