Marching Storm Update
Welcome Edition-April 2018
Welcome
As you read through this information, we want this to be a one stop location for you to learn about the program and find answers to your questions. Please take a few minutes to review the topics in this newsletter. This newsletter is replacing the information meeting powerpoint presentation. Our goal is to give this to you in an informative manner rather than a bullet point presentation that doesn't give you all of the information. We hope this change is valuable to you.
If after reviewing the material, there is a question you still have, please make sure you communicate with Mr. Campbell. The best way to do so is email. His email address is: scott.campbell@isd47.org. Feel free to communicate with him regarding your questions.
Items that come up that some of you may have questions about will be added to the newsletter as topics. Please refer back to this newsletter for potential updates or added information. Thank you.
Season Overview
Traditionally, our season takes on three primary goals:
1.) Fundamental training and Auditions
2.) Skill training for our specific performances
3.) Performance opportunities
In general, these goals align with the three months of our season. Here is a brief overview of how our marching season is organized.
April begins with our information meeting. We want you to see the entire season in a snapshot. Here you can ask questions, view materials and make sure you have the complete picture of what membership involves.
Following the information meeting, we ask all students to come to our fundamental training sessions. New and returning students can become confident knowing the skills that are taught at the fundamental sessions. These sessions will teach and reinforce concepts that are important for the inexperienced marcher as well as the marcher who has multiple years of experience. All students completing the fundamental training will be ready to confidently perform their audition skills.
Auditions for the Marching Storm are used to allow the staff to see and hear the strengths of every potential member. We never tell a student they cannot march. Our goal is to put students in positions to either balance our numbers, provide a complete marching unit, or add to the depth of needs with our specific show design. Students are never cut from the Marching Storm when they audition.
May
Once auditions are completed (end of April), we assign positions to students. Each practice becomes focused on teaching music, drill, routines and more. Our goal is to layer teaching so students can finish May with a general understanding of how to start to execute and perform the summer marching show.
We also use May to prepare for Memorial Day performances. The Memorial Day performances consist of three 30 minute Memorial Day services. The first is in Sauk Rapids, the second is in Graham and the third is in Rice. We are typically finished performing and back at school by 12:30 pm.
June
We start June with what we call "sweat camp". Back in the days that Mr. Campbell marched in marching band, it was called "spat camp". Spats are the white covering put over black shoes. Marching traditions have dismissed spats from the uniform, so we labeled our extended rehearsal time "sweat camp" to poke a little fun at ourselves because early June can sometimes be hot and we sweat while we are working.
Sweat camp is when we put the polish on our street show. We break down specific goals and make sure students execute their music, marching, routines and more. It is a little like theatre on the street. Of all the practices that we hold, sweat camp is the most important. It gives us the ability become very specific with our teaching and it allows students the time to do enough repetitions to become confident as performers.
Once sweat camp is finished, we move right into performance mode. June is mostly our parade month. We perform an average of 8 parades and for the most part, each of these parades is in Central Minnesota. We choose to enter ourselves into parades that feature sanctioned judging. While competition isn't the most important aspect of what we do, it gives us information that allows our staff to consider implementing improvements. Following our final parade, we traditionally hold a "season celebration" to honor the marchers for their hard work.
July
Every other year, the Marching Storm takes a performance based trip. This summer, we will be traveling to the East Coast to perform at parades in Bristol, Rhode Island and Randolph, Massachusetts. Typically, on years where the Marching Storm does not travel, we do not have any events in July.
How much is it to join Marching Band?
The school activity fee to participate is $75. Students who qualify for reduced lunch pay $50 and students who receive free lunch pay $25. Activity fees are best taken care of online using our district web page. Otherwise, the fee can be paid in the high school activities office. ACTIVITY FEES MAY NOT BE TURNED INTO STAFF MEMBERS OR THE MONEY DROP BOX.
Compression Shirt
Every student in the honor guard, wind section and drumline section will need to purchase a compression shirt. We take orders for shirts in the beginning of our season. They are a black, long sleeved shirt that is light weight and made of sports material. The typical cost for the shirt is $20.
Marching Shoes
Every student in the honor guard, wind section and drumline section will need to purchase black marching shoes. Students in the color guard section will also have their own specific shoe that is needed. We take orders for shoes in the beginning of our season. Typically, the shoes cost between $35-$40.
Gloves
Every student in the honor guard and wind section needs to have white cotton gloves for their uniform. Typically, the gloves cost about $2.00 for a pair. We recommend that students purchase 2-3 pair for the season so that while some are getting washed, you have a clean pair to use.
Long Black Socks
Every student in the honor guard, wind section and drumline needs to have long black socks. The socks need to go up to the calf of your leg (they cannot be the short anklet style sock). Students are asked to go to any local store and purchase those on their own.
Optional Show t-shirt
Each season, we offer a show shirt to students representing our show theme and our season schedule. This is an optional purchase. Show shirts cost about $15.
Spirit wear
We are ordering all of our spiritwear through Henry's ESP in Foley. They offered us the best prices and the best service of the 4 local companies that were considered. To access the spiritwear for the Marching Storm, please go to http://henryesp.com/ and click on the Marching Storm link. If the link isn't up, that means that Jodi Henry is still getting it ready to publish. She thought she would have it ready by Friday, April 6. Payment is online and all items ordered will be delivered to SRRHS and handed out to you at practice.
Parent Involvement
Parents who volunteer to serve as chaperones can expect that their primary duty is to offer water and ice to students during the parade route. They also make sure students uniforms are "dressed" properly, specific medical conditions that students are experiencing are on their radar, and in some cases, problem solve situations involving students when there are needs. Each parade needs 8-10 adult chaperones on duty. Sign-up sheets are in the music commons at the high school for each parade. These forms will be available in the music commons from April 27-May 5. Please stop in when your child auditions for marching band, gets fitted for their uniform, or needs to have their uniform accessories ordered. Parents volunteering to chaperone need to have a background check completed through ISD 47.
Trailer Drivers
Adults who have experience driving trailer are encouraged to volunteer to drive our marching band trailer to and from our performances. This duty is easy. The adult needs to have a form completed for the district office allowing you to drive a district vehicle, show up to our performance events early enough to get the suburban, connect the trailer, and have the trailer ready to load when students arrive. It also involves disconnecting the trailer and putting the suburban away when we are finished.
Uniforms
We will need adults to assist with fitting uniforms during our audition slots. Our parent leaders would like to ask that when students come in to audition, that they also take care of getting fitted for their uniform. We recommend that you do your fitting after you audition. To assist with fitting, you don't need any special skills. Our leaders will show you how you can help and guide you along the way. During uniform fittings, we will need about 6-8 additional adults. Watch for information that informs you how you can help in the near future.
Photography
If you enjoy taking pictures, we would love for you to volunteer to help coordinate our picture archive of the season. In our digital world, we need to manage both the organization and the location of the files and be able to draw on the pictures to create our various slide shows, season celebrations, etc.
If you simply want to take pictures, please let Mr. Campbell know. The school has a very nice digital SLR camera for use during marching band. Or, we welcome you to use your own camera and simply share the pictures with us.
We also would love to begin to have video of our season archived. If you like to take video of both practices and parades, please communicate with Mr. Campbell.
Parent Preview
One of our biggest fundraising nights is our annual parent preview! We need leaders to assist with food, spirit wear sales and more. This is the event to get involved with and lend a helping hand. The culmination of this event is both the middle school and high school band performing their summer show for the first time.
Sauk Rapids parade
Our hometown parade is in it's 15th year! Supporting the bands is one of the great parts of the success of this parade. To support the bands, we need people to meet the bands as they come into town, be their contact for information and details, and then help them get to their line-up area and let them do their thing as they prepare to march in our parade. We also need people to help with parking our buses. This involves guiding them to spaces so the parking lot stays organized. The parade committee also serves visiting bands a light supper. We need servers to pass out the food and help near the concession stand.
Season Celebration
When the parades are finished, we come together to celebrate the accomplishments of all students in the Marching Storm. To do this we need volunteers to help with our end of season slide show, refreshments, cake and more.
Performance Overviews
This is our first public performance of the season. We support the Sauk Rapids, Graham and Rice Memorial Day services. These communities work together to make sure that their ceremony aligns to our ability to travel and perform at their event. Each event ceremony takes about 30 minutes to complete.
We start our morning at the high school and bus to Mississippi Heights Elementary School. From there we march across the street and parade to the ceremony site. Along with members of the VFW, boy scouts and other area dignitaries, the service presents a historical tone which honors the men and women who have served and those who have lost their lives.
