SUMMER MONTHLY UPDATE

7/13/23

PRACTICE / PRACTICE / PRACTICE

Reminder to all our QMS / MHS students that the best way to stay “in shape” with their instruments is to practice. Just a few times a week will keep the muscle memory of playing active and have you ready for September.

MARCHING BAND SUMMER REHEARSAL

Summer Rehearsals (Winds and Percussion)

Tuesday, July 18th – 6-9pm
Tuesday, August 1st – 6-9pm

Summer Rehearsals (Color Guard)

Monday, July 17th – 6-9pm

Band Camp (All)

Monday, August 14th – Saturday, August 19th

Monday – Friday 1-9pm (Parent Meeting on Monday from 8pm-9pm)
Saturday 1-7pm (Showcase at 5:45pm, BBQ 6pm-7pm)

Post Band Camp

Tuesday, August 22nd – 6-9pm
Thursday, August 24th – 6-9pm
Saturday, August 26th – 10-4
Tuesday, August 29th – 6-9pm
Thursday, August 31st – 6-9pm
Tuesday, September 5th – 6-9pm

**Color guard Post Band Camp will be Mondays, Thursdays, Saturdays.**

Attendance

If you have a conflict with a rehearsal, I ask that you have your child send me an email to let me know that they’ll be missing and why they won’t be able to attend. It is always better to come to a portion of rehearsal than to miss it entirely. If a student needs to come late or leave early, better to do that than not come at all. All marching band rehearsals are mandatory. We will go over the attendance policy in more detail at band camp. Any missed summer rehearsals due to vacations will be excused. I ask that you make band camp a priority and schedule vacations around that week.

What your child needs to bring

For color guard students, if they have any equipment at home (flags, sabres, etc.), then they should bring those things with them. Otherwise they’ll need comfortable clothes (workout clothing, gym clothes) and sneakers to rehearse in.

For wind and percussion students, they’ll need their instruments (percussionists will be provided with drums, mallet instruments, and sticks/mallets). Students should also plan to wear comfortable clothing and sneakers. No sandals/open toed shoes or jeans. All students should plan to bring a sweatshirt or light jacket in case it gets cold.

Students should eat dinner before they come to rehearsal scheduled from 6-9. Meal breaks are only given at rehearsals longer than 4 hours. Please be aware that some students have nut allergies, so we ask that you avoid sending your child with anything made with nuts if possible.

Students must bring water with them. We suggest eventually purchasing a gallon sized jug. This won’t be completely necessary until band camp, so a large water bottle will be fine for now. Hydration is important, and students will be provided with water breaks.

Other items to bring include:

A hat or visor
Sunblock
Bug spray
All musicians should bring a 1 inch 3-ring binder with sheet protectors to keep all of your music that you are given
Masking tape (we will rehearse outside, so this will be helpful to tape down music so it doesn’t blow away in the wind)
Brass and woodwind players should be sure their instrument is in good working order and bring extra supplies such as valve oil and reeds as appropriate.

GILLETTE

Here’s the Sign Up Genius link for the 2023 season:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0a4caaac28a3f94-20231#/

IMMEDIATE NEED SATURDAY 7/22 – LUKE COMBS CONCERT; NOW OFFERING DOUBLE CREDITS

MBPA continues to look for volunteers to staff a concession stand for its summer season of concerts, events and Revolution soccer games at Gillette Stadium. Please remember that Gillette is responsible for 90% of our fundraising, bringing in over $80,000 for the band, colorguard, and winter programs. Without this fundraiser the cost of truck rentals, new instruments, new floors (for the winter program), flags, props, and competition fees would be placed back onto the families.

Some examples from this year that the funds from Gillette helped to fund are: $4,500 towards the Metlife Trip, $1,500 towards the Big E, ~$12,000 for Dayton, purchased new speaker carts, new floors for both percussion & color guard for winter, and polo shirts for the band & color guard.

If you’ve never volunteered before, we have lots of experienced volunteers who can partner with you, help you navigate the parking, and show you how it all works. It’s a great way to meet your fellow band parents and raise money for your children.

Each volunteer shift earns a $25 student credit for the student of your choice.

Gillette is strictly enforcing a two-student (ages 16-17) limit for events this season. Those slots are clearly marked in Sign Up Genius.

If you have any questions, please reply to this email, or call/text Christine Bellavance or Tom Winrow.

DINKLE (band shoe) SWAP

Dinkle Swap Spreadsheet

Has your student recently graduated and no longer needs their band shoes? Has your student outgrown their current pair and you are looking for the next size up? One of our members has graciously created a Dinkle Swap spreadsheet in which you can add or claim a pair of shoes. New Dinkles are approx. $35 and you will be given the ability to purchase them if needed – more information on that to follow at the 1st band meeting.

If adding – simply follow the other examples already listed on the spreadsheet. NOTE: Shoes that have “cracked” at the toe crease of the shoe but do not have a hole are still functional shoes. Please list these as UC (used condition) as they still have at least another season in them.

If you’d like a pair listed – please reach out to the email associated with that pair and place your last name in the appropriate column.

If you have any trouble filling in the spreadsheet or have any questions, please reach out to Frani at president@mansfieldbandparents.org.

NEXT YEARS MBPA BOARD

Welcome to our MBPA Board for the 2023 / 2024 School Year.

Betsy Roche – Secretary

Frani Spivak – President

Ted Ten Eyck – Treasurer

Sara Tomase – Vice President

FIRST BAND PARENTS MEETING OF THE SEASON

The first band parent meeting will be held on Monday, August 14th from 8:00pm – 9:00pm at the end of band camp rehearsal.

If you have received this newsletter and no longer have a student in the band – simply respond to this email letting us know and we can remove you from future 23/24 Band correspondence. We will happily retain your information for any alumni information unless you tell us otherwise.

CONTACT: We want to keep you as informed as possible. Please help spread the word. In order for us to be able to contact you via email, you must sign up HERE. Please forward this email to all your friends who have students in the band. Although Mr. DeJoy can message everyone, we need folks to specifically sign up through the MBPA to get notifications from the MBPA.

HOW TO GET IN TOUCH WITH MBPA:

Calendar: mansfieldbandparents.org/calendar

Facebook: Mansfield Band Parents Association

Web: www.mansfieldbandparents.org

Board Members: