Week of November 1

 

Fall Concert A Huge Success!

Thank you so much for your attendance at our first concert of the school year! It was so wonderful to see a full auditorium for the first time in almost 2 years.

The students worked very hard to learn the skills and music so far this year — and that’s just the start. We’re already hard at work on the next performances. Can you believe that before winter break, our students will have performed more than 10 times?

Concert Attire Donations

For last week’s concert, we had a record number of students who did not come with the proper attire. Luckily, we had enough shirts and shoes to give out, but our spare items are nearly gone at this point.

We are looking to create a “closet” of items to distribute to students in need for our upcoming performances. These items can be new or gently used. We are in need of all-black shoes, men’s white button-down shirts, black dress pants, and dressier black tops for concert performances. If you have anything that you would like to donate please have your student bring them to West. Thank you for your consideration!

Holiday Parades — November 18 and 23

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. Permission slips were due on Monday, October 25, for full credit. Permission slips turned in after the due date can still be turned in for partial credit. Students who do not turn in the permission slips before the performance date will be ineligible to perform.

The uniform for the parades 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.

Clarinet and saxophone players may wish to purchase plastic reeds for the cold temperatures. Plastic reeds have strengths in quarters (2.5, 2.75, 3, 3.25, 3.5) rather than halves (2.5, 3, 3.5) like cane reeds. We recommend ordering a quarter stronger than you typically play. So, if you typically play a 2.5, order a 2.75 (though we should consider moving you up to a 3 cane reed). If you typically play a 3, order a 3.25. If you typically play a 3.5, order a 3.75. We recommend using the Légère Signature brand. Légère has other cheaper models, but this is definitely a “you get what you pay for” situation. From our experience, we do not recommend other brands at this time.

Brass players may wish to purchase a plastic mouthpiece for the cold temperatures. Please get a clear, white, blue, gray, silver, or black mouthpiece. Below are links to recommended mouthpieces. You can purchase these on Amazon, at Heid, or through the Kelly website.

Holiday Parade Volunteers

The next events that we need assistance with are the Oshkosh Holiday Parade (November 18th) and the Appleton Holiday Parade (November 23rd). Many families have signed up to help so far — Thank you! At this time, we still need help with uniform collection and distribution for both parades. Please take a moment to visit our Volunteer Sign-Up page to contribute to your student’s success!

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

  • Uniform Distribution: 4:30-5:30pm

    • These positions will assist students in finding uniforms and hats.

  • Uniform Collection: 8:00-8:45pm

    • These positions will verify that students have hung their uniforms up properly and put the hats back on the shelves.

Band-o-Rama — December 11, 2021

We are revamping the Band-o-Rama festival that has been held in the past. Beginning this year, Band-o-Rama will become a performance featuring all 700+ band students from grades 6 through 12!

The performance will be on December 11th at 6pm in the Oshkosh North Fieldhouse. Due to fire code, each student will receive 2 tickets for the event. Additionally, we will have a small lot of additional tickets that will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis via a form to be shared in late November. The event will also be livestreamed. We may look at doing multiple days in the future to allow for more audience members.

Due to the magnitude of the performance, we will have a required rehearsal in the fieldhouse prior to the performance. 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 7-12 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

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 sign up on our Volunteer page. Thank you for your assistance!

Friday, December 10th

  • Organize Chairs, Stands, and Percussion (5:00pm to 7:00pm)

Saturday, December 11th (Morning)

  • Water Donations (24-36 pack) (Please bring with your student in the morning.)

  • Chair, Stand, and Percussion Placement (10:00am to 11:00am)

  • Homeroom Monitors (MS: 10:30am to 1:45pm, HS: 12:30 to 3:45pm)

Saturday, December 11th (Before Concert)

  • Homeroom Monitors (5:15pm to 6:50pm)

  • Ticket Takers (5:15pm to 7:00pm)

  • Ushers (5:15pm to 7:00pm)

  • Water Sales (5:15pm to 6:55pm)

  • Flower Sales (5:15pm to 6:55pm)

Saturday, December 11th (After Concert)

  • Tear-Down (7:00pm to 8:00pm)

Current Fundraiser

We will be finishing this year’s second fundraiser (of three) on November 8th. Forms and payment are due no later than November 8th. We cannot accept late orders! If your student is absent, please make arrangements to get the form and payment to West by the end of the school day.

Every student can benefit from this fundraiser, as we will all be traveling at least once with the bands this year. Many students are traveling to Orlando in March and everyone will travel to Milwaukee to perform at a concert competition in May (cost will be $50-$75, depending on student voting outcomes in November — more info to come!).

Please take a look at the linked brochure! Some highlights are listed below.

Important Information:

  • Start Date: October 18, 2021

  • Orders and Payments Due By: November 8, 2021

  • Pick-Up: November 17, 2021, from 3:30-4:30 in the Kimbal Auditorium Lobby

  • Profit: 40%

  • Catalog: Click Here! (also available in class)

  • Order Form: Click Here! (also available in class)

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 gain the points.

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

Important Upcoming Dates

  • November 4 from 12:16 to 3:00pm — Wind Ensemble Pep Band to Lakeside Elementary Walk-a-Thon

  • November 18 at 6:15pm — Oshkosh Holiday Parade (All Band Students)

  • November 23 at 7:00pm — Appleton Holiday Parade (All Band Students)

  • December 3 from 8:00am to 3:33pm — Eighth Grade Band Day (Wind Ensemble)

  • December 11 at 6:45pm — Band-o-Rama (All District Band Students)

Oshkosh West Bands