Winter Park Band Notes
December 10, 2017
From Mr. Blackmer
Dear Band Families:
First, many thanks to the "Sound of the Wildcats" on their two holiday parade performances over the past two weeks - they look and sounded great! I know it's a busy time of the year, and these parades take a good chunk out of the weekend, but they are extremely important to the visibility of the Marching Band in the public. As I have told them many times, more people will see the Marching Band in the Winter Park and Baldwin Park parades than all of the football games combined! Also, a huge thank you to the parent chaperones!
Our Winter Concert is this Thursday evening at 7 PM! Parents: please make every attempt to be there for your child's concert on Thursday. Again, I know that it is a busy time of year, but these students have worked very hard to present this performance, and it would be great to have a large audience to perform to!
Finally, a little preview of a unique fundraiser that we'll be doing in the spring. On Saturday, March 10, the Winter Park Band will be holding our first (annual?) mattress sale fundraiser in the West Cafeteria from 10 AM - 5 PM. I know what you're probably thinking..."a mattress fundraiser?!?" Yes, and it has a huge potential to be a big success! The fundraising company that we're working with is Custom Fundraising Solutions (CFS), and it's an organization that I, and many other directors, have worked with in the past. Dr. Phillips High School Band just completed their own mattress fundraiser a few months ago, netting over $6,000 in profits in just one day. Our CFS representative, Gregg Wallace will be here at our concert this Thursday night to do a brief five minute presentation for everyone, and there will be additional information coming over the next several weeks. This fundraiser has the potential to eliminate a large portion of Band fees (there will be a section competition for this) as well as provide students with actual cash rewards for sales (yes, real money). I know it seems unorthodox, but it really can net a large pay-off for the Band Program and students!
More to come!
All the Best,
Mr. Blackmer
Door-2-Door Fundraiser - February 3
We currently have less than half of the parent volunteer drivers needed for our Door-2-Door Fundraiser on Saturday, February 3, 8 AM – 5 PM!
The funds that are raised during this 1-day commitment amount to approximately $150 per student. Without Door-2-Door, these funds would be passed on to your family as additional Band fees. Simply put, many of our students and families would not be able to afford participating in Band without Door-2-Door!
For this important day to be successful, we need everyone’s participation! This is how you can help.
· All students are required to attend – this is not an optional event. Mark your calendar and do not plan other activities for this day until after 5:00 PM.
· We need parent volunteer drivers for this event to be successful. Each driver is responsible for 4 students. The students do the fundraising and the parent volunteers drive them to their assigned neighborhoods and ensure their safety. There is a lunch break back at the Band Room mid-day for all students and volunteer drivers.
· More than one parent from a family can volunteer, but every family should be assisting in some way if possible.
Every volunteer parent and participating student earns a share of the day’s proceeds for their Band account. This usually amounts to over $60 per share.
Volunteers: It can take many weeks to process the paperwork for driver approval with OCPS and the County is closed for the upcoming holidays. Please act on this now by following the steps below. Driving spots are filled on a first come first served basis:
· Log on to the OCPS Samaritan website and sign-up for the Band Door-2-Door opportunity. You must have an active status with ADDitions to drive. It is not too late to activate/create your ADDitions account!
· Take a photo of your name and status below your picture on your Samaritan/ADDitions account above. E-mail the photo to Candace at grifcan@gmail.com.
· Submit a copy of your driver’s license and current up-to-date auto insurance card. Please check the expiration dates. Scan them into your computer or take a photo with your phone and e-mail the images to Candace at grifcan@gmail.com. She will be submitting them to the school ADDitions coordinator.
You may bring in hard copies of the above if you prefer and turn them into the Band Office before the Winter Park Christmas parade this Saturday morning, December 2, the Baldwin Park parade on Saturday, December 9, or prior to the Winter Concert on Thursday, December 14.
If you need ANY assistance with any of the above steps or have questions—contact Maureen Dufresne at mdufresne5@embarqmail.com or Candace Griffin at grifcan@gmail.com. They are happy to assist!
Solo & Ensemble Fees
Fees for Solo & Ensemble MPA can now be paid through SchoolPay.com. Checks made payable to WPHS Bands may also be submitted, however, SchoolPay is the preferred method for payment. The cost for S&E MPA this year is $6/student/event.
Fees are due no later than Friday, December 15 at 2:30 PM. Events that have not been paid for by this time will be CANCELLED.
Winter Concert Refreshments!
We will be returning to the tradition of light post-performance refreshments after our upcoming Winter Concert on Thursday, December 14. Each student is asked to bring a package of cookies (either store bought or homemade) to the auditorium lobby when they arrive for the 6:30 PM call-time. Students/parents may also drop-off their cookies in the Band Office during the school day as well. Cookies will be ready in the Auditorium for the after-concert reception.
Amazon Fundraising Opportunity!
The holiday season is upon us when we purchase items online! Another new fundraising tool we are utilizing is to raise money for the band every time we shop at Amazon. The Winter Park High School Alumni Band Association is a registered charity on Smile.Amazon.com, so please remember to use this unique link to shop at Amazon every time, and a small percentage of the sale (at no cost to you) will automatically be sent quarterly to the WPHSABAA account and then donated to the Winter Park Band Program. If we all use this link every time, we can raise funds on an ongoing basis to help the band! https://smile.amazon.com/ch/27-0964817
If you have any questions, contact Jane Claus at janeclaus@live.com.