Hi All,

Extra additional blast this week because there’s so much going on, and because some of the information bears repeating!!

The following is a list of topics:

• We still need…..
• About those Port-a-Potties….
• DEPARTURE TIME and BUS CHECK-IN
• Band Camp Details – What you need to know
• Emergency Phone Number
• What to Pack for Band Camp
• WE NEED TO KNOW…..
• DRIVING DIRECTIONS TO BAND CAMP
• Barb and Audrey need help with uniform fittings!
• Addition to next week’s practice schedule
• What is ‘Beat the Heat’
• Details on Aug 14th tri-school band camp
• Help Wanted Aug 14th
• Field Show shirt orders due August 12th
• Summer band room availability
• Reminders, additional schedule highlights
• Marching Band Summer Schedule

We still need….

Grapes (several more boxes - Costco size is 4 lbs each)
Watermelon (a few)
Honey Dew (several)
Goldfish crackers (5 Costco size boxes)
Chex Mix (couple of bags)
Wheat Thins (couple of boxes)
Ritz Crackers (couple of boxes)

We would like donations delivered to Barbara Edmond’s house (1719 Chitamook Court, Sunnyvale). Non perishable items can be dropped off beginning Tuesday, August 4th. Please wait until Thursday, August 6th before dropping off perishable items. We need to pack up the supplies for Friday. Barbara might be in and out of the house, running errands, so you can leave things on her front porch. They will be brought in before the heat gets to them.

Thanks in advance for your support!

About those Port-a-Potties….

When we arrive at the Athenian School and you gaze out of your bus window, you’ll probably see a couple of Port-a-Potties sitting next to the field. And you are thinking, ‘EEwwww. Gross. They must have been sitting there since the Ice Age, part 1’. Not so! Those port-a-potties are brought in Friday afternoon, just for us. They haven’t been sitting out in the sun all year, gathering dust and smells. Don’t be afraid to use them. They are clean, and CLOSE to the field, so you don’t have to go running up to the gym to stand in line. You can walk over to use the facilities close to the field and get back for snacks long before your buddy even gets to the gym.

DEPARTURE TIME and BUS CHECK-IN

All students attending band camp need to be in the Homestead High School Faculty Parking Lot by 12:45 p.m. on Friday, August 7th. (This should be fairly easy for new marchers, since all new marcher students attending band camp should also be attending new marcher practice Friday morning.)

NO ONE IS ALLOWED ON THE BUS WITHOUT A NAME LABEL. You will find parents standing on the sidewalk near the Building L fence, handing out name labels. Pick up your name label, put your luggage (sleeping bag, clothing, instrument) in the bus luggage bay, and hand your label to the bus chaperone. Once you hand in your label , you are not allowed to get off the bus, or switch buses, so make arrangements to sit with buddies BEFORE you get on a bus.

Band Camp Details – What you need to know

1) DON’T FORGET YOUR INSTRUMENTS AND MUSIC!!! If you don’t have an instrument yet, you need to talk to Mrs. Feltman NOW.
2) Bring a hat, lip balm, sunscreen, and sunglasses. Danville is known for its hundred degree weather. Everyone should bring comfortable THICK SOLED athletic shoes and HEAVY SOCKS. The all-weather field is HOT, and you will feel the heat thru the soles of your shoes. The more rubber between you and the field, the better! Experienced marchers also know blisters can form if socks are not worn.
3) Bring a refillable water bottle. We will be marching on a sunny soccer field, and your friendly, neighborhood snack elves will be refilling your water bottles with fresh cool water while you are busily working up a sweat on the field. When you come in for a water break, just find you filled water bottle. PUT YOUR NAME ON YOUR WATER BOTTLE.
4) Bring a flashlight. The paths between the gym and practice rooms are not very well-lit.
5) Food is not allowed in the gym, especially since it is a BRAND NEW FLOOR
6) There are rattlesnakes, coyotes, and tarantulas in the foothills. Stay on the paths, wear shoes, and nobody gets hurt.
7) No one is allowed to leave the campus during band camp.
8) No smoking, no alcohol, no illegal drugs
9) Clothing, including footwear, is required in the Dining Hall.
10) Please use non-spray insect repellent, to avoid affecting other people in the vicinity.
11) Long-sleeved shirts and long pants will help keep biting bugs off.
12) Pack a warm sweatshirt and long pants JUST IN CASE.
13) Days can be very warm (ok, HOT), so pack t-shirts and shorts as well.
14) Bring a swimsuit and towels – for swimming and for showers.
15) Water is to be conserved. Take short showers.
16) The swimming pool is off-limits unless a certified lifeguard is on duty.
17) Bring a sleeping bag and pillow. Air mattresses are allowed, as long as they are transported deflated and don’t take up much space in the bus luggage bay.
18) No skateboards, roller blades, radios, or boom boxes allowed (ipods or cd players may be used with headphones only; no external speakers) We are not responsible for lost or stolen items. Bring at your own risk.
19) Meals will be served at set times, to be announced later. Make sure you show up at the specified times. Food will not be held for latecomers.
20) Everyone is expected to clear their tables of all trash after meals.
21) Everyone is expected to respect others and their belongings.

