PARENT HANDBOOK 2014/2015 SEASON

Transcription

1 PARENT HANDBOOK 2014/2015 SEASON

2 The Tri-West Marching Blue Alliance Band and Guard Welcomes You! The Marching Blue Alliance (MBA) has a winning tradition, fostered by our talented students, dedicated and effective staff, and our supportive Band Boosters. The MBA experience will be a rewarding experience for both you and your student. It is an experience that requires a high level of commitment and dedication to excellence. This handbook will provide you with some essential information regarding the marching season and hopefully will answer many questions you may have. One key point to remember is that becoming actively involved with the band and guard will enhance this experience for you and your student. Key Contacts Staff Director of Bands Mark Frederick, fredericm@hendricks.k12.in.us Guard Caitlin Young Percussion Jon Amato Battery Jeremy Carrigg Visual Coordinator Bobby Coppadge Music/Visual John Hughes Drill Writer Jeff Gentry Band Boosters President Tammy Hansen, Vice President Dan Linville Treasurer Jim Riggs Co-Treasurer Debbie Springer Secretary Vicki Luzader Co-Secretary Joy Gehm Fundraising Theresa Hill Co-Fundraising Wendy Buckler Key Information Band Booster Meetings 4 th Tuesday of the month 6:30 p.m. Tri-West High School Music Suite

3 Websites of Interest Tri-West Marching Blue Alliance Tri-West Band Boosters Indiana School State Music Association Indiana High School Color Guard Assoc. Indiana Marching Indiana Percussion Association. (Click on Booster Clubs on left column of screen) Marching Terms and Acronyms: Auxiliary Non-instrumentalists who march and dance carrying flags, rifles etc. They garner valuable points at competitions. Band Booster- All the Band Parents as a group, the finest, most selfless, hardest working people on Earth. Band Camp- A week of the most fun you will have all summer. When you will learn the show and memorize the charts for movement. Call Time The time you are expected to be in your position, with your instrument, flag or rifle and ready to go. District Competition The first stage of championship contests, held to see who will proceed to regional. Those who fail are done for the season. Drum Majors Student Conductors who are leaders in the band, whether conducting or in their actions of leadership and support. Fair Share Mandatory fee collected from Band Parents of the band to assist in putting together a competition level marching band. Fundraising A vital and key element and responsibility of the band parents and staff for the survival and continued success of a band program. Invitational - The invitational contests are competitions where our students compete with other schools to improve and perfect their shows. These contests help prepare them for the ISSMA contests at the end of the marching season. These invitational contests are fundraisers for the other schools, thus admission fees are charged and concessions are available. MBA supporters form a fan block at the competitions to visually (here s where the theme shirts and sweat shirts come in) and vocally demonstrate our support for the MBA. ISSMA - The sanctioning body for the Indiana State School Music Association. Annually, this body conducts a District, Regional, Semi-State and State Final contest. The state finals are held at the Lucas Oil Stadium. MBA Marching Blue Alliance Parade An awesome time to give back to the community and wear cute khaki shorts and a Rad MBA Parade Shirt!!!!! We love those cadences..

4 Regional The next Competition in our journey to the Big Stadium Dance! Only the top bands from Regional competition go on to Semi-State. Sectionals A group of like instruments or activity like the guard that gets together to practice on their own separate from a scheduled MBA practice. Semi-State The next level of State Competition on our way to the finals, this level was added in State The BIG DANCE, held at Lucas Oil Stadium! Theme Shirt A shirt designed to go with the theme of the show. Worn by all MBA students at each competition before and after and by all supporters to the competition and around town! Bought on the Friday of Band Camp week only! You will want one!!!! BAND CAMP Band Camp is a weeklong intense practice where the season show really comes together. The kids will have practice Monday through Thursday from 9 am to 9 pm. On Friday practice will start at 9 am as usual however there will be the Band Family Pitch-in/Picnic at 6:30. This is an amazing week for the students and staff! By the end of the week, they will have learned most of the charting for this season s show!!! They will be spending the bulk of their day in the parking lot, marking and learning the show chart movements. Make sure they wear comfortable shoes and socks, NO SANDALS! Some kids bring an extra T-shirt and socks to change into midday. Make sure they pack lunch and WATER or other appropriate beverages such as Gatorade. NO SOFT DRINKS of any type, at any time during Band Camp week. Milk is not a good thing for the kids to drink before coming to band camp or throughout the day, as it will curdle in their stomachs. Please make sure they have enough snack items that they can eat throughout the day on a quick break. A cooler is a must and a water bottle, as well as additional bottles of water. If you freeze some of the water bottles each night, then they will have ice-cold water from 9-9. Band Boosters offer a dinner meal each night for the band kids. Parents are invited and encouraged to bring a lawn chair around 8:30 each night and congregate in the parking lot. This is a good time to meet other parents, get questions you might have answered and to see what an awesome job your MBA child is doing! You will truly be amazed and SO PROUD!!! OVERNIGHT FRIDAY NIGHT As a tradition, the students spend the night at the High School on Friday night of Band Camp week. This is an unwind time for them and a way to bring the week to an end. They will need to bring a sleeping bag and pillow, sleep wear and clean clothes for Saturday morning. They have awards that they give out to each other, do funny skits and just cut up. The seniors then make breakfast for everyone that spent the night and everyone cleans up the Band Suite. Mr.Frederick is always looking for parent volunteers to stay the night and chaperone. Without chaperones, the overnight does not happen.