We then bus back to the school for a quick restroom break, and continue to the Methodist Cemetery in Graham. The service is organized in a manner that is similar to the Sauk Rapids event.
When the Graham service is finished, we bus to the Catholic Cemetery in Rice and perform for that service one last time. We should be back to the high school by 12:30 pm
Parades
For the most part, our parade schedule has a similar process of arrive, load, leave habits. We do have some parades that require students to be dropped off at the parade due to the cost of transportation and the fact that they are in the St. Cloud region. This request of having students transported to and from the school event is one that is consistent with other activities that compete in the St. Cloud area.
All other parades will require students to be dropped off at SRRHS where we will bus students to and from the parade location. We typically arrive on site at the parades early, so we can stretch, warm-up and run a few segments of the show to work at improvements. Following most parades, we have an awards program that we attend. Following the awards program, we load the buses and return home to the high school. Load, leave, return times are published at www.marchingstorm.com.
Often, performances happen near the supper hour. Students will be informed details about when they need to bring food and when food will be provided at the parade sites.
2018 East Coast Tour
Our East Coast Tour itinerary is posted at www.srrmusic.com on the trips tab. We will have a couple extra practices following the normal marching season schedule. Please view the calendar published at www.marchingstorm.com for dates and times.
Why Join summer marching band?
- Summer marching band offers you an opportunity to continue to improve on your instrument/equipment. Summer is an excellent time to continue to grow so that when fall comes, you have progressed more than those who haven't played since the last day of school.
Community
- The nature of any high school activity is to build a sense of belonging. We call that the "community" that is a part of the culture of the activity. Community comes from working closely with others, investing in the other members of your section, and knowing that your work contributes to the greater good of the activity. Some sections have social time outside of rehearsal and encourage unity beyond the expectations of marching band membership. We welcome you into the Marching Storm and want you to feel connected to a great group of students and staff members!
Develop long-lasting friendships
- One of the benefits of building community in the Marching Storm is the ability for you to make life-long friendships. It isn't a secret that if you join something that others have similar interests in, you have the potential to also have other similar interests. These friendships carry with you well beyond high school and into your adult lives.
8th grade students make friends and get to know the high school
- The transition from one school building to another can often cause fear of the unknown for students. The Marching Storm gives all 8th grade members an opportunity to be at the high school, work in the high school and get to know their way around the high school before the new school year. You also begin to make new friends with upper class students which can cause comfort and familiarity when fall comes around and our building is full again.
Competition
- The primary goal of the marching storm is to perform our best. One of the measuring sticks used to improve ourselves is competition. All students in the Marching Storm will be able to see our scores, learn from the judges comments and begin to take the instruction of our staff in context when we continue to improve over the season. Competition alone doesn't help us grow. Competition in the context of learning, understanding and growing helps everyone to get better at what they do.
Travel
- The structure of marching band is grounded in travel. We only have our two local parades. All others are outside of our community. Representing Sauk Rapids and Rice is one of our unavoidable outcomes. When we go to another city, they view us and form an opinion about our students, school and community. We also get to see and learn about other communities. It is because of this fundamental opportunity, that we travel outside of the State of Minnesota every other year. Travel is a great way to showcase our accomplishments and the pride we have in what we do here at SRRHS! It also can allow us to see the larger world we live in. Inspiring students to think beyond our view of life can be a powerful tool for self improvement. Receiving a global perspective of the world helps to make our students more aware of life and the cultures of different regions. This helps to prepare them for their future educational goals and to build skills for their future careers.
Registration and Membership
Students register by going to www.marchingstorm.com and clicking on the google form link. Registration gives the director information about your membership and allows effective communication to members and parents of members.
Audition time
Major Trips and the Marching Storm
Every other year, the Marching Storm offers an opportunity to travel as we perform. This summer is our summer to take a big trip. We are traveling to the East Coast to participate in two large 4th of July parades. One is in Bristol, RI and the other is in Randolph, MA. The next travel opportunity will be during the summer of 2020 where we will plan to go to Traverse City, Michigan for the National Cherry Festival parades.
