Please put the following dates on your new 2012 calendars for upcoming Spartan Band Fundraising Events!

Coca-Cola Products Fundraiser - Delivery Date – January 25 (3 – 6 pm).

Order forms distributed January 6 to students. Order deadline – January 18. Stock up for your Super Bowl parties and for Trivia Night!  20 oz. soda products are only $.84 each!  If each student sells 3 cases, we will meet our budgeted goal for this fundraiser.  Click here for an order form. Volunteers may sign up here.

TRIVIA NIGHT - February 26, 2012 – 7:00 pm at SLHS Commons

Many of you have been waiting all year for this fun-filled family event!  This year our Booster President, Louis Barrios, will host the festivities.

Bring a team of 8 players OR join with others who come to play and make some new friends.  Prizes will be awarded to the top 3 scoring tables after the groups answer 10 rounds of trivia questions.  Groups are welcome to bring their own snacks and drinks to enjoy during the evening game time.  ($10 per player for pre-registration – due by Wednesday, February 22.  $12 per player at the door – please arrive by 6:40 pm to pay at the door.)

Silent Auction items will include a front table for the Band Banquet, a conducting experience, a Wii, a Homecoming Package, a Spartan Spirit Collection, and much more!  Student Created Cakes will also be for sale. (Students – start planning your decorating theme! Any Band and Colorguard student/family may donate a cake.)  AND, the winner of a fabulous quilt featuring Spartan Band t-shirts will be drawn from the purchased raffle tickets.

Registration forms will be available at the Booster Meeting on January 17, 2012.

Volunteers can signup here:

THE FIRST ANNUAL SPARTAN BAND GOLF TOURNAMENT - Monday, March 26, 2012 – 1:00 pm, Meadowbrook Farms Golf Club.  Come be a part of this awesome inaugural event!  $500 per 4-Man Team.  Orange Level Sponsors ($3,500.00) – 4 teams, advertising space for 1 year on the back our famous Spartan Band Trailer, tournament day advertising on banners and a hole sponsor sign, recognition on band website and concert programs.   Blue Level Sponsor ($2,000.00) – 2 teams, recognition on band website and concert programs, advertising on tournament banners and a hole sponsor sign.

An awards dinner and gift bags included for all golfers.  Win a new car with a Hole-in-One!  Other prizes for the longest drive, accurate drive, and closest to the pin.  Registration information and Brochures will be available at the Booster Meeting on January 17, 2012 and on the band website.

Car Wash – April date to be determined.

Use our convenient, secure Online Payments option to make your 2011 Spring Trip payments through PayPal.
You do not need a PayPal account to use this option. Pay either from your bank account (if you have a PayPal account) or with a credit card. There is a link on the page to pay by Credit Card.
 

Please note – there is a 3% surcharge (the PayPal handling fee) added to your total when making online payments which will be shown as “tax.”

The first payment due is a nonrefundable $280 deposit due on October 7, 2011. Thereafter, monthly payments of $280 each will be due on the 17^th of each month from November 17^th, 2011 through February 17^th, 2011 for a total cost of $1120.

If you need to check the balance of child’s trip account, you can do so through the CHARMS database or you can e-mail treasurer@slhsband.org. Click here for information on how to access CHARMS. Be sure to verify the balance remaining before making your final payment in December! If you have any questions about your student’s account, e-mail treasurer@slhsband.org. Questions about the PayPal process should be directed to communications@slhsband.org.

To make you payment, Click here

The Spartan Band Percussion Section performed this morning at Foster High School and had a great performance. They were judged by Scott Johnson of the Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps and Emily Tannert of Georgetown ISD. Lots of great info and critique was given that will be beneficial to our future performances. The Seven Lakes Percussion Section earned a 1st place finish with the bass drum section being named outstanding among the field of competitors. Hopefully, this will give us motivation to work even harder and improve our performance next weekend at the Friendswood Marching Festival. Many thanks to the wind players (Carolyn Zeng, Angela Camille, Kara Miller, Melissa Narum, Jacob Muggeridge, Greg Smith, Ryan Griffin and Adam Martin who travelled with us to help fill out our sounds today. Thanks also to Melissa LeRoy who conducted today and also to our many parent volunteers that helped get us moved from place to place. Awesome job and congratulations to all.

It’s time to order your Homecoming mums and garters. Starting the week of September 26^th, the Spartan Band Mum Shoppe sales team will be in the Main Commons during all lunches on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and in the 9^th Grade Commons during all lunches on Tuesdays and Thursdays. So come on up and check out the samples, look at the display boards, and get help filling out the order forms. Don’t miss out on some of the best mums and garters in town!

Sample oder forms with pictures can be found here (Large PDF files…Be patient):

2011 Senior Mum & Garter Package

2011 Junior Mum & Garter Package

2011 Underclassman Mum & Garter Package

Sales Schedule:

Mon, Wed
September 26, 28
Lunches in Main Cafeteria

Tue, Thu
September 27, 29
Lunches in 9^th Grade Cafeteria

Tue
September 27
7 PM at PTSA Homecoming 101 presentation

Fri
September 30
11:35-12:35 in Main Cafeteria following Early Dismissal

Mon, Wed, Fri
October 3, 5, 7
Lunches in Main Cafeteria

Tue, Thu
October 4, 6
Lunches in 9^th Grade Cafeteria

Mon
October 3
6-7:30 PM sales to band members in Band Hall

Wed
October 5
Deadline for orders to be delivered by October 22
(this allows for exchanging the weekend before Homecoming)

NOTE:  All mum and garter orders must be picked up by 3 PM on Thursday, October 27.

