Congratulations to all of our students who auditioned for the All-West Orchestra last weekend. We are especially proud of the following students who were selected for the Symphony Orchestra:
Colin Cantwell – Bassoon
Ashley Kim – Flute
Amy Li – Flute
Major Glenn – Clarinet
Nicole Fan – Horn
Charles Borgsmiller – Tuba
Vaidehi Bhatara – Violin
Outstanding job guys and gals!
As we begin to transition into our various smaller ensembles for concert band the weekly messages will become more sporadic. Please be sure to check the calendar for all of our important dates.
The final Band Booster Dues payment was last Friday (11/15). All Band Booster Dues are now past due. Please contact Cheryl Morton (cdasmorton@me.com) with any questions about outstanding balances.
Also, the second installment for the spring trip to New York was due on November 1st. Contact Polly Cotton with any questions about the Spring Trip (cotton17@aol.com).
We will be kicking off our planning for the 2020 Houston High School Colorfest with a mandatory meeting on December 3rd at 7:00pm in the HHS Band Room. This meeting is Mandatory for all Percussion and Color Guard Parents. Please make plans to attend this very important meeting.
Celebrating our seniors and their families at the end of marching season on Senior Night is a Houston Band tradition, and that time is upon us. Senior Night is this Tuesday, November 19th. The band booster hospitality committee will be providing a dessert reception that begins at 7 pm in the cafeteria before additional festivities in the auditorium, and we could use a little help setting up from 5-7. Parents of underclassmen are especially needed to volunteer as we want to give senior parents the opportunity to enjoy the evening with their child-- as one day we will celebrate our senior musicians. There are a couple of volunteer spots open for serving and clean up as well if you would like to help but need to start a little later. Also, feel free to come at 6 pm to help set up if 5 pm is too early.
Just use the link to sign up to help set up, serve, and/or clean up on Senior Night, Tuesday, November 19th in the high school cafeteria.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040B4EA4AA23A13-thehouston1
~Anna Terry & Amy Eoff
THIS WEEK
Monday (11/18) Varsity Winter Guard Rehearsal 3:00-5:30
Tuesday (11/19) Symphonic Band Rehearsal 3:00-4:30
Marching Band Senior Recognition 7:00
Wednesday (11/20) Varsity Winter Guard Rehearsal 3:00-5:30
Thursday (11/21) Wind Ensemble Rehearsal 3:00 - 4:30
Friday (11/22) Playoff Football vs. Whitehaven
6:15pm – Students in places for Warm-Ups
7:00pm – Kick-Off
~9:30pm – Game Ends/Pick up students from Band Room
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Band Website
Please take a moment to visit www.thehoustonband.com. You can find great info about the program and the goings on here. Be sure to visit the Members area to find information about Band Booster Dues, The Spring Trip, Volunteer Opportunities, and lots more!
Calendar
Please keep checking the calendar on the HHS Band Website. All of our upcoming dates can be found there: https://www.thehoustonband.com/calendar Upcoming Dates:
- 11/18: Varsity Winter Guard Rehearsal (3:00-5:30)
- 11/19: Symphonic Band Rehearsal (3:00-4:30)
- 11/19: Senior Marching Band Recognition Night
- 11/20: Varsity Winter Guard Rehearsal (3:00-5:30)
- 11/21: Wind Ensemble Rehearsal (3:00-4:30)
- 11/22: Home Playoff Game vs. Whitehaven
- 12/3: Colorfest Parent Meeting – ALL PERCUSSION AND COLORGUARD PARENTS ARE REQUIRED TO ATTEND
Band Booster Dues
Thank you to all who have paid their dues on time and/or in full! If you haven’t made your fourth and final payment, it is now PAST DUE (as of November 15th)!
Please work to stay current on these payments as this is how we fund Band Camp and the purchasing of all of the materials/equipment for Band Camp, marching season and concert season.
As a reminder, a minimum of three payments totaling $725 should have been paid for all band members at this time. The 2019-20 band dues payment schedule is as follows:
May 15th $200
July 15th $175
Sept 15th $175
Nov 15th $175 <— WE ARE PAST HERE!!!
Student Accounts
Student Account balances are available in a spreadsheet in charms. An updated file that includes monies raised from Commissary Coupons is now available in Charms.
1. Log into Charms at www.charmsoffice.com
2. Enter “HHSBandBoosters” as the school code
3. Use your “Student Area Password” that you share with your student
4. The spreadsheet is in the “Handouts & Files” folder
Spring Trip Update
We will be traveling to New York City to perform at Carnegie Hall (3/21/20-3/24/20). Our students will be part of the World Premiere of a piece commissioned for the Houston High School Band and composed by Brant Karrick (https://www.windrep.org/Brant_Karrick). This is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity for our students to be part of Houston Band History.
The Cost- $1850. Don’t Freak Out! We will have plenty of opportunities for fundraisersdirectly into Student accounts.
-Payment Schedule-
October 1- $400
November 1- $400 – This payment was due over 2 weeks ago
December 1- $400
January 15- $400
February 15- $250
Payments will go directly to the boosters not travel company. For those wanting to make Spring Trip payments via PayPal, please visit the band website at thehoustonband.com, click on Members, then Spring Trip. Installments payments can be initiated using the PayPal section. Payments can also be mailed to HHS Band Boosters, PO Box 38233, Germantown, TN 38183. Please include indication that payment is for the Spring Trip, Student’s Name and any other instructions regarding payment or use of student account funds.
REMEMBER: All Band Dues must be paid for a student to be eligible for the Spring Trip.
Fundraiser Update
Please continue to support The Houston Band by purchasing treats from our sponsors at home football games – Say Cheese Food Truck, Mempops, and Donut Hutt. Now that you've committed to the New York trip, we are trying to offer new and different fundraisers to help you cover costs as much as possible. We have an online shopping link for you to share with your friends, family, coworkers, etc. FORTY percent of the total sales of each order you get goes directly to your student account. Spend $100, $40 is going to your student account. If you are sharing the link with others, have them put your student's name in as "Seller First and Last Name" in order for us to give you the credit. The link to share is as follows: https://www.boonsupply.com/collections/603634-the-houston-band-boosters
For the sports fans in your life, we are working on an online shop that has team sports paraphernalia, like Tervis tumblers, stainless cups and bottles, Koozies, and coolers, as well as pet items, candles and calendars. More info to follow.
Wreath Sale - Our wreath fundraiser has started and brochures were sent home with the students last week. 100% of funds raised go to your student’s account! This is a great way to pay dues, trip fees, etc.
Mustang Moola- When you go to www.shopwithscrip.com, set up an account using enrollment code: F9L39E9E4629 and buy eGift cards (ScripNow) only, NOT physical or reloadable cards. On the left hand side of screen, change the search to “card type” and select ScripNow so you don’t get confused! There are thousands of retailers who offer rebates for buying their cards, and new this year, the entire rebate goes to your student account! Think food vendors like Starbucks, McDonald’s, Chili’s, Subway. Think about everyday purchases like Target and Wal-mart, TJ Maxx, Old Navy. Think about home improvement like Lowe’s and Home Depot (we bought a new fridge with Home Depot gift cards!) Think travel plans like Carnival and Hotels.com, Air BnB! With some high dollar purchases you’ll be making anyway, put it on a gift card and get the rebate benefit!
Merchandise - We are working on getting winter gear and will have an order form out soon. In the meantime, we still have a few Show Shirts (mostly smalls and mediums), stadium seats, stadium blankets, tumblers, magnets, car decals, and yard signs. If you need any of that, please reach out to Tricia Hardin-901-412-5486, or tghardin@aol.com.