5 BAND CAMP PITCH-IN AND MEETING The end of the week Band Camp Family Pitch-in/Picnic is held on the last night of Band Camp, Friday night at 6:30 pm. Please mark your calendars and plan to attend. There is usually a lot of valuable information given out and any questions can be answered. This is a pitch-in, we ask that everyone bring a main dish and also either a side dish or a dessert. The Band Booster Organization will provide the drinks and table service. The kids perform their show at the end of the night, which is a real treat! The night of the Pitch-in/Picnic, you may order the show Theme Shirt for yourself, family, and friends. Each band member will receive a theme t-shirt at no additional charge. They are offered in a basic T-shirt or polo. This is the shirt that Mr. Frederick designs, which follows the theme of the marching season show. Please note these will not be Tri-West High School colors. They may be red, green, black, blue etc. They are shirts that the kids will wear to the competitions and after the competitions, while they are waiting for the results. They are also the shirts that the MBA parents, relatives and friends of the band will wear to the competitions to unite us in the stands. Every school has their own theme shirt every year. When you see the grandstands with the different sections of parents and friends from each school sitting together, you will be amazed at the support there is. You will want a shirt!!!! Please make plans to buy all the shirts you and your family will need at the night of the Band Camp Pitch-in/Picnic. They will not be ordered at a later date and have limited if any extras available. All shirts must be paid for at the time of order. In addition, on the night of the Band Pitch-in/Picnic, it will also be a time for parents to pay the final installment of their child s fair share fees if you have not done so already. See Mr. Frederick if you have any questions at all. Finally, the Band Boosters will have a variety of Marching Blue Alliance items available for purchase or order such as shirts, sweatshirts, hats etc. Some things we have on hand but most will need to be ordered and can be personalized. We will try and have at least 2 order dates for MBA items to spread things out. Please make all checks out to Tri-West Band Boosters (TWBB), in blue or black ink. All merchandise must be paid for at the time of order. SATURDAY INVITATIONAL CONTESTS The first thing to know is that you should plan on the contest being an all day event. The kids may have a very early call time and not return until sometime in the evening. You will be given Saturdays Call Time, Load Time and Leave Time and estimated Return Time as soon as Mr. Frederick knows what they will be. These times are affected by; how much practice time the kids might need to fine-tune their show, what time our performance at the Invitational is, and how long it will take us to get to and from the school that is hosting the Invitational.

