West Jordan Marching Band Parent Meeting May 7th, 2018

Welcome Welcome to the WJHS Marching Band! Your student is going to have a blast participating in Marching Band this summer and fall! Tonight I hope to address as many questions and concerns as possible by giving you all the information I have at this point.

What is Marching Band? Largest instrumental ensemble at the school Most publicly represented part of the Band Program Performs at community parades and performances in the summer Competes at competitions throughout the state in the fall, including a state championship in St. George, Utah

Why should your student do Marching Band? #1, It’s FUN! Students make lots of friends and get to make music together.

Why should your student do Marching Band? It helps students to grow in multiple areas such as: Time Management (Marching Band takes up a lot of time!) Social Skills/Teamwork Musical Development Exercise! (Did we mention students get P.E. credit for taking marching band?) Responsibility Music Pass-offs Memorizing Drill/choreography Competitive environment means everyone is responsible to each other to help the team succeed!

What’s the show for this year?

Cataclysm! Respond, Reflect, Rebuild

My student is in 8th Grade, what does marching band look like for us? Summer Band only! All parades and summer practices All events such as Corps Encore, Drum Corps Show at Alta HS, Band Socials Invited to join us for Pep Band in the fall for Home Football Games.

My student is in 8th Grade, what does marching band look like for us? Summer Band only! Fee is $15!!! Get’s you a t-shirt for performances(Payable in the WJHS attendance office as “Summer Camps and Clinics”) Turn in Camps and Clinics Form (Get here at the meeting) $40 instrument/equipment rental fee (only if you are using a high school instrument. Please talk to your band teacher about their rental policy, fees and availability)

Rehearsal Schedule Summertime: June 24-28th, PARADE CAMP, 8am-12pm July: Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 8am-12pm (except week of 4th) August: 29th-31st (pre-Band Camp) Winds/Perc 8am-12pm 29th-31st (choreography camp) Guard 9am-5pm 5th-8th Band Camp (mandatory for all participants) 8am-8pm

My Student is in 9th-12th Grade, what does marching band look like for us? Summer and Fall! 9th-12th grade students are expected to be part of the competitive group throughout the summer and fall. In addition to summer events and rehearsals, students attend Band Camp (August 5th-8th), fall rehearsals, competitions, and State Championships Students are enrolled in Marching Band as a class on their schedule (10th period). They can earn .5 Credits of P.E. Activities credit (required for graduation)

My Student is in 9th-12th Grade, what does marching band look like for us? Band Camp August 5th-8th, 8am-8pm. Students put show music with drill (learned during camp) Mandatory for all students wishing to participate (48 hours of camp is too difficult to make up due to the nature of how drill is learned) Long, hot, difficult, but WORTH IT!

My Student is in 9th-12th Grade, what does marching band look like for us? Fall Rehearsals Mondays 3:15pm - 6:15 pm Wednesdays 3:15pm - 6:15 pm Thursdays 6:00pm - 9:00pm (until October, then moves to 3:15pm - 6:15pm) ***Because this is a class, School Attendance Policy will be enforced and absences/tardies will have to be made up to receive class credit.

My Student is in 9th-12th Grade, what does marching band look like for us? Competitions Beginning in mid-September, the band travels around the state to competitions. Sept 21st Weber Review (Exhibition) Sept 28th Mt Nebo Competition Early Oct (TBD) Bingham HS (Exhibition) Oct 5th USU Competition (Logan) Oct 12th WFI Competition (Herriman) Nov 2nd Mt Timp Competition (Pleasant Grove) November 7th-9th State Championships in St. George, Utah

My Student is in 9th-12th Grade, what does marching band look like for us? Family Night Date: September 9th (Monday) 7pm What is it? Family and Friends come, watch the marching band warm-up, witness a full performance of the show, and get invited to be part of the show themselves for that night!

Football Games The Marching Band acts as a Pep Band at some home football games at WJHS. Students are expected to participate, and are allowed to miss one game with special permission. Typically students call time is 1 hour prior to kick off and the games typically finish around 9:30 pm. This year the band will attend the following games for pep band. August 30th (Friday Night) Homecoming Game (likely either 20th or 27th of September) October 17th (Thursday Night)

My Student is a Percussionist If your student is a percussionists, they have 3 extra days of rehearsal in the summer on June 20, 21, and 22. Please note that this is BEFORE parade camp. These will last from 8-10 am. These rehearsals are important for your student to be placed on the correct instrument as well as learn the percussion techniques ahead of the Parade Camp in the following week. Students who do not come to these rehearsals may be placed on instruments after the fact, which may not necessarily reflect their desired spot. Please do your best to have your students at these rehearsals When the percussion is doing well, everyone benefits from it!

My Student is in Colorguard Auditions for Colorguard Parent meeting (tonight, congratulations, you made it!) Clinics May 8th-9th in the band room/commons from 4-6:30pm Auditions May 10th in the band room 4pm-6:30pm Students do not have to have prior experience. All students are encouraged to attend the clinics before auditions to learn necessary routines.

My Student is in Colorguard If your student is planning to be in colorguard, you should be aware of two things. We are currently in the process of choosing uniforms for guard members. Guard students pay for their uniform in full, but they then get to keep their uniform forever. This raises the fees of guard students slightly compared to wind/percussion members. The week before band camp, the guard comes to their own separate camp to learn all their choreography for the competitive show so that they are ready to put it with the drill they learn at band camp.

