Week of September 27
Current Fundraiser
On Monday, October 4th, we will be wrapping the first fundraiser of the year: Caramel Crisp's Best.Cookies.Ever! Forms and payment are due no later than October 4th. 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: September 13, 2021
Orders and Payments Due By: October 4, 2021
Pick-Up: Tentatively October 20, 2021, from 3:30-4:30 in the Kimbal Auditorium Lobby (please see note in brochure)
Profit: 25%
Catalog: Click Here! (also available in class)
Order Form: Click Here! (also available in class)
Volunteers
With a large band program comes the need for parent help in many areas at various points throughout the year. All parents and guardians of band students are part of the Oshkosh West Band Parent Organization. Like any support organization, success is dependent on the participation and contributions of its members. We are proud to have an extremely active Band Parent Organization. The group is parent-run and has two main focuses: raising funds to support student activities and assisting with tasks such as uniform fitting, distribution and collection, meal distribution for parades and many other tasks throughout the year.
The event that we need assistance with the most at this point is the Homecoming performance, but we will also need help with the holiday parades and at other points throughout the year. Please take a moment to visit our Volunteer Sign-Up page to contribute to your student’s success!
Fall Concert: October 28th
Our first concert of the year is almost upon us! The students have been working hard and are excited to showcase what they have learned in the first two months of school. Below is some pertinent information for the concert. Please note that there is no audience member cap this year. Each student may bring as many audience attendees as they like! Per district rules, audience members must wear a mask while in school buildings.
Call time is 6:00pm. Students should be at West and ready to go no later than 6:00pm. We will be taking group photos at 6:00 and then following with fundamentals and tuning.
The auditorium seating area will open at 7:15pm. Please do not arrive earlier than 7:15 as the auditorium won’t be open until 15 minutes before the concert. Those who arrive early can wait in the lobby
Concert time is 7:30pm. All four of our bands will perform on this night, beginning with Wildcat Band, moving to Concert Band and Varsity Band, and capping the night off with Wind Ensemble. The concert should be no longer than one and a half hours and features 200 musicians!
Concert dress is as follows:
Men and students issued a tuxedo will wear their school-provided tuxedo jacket, pants, bow tie, and cummerbund. They must also provide their own clean, white button-down shirt with a collar. The shirt can be either long or short sleeve, as they will be covered by the jacket. Men should also wear long black socks and all-black shoes.
All other students should wear all black. This provides some options, but please be sure to choose something that is dressier and will go with the tuxedos. Options might include a black blouse, a black button-down shirt, a black skirt that extends below the knees, black pants, or a simple black dress. Shoes must be all-black, but socks are not required.
Students with financial difficulties should contact Mr. Singer or Mr. Wilson for assistance as soon as possible. We can help, but we need time to plan. Students who come to the concert without proper concert attire may not be able to perform.
Football Pep Band
Our final football pep band performance for all students is Friday, October 8th. Unlike the first two this year, students should be at Titan Stadium no later than 6:15. We will also play at halftime. This is a required, graded performance unless a school-related game/match/meet/etc. conflicts. See this page for more information on pep band conflicts.
Each game is at Titan Stadium and students must provide their own transportation to and from the stadium. Students should be at Titan no later than 45 minutes before the game time. We will begin playing approximately 30 minutes before game time. We will play pregame at all three games and halftime on October 8th. When we play halftime, students may sit in the student section during the first half but should be back down on the track with two minutes left on the clock before halftime to prepare for the second performance. After we are done with our performance, students should pack up their equipment and either take it to the trailer to be taken back to West or take it home. Please note that instruments will be left on the trailer until Monday.
The uniform for these games is West or blue and white gear or the student section theme, with considerations taken for the weather.