Please contact Vicki Feltman at vfeltman@pacbell.net or 408-483-0861 if you have any questions or comments.

Emergency Phone Number

IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY, parents can contact the chaperones by calling 408-483-0861 (Vicki Feltman’s cell phone) or 650-279-2788 (Lori Wong’s cell phone). The Athenian School office will not be staffed during the evenings and weekend.

Just as a reminder, a call to find out how band members are doing, or to tell someone they forgot their flashlight or toothpaste, or to chat with boyfriends/girlfriends is NOT considered an emergency. Keep in mind marchers will be too busy to chitchat. And, when it’s lights out, cell phones will be confiscated if students do not heed the warning to put them away. It’s very irritating having beacons of light shining in your eyes from a student texting. Ringing cell phones when you’re drifting off to sleep can be jarring, as well as cell phones vibrating against the gym floor.

What to Pack for Band Camp:

Sleeping bag, hat, sunscreen, toilet articles, long pants,
Pillow, lip balm, refillable water bottle, T-shirts, sweatshirts,
Flashlight, sunglasses, moleskin/band-aids, shorts,
swim suit/towel, insect repellent (non-aerosol),
Comfortable shoes with THICK SOLES/socks to march in (no sandals on the field)
And, don’t forget your Instrument and music!!

WE NEED TO KNOW…..

If your student will NOT be on the bus going to camp, or coming back from camp. We don’t want to waste time waiting for someone who won’t show up at bus departure. If you plan to be there to pick your student up, please make sure you are there before the bus is ready to leave.

If you are picking up your student at Danville or City Beach, we want to make eye contact with both parent and student before you leave, so that we make sure everyone has hooked up; we would hate to have a student THINK their parent was picking them up, only to have them end up standing in an empty parking lot long after everyone else left.

DRIVING DIRECTIONS TO BAND CAMP

Here are directions to get to the Athenian School, 2100 Mt. Diablo Scenic Blvd., Danville, Calif.

Take 237 East to 880
Take 880 North to Mission Blvd/Sacramento exit
Take 680 North about 25 miles
Take the Sycamore Valley Road exit, and turn Right onto Sycamore Valley Road for 1.3 miles
Continue to the right on Camino Tassajara for about 3 miles
Take a left onto Blackhawk Road for 3.5 miles
Make a Right onto Mt. Diablo Scenic Blvd for .1 mile
Make a Right into the Athenian School. Parking lot is on the Left-hand side.

Please be aware, the gate to the school is unlocked at 7 a.m. and locked each night at 10:30 p.m.


Barb and Audrey need help with uniform fittings!

Uniform moms Barb Edmonds and Audrey Ishizaki need your help to get all of our marchers fitted. No sewing experience necessary! Requirements – ability to read and write. Some of the jobs available…handing out hats, handing out gloves, handing out uniforms, helping students try on pants and jackets. Sounds simple because it is… just what you do when you take your reluctant child shopping for a new suit.

So far, Barb and Audrey are the ONLY two who will be there on Monday, August 17th, the day dedicated to fitting freshmen with last names A-L. The odds are not good! Freshmen parents, it would be to your advantage to help Barb and Audrey get those uniforms for your students. Sign up to help the week before so you get a little practice, then sign up for a couple of hours during the time your student is due to get a uniform.

Check out the uniform fitting schedule in the calendar below, and contact Barb Edmonds at edmondsbarb@yahoo.com or 408-736-1934 or Audrey Ishizaki at aud@yahoo.com or 650-964-4054.


