Hello all!

The Band Buzz always contains A LOT of information for parents! Sometimes the sheer volume of information can feel overwhelming, even if it's all important. To help busy readers sort through the most critical elements of each Buzz, I'll try to include a short list of the key aspects and any action items required near the top of each post. This will give you both full details and a bullet-point type checklist near the top of the page for those who might find that helpful each week.

Thank you,

Rebecca Garland

vp@clhsband.org

You might also strongly consider syncing the band's calendar with your own calendar app to be sure you always have the latest updates on dates and times of our many activities throughout the year.

*To sync the band's Google calendar with your own, click on the small Google Calendar icon on the bottom right corner of the band calendar.

A few tips and things to think about over the coming week as we prepare:

* If your students have gone nocturnal like mine, try to get them back on a normal sleep schedule before Monday. It's going to be hot and draining to be outside for all students, and miserable for those running on no sleep!

* If you have a returning band member, find and clean their red water jug. New band members will need lots of water, so a water jug full of ice water is essential!

*Speaking of water, encourage your student to start drinking more of it. They want to be fully hydrated!

* Band members are practicing in white shirts - any white shirts - this year. Might be time to pick up some inexpensive ones or have your kiddo do some laundry to prepare.

* Be sure your band member has comfortable athletic shoes for practice. Teenage feet grow a lot over the summer...

* Find a good hat and sunglasses to help manage the early morning sun.

* Dust off that instrument and play a few scales!

Please make sure you take care of your physical by next week!

All students must have a completed physical on file to participate in marching band beginning on Monday July 25, 2022. This is a hard deadline! If a student does not have a completed physical form, they will have to sit out the marching portion from 8:00-10:00 am until a physical is turned in. Missed rehearsals will jeopardize their position in the Varsity Marching Band.

CCISD uses RankOneSport.com to handle physicals management. You will need to reference the attached “Physical Form and Rank One Instructions” .pdf for instructions on how to upload your completed physical form, enter your medical history information, and enter emergency information, etc. You will need to print the first two pages and take them to a doctor to do the physical, then use the instructions to upload it to Rank One. Everything will be entered online or uploaded via your Rank One account.

Here is the link for more instructions: https://ccisdnet-my.sharepoint.com/:b:/g/personal/jpearce_ccisd_net/ETgSIGbcvKFAsqPRN6mn9pEBAvzEII3f5idkh_XGa05G-A?e=5q0sUi

During the first 2 weeks of summer band (July 25th - Aug 5th ), students rehearse outside 7-10 a.m. and then come inside for rehearsal. Mr. Pearce has given approval to distribute popsicles to students to enjoy during their SHORT break before they come inside. Looking for volunteers to help distribute popsicles and collect trash from the students before they go inside. We will meet on the sidewalk outside the band hall a little before 10 a.m. (usually at 9:45) and will be done by 10:30 at the latest. Please email Heather Shaw (heathershaw06@gmail.com) if you are interested in helping with this activity and which days you are available (or you can just show up!) Here are some reasons to volunteer:

* Short time commitment
* Your student will appreciate you!
* You will quickly become a favorite band parent!
* You can see what it's like to volunteer with the band!
* You can ask questions if you are new to band!

Pick Up Your Equipment Night

When: Thursday, July 28, 2022

Where: Clear Lake High School Commons

Who: All band and color guard members

6:00 -- 6:30 PM Seniors*/Juniors

6:30 -- 7:00 PM Sophomores

7:00 -- 8:00 PM Freshmen

https://form.jotform.com/221834453112144

This form collects student information and gives parents an opportunity to join the booster club, volunteer, and purchase game day meals, spirit wear, and BBQ dinners. It also collects mandatory activity, uniform, and contest meal fees. There is an option to pay online or pay by cash or check during Equipment Night.

Many of the committee chairs have already committed to being there that evening to make the process go smoothly. However, we need additional volunteers to serve in key roles such as cashiers, greeters, and floaters. If you are able to help, please contact Joy King (treasurer@clhsband.org)

* Senior Mums are available for pick up at this event. However, they will NOT be given to your student! We don't want them to get mangled on the backseat or on the floor of the car. If a parent is not available to pick it up, then reply to this message to make other arrangements.

