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First Marching Band Letter 2010
May 31, 2010
Dear Band Member
and Parents,
My name is Reginald
Purvis and I am Director of Bands at George Washington High School. I
am looking forward to working with you to make the 2010-2011 George
Washington Eagle Bands the best ever. Along with our schedule of
football games and parades, our marching band will be participating this
year in the United States Scholastic Band Association circuit and many
local and statewide contests. These trips are honors that have been
earned by our group, and with your help we will have a smooth beginning
and a really exciting year of fun and travel. I am anxious to work
with you to continue the great success of the George Washington Band
Program. This first letter is to inform you of immediate activities
that involve the Band, starting with the Marching Eagles. If you have
been chosen to become a member of the Marching Band, congratulations!
Some
of our immediate goals include: 1) maintaining the quality of
performances through hard work and discipline; 2) learning and
performing music with perfection; 3) providing opportunities for social
activities through travel and group interaction; 4) having FUN with
performances, competitions, and travel; 5) representing our school and
community through pride and excellence.
This
letter is also a reminder about pre-school events for Marching Band.
Your student has already been made aware of the end of school year
schedule for practices. We are trying to get a jump on things so that
the summer schedule will not be as hectic. Here is a list of our summer
rehearsals:
SUMMER NIGHT
REHEARSALS: (All Horn line and Percussion and Color Guard members)
Thursday, July 8, 5:00-9:00pm (Band practice, Booster meeting, parent
social - 7:30pm)
Thursday,
July 15, 5:00-9:00pm (Everyone)
Thursday,
July 22, 5:00 9:00pm (Everyone)
Tuesday,
July 27, 5:00 9:00pm (Everyone)
Tuesday
August 17, 5:00 9:00pm (Everyone)
Thursday
August 19, 5:00 9:00pm (Everyone)
The purpose of the
summer rehearsals is to get everyone in top playing condition, practice
music arrangements, and learn drill movements for the fall. Members who
will need to check out equipment for these practices may do so by coming
early to these meetings or by contacting me at the school during the
day. All Marching Band Rehearsals are required of all members. If
there is a conflict (summer vacation plans, appointments, etc.) please
notify me so that makeup arrangements can be made. Practices and
sectionals for Guard and Percussion members will be held at this time
also in addition to your individual camp. Color guard camp will either
begin on Tuesday July 6th through Friday July 9th with
the times to be determined by the guard instructional staff. Battery
Percussion and Front Ensemble Percussion members will have their
individual camp Monday July 19th through Friday July 23rd, from
3:00-9:00pm. These camps are in addition to regular band camp in
August.
BAND
CAMP (REQUIRED OF ALL STUDENTS SELECTED TO PARTICIPATE IN MARCHING BAND)
Band camp
will be held Monday August 23rd through Friday August 27th from 8am to
7pm. Rehearsals will also be held August 31st, September 1st, and 2nd,
from 3:30-7:00pm. During our band camp additional instructors will
be here to assist in teaching our halftime show. Each student should
have all equipment prior to August 27th. Members should dress
comfortably for marching, including short pants, T-shirts, shoes,
socks, and hats. Each student must bring a small cooler for ice
water, and snacks may be brought for the breaks that we take.
FINANCIAL
INFORMATION
Each member of the
marching band is asked to pay a participation fee that covers certain
aspects of the program. The following is a list that pertains to each
section of the band.
$125.00 band camp fee
- covers the cost of instructors, drill, music, uniform maintenance,
band camp activities, T-Shirts, food and snacks during camp (all band
members)
$25.00 - shoes (all horn line and percussion members)
$3.00 - gloves
(all horn line members)
$30.00 shoes and
gloves (all color guard members)
50% of this fee is due
by the July 8th rehearsal in order to pay for summer activities,
instructors, and materials. The remaining balance is due by the first
day of band camp, which is August 27th. If there is a problem with
funds, please contact me and special arrangements can be made.
The G.W. Band organization would never deny a student the opportunity to
participate in the band due to financial hardships, but each member must
attempt to fundraise or solicit donations to help out. We
encourage all students to pay this fee EARLY! (Please make
checks payable to G.W. Band Parent Association). All fees must be
paid by August 27th. There will be no exceptions!!
An additional travel/trip fee of $150.00 will be assessed this
year during the fall to pay for our fall trip, which covers the cost of
all bus and equipment travel fees and hotel rooms for the event. This
trip will involve a minimum of two nights lodging in a hotel and three
days travel. The money for the trip must be paid at least two weeks in
advance of the trip. The G.W. Band Parent Association will sponsor many
fundraising projects that can be used to fund our trips and activities
to make it easier on everyone. Your child will receive 50%
of the profit that is made off of each sale, which will go into their
account towards the activities that we sponsor. Additional details will
follow as the season gets started.
Additional details concerning uniform checkout and a
calendar of performances and other activities will be presented to you
at the first rehearsal in July so that personal plans can be made during
the fall season and throughout the school year. Please check out
our web page for updates to information, pictures, and announcements.
We try to update the site at least once a week or whenever there are
changes to the schedule. The address is listed at the bottom of the
page. All performances during the fall season are required of each
member, so please work your schedules accordingly. Lets all
have a great year!
Sincerely,
Reginald Purvis
Director of Bands
George Washington High School
Office #
799-0742
E-mail rpurvis@mail.dps.k12.va.us
Band web Page
www.gwband.org
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