Addition to next week’s practice schedule

Please note the addition of a Beat the Heat practice 5-8 pm on Thursday, August 13th, in addition to the music rehearsal already scheduled for that day. The Beat the Head practice has been included in the calendar at the end of this email.

What is a “Beat the Heat” practice?

Mr. Burn likes to avoid the hottest part of the day, so he schedules practices in the morning and late afternoon, to ‘beat the heat’. Practices and other activities for August are listed in the calendar below.

Field Show shirt orders due August 12th

Check out the shirt design on the HHSMB website. Click on 2009 Field Show T-Shirt Unveiling. Order forms were included in your band camp packets. You can also download the form from the website, under ‘Forms’.

Details on Aug 14th tri-school band camp

The First Annual Tri-School Band Camp Day will take place at Saratoga High School on Friday, August 14th. This is a mandatory camp. Students will provide their own transportation to Saratoga High School (20300 Herriman Ave, Saratoga, CA 95070-4999). All marching students, including color guard, are required to attend. The cost is included in the Danville band camp fee. (Those students who will not make it to our Danville band camp will receive an email from me with the cost for the August 14th band camp day.)

Mr. Burn, Mr. Michael Boitz from Saratoga High School, and Mr. Jon Grantham from Amador Valley High School believe that all of our students will benefit from working and learning together. Our three bands have always competed against each other, and yet have also supported one another. Our band directors believe it’s time to take that support one step further, by having the band members hear the same inspirational words from Scott Lang, learn the same breathing exercises to help improve their sound, and work together to put on a combined show.

The following is the tentative schedule for the day. Please note, we would like ALL parents to attend the special meeting from 7-9 pm.

8:30 – 10:00 Scott Lang w/Homestead Saratoga Leadership Teams

10:30am-12:30pm “The Sam, Pat Scott Show” (EVERYONE in McAfee)

12:30pm Lunch (Togo’s beefcheese/hamcheese/turkeycheese/vegetarian)
all schools eat together in quad area

1:30pm Color Guards – Small Gym Quad w/ respective staff
Drumlines – Upper Field and Baseball Field w/ respective staff

1:30-2:30 Brass (all 3 schools) w/ Sam Pat in McAfee
WW’s (all 3 schools) w/ Staff in Large Gym

2:30-3:30 Flip-Flop WW’s Brass w/ Sam Pat in McAfee

3:45pm “Informance” Prep for all sections:
(Each “Section” will present something in the evening):
3:45pm All Winds Warm Up w/ Sam Pat in stadium

4:15pm Scott Lang Rehearse Seasons of Love w/ all winds

5:00pm Dinner (Panda Express chow mein/fried rice/orange chicken/ potstickers/spring rolls)
All Together in Quad

6:00pm-7pm “The Show” each perform short performance routine (in stadium)
Combined Winds – Seasons of Love
Color Guards –
Percussion Sections -

7:00pm-9pm Put Equipment/Instruments Away and
enjoy DJ Dance and social in Quad

7:00pm-9pm Scott Lang Parent Session/Meeting in McAfee

9pm Conclusion of 1st Annual Combined Band Camp Day!

Contact Vicki Feltman at vfeltman@pacbell.net if you have questions.

Help Wanted Aug 14th

Homestead High is tasked with feeding lunch to the 700 (!) students attending the tri-school band camp day. Needless to say, we’ll need a bit of help serving! We need parents to help distribute Togo’s sandwiches (roast beef and cheese, ham and cheese, turkey and cheese, and vegetarian), bottled water, and cookies as the students file thru the lines. The time commitment is from 11:30 am – 2 pm. Please contact Pat Tomosada at 408-737-1740 or tomosada@comcast.net.


Summer band room availability – Check the Calendar at the end of this email… and so it begins!


Reminders, additional schedule highlights –

Last Brass/Woodwind Practice before band camp Wed Aug 5th 4-8 pm
Student Leader training August 6TH 9-4 morning session at HHS
2009 Drum Corp International Championships, AMC Cupertino Square
Thursday ($18 a ticket; buy early online or at the box office)
New Marchers and Percussion Practice Fri August 7th 9 am -12 pm
Load bus for BAND CAMP at 12:45 pm Aug 7th
BAND CAMP August 7-9
Field show t-shirt orders due Aug 12th
Tri-school Band Camp August 14th – special parent meeting at Saratoga HS 7-9 pm
FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL AUGUST 24TH
 

Marching Band Summer Schedule