Week of November 27

Oshkosh Holiday Parade — November 30

Each year, all students in our four bands combine to perform in the Oshkosh and Appleton Holiday Parades. This is a required performance for all students.

The uniform for the parade is as follows:

All students will wear their marching uniform jacket, pants, and hat provided by the school. Students are responsible for providing long black socks and all-black shoes. Shoes that are not all-black will be made all-black. Expensive and/or fancy shoes are unnecessary! Find a pair of cheap all-black shoes that will last all four years at Walmart, Target, Goodwill, or your favorite local store. Students with financial difficulties should contact Mr. Singer or Mr. Wilson for assistance. (Students will not board the bus or be able to perform without the proper attire.)

It will be cold! The band program provides clean black ear warmers to be worn underneath the marching hats. The uniforms were fit with a little room so students can wear thermals, sweatshirts, Underarmour, or the like. Please do not wear anything with a hood as that will make the jacket bunchy. It may be a good idea to bring hand and/or foot warmers as well.

Holiday Parade Volunteers

We still need some help for the Oshkosh Holiday Parade on November 30th). Please take a moment to visit our Volunteer Sign-Up to contribute to your student’s success!

For the fall holiday parades, we need help with the following:

Water Donations
- These positions will donate 24-36 bottles of water for dinner.
Dessert Donations
- These positions will donate 24-36 dessert items for dinner. These can be homemade or store-bought.
Uniform Collection: 8:30-9:15pm (Appleton) or 7:45-8:30pm (Oshkosh)
- These positions will verify that students have hung their uniforms up properly and put the hats back on the shelves.

BASKETBALL PEP BANDS

Basketball season has begun and that means we begin our second pep band season! Call time in the West band room is 6:45, and we’ll move to the gym around 7:00, and we’ll begin playing before the Varsity games around 7:15, depending on the timing of the JV game that precedes the Varsity game. For most games, we expect to play for pregame and halftime. We expect the halftime performance to be over between 8:00 and 8:15.

When we play halftime, students may sit in the student section or pep band section during the first half but should be back in the pep band section with two minutes left on the clock before halftime to prepare for the second performance. The uniform for these games is West or blue and white gear or the student section theme.

We are using a new system this year for basketball pep bands. There are two A games, two B games, two C games, and two D games. Each student will choose one A, B, C, and D. As always, students are encouraged to come to more than the minimum!

Each performance is a demonstration of musical skills by the students. Since band is a class and performances are a part of the learning process as well as graded public demonstrations of skills learned, attendance and participation at each performance is expected, required, and graded. If a student must miss a performance, we do have opportunities for students to make-up the missed points. The procedures can be viewed on this page on our website.

Students who are participating in a school-related activity (game/match/meet/etc.) during BOTH pep band performances of the same letter (both A games, both B games, etc.) are excused. This may include being on the team playing while we perform or on a team that has an away event during our performance. To be excused, students must fill out this form on our website prior to the beginning of the performance.

Again, to be excused, students must have SCHOOL-RELATED (clubs, athletics, other...) conflicts for BOTH options. If they aren’t SCHOOL-RELATED conflicts for BOTH events, they are not excused.

If you have to miss BOTH games of the same letter for a non-school-related conflict, you can view make-up procedures here. Please contact Mr. Singer or Mr. Wilson with questions.

BAND-O-RAMA — DECEMBER 16

We are excited to continue our tradition of having all 750+ district band students perform at Band-o-Rama!

This year’s performance will be on December 16th at 6pm in the Oshkosh North Field House.

Due to the magnitude of the performance, we will have a required rehearsal in the field house prior to the performance. Click here for a map of North HS. Below is the high school schedule for the day:

12:40 pm Arrive at North and report to homerooms
1:00 pm 6-12 rehearsal
1:30 pm 8-12 rehearsal
2:00 pm Combined Wildcat, Spartan, and Concert Bands rehearsal
2:30 pm Combined High School rehearsal
3:00 pm Combined Wind Ensemble and Varsity Band rehearsal (Wildcat, Spartan, and Concert Bands students dismissed)
3:30 pm Wind Ensemble and Varsity Band students dismissed
5:30 pm call time to homerooms
6:00 pm Performance

For concert dress, all high school students will wear concert black. Concert black can include black dress pants, black slacks, an all-black skirt that extends below the knee, an all-black dress, an all-black dress shirt, or an all-black blouse. All students should wear all-black shoes. If wearing pants, students should also wear LONG black socks. As this is a more formal occasion, please do not wear t-shirts, hoodies, leggings, or shorts. For more information on uniforms, please click here.

If you need assistance in acquiring any of these items, please contact me as soon as possible. Looking like a unified ensemble is an important component of our presentation!

Band-o-Rama Volunteers

We will need lots of volunteers to help make Band-o-Rama a huge success! The following volunteer positions are needed. Position descriptions are available here. Please take a moment to visit our Volunteer Sign-Up to contribute to your student’s success! Thank you for your assistance!

Saturday, December 16th (Morning)

Chair, Stand, and Percussion Placement (8:00am to 10:00am)

Saturday, December 16th (Before Concert)

Ushers (5:15pm to 7:00pm)

Saturday, December 16th (After Concert)

Tear-Down (7:00pm to 8:00pm)

Holiday Stocking Stuffer Ideas

The holiday season is here and your student would love to get a few upgrades this year! Below is a list of items that might help your student become a better musician. If you have any questions about specific brands, please let us know!

All Music Students

step-up instrument
private lessons (scholarships available)
app store gift card for music apps
folding music stand for home practice
professional instrument cleaning or maintenance
instrument stand
solo/ensemble sheet music
music store gift cards
local symphony tickets
music-related clothing

Woodwind Players

cleaning swab
step-up mouthpiece
step-up barrel (clarinet)
step-up ligature
reed case
reeds
neck strap
cork grease

Brass Players

step-up mouthpiece
brass mutes
valve oil
slide grease
mouthpiece case
polishing cloth

Percussionists

sticks and mallets
practice pad
practice snare drum or mallet instrument
drumset

Six Flags Trip — May 18, 2024

This year, we will be traveling to Six Flags Great America on Saturday, May 18, 2024. This will be an optional trip for any student in the music department and will replace the previous activities in Milwaukee following WSMA performances.

The only criteria to attend is not missing performances; all performances must be attended or made up by the trip date. Costs will be determined in the spring, but fundraisers will be available throughout the year. Hope to see you there!

Grading and Make-Up Procedures

Are you curious about how grades are determined? Click here for more information!

Do you have to miss a pep band performance? Students who have a school-related activity are excused from the pep band performance. Students missing for any other reason must make up the performance to gain the points. Students wishing to be excused for a school-related activity should fill out this form prior to the date of the performance.

Do you have to miss a concert or parade performance? All students missing a concert or parade performance for any reason must make up the performance to earn the points.

View make-up procedures here. Please contact Mr. Singer or Mr. Wilson with questions.