WHAT IS "PICK UP YOUR EQUIPMENT" NIGHT?

Pick Up Your Equipment Night is for picking up any band items ordered and paid for at the end of the last school year (shoes, heat uniform, practice shirts, gloves, music folders, lyres, etc.). Additionally, you will be able to pay the Band Activity Fee and purchase items from the Falcon Band Booster Club (FBBC). These items include game meals, contest meals, booster club membership, spirit items, and tickets for the BBQ following the preview show. It is also an opportunity to find ways to help the booster club make a difference in the Clear Lake Band and Colorguard programs. Pick Up Your Equipment Night is also a tax-free night. You will not be charged sales tax on July 28th.

WHO NEEDS TO ATTEND THIS EVENT?

At a minimum, all Band and Colorguard parents need to attend, even if your student is designated as an "other activity student." Students attending are optional. But, make sure you fill out the online form ahead of time since you will need their input!

WHAT ABOUT OTHER ACTIVITY STUDENTS?

Other activity students who are not attending ANY of the practices, football games, or contests are not required to purchase items from the Pick Up Your Equipment Night, but we do ask that they fill out the online form and pick up band or spirit items they ordered on-line (if any). Please contact the treasurer (treasurer@clhsband.org) for a coupon to subtract the uniform and contest game meal fees. Also, all "other activity" students are invited to participate in Rock-a-thon, so you might want to stop at that table to ask questions or drop off gift card donations.

WHAT IF I CAN'T MAKE IT TO EQUIPMENT NIGHT DURING MY SCHEDULED TIME?

We ask parents to make every effort to attend at their designated time in order to minimize the length of the lines. If that isn't possible, then please come anytime during the 2 hours OR you can make other arrangements by contacting Joy King at treasurer@clhsband.org. Remember that July 28th is our tax-free night, so if you pick up items on a different night, then you will have to pay tax.

I HAVE TWO STUDENTS IN BAND. DO I HAVE TO FILL OUT TWO SETS OF FORMS?

Yes. It will take a few extra minutes, but we need a record of the Information, Game Meals, and fees for each student. You can fill out just one of the Membership, Volunteer, Spirit Wear, and BBQ Forms and then leave them blank in your other student's form.

WHAT IF I CAN'T PAY THE BAND ACTIVITY FEE?

The majority of activities in CCISD have an activity fee. If you have a financial hardship, contact one of the directors in advance to address your situation. Then on that evening, you can ask one of the directors to sign a waiver before you reach the cashier's table.

Dear Parents and Students,

I hope you all are enjoying this summer and are getting to spend time with family and friends. Before you know it, we'll be back together, and it will be time to start our wonderful marching season. It is so exciting to be getting back and plan all the activities for this coming school year. I hope that everyone will be able to participate this year in the favorite social event of the summer - the annual Rock-a-thon, and we'll all have a blast being together for this event.

What is Rock-a-thon?

For those of you who have not participated in Rock-a-thon before, here is a brief description of what it's all about. The students receive donations to sponsor them to stay in their rocking (rolling) chairs for a lock-in from 6:00 pm until midnight. This event will happen on August 5, 2022, and is for all band and color guard members. Students bring their favorite rolling chair and prepare to rock the night away and have fun being together while playing video games, chair dodgeball, chair frisbee, and much more. There will be door prizes and students can earn drink tickets, chicken nuggets, and pizza by receiving a certain level of donations.

How Can I Help?

Asking for Donations:

We need your help in preparing for this Rock-a-thon. While you are out visiting with family and friends, please consider asking them to make a donation(s) for the Rock-a-thon. Our goal this year is $18,000. Let's keep working together to reach our goal. At the end of this e-mail, you will find a link for donations.

