Week of December 9

2026 Band Trip — Orlando

The Oshkosh West Bands and Choirs are traveling to Orlando over spring break in 2026!

The trip is open to all students who will be enrolled in a band class at West next school year and their families. This is a totally optional trip; everyone is encouraged to travel with us, but no one is required.

At the meeting on November 18, we shared a tentative itinerary, tentative costs, and fundraising options. More information will be available on our trip page and fundraising page.

Don’t let money be an issue! We have had many students pay for their entire trip with fundraising! If you are interested in traveling with us but may have financial barriers, please attend the meeting and learn how we can make it work for your family.

Registration is due by January 27th and a deposit is due by February 3rd.

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 email Mr. Wilson if you can help. Thank you for your assistance!

Saturday, December 14th (Morning)

Chair, Stand, and Percussion Placement (8:00am to 10:00am)
Homeroom Monitors (12:30 to 3:45pm)

Saturday, December 14th (Before Concert)

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

Saturday, December 14th (After Concert)

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

BAND-O-RAMA Rehearsals

December is a busy month for our music students and band students will have a bit of time out of class to combine bands in preparation for the district-wide Band-o-Rama concert on December 14. We have worked hard to minimize out-of-class time as much as possible. The tentative schedule is below. Please note the band for each time -- not all students are missing class at all times.

Monday, December 9th - 4th Hour - Wind Ensemble in the Band Room

Monday, December 9th - 6th Hour - Wildcat Band in the Band Room

Wednesday, December 11th - 1:00-3:00 - Wind Ensemble and Varsity Band in the Kimball Auditorium

Thursday, December 12th - 8:10-10:30 - Wildcat Band and Concert Band in the Kimball Auditorium

BAND-O-RAMA — DECEMBER 14

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 14th at 6pm in the Oshkosh North Field House. Due to fire code, each student we are asking each student to bring only 2-3 audience members. Please let us know if you’d like to bring more, as we may be able to accommodate that as well. Click here for livestream information.

Due to the magnitude of the performance, we will have a required rehearsal in the field house 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

Concert dress is as follows:

Please choose from the following items. Each item must be ALL-BLACK in a semi-formal style.

ALL-BLACK button-down shirt
ALL-BLACK polo shirt
ALL-BLACK sweater
ALL-BLACK blouse
ALL-BLACK dress
ALL-BLACK skirt
ALL-BLACK dress pants

Please pair long, calf-length ALL-BLACK socks, ALL-BLACK dress shoes, ALL-BLACK leggings, and/or ALL-BLACK hosiery as appropriate.

Please note that the following items do not fit in the dress code: t-shirts, hoodies, sweatpants, jeans, shorts of any kind, tennis shoes, crocs, flip-flops, sandals, or slides. Students dressed improperly will not be permitted to perform.

Families who need help acquiring any uniform item should contact the directors for assistance. We NEVER want students to miss an opportunity due to financial hardship. We can help with advance notice!

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

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 continuing last year’s new system 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.

Six Flags Trip — May 28, 2025

This year, we will be traveling to Six Flags Great America on Wednesday, May 28, 2025. This will be an optional trip for any student in the music department.

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.