Now the part you are all waiting for, the $$$ Unfortunately, like most activities at the school, we are nearly entirely self-funded. Everything from paying for staff, competition fees, travel, uniforms, etc. is covered by fees. I do my very best to keep student fees as low as possible. In, fact we were able to lower the overall cost of participating for every student by $50 from last year. That being said there is a significant fee to participate with the marching band.

For 8th Grade Summer Participants June 1- $15 camps and clinic fee, to be paid by cash or check to Wendi Matavao in the WJHS attendance office with Summer Camps and Clinics form. June 28- $40 instrument rental fee (summer only). This fee is for students who borrow a High School instrument for their participation in Summer Band. All percussion members pay this fee. If your student has their own instrument, they don’t need to pay this fee.

For 9th-12th Wind/Percussion Participants June 1- $100 ($25 less than last year!) camps and clinic fee, #1 to be paid by cash, card, or money order to Wendi Matavao in the WJHS attendance office with Camps and Clinics form #1 June 28- $100 ($25 less than last year) Camps and Clinics fee #2, to be paid by cash, card or money order to Wendi Matavao in the WJHS attendance office with the Camps and Clinics form #2 July 9- Drop Deadline After this date, students with a contract turned in will be obligated to pay all fall deposits, even if they should choose not to participate. July 20 - $150 Fall Deposit #1 This fee is the “district participation fee” August 5 - $110 Fall Deposit #2 (Meal fee, uniform rental fee, advanced class fee) August 30 $80/$45/$125 Fall Deposit #3 (Equipment Rental/Shoes/Both)

For 9th-12th Colorguard Participants June 1- $100 ($25 less than last year!) camps and clinic fee #1, to be paid by cash, card or money order to Wendi Matavao in the WJHS attendance office with Camps and Clinics form #1 June 28- $100 ($25 less than last year) Camps and Clinics fee #2, to be paid by cash, card or money order to Wendi Matavao in the WJHS attendance office with the Camps and Clinics form #2 July 9- Drop Deadline After this date, students with a contract turned in will be obligated to pay all fall deposits, even if they should choose not to participate. July 20 - $150 Fall Deposit #1 This fee is the “district participation fee” August 5 - $120 Fall Deposit #2 (Uniform purchase) August 30 $100/$130 - Fall Deposit #3 ($110 Meal fee, Advanced level class fee and Equipment rental. $30 shoes if needed)

For all 9th-12th Grade Participants September 30 $120 Tour Payment #1 (this amount is an estimate and may change) October 31 $120 Tour Payment #2 (this amount is an estimate and may change)

Total Costs 8th Graders = $15-$55 9th-12th Graders Winds/Percussion $460 (already own shoes and instrument) OR $585 (w/ shoes and instrument rental) $240 (may go up or down) for “Tour”, TOTAL= $700-$825

Total Costs 9th-12th grade Guard Members $570 (already own shoes) OR $600 (w/ shoes purchase) $240 (may go up or down) for “Tour”, TOTAL= $805-$840

WOW, that’s a LOT of money! Yes, it is! From those fees your student will get. 200+ hours of instruction - T-Shirts (woot!) 16+ public performance opportunities - Friendships that last! 1 Drum Corps Show - Learned Responsibility A 3 day trip to St. George - Possibly some trophies Food at all competitions! - Time not spent on “other activities” Cherished Memories for a lifetime!

Let’s Break It Down The district would like us to breakdown the fee structure in the spirit of total transparency. (This does not include tour payments) Winds/Percussion Guard Participation $150 $150 C&C (x2) $200 $200 Uniform $50 $120 Class Fee $30 $30 Meals $30 $30 Equipment Rental $80 $40 Shoes $45 $30 Total $585 $600

WOW, that’s a LOT of money! In order to allow as many students as possible to participate, we run as many fundraisers as possible to give the students opportunity to lower their costs. All students are highly encouraged to participate in fundraising, regardless of financial status.

Fundraisers How much of fundraisers go to members of the band? Depends on the fundraiser, but we try to get them from 40-50% of what is raised. Fundraisers work differently now because of some legislative changes. Funds raised are pooled to help reduce costs of tour. (As I understand it). This is a new change for this year and we are trying to figure the best way to make sure your student gets a fair shot at fundraising to reduce their costs.

Financial Aid? If you qualify for financial aid, see the main office for details on participating in Marching Band.

How do I sign up? 8th Graders, Fill out the Camps and Clinics form #1 for your student (be sure to have the right one, specifically marked for 8th grade participants). Turn that in with your $15 tshirt payment and you are good to go. 9th-12th Graders, Fill out both of the Camps and Clinics forms (#1 and #2) and turn them into the attendance office with your $100 payment. Also be sure to sign and turn in your Marching Band Contract to Mr. Ashcraft. If you don’t turn in a contract, you will not get a spot written for you in the show. Both are due May 31st

Band Boosters (aka parents!) The Marching Band takes a lot of adult help to keep it running. These are the areas we need help in each year: Props Meals - Band Camp Meals - Competition Days School Trailer Pulling U-Haul Trailer Pulling Fundraisers Uniforms Volunteer Organization Audience attendance Parades Please sign up today for the area you are interesting in.

Questions? Contact Mr. Ashcraft Email: taylor.ashcraft@jordandistrict.org Phone: (801) 256-5600 x75658 Contact Rebecca Pack (Booster/volunteer info) rlitch12@gmail.com