The more donations you receive, the more credits you receive. Here are the levels and the amount of donations necessary for each:

$75 Entry into Rock-a-thon

$100 Drink Ticket

$150 Chick-fil-a nuggets

$200 Pizza

$250 and up, each $50 increment receives a chance for exclusive door prize

$500 and up win a gift card to Amazon

Join Falcon Band Booster Club (FBBC) at a Level Above Basic Membership:

The minimum or basic membership of FBBC is $40. Any amount above the minimum will be used toward your student’s “Rock-a-thon Level” as shown above. For example, if you join FBBC at the $100 level, then $60 of your membership will go toward your student’s “Rock-a-thon Level.” You will have an opportunity to join FBBC on July 28 from 6-8 pm during the “Pick Up Your Equipment” event. Please mark your calendar and plan to attend to ask ALL your questions about Rock-a-Thon and any other questions about the band!

Gift Card Donations:

Other ways to help make our Rock-a-Thon successful include donating gift cards that we can use as door prizes. Gift cards should be for $10-$15 each for places like Starbucks, i tunes, fast food restaurants, etc. The $30 three packs work great, please leave them in the package and we will break them up once we get them. Start gathering those while you're out shopping this summer if you'd like to help in this way, and we can collect them closer to time of Rock-a-Thon.

Volunteer:

Save the date (August 5,2022) to come out and help us at Rock-a-thon. We need many parent volunteers to help this run smoothly. It's a great opportunity to see all the fun and excitement that happens at Rock-a-thon and get to know our wonderful parents better. We will be sending a link for Sign up Genius to pick a shift to help closer to the time of Rock-a-thon.

Corporate Matching Donations:

Many companies and businesses have matching donation programs. If you work for a company with a matching grants program, please consider requesting a matching donation. The FBBC can help you with any paperwork you may need to fill out.

This is our biggest fundraiser of the year, and we use these donations to help support expenses needed to keep our high-quality band program, our wonderful group of clinicians and instructors, and necessary repairs and replacement of worn equipment. Please consider how you can help our Rock-a-thon to be successful. We look forward to raising money for our band while having fun in the process. Enjoy the rest of your summer and we look forward to seeing you soon. Please see below the letter that you can use as a template that includes the link for donations.

Thanks again for your support! If you have any questions about Rock-a-thon as you are gathering donations or about the actual event itself, please feel free to email or text.

DONATION LINK

https://form.jotform.com/221834785690163

Sincerely,

Gladys Ruiz

Rock-a-Thon Chair Volunteer

efrain.gladysruiz@gmail.com

281-546-0914

Below is the letter that students can use as a template. Feel free to personalize it to each recipient.

Hello Family and Friends!

Another school year has ended, but our Clear Lake High School band will soon be busy preparing for the 2022-2023 season, and I am very excited to be a part of it! Our summer practices start July 25 (even earlier for color guard and percussion!) We look forward to developing our show for our marching competitions in the fall, and our concert and color guard competitions in the spring.

As we prepare for the new school year, we will also need to plan for the expenses associated with maintaining a high-quality program: our fantastic team of clinicians and instructors, maintaining our 18-wheeler to move our instruments to and from games and events, and repairing or replacing worn equipment.

The Rock-A-Thon fundraiser, sponsored by our Falcon Band Booster Club, is our largest fundraiser of the year to underwrite these costs. Rock-A-Thon is a wildly popular team-building event that takes place each August. Students bring chairs that rock and roll to the lock-in for an evening of rocking, play games in chairs, music, food, and fun! It is a culmination of the first full week of summer rehearsal and our starting point for marching season.

Would you please consider sponsoring me at Rock-A-Thon? Any size donation would mean so much to me and my fellow band and color guard members, with whom I share this experience.

· I have enclosed a self-addressed stamped envelope for any donation you could make.

Falcon Band Booster Club

PO Box 891612

Houston, TX 77289

· Please make any checks payable to “FBBC”.

· Make an on-line donation by clicking the link below:

https://form.jotform.com/221834785690163

· Please KEEP the enclosed receipt for your tax records.

I hope you will consider assisting me in this endeavor, as we work to make this another unforgettable year! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me or my parents. Thank you so much for your consideration and support – it is greatly appreciated!

Go Falcons!

Your Signature

If you would like to contribute to the Band Buzz, please contact the appropriate committee or board member. They can send fully edited information to the following e-mail address: VP@clhsband.org . The deadline for submissions is midnight each Wednesday night.

Thank you,

Rebecca Garland

(2nd VP Communications)