6 Students may need to pack a lunch, a snack or bring money to purchase items from the concession stand. We ask that they stick to nutritional foods and lots of water, NO SODA. They should make sure they have their theme shirt to wear before and after their performance and a jacket. They must make sure they have brought everything they need to perform and be prepared for their show. They will stay at the Invitational until the awards ceremony for our school classification is complete. The kids will be expected to help unload the uniforms; instruments and other show equipment when we return to Tri-West High School. Any parents that want to come in and help orchestrate this would be greatly appreciated. The more help, the quicker we get done and the students will be released. In addition, please make sure you are there for pick-up times promptly, so that Mr. Frederick can also leave on time after a long day. Performers are not encouraged to leave with their parents from the contest site. This puts an unfair load on others who must attend to their uniform and instrument when we return home. However, if this is unavoidable the performer is responsible for finding someone to unload their uniform and instrument when we return home. Performers will not be released to go home with others from the contest site without a signed parent note. Responses to frequently asked questions about Contest days: - They will march in light rain but not if there is a chance of lightning. We have marched in snow and ice before. Be prepared with blankets, ponchos or other gear. - There is an admission charge for all spectators to get into the contests. - You are highly encouraged to attend the marching contests and CHEER LOUDLY while our band is entering the performance field. However, once the band announcer addresses the band the entire STADIUM IS QUIET until the show begins! - Boosters generally sit together, with their themed shirts to help show their support for the band members. - Please be respectful of the other bands during their performances. FRIDAY NIGHT HOME FOOTBALL GAMES FOR THE STUDENTS: Students are to stay after school. They will have a short practice after school on Friday before dressing for the half-time MBA performance. It is a great way to practice in front of an audience and also to give back to the community and their school. They will then return back to the Band Suite to change and HANG UP THEIR UNIFORMS properly and completely. (It is very important that they do this so the uniforms are ready to use Saturday morning when we leave for the Invitational contest.) The MBA kids are expected to

7 remain until the end of the game. Then go home and rest up for the big day, an Invitational Contest!!! FOR THE PARENTS: We need you to make sure your child is there on time, ready to go at the designated time. Your child should have all uniform requirements clean and at school, uniform, shoes, gloves, socks, flags, rifles etc. We need parents to volunteer to assist before and after the half-time performance in the Band Suites to make sure things go smoothly and uniforms are hung up correctly. We need parents in the stands to CHEER for our Tri-West Marching Blue Alliance when they march out onto the field for their half-time performance. Stand up and applaud as they enter and exit the field let the kids know that you are there!!! LOCKER DECORATING To show our MBA and student pride we decorate MBA members lockers the Thursday night (usually 6-8) before District, Regional, Semi-State and State Competitions. It is the responsibility of each parent to decorate his or her child s locker. We decorate at the High School and the Middle School. A Middle School parent(s) is asked to take responsibility of keeping a list of locker names and numbers. We do not have the combinations; you must get those from your child, if you want to put special goodies inside for them. Traditionally we try to decorate along the lines of the Current Years Show Theme. Many parents are quite creative with their decorating. Some items you could use are: Crepe Paper, Streamers, banners, wrapping paper to cover the entire locker door, party favors and inexpensive toys and tie-ons, photos you have taken of your student (in magnetic frames or with stick magnets on the back), balloons, candy, Cut outs from cards, comics and graphics from the Internet, homemade items i.e. instruments, flags, foam letters, etc etc. AGAIN, NO SCOTCH TAPE!! Your creativity and personalization s make your child s locker special and quite honestly it MAKES THEIR DAY!!! The schools require blue painters tape or masking tape, scotch tape is absolutely forbidden. The child s locker must be able to be opened and close easily and not invade in their neighbor s space. *With the amount of MBA members we have, we cannot decorate each child s locker ourselves. We must rely on you to do your own child s locker. If you cannot make it, please make prior arrangements with someone else to do it. It s very sad when some of the kids are left out. Please don t let them down! Locker decorating gives them the encouragement and acknowledgement they need to go that extra mile. It also lets them know how proud we are of them and gives them public recognition among their peers. It just makes them feel special! Should anyone have any questions about locker decorating, please ask a veteran parent. Watch for s on this!

