Good evening GEB,
Below you will find the details for this week (09/19-09/24):
Morning Rehearsals (7:00am – 8:30am)
The regular marching rehearsal schedule is 7:00am-8:30am Monday through Friday. Please note one important exception below:
Friday, October 7th: 8:00am – 11:00am. There is no school on this day but there is rehearsal in the morning and a game that evening. We will also be hosting the UT Longhorn Band from 3:00pm-5:00pm (optional for students).
Our first marching competition (Desoto Marching Classic) is on Saturday, October 8th!
Always have your dot book, pencil and instrument at every scheduled morning rehearsal!
School Grades
Students and parents – make sure to be checking grades on FOCUS. RISD policy states that teachers are to put grades into the grade book 3 days after assignments have been turned in for minor grades and 5 for major. While the district is on a 9-week cycle (report card released), eligibility for marching band is still on a 6-week cycle. Students, please turn in all your assignments. Remember NO zeros!
Academic Eligibility
There are two weeks left in the academic eligibility for marching band (as it is based on a 6 week cycle and not 9). As we approach the end of the grading period in two weeks, it seems a good time for a quick reminder on how grades affect eligibility for band.
The short version is this – pass ALL of your classes and you have nothing to worry about. You are the best and the brightest at RHS and it is our expectation that you’re acting as such in your classes. This means you shouldn’t be in jeopardy of failing a class.
Here’s the long version – if you fail a class, you fall into one of two situations:
Situation #1: You fail a UIL Exempt Class. The link below will take you to our band handbook; on page viii you will find a list of classes which are not affected by the TEA “no pass/no play” rule. If you fail one of these classes, it does not affect your eligibility status with band or other extracurriculars. That being said, failing any class is not okay and YOU NEED TO GET YOUR GRADES UP. WE’LL “SUPPORT” YOU IN THAT EFFORT RIGOROUSLY.
https://richardsonband.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/RHS-Band-Handbook_16-17.pdf
Situation #2: You fail a non-exempt/regular class. If you fail a class which is not listed on the attached list of classes, you will become academically ineligible to participate in any of the extracurricular elements (see below) of band until you regain your eligibility. You can only regain your eligibility by passing ALL of your classes at the 9 week report card. You can regain your eligibility after the 10th week (there is a one week “grace period” after report). If you don’t regain at the 9 week point, you have to wait until the 12th week.
The elements of band effected by eligibility are: contests, parades, pep rallies and football games. Any ineligible student may not participate with the band at any of these events. Ineligible students will still attend: M-F rehearsals, concerts, band classes.
Please note – we are watching eligibility closely and will begin swapping people in/out of marching spots based on how grades are looking in classes. If it looks like you may not pass, there is a high likelihood that you will be reassigned out of your marching spot in order to give the other person time to learn the spot before our first contest.
Wing Bucket Spirit Night 09/21/16
Band Spirit/Fundraising Night at Wing Bucket!
Wednesday Sept. 21st
Come by anytime from 4:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Experience the greatness of Wing Bucket, located at Coit and Belt Line. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the band, so tell everyone you know to come eat at Wing Bucket, and be sure to mention the Golden Eagle Band!
This is a wonderful, no brainer way to raise money for the band program… you gotta eat!
RHS vs Pearce (AWAY) 09/23/16
The 4th football game of the year is coming up this Friday night! As always, full details can be found on the Official Band Calendar at www.richardsonband.org.
When the bell rings to release school, dinner will be served in the Eagles Nest for those who signed up for the meal plan. Please note that this is only for those who signed up for the Football Game meal plan.
Important detail this week – FULL UNIFORM!!
Game Details
Drill Team Tune: Bang Bang
Dinner Served: 4:10pm (cafeteria)
Inspection: 5:45pm
Tailgate: 6:30pm
Kickoff: 7:30pm
Full Contest Uniform: marching shoes, black socks (mid calf length or higher), bibbers (uniform pants), GEB underarmor, jacket, baldric (sash), shako (hat).
*failure to have the items mentioned above as well as not having your instrument, flip folder, lyre and FILLED water bottle with water will result in failing inspection. As a reminder we do not talk during inspection lines.
Other reminders include:
No nail polish
No jewelry (earrings, necklaces, rings, etc.)
No unnatural hair colors (blue, green, etc.)
Boys – clean shaven or trimmed facial hair
Girls – show hair
Sunblock/mosquito repellant
Guard, see Ms. Maldonado for details regarding what you’ll be wearing this Friday.
March-a-thon 09/24/16
The March-a-thon is coming up THIS SATURDAY! Here are all the important details you need to know from the student/performer perspective.
First of all – in order to be considered for all of the various contests, the cutoff point for all donations to be counted is Wednesday at 5:00pm. Any donation received after that point is extremely appreciated but will not count toward the contests as it takes a TON of work from our volunteers to get everything tallied up in time. Make sure that you turn your money in with your donation sheet (and that the donation sheet has your name clearly written on it) to the band safe. If you just turn in an envelope of money – again that is going to be extremely appreciated, but we have no idea to whom that money should be attributed.
Here are the various contest prizes:
Top 20: Ride in the “Party Bus” during MAT.
Top Grossing Section: Choose a tune to add to our stand repertoire for the season.
Details for the day:
You will arrive dressed in the March-a-thon T-Shirt (which will be distributed in classes this week), GEB black athletic shorts, black ANKLE socks, and tennis shoes. DO NOT wear your marching shoes as they are not designed to take a 5K concrete beating. At inspection, you’ll be checked for the following:
Correct uniform (see above)
Flip folder
Lyre
Instrument (polished, working order, good reed, etc)
*bottled water will be provided throughout the day. You will NOT need to bring your GEB silver water bottles.
Inspection will be promptly at 8:15am. After inspection, we’ll line up in the parade block out by Dogwood and step off right at 9:00am. We perform the first leg of the MAT by marching over to Waterview, then back to the HS for a short break. The second leg takes us over to Cottonwood and then back to the HS. The 5K march should last from 9:00am to roughly 12:00p-12:30ish. After the march, we’ll put instruments away and enjoy some outstanding snacks to celebrate the end of another successful March-a-thon! The link below provides more detailed information regarding the March-a-thon:
We anticipate that students will be ready for pickup by 12:45pm. We’ll keep everyone updated throughout the day via the GEB twitter feed. Follow us at RHSGEB!
TMEA All-Region Music Free Clinic Opportunity 09/24/16
Southern Methodist University (SMU) will be doing a FREE clinic starting at 3:30 PM – 6:30 PM for all instruments on the All-Region music (area/state) on Saturday, September 24th. FREE PIZZA! Please see link below for information regarding times, location, required materials and how to register. There will also be a symphony orchestra concert starting at 7:30 PM. If you are enrolled in honors credit band, you can certainly use this concert as one of your required performances.
https://www.smu.edu/Meadows/AreasOfStudy/Music/WorkshopsAndSpecialPrograms/AllStateMusic
Spring Trip (Corpus Christi) – Commitment Trip Form and NON-REFUNDABLE down payment ($100) Due 11/09/16
Please see attachment sent by email regarding the 2017 spring trip; packet includes brief information of the trip, payment schedule, TEA excused classes, trip commitment form and cancellation form. The Trip Commitment Form is due to the band safe by November 9th along with your first non-refundable payment of $100. Student must be eligible after the 3rd 9 weeks to be able to attend the trip based on state guidelines. Failure to pass non-exempt classes, will result in not attending trip and money being unable to be refunded.
Thank you,
Mr. Marquez