The Seven Lakes High School Band’s inaugural March-a-thon was a rousing success!  On Saturday, August 27, nearly 300 kids and 80 parent volunteers marched a 7-mile route through Grand Lakes, Cinco Ranch and Seven Meadows.  Money raised during the 16 concert stops and along the route will go toward helping the band reach its fundraising targets for the fall and provide continued excellent music education opportunities for the SLHS band members.

Our kids’ energy, endurance and talent (even at the very end) were truly inspirational.

Also inspirational was how the SLHS Band & Guard parent community came out to help and support the effort.  Whether it was standing on the sidewalk waving a flag, holding a block party for one of our concert stops, graciously opening your home and bathrooms along the route, walking the streets spraying water on faces and legs, filling and refilling coolers and handing out water at our 12 water stops, or cooking/handing out hot dogs … our band/guard family came out in strength on Saturday, August 27, to support our Spartans.

Thank you all!

In particular, we should recognize two individuals for their efforts over the past three months to plan this event — Carol Zmick and Vinh Nguyen, our two fundraising vice chairs.  Please thank them for their efforts to plan every step of the route like clock work (we finished 5 min early); to arrange for police, fire and EMT support from two different districts; to arrange for bathroom stops along the way; to post signs in the neighborhoods; to seek permission from the three homeowner’s associations; to coordinate donations through Randalls; to coordinate the other volunteer efforts; and to arrange for the private concerts including an announcement for each.

The band would like to thank its partners who helped pull off this great day — Randalls, Fort Bend County Constable Precinct 3 Police Department, Community Volunteer Fire Service and EMS, Fort Bend County Sheriffs Department, Willowfork Fire Department, Fort Bend EMS, Grand Lakes Homeowner’s Association, Seven Meadows Homeowner’s Association, and Cinco Ranch Homeowner’s Association.

Special Thanks to Our March-A-Thon Supporters

Fort Bend County Constable Precinct 3

Fort Bend County Sheriff Department

Community Volunteer Fire Service

Willowfork Volunteer Fire Service

Fort Bend EMS

Community Volunteer Fire Service EMS

Grand Lakes HOA

Seven Meadows HOA

Cinco Ranch HOA

For those of you who have been around in past years, you know the drill.  All you new parents — buckle up and enjoy the ride!

Seriously, as you are no doubt aware by the very fact that your student has committed to band, music education and involvement in a school activity are both incredibly valuable experiences for you and your child.

We are fortunate to have three dedicated individuals leading the Spartan Band — Damon Archer, David Reynolds, and Jonathan Yoo.  If you have the chance, thank them often for the time, effort, patience, blood, sweat, and tears they give to the program.

Volunteers

Your Band Boosters Board is also incredibly involved in ensuring that the band has funds, well-coordinated events, plenty of chaperones, clean uniforms, and lots of other organizational items.  Please feel free to contact any of the individuals listed below; all are seasoned band parents and more than happy to answer your questions:

Volunteerism for band and guard activities is welcome and highly encouraged.  There are many opportunities to get involved — there’s something for everyone so find what interests you and help out.  We promise smiling faces, laughter and quality time with a great bunch of kids.

Important Dates

There are some important dates fast approaching.  Mark your calendar:

July 24-25     Band Leadership Team Leadership Camp

July 25-28     Guard Camp II

July 27-29     Drumline Camp II

August 1        Summer Band Rehearsals Begin (all band students)

August 6        Money Day

August 15      Band Blympics

August 19      Pizza Dinner / Music Showcase / First Booster Meeting

August 22      First Day of School

August 25      Football Game @ Kempner

August 27      Spartan March-a-thon

Communications Channels

We make every effort throughout the year to send plenty of e-mails to keep parents “in the know” about what’s coming up in your child’s Band & Guard schedule, opportunities (and sometimes desperate requests!) for volunteers, and fundraising efforts.

We also post all information on www.slhsband.org, so check the page often for updates, as well as for pictures of the kids at various events.

Also, Charms is a great way to keep up-to-date on what’s happening, fees you owe, music your child needs, etc.  If you aren’t familiar with Charms, here’s how to get in:

1. Go to www.slhsband.org
2. Click on the Charms link in the Links box on the left side of the page
3. Enter your child’s Student ID (provided by the school) in the Student Area Password box.  NOTE: enter the student ID minus the letter at the beginning.

Once you’re in Charms, you should be able to see multiple icons with names like Calendar (always updated with info on events, contests, meetings, etc.), Finances (where you can see if you are up to date on contest and other fees), Inventory (where you can see what band property, i.e. instruments, are checked out to your student), and Update Info (where you can change contact information for you and/or your student).

Watch for e-mails on specific events to begin soon.  And, once again, welcome to the 2011-2012 Band & Guard.

On behalf of your Band Booster Board,

Kristi

A little wisdom from our veteran parents:

I get by with a little help from my friends:
“When your child joins marching band they automatically have 300 friends, who are good friends, and those friends will encourage them on to academic greatness.”

“The friendships will last forever. Having a group of close friends in a school the size of SLHS is very important.”

We are family:
“In my 6 years as a band parent, I have learned to not fret over the time your child spends at school for band! Your child is spending time with smart kids who have direction and terrific time management skills. They are guided by some of the most incredible individuals I have had the pleasure to meet and associate with. Band kids look out for one another, have a terrific time together, and do amazing things on and off the football field.”

“Band is a great way for your child to belong at SLHS.”

For more wisdom click Here.