Marching Band
Marching Band Season 2008-09 Organizational
Meeting
Dear SPFHS Marching Band Parents and Guardians,
I would like to thank all of you for your participation and dedication to
the Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School Marching Band. We are very happy to
have so many new students and parents this year. I hope you all share in the
excitement around the upcoming 2008/09 season. To formally "kick off" the
2008/09 season, I will be hosting a meeting for ALL Marching Band
Parents/Guardians (not just the incoming Freshman class) on Thursday, May
15th @ 7:30pm in the SPFHS Auditorium. I look forward to seeing you there.
2008/09 will no doubt be a very exciting year, coming off another great New
Jersey State Champion Drum line last year, Mr. Gillick is quite anxious to
"Four Peat" this season. The wonderful SPFHS Color Guard also captured the
State and All State Title where the entire Marching Band concluded the
competitive season with an impressive 2nd Place finish! The Percussion
section will not be losing many seniors this year, so you can expect another
tremendous percussion section from these talented young people! The overall
band, however, will be ushering in a lot of first time members as we wave
goodbye to 20 seniors. We are very anxious to get these rookies aboard on
the SPFMB Train. There will be many who step forward to carry on the spirit
and dedication of this current senior class. We have a new schedule for the
summer. We will be adding 5 rehearsals in the month of July for those "non-
vacationing" marching band students. The goal being, to have the first and
as much of the second selection learned with drill by the time "Band Camp"
starts in August! This year, Band Camp will be held from Monday 8/18th
through Friday 8/22nd, and Monday 8/25th through Thursday 8/28th. We hope to
see all of you at our preview show at the end of Band Camp (Thursday 8/28th
at 6:30pm at the Evergreen Field), or at any of our football games and
competitions.
Enclosed please find a Marching
Band Information Sheet,
Schedule,
Permission Form,
Volunteer Sheet, and
Membership Letter.
I hope to address any questions you may have on May 15th, but if you ever
have a need for additional information or clarification on anything at all,
you are certainly welcome to email me at dthomas@spfk12.org or call the
office (908) 889-8600.
Permission forms and volunteer sheets should be returned to the BLUE BOX
(found in the HS Music Office) by June 9th, or mailed to Lisa McNally @ 2248
Shawnee Path, Scotch Plains. Also, I strongly encourage you to join the SPF
Music Boosters Association, a parent organization that helps organize and
chaperone numerous Music Department activities throughout the year.
Once again, I look forward to seeing all of you on Wednesday, May 15th @
7:30pm in the SPFHS Auditorium. And please don’t hesitate to contact Lisa,
Kate or myself before then.
Sincerely,
Durand Thomas
SPFHS Marching Band Director
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At Scotch
Plains-Fanwood High School, participation in the Marching Band is an
extra-curricular activity. The
Marching Band has a two-fold purpose:
- First, to
support the school's varsity football team at all home and away games, and
- Second, to
develop proficiency in the Marching Band/Performance Band format, and to perform
at local competitions
Participation
in the Marching Band requires a great deal of dedication on the part of both the
students and faculty, and a solid commitment to attend all practices, games and
competitions.
Band Camp
There is a
two-week Band Camp for the Marching Band in late August prior to school opening. The first week runs from
8:00am to 8:00pm and the second week from 8:00am
to 4:00pm, with breaks for lunch and dinner as appropriate.
Parent Performance
On the evening of the last day of Band Camp there is an
opportunity for the parents to attend and participate in the Marching
Band activity.
Practices
Thereafter,
practices are twice a week (usually one in the evening and one after school) as
well as Saturday mornings prior to the football games.
Games & Competitions
There is a football game nearly every Saturday (or occasionally on Friday
evenings) from early September through Thanksgiving and five or six
competitions on either Saturday nights or Sundays. Our last regular season game
is on Thanksgiving Day, usually at 10:30am. This game is at home every other year.
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Uniforms
The Music Department provides the students with
Marching Band uniforms, with the exception of socks and shoes, which must be
purchased by the students. The
shoes may be ordered through the Music Department. A contract will be issued for care of the uniforms, which must be read,
signed and returned to the "BLUE BOX". It is the student's responsibility to take care of the uniform
- a
charge will be assessed to cover the cost of any lost or damaged articles. Specific information regarding the care and cleaning of the uniform will
be provided and must be followed.
Marching Band Info & Forms
Marching Band Volunteer Opportunities
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Marching Band Home
Show
The Marching Band 2008 season is fast approaching, and as many of you
know the SPFHS Marching Band Raiders will be hosting our 10th Annual
Marching Band Festival, also called the Home Show, on
Saturday, September 13, 2008. This is a chance for us to participate as
a community in a time-honored marching band tradition and to continue the
proud musical heritage of Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School. Typically, this
event is the largest fundraiser the Music Boosters hold. We are particularly
excited this year given our brand-new High School field--and the fact that
we have at present 10 bands attending (last year we had 5 bands)!
This event is 100% run by volunteers. Given the size of this year's show, we
estimate we will need more than 60 volunteers! Given the fast approaching
mid-September date, we need to begin planning now. We invite you to an
informational meeting regarding the Home Show Band Festival to be held in
the Multi Purpose Room at the High School on July 22 at 7:30 p.m.
This date was chosen to coincide with the Marching Band's evening practice.
At this meeting we will explain what will happen at the Home Show, describe
opportunities for you to participate and entertain any questions you may
have. Our goal is to end the meeting with folks volunteering for specific
committees. Many opportunities exist across a range of time commitments.
Many of you have already expressed a desire to help. We are grateful for
your expression of interest and look forward to seeing you on July 22. If
this is the first chance you have had to consider volunteering that's great!
All are welcome. We look forward to seeing many new faces! If you are unable
to attend the meeting, please get in touch by email and we'll reach out to
you in the coming weeks!
Please mark your calendar for Tuesday, July 22, 2008. We look to
meeting you and working together in support of our children and the SPFHS
music program.
Click here for Forms
Regards,
Mike Graziano
Bea Ebeling
2008 Band Festival Home Show Co-Chairs
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From
the Desk of Durand Thomas....