WEEKLY NEWS: July 15-21, 2018

FROM DIRECTOR SANDS

Movement Camp
Here we go! Marching Band activity resumes with Movement Camp. All members of the competitive marching band will work on body movement from 5 p.m. till 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Greg Hagen and Emma Derouin will begin training band and guard members on dance choreography and body work. Each student should bring a water cooler (a big one...not just a disposable water bottle!) and a yoga mat or beach towel.

Parent Meeting
The majority of funding for the band program comes from fundraising. All band parents are asked to attend a meeting Thursday, July 19 at 7:30 p.m. We will be discussing two of our most important fund raising activities. The Band Blast Car Wash will be August 11 and the Mattress Sale is August 26th. Every band family will be expected to participate.

Band Room Clean Out
Thank you to everyone who helped with the first band room clean out work session. Mr. Sands will host a second work session Saturday, July 21. Help will be needed from 8 until 11 a.m.

MANDATORY PARENT MEETING

Attention ALL BAND PARENTS (that means concert, jazz and marching)....There is a MANDATORY meeting on July 19th at 7:30 PM in the cafeteria. We will be discussing our upcoming events, fundraisers and commitments. We have two upcoming fundraisers that are a major part of our band budget, which benefits ALL band students. We will have a representative from our upcoming August 26th mattress sale to explain what we need to do, and what we can expect. This is a very simple, yet profitable fundraiser. We will also talk about Band Blast, our car wash fundraiser, coming up on August 11. Band blast tickets will be distributed at this meeting. A reminder, selling at least 10 band blast tickets is part of your student's commitment to the music program. This will also serve as our quarterly Band Booster General Meeting. Please send at least one representative per family.

BAND CAMP FIELD PARENTS NEEDED

Every year during Band Camp Week (July 23-27) we have parents on the practice field sitting under a canopy ready to attend to kids who may need a break, water or may be injured, unwell or need prescribed medication. We generally have 2 parents in the morning from 8 AM-Noon and 2 in the evenings between 6-8 PM. Students usually practice inside after lunch. Our Med Mom, Darcie Webster will be present at all evenings shifts and will provide a quick training to Field Parents after the mandatory meeting this Thursday. Please sign up if you are available. It is really fun to watch the kids put in such hard work! If you have questions, please contact Darcie darcie.webster@yahoo.com. 

To Sign Up: Go to CharmsOffice.com; click on Calendar; Scroll down to the date you want and click on the colorful hand. 

FLIP FLOPS ARE IN

If you sold flip flops, they will be available Monday 5-6 PM or at the Mandatory Parent Meeting on Thursday.

UNIFORM FITTINGS

We will begin fitting students for their band uniforms this week. Students will come home with an order form for marching shoes, parade shirts, and gloves. The first parade shirt for new students is included in band fees, and each student will receive 1 pair of white gloves. Have your student wear/bring socks this week if they will need to try on shoes. We do have some used shoes that were donated by past students. These can be purchased for $10. Band students are required to wear a white t-shirt and tall black socks under their uniforms. Please return order forms with payment to the brown box in the band room by August 1st. Please email any questions to uniforms@westfieldbandboosters.org.

FRIENDS & FAMILY

Earlier today I emailed out information on our Friends & Family program that allows parents, grandparents or anyone really, to contribute to Westfield Bands. If you like the idea of VIP concert seating and a special shout-out to your student and more, please look for it in your inboxes! If you are eligible for an employer match, this is an easy way to add to your donation and earn money for your student's account. Donations are tax-deductible!

Additionally, we are in the middle of our corporate sponsorship campaign. If you own or are affiliated with a business that would like to be a corporate sponsor, please use the following link to access our 2018 Sponsorship Brochure. In order to have your business logo on the banner we hang on the fence at football games, we will need it returned with a check by August 15th.

Friends & Family and Corporate Sponsorship info can be found here: http://www.westfieldbandboosters.org/fundraisers_101.html

LOOKING FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS

We are looking for professional and amateur photographers to take pictures this year at competitions, practices, concerts, football games, fundraisers and anytime we are out in the community. In the past we have allowed one professional parent photographer to travel with the marching band and gain backstage and limited field access during competitions using one of the few very valuable free passes we are provided. This parent must be willing to help push props or instruments, however. In exchange for professional photography services, we will make you a band sponsor, and you will receive all promotion, advertising and benefits of the Director Level. If you are a professional photographer without a current business to promote, we would consider you a Friends & Family Sponsor at the same level. This would also fulfill your volunteer requirement (loosely translated, no concessions, Band Blast, Shamrock Showcase or Craft Show for you unless you really want to).

In addition we generally have many amateur parent photographers who upload pics to Facebook or Dropbox. If you are interested in helping Band Boosters out in either capacity, please email Sarah Richardson secretary@westfieldbandboosters.org.

BAND CAMP DONATIONS

If you signed up to donate items for band camp lunches, Jenn will be at Movement Camp this week to pick them up. Please drop off Monday-Thursday from 4:30-5:30 or 8:30-9:30 PM. Questions? Email Jenn Etchemendy jjetchemendy@mmm.com. 

THIS WEEK

               Sunday...

               Monday...5-9 PM Movement Camp

                                6:15 PM Booster Board

               Tuesday...5-9 PM Movement Camp

               Wednesday...5-9 PM Movement Camp

               Thursday...5-9 PM Movement Camp (cafeteria)

                                  7:30 PM Mandatory Parent Meeting

                Friday...

                Saturday...8-11 AM Band Department Cleanout

COMING UP  

     July 23-27 Marching Camp (8 AM-8 PM)

     July 30-Aug 1 Marching Camp (5-9 PM)

     August 1 WWS Parent University 

     August 11 Band Blast Car Wash

     August 26 Mattress Sale

     November 17 Craft Show

     February 2 Shamrock Showcase