Good evening,
It’s UIL and Homecoming Week! Please see below for details this week (10/23/17-10/28/17):
Marching Rehearsals
Time to kick into HIGH gear! I wanted to remind you of some rehearsal exceptions (that has been on the calendar since April):
Wednesday, October 25th: No Rehearsal in the morning; rehearsal will occur during the school day from 12:50 PM – 2:30 PM. Please see UIL schedule for the day.
Thursday, October 26th: No Rehearsal
Starting October 27, we will ONLY rehearse on Fridays until the end of the football season. Concert band sectionals will be starting soon and communicated by your ensemble director.
Spirit Night 10/24/17
Band Spirit/Fundraising Night at Tacos y Mas AND Sweet Frog!
Tuesday, Oct. 24th
Come by anytime from 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm (Tacos y Mas) and 4:00 pm – 10:00 pm (Sweet Frog)
Experience the greatness of these two places, located at 101 S. Coit Rd., Richardson, TX 75080. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the band, so tell everyone you know to come eat 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!
Region 3 UIL Marching Contest 10/25/17
Our MOST IMPORTANT contest of the year is coming up on Wednesday, Oct. 25th: UIL! Details for the contest are below.
Here’s how the blocking situation is working – you fall into one of two situations:
Eligible: You are blocked from 4th-7th period (includes props crew). As soon as A Lunch is over at 12:20 PM, you will go to the band hall, grab your instrument, change into rehearsal attire (see below) and head to the stadium.
Ineligible: If you are academically ineligible, you will attend classes as normal and continue to focus on raising those grades so you can get back with us ASAP. You will report to the band only during your assigned band class. If you have band during 4th or 5th period, you will report to the stadium during that class period.
Schedule
NO EARLY MORNING REHEARSAL (get your rest, compete at your best)
11:50pm-12:20: Lunch (on your own)
12:50pm-2:30pm: Stadium Rehearsal wearing the following: GEB black shorts, Compression Shirt (under Arabian Nights t-shirt, if you desire), and LONG black socks.
2:30pm: Grab a snack @ the stadium (provided), load trucks, change into uniform (jacket/gauntlets stay on racks) ?3:30pm: Inspection/ you may bring your duffle bag or backpack with a change of clothes if you would like (school appropriate)?3:45pm: Depart for Mesquite Memorial Stadium
6:40pm: Warm-up (South Zone)?7:10pm: Leave Warm-up?7:30pm: Performance?8:10pm: Change out of uniform/eat dinner (pizza provided)
9:00pm: Ratings Announced
10:00pm: Arrive @ RHS (ETA)
Reminders:
1) UIL contest happens during the school day and the kids will miss classes in order to attend. Get your school work in advance from your teachers if AT ALL POSSIBLE.
2) Each band only performs once at the UIL Region contest. There are no prelims or finals.
3) Three judges will each give the band a rating on a scale of 1 to 5.
– 1 (Superior)? – 2 (Excellent)? – 3 (Good)? – 4 (Fair)? – 5 (Poor)
4) As opposed to the Invitational style contest where bands are competing against each other, at the UIL Region Contest, bands are not ranked against each other. Rather, the bands are each evaluated independently and given a rating based upon the UIL standards.
5) The band is given an overall rating based on the combination of the three judges scores. For example, if a band gets a 1, 1, 2… that band’s overall rating would be a 1 (called a 1st Division or “Superior” rating).
Parent Info
If you are a parent who is not chaperoning/helping on the field, we NEED you in the stands supporting the band. The location of the contest is:
Mesquite Memorial Stadium ?2411 W. Scyene Rd.
Mesquite, Texas 75149
When the band enters the field and the announcer calls our name, we need ALL parents in the stands cheering for the kids!
Parking is free. Admission to the contest is $5.00 for spectators. For our volunteers, UIL only provides us with a set number of total volunteer passes. This means that you should be prepared to pay the $5.00 entry fee just incase we don’t have enough to cover everyone.
NO Thursday Morning Rehearsal 10/26/17
There is no rehearsal on Thursday morning! Catch up on some sleep (or homework if you so choose) and we will see you in your band class. We WILL have rehearsal during band classes so please bring your instrument/music.
Friday Morning Rehearsal/Drill Team Information 10/27/17
As a reminder on game days, we will rehearse in the STADIUM. ALL woodwinds, brass and drumline students must bring their flip folder stuffed with this week’s drill team tune (Batman). Anyone who forgets his/her flip folder and drill team tune at this rehearsal will automatically fail inspection for the week, so make sure you remember!
Friday Pep Rally 10/27/17
Once rehearsal concludes in the morning, students will meet in inspection lines in the band hall wearing their Purple Dri-fit (and their choice of school appropriate bottoms) along with their instrument, lyre and flip folder. We will warm-up together and then head to the large gym. Students will be blocked for zero and 1st period ONLY.
Homecoming Parade 10/27/17
The Golden Eagle Band will proudly march down Belt Line to perform in one of Richardson High School’s grandest traditions, the Homecoming Parade. This event occurs at the end of the school day on Homecoming Friday. Students will wear the Summer Uniform (Purple Dri-fit shirt, GEB black shorts and tennis shoes).
All RHS students are released early on Friday to attend the Homecoming Parade. Band members will report to the Band Hall directly after school is released at 2:00 PM. We will quickly load the buses and head down to Heights Elementary in shifts. The parade begins at 4:00pm and runs down Belt Line Rd. from Heights Elementary back to RHS.
Directly following the parade, head to the Eagles Nest for dinner. Note that the turn around for this week’s game is REALLY quick due to the fact that we are performing at Pre-Game so if you do not have a Football Meal Plan, you will probably want to bring your food to school that morning as you likely will not have time to go out and get something.
Lastly, the way that the organizers handle the “entry fee” for the Homecoming Parade is fantastic! Rather than collecting money for the entry fee, each band member is expected to donate one pack of underwear, which will be collected and donated to the Clothes Closet, a local charity serving the needs of the area.
There will be a collection area in the front of the band hall for each student to turn in his/her package of underwear. The package should be marked with the student’s name so that we can account for who has already turned in their contribution. This is a great charity and I expect the band to be the single greatest contributor!
You will want to wear your mum/garter during the parade as we cannot wear them at the game with our marching uniforms.
Spiritwear – we can sell items in front of the school during the parade (if we chose) as long as we are not blocking the view of judges/spectators.
RHS vs Skyline (HOME) 10/27/17
We have another HOME game coming up this Friday night! As always, full details can be found on the Official Band Calendar at www.richardsonband.org.
Game Details
Drill Team Tune: Batman
Dinner Served: after