Purpose
The primary purpose of our travel is to perform. We also seek locations that offer historical and educational value. Another factor that is always considered is opportunities for students to engage in fun recreation with their friends in the Marching Storm. All trips are submitted to the School Board for approval and are supported by our High School Administration and Activities Director.
Cost
Major trips will cost students anywhere from $800-$1200 per student. This summer's trip costs $1070. During regional trip years, the cost is between $400 and $800 per student. We use a travel company to support the itinerary, busing needs, housing needs and arrange all attractions and events. The cost of the trip is the sum of all of the items in the itinerary.
Raising Funds
Students have opportunities to either pay for the trip or they can earn funds to go on the trip. Fund raising opportunities are provided for by the Music Boosters organization. Please check the web page at www.srrmusic.com and visit the fundraising tab for more information.
But is it fun?
The purpose of the Marching Storm is to perform. A wonderful by product of the activity is to be with friends.
Our Uniforms
Our uniforms are our most expensive investment. We meticulously clean and care for them because they need to last 15 years or more. For our students who play instruments, our uniforms consist of a pair of "bibbers", a vest, cadet style hat, plume and gauntlets. The students need to purchase white gloves, a compression shirt and marching shoes through the school. We will offer an order process where you can order your items with us. On your own, students will need to have long, black dress socks to wear during parades.
There are slight variations for our drumline students. They do not order the white gloves. They do need the compression shirt and the black shoes. Colorguard members will most likely need to purchase a body tight, shoes and some will need special gloves. Honor Guard students needs are the same and the students who play instruments.
Fundraising For Our Program
Our budget provided for by the school district does not cover our expenses. To provide equipment, supplemental uniforms, props, transportation, pay staff and keep our equipment repaired properly, we will spend about $19,000 this summer. The school provides $7000 for our program to operate. Because of this, we will need to raise funds.
We also get funding from some of the parades we attend. Our winnings also help our program budget. So, at this stage we are needing about $6000 to balance our budget. To do this, we have been doing fundraising activities all year long. We have three major events coming up. The "performance preview" was outlined earlier in this newsletter. Two more events are listed below:
Pizza Ranch
We will host a Pizza Ranch fundraising night on Monday, April 16. More details will be added here as we get closer to the event. Please invite people to attend. Please take time to attend. We receive a percentage of the profits made by Pizza Ranch on this night.
Coyote Moon Dinner
On Sunday, April 29, we will host a fundraising dinner at Coyote Moon. The meal will cost $12 of which we receive 50%! Student workers will be needed. This event has the potential of helping us reach our funding goals. We need to ask every student in the Marching Storm to sell 8 tickets. This will help us generate the funds that will support our financial goals. Tickets will be handed out at practice.
Pictures
Picture day will be Friday, June 8 in the early afternoon at the Middle School. More information will be published on our web page at www.marchingstorm.com and will be offered to you in a future Marching Storm Update mailing.
Forms, Fees and Deadlines
April 20-Third payment due for East Coast Tour 2018
April 28-Membership Registration
April 28-All members complete Auditions
April 28-All members complete Uniform Fitting
April 28-All members complete purchase of personal uniform items and spirit wear
April 28-All members turn in money for Coyote Moon Fundraising dinner
May 18-All members activity fee for summer marching band paid
May 18-All members must have their health form turned in
May 18-All members must have their behavior contract turned in
June 20-Final payment due for East Coast Tour 2018
Charms Office
1. The school code to use is: srrhsmusic
2. Your individual password is: First initial of first name; Full last name.
Password example: Richard Johnson would be RJohnson
Once you log in for the first time, you will be prompted to set your own individual password. PLEASE WRITE THIS DOWN AND KEEP IT IS A PLACE YOU CAN ACCESS. We do not have access to your password. If you forget, we need to go in and reset your password back to the initial password as we did above. You will again need to change it once you enter it for the first time to your own personalized password.
Once in Charms, you can explore the many options it has. We may eventually get to where we can use it more, but for now, the finance part is all we are using.
Attendance policy
It is because of this that the Marching Storm has implemented this policy for attendance. We do not tolerate unexcused absence. This is an absence that isn't reported, predicted or communicated. Students with an unexcused absence will be put on a probation period where if another unexcused absence happens, they will loose their membership. Excused absences must be reported and approved by Mr. Campbell. Other staff may not approve the absences.
Please see the document below outlining our absence policy.