More than ever, I feel that summer break is needed for the students. It is my hope that all of our band families will have a chance to relax a little and spend some time doing some fun activities. After recharging the batteries a bit, we will be excited to start full group marching band activities for next school year in a much more normal setting than this past school year. What may have been taken for granted in years past, may be looked at a little differently in the future. It is going to be so exciting and a bit emotional, to see our full marching band program back together again and in front of an audience for the first time at the band camp show on August 6th.
These newsletters will be sent out more frequently as we get to the middle of the summer and beyond. We want to provide as much information to the parents as possible. If you ever have any questions, please feel free to reach out to any of our band staff at any time.
Marching Band Roster
If you are receiving this email, we have your child on our Fall marching band roster. This means that they will also receive extra credit on their Fall report card. We are very excited to be planning for a full season next school year and see the 2021 edition of the Forest Hills marching band in its 4th year of existence! While we are all ready to take a much needed break and spend valuable time with our families, the band staff is also hard at work behind the scenes creating and organizing the logistics for what you will see 2 months from now in public performance.
We create fully custom shows for our group that require us to know exactly how many students to design for, purchase uniforms and equipment for and much more. This is why it is so important at this point to have a firm roster. For example, we will be creating our marching drill formations for our exact number of students. If we create those formations and then lose a student from our roster, it leaves a gap in the formation. Imagine if the Ohio State marching band was missing a leg or tail on that dinosaur!
- Participation Fee - Due June 18th
All marching band members make a "Pay to Participate" payment. This is a fee assessed for all after school activities that covers Fall transportation and a few supplies. Due to many plans and purchases getting ready to occur behind the scenes for every student, we ask that this payment be made by Friday, June 18th. Once this payment is made, uniform supplies, show shirts, flags and many more items will be ordered for your child to have ready by band camp and our first performance. Colorguard parents have previously been asked to make this payment, as those student uniform & equipment items are already in production.
The payment can be made online via the link below. Once the payment is made, the school district will notify the band directors. If payment is missing by on June 18th, the band directors will reach out to see if there was an error or if we can help in any way. If there are any questions, just let us know.
We are now fully into planning and rehearsing for our incredible marching band season. The number one thing we can use parental help with is ensuring that your child is at the scheduled activities. Like any academic class or sports team, we can't teach your child the information if they are not in attendance. The marching band does not have a "bench" and everyone is a "starter". It is a true team effort. Because of that, if a student is absent and falls behind it can effect them, as well as the rest of the "team". The full ensemble assembles during the band camp weeks and beyond and learn an incredible amount of information and performance show each day.
We try to be as proactive and clear as possible with communicating dates. You can always visit the band website calendar or our spreadsheet list of full dates for the full Fall season.
The final details for this optional performance trip are being put together this month. Look for the itinerary, signups and more information to come later this summer. The dates would be February 16th through 21st.
Program Contacts
Should you have any questions or concerns, you can reach any of the directors or head instructors here.
