Westlake High School Marching Thunder
To: All parents of prospective 9– 12thgrade Band Students
From: Brek Mangelson, Director of Bands; Jeremy Megginson, Asst. Director
Re: 2016 Marching Thunder
The 2016 Marching Thunder season is officially about to step off! We are so excited for this upcoming year. This informational letter is intended to give you a brief overview of the marching band program, as well as explainthe expectations, fees, and schedule associated with participation in the group(s).
First and foremost, marching band is so much fun! Along with that fun,however, comes an expectation to work hard! Being in a nationally competitive marching band requiresa considerable amount of time, sacrifice, and diligence.Unique to this season also is the opportunity to be in the first band ever from Westlake (and second in the state) to travel to Indianapolis, Indiana and compete at the Bands of America Grand National Championships this November. This will be a life changing, incredible opportunity for your student to compete on a national stage as well as have the opportunity to see some of the finest marching bands perform from all across the country. You, as parents, can also come as well with your families to cheer us on! We need your help and support! General information about the tour, as well as the costs and the requirements, will be discussed in this letter for thosewanting to travel to Grand Nationals.
It’s important to understand that unlike many schools around the country, marchingband is NOT required here at Westlake High School – it is a completely optional group separate from the concert and jazz groups in the band program. Students can join our marching band for a minimal board-approved fee ($200) and march in our local city parades in the summeras well as perform a pre-game show at ALLof our Westlake home football games in the fall. We strongly encourage all band students to be in the marching band and experience all that the activity has to offer.
In addition to the regular marching band, most students choose to“opt in”and bea part of ourcompetitive, audition-only,field-show styleoutdoor performance ensemble. This group practices several additional hours above and beyond that of the regular marching band each week. A competitive field show is learned in the summer and this group performs this field show at various competitions throughout the state and region (and this year at Nationals in Indianapolis!). Participation in this outdoor performance ensemble is completely optional, so naturally the fees to participate in this group are above and beyond the normal board approved fees of the district for participation in the regular marching band. If you choose to “opt in” and have your student participate in this group,you and/or your child would be responsible for the additional fees and tour costs (including Grand Nationals) associated with the group. These fees are considerably higher, and traveling with the group is REQUIRED for those that chose to “opt in” to be a member.
Practices are entirely after school for both groups, but PE elective credit may be received for those who wish to register for the official marching band class and pay the associated class fee to the school (currently $50). Fundraisers will be limited and geared towards those that will be the most profitable for your student.Information regarding this year’s fundraisers, and how the profits will benefit your student,are located on the fundraiser page of the band website. One fundraiser is geared towards the individual student to offset fee costs, and one is for the whole band.
Schedule
Each year to start off the season we have a “Step-Off” meeting for all the students and their parents. This meeting is mandatory and is extremely important so please do whatever you can to be there. This year it is scheduled for Tuesday, April 26th, at 7pm in the WHS auditorium.
The practice schedule for both the basic marching band (parade and pregame only) and competitive field show band can be viewed on the calendar link at Thunderband.com. In summary, during the school year,the marching band’s practice schedule is as follows:
Basic Marching Band:
- 3:00-5:00 pm the day of every home football game.
Competitive “Field Show” Band:
- All the rehearsals of the basic marching band
-Two after school rehearsals from 3:00-6:00 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays
-One evening rehearsal from 5:00-9:00pm on Wednesdays.
The spring/summer schedule can be found on the Thunderband website as well. Fundamental basic/rookie camps will begin in May and are required for ALL marching band members. Weekday practices begin in May as well after school. All practices in the spring and early summerare essential as they prepare us for the various city parades we march in throughout the season.This year we are scheduled to only march in 3 parades. Your student is expected to be at all parades and practices throughout the summerbut absences may be requested according to the guidelines in the contract. Please do whatever you can to be at most, if not all, of the practices and parades in the throughout the season.
Camps/Clinics Mandatory Dates:
Rookie Camp- May 9-13th, 3-6pm daily
Basics Camp- May 14th
Parade Camp- May 31st- June 3rd
Color Guard and Drumline Camp- July 18th- 22nd
Field Show Camp- July 25th- 29th(no approved absences will be given)
Pre-Game Camp- August 8th-12th (no approved absences will be given)
Cleaning Camps- September 10th, 17th; November 4-5th
The competitive-field-show band is scheduled to performat and/or compete in the following competitions:
Weber Review at WSU
BridgerlandBand Invitational at Utah State University
Rocky Mountain Invitational at Brigham Young University
Nebo Tournament of Bands at Payson H.S.
Mt. Timpanogos Marching Band Invitational atPleasant Grove H.S.
Wasatch Front Marching Invitational at Herriman H.S.
The Davis Cup at Davis H.S.
The UMEA State Marching Band Invitational at Dixie State University
Bands Of America Regional Championshipsat Dixie State University
Bands of America Grand National Championships in Indianapolis, IN.