8 PEP RALLYS We will usually schedule a Parent/Family/Friend oh heck anyone is invited Pep Rally on the Thursday or Friday night before Regional, Semi-State and State Finals. This is an opportunity for family and friends to come out 30 minutes before practice is over and cheer during final run through. The kids love to perform for an audience. Your CHEERS AND APPLAUSE is like music to their ears. If you have someone that can t make it to a competition, this is the perfect place for him or her to see the show from beginning to end on the football field! Parents they LOVE it when you re there!!!! PARADES The Marching Blue Alliance marches in 2 parades a year: North Salem Old Fashion Days Parade, held the Saturday of Labor Day Week-end, and the Homecoming Parade. The kids are all required to wear the authorized Parade shirt, khaki shorts (long not short) and tennis shoes. The Parade shirts can be purchased from Mr. Frederick. Parents usually march with the kids to pass along bottles of water and show support for our awesome kids and community! PARENT VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES We are nothing without our volunteers! Fund Raisers Each year, the Tri-West Band Boosters conduct numerous fundraisers to provide funds for the general operations of the band, guard, and drum line. These funds are used for: support staff, uniforms, transportation, instruments, competition expenses, flags and props, and other miscellaneous expenses. These are funds that are not provided by the school, but are necessary to provide your students the necessary resources to compete at the highest level. 100% of the money raised goes into the program. A critical aspect of these fundraisers is the volunteer labor provided by parents and other family members (brothers, sisters, grandparents, aunts, and uncles). Fundraisers include: Trash bag sales, gift card sales, dinners and breakfasts, sponsorship drives, and others. Please respond to these fundraisers when called upon. We need you to also come and support us by getting your car washed, eating breakfast or selling a trash bag or two.

9 Football Concessions The majority of the funds generated on an annual basis for the Booster generated fundraising come from Tri-West varsity, junior varsity, and middle school concessions at the home football games. Volunteers are required to manage and operate the concessions for all of these games. Please sign up for a few dates and help generate these necessary funds. It only takes a few hours and it is really a lot of fun. Unfortunately, due to the limited space of the concession stand and the hot food that we are dealing with no children are allowed in the concession stand. No one under the age of 18 is permitted to work in the concession stand. If everyone would work at least 2 games, that would be awesome! Uniforms, Helmets, and Gloves Volunteers are required to fit and alter the uniforms at the beginning of the season. Once the uniforms are properly fit, a few volunteers are needed each week to check the uniforms after each competition to assure that they are ready for the next competition. Several volunteers are needed each week to make sure the helmets and plumes are ready for each competition. Pit Crew and Prop Help Volunteers are needed to help load and unload the equipment and instruments. Additional volunteers will also be needed to assist the students in transport of the sideline equipment, instruments and props to and from the competition fields each week, and maintain and repair equipment as necessary. Competition Refreshments 3 or 4 volunteers are needed at school before each competition to coordinate refreshments for the students at band competitions. This involves preparing ice jugs of ice water, coolers of bottled water, crackers, fruit, and other snacks prior to each competition. Also, on occasion, additional volunteers will be needed to assist with preparing and serving lunch before or in between a competition. Communications Communication with the family of each student is extremely important. The website is a valuable tool for resources and information. We will also communicate all competition related dates, times and requirements on a weekly basis via our secretary through . We will also communicate volunteer opportunities as well as any needs that may arise throughout the season. Therefore it is very important that we have valid addresses so that you will receive this information.

10 Frequently Asked Questions Q. What can I do to become involved? A. Read the above information, come to the Band Booster meetings, see one of the Band Booster officers, and make sure we have a valid for you and check it often for updates and reminders or let Mark Frederick know. Q. How do I show my support for the MBA? A. Financial support through Fair Share and additional donations. Purchase a theme T-shirt and/or an MBA sweatshirt. Then wear these items proudly. Q. How do I know when my student should be at school for a competition and how Will I know when to pick them up? A. Each week, Mr. Frederick will inform the students what time call, load, leave, and return times are. We will distribute them to you by . These times (if available in time) will also be posted on our website: To access the Band Boosters website, go to Click on Booster Clubs in the left-hand column. Q. What if I want to pick up my student from an invitational contest? A. Mr. Frederick MUST be informed, if possible, in advance. If your student rode the bus to a contest and will not be returning on the bus, a note should be given to Mr. Frederick. The bus cannot leave a contest until all students are accounted for. Q. I want to purchase some trash bags and a hooded sweatshirt. Who do I make my check out to? Where do I pick it up? A. All checks should be made out to TRI-WEST BAND BOOSTERS (TWBB) and should be written in BLUE OR BLACK INK only. Q. At the second Invitational you ask: Where can I get one of those theme shirts? A. You must buy them the night of the Band Camp Pitch-in/Picnic. You will want one so please make sure you order yours at that time. Q. How can I have as much fun as those other Band Parents are having? A. WORK A FOOTBALL CONCESSION STAND NIGHT, HELP OUT, GET INVOLVED! WHO ARE WE? TRI-WEST MBA PARENTS! WHAT ARE WE? THE BEST!!!!!!!!!!!