All of these dates are currently listed on the thunderband.com calendar online.
Costs
Like many other programs, the costs of buses, trips, competitions, uniforms, instruments, equipment, staff, food, etc. amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars. We have the biggest operational activity budget in the high school.
To participate in the summer and pre-game basic marching band only, the fee is $200.
If your student wishes to audition for and “opt- in” be a part of the competitive field show band, the fee for that band is $800 (this fee includes the $200 listed above for the basic marching band fee as well as the trip fee for the state finals and BOA regional finals competition in St. George). Here is a breakdown of the fees for your reference:
Competitive Field-Show Band Fee Breakdown (based on 150 students):
Uniforms 24.00
Equipment, Drill, Music, and Supplies202.00
Camps and Clinics280.00
Transportation 75.00
Competitions and Application Fees 35.00
Misc. 40.00
State Championships/BOA Regional (St. George)200.00
Offset Costs (district allocation, fundraising, etc.)(56.00)
TOTAL800.00
If your student is new this year, an additional fee of $38 and $41 is also required for a purchase of our marching DTX shoes as well as our band polo. These do not need to be purchased each year (only if your child is new, or another size is needed due to growth).The shoes and polos need to be the same brand and design for all the students and we want the cheapest price, so we will order them for your child in bulk in the spring after the Step-Off meeting. Measuring and sizing for these items will take place at that meeting in April. Students playing a school marching instrument will still need to pay the $70 rental fee as designated by the district for all equipment/instrument rentals.
A required non-refundable deposit of $100 should be paid by the contract deadline of March 4, 2016. To help alleviate the stress on families as well as to make is easier to track expenses due to the new financial system used by the district, all remaining fees ($100 for basic marching band, $700 for competitive field show band) will not be due until July 15th. Please do not attempt to pay these fees until after July 1, 2016.The tour fees for Grand Nationals (required for all those who are opting in to do the competitive field show band) are paid directly to the tour company and their payment schedule is attached to this informational letter.
** Important!!! If your student opts in and wishes to be a member of the competitive field show band you must register and pay your tour payments online by the designated deadlines as stated by the tour company. Simply registering your student for the tour does not guarantee your child a spot in the field show. Your student still needs to audition for a drill spot and meet the music pass off requirements. Your child may travel with the group to Grand Nationals regardless of the outcome of those auditions but they may not be performing or will helping with props, the moving of equipment on or off the field, or may simply be traveling with the group.
How To Join Marching Band
- Fillout the marching band contract online at the following link:
- Print off and sign the last page of the contract viewed online
- Fill out, print off and sign the 2016 Emergency Medical Form
- Pay the $100 deposit in the Westlake High School Finance office(or if absolutely necessary you may pay it online at myschoolfees.com) and attach your deposit receipt to #2 and #3 above and turn into Mr. Mangelson, Mr. Lemen, Mr. Megginson, or Ms. Young before the deadline
- If your child is planning on being in the competitive field show band and will be traveling to Indianapolis, you must register for the tour and pay their deposit as instructed on the attached Music Travel Consultants information sheet
The deadline for Westlake’s contract and initial deposit again is Friday March 4th!
NEW THIS YEAR: Any students who have not paid their feesby July 15th date may be dropped from marching band and/or be made an alternate at our discretion. If you expect to have difficulties meeting this deadline you must contact Mr. Mangelson directly beforehand and make other arrangements via a signed contract.
Upon turning in their contract, music will be handed to your child to begin practicing. Competitive field show auditions will take place the week of May 9th. We as a staff will listen to each student play the music they have been working on. We are merely checking to make sure each student has taken this opportunity serious and that considerable work has taken place to work on the warm-ups, parade tune, and field show music. We do not expect the music to be memorized yet or be 100% accurate and complete.
We need to have firm drill numbers to write our pregame and competitive showsby May14th so that is the last day for your student to drop out. After this deadline you and/or your child will be responsible for ALL of the remaining marching band fees that are due by July 15th. The student’s account will be charged for all unpaid fees after the district books roll in the beginning of July.
We realize this is a lot of information at once. Weekly emails will be sent out to give you important updates, reminders, and information to keep you and your child in the loop and informed. Please read these emails consistently in their entirety. We are going to have section parents this year to help keep parents involved and informed as well. More information on how this program will work with be discussed at the marching band Step-Off meeting in April.
Again we are so excited for this year! We understand this is a significant time and financial commitment this year. We commit to making it a memorable experience for all of you. Marching Band will change your child’s life positively in countless ways. It truly is worth every penny and the sacrifice that it will take to choose to have your child involved. We hope you will all take this opportunity to have your student(s) be a member of the Westlake High School Marching Thunder this year.
Go Thunder!
Respectfully,
Brek MangelsonJeremy Megginson
Director of Bands,Assistant Director, Dir. of Percussion,
Westlake High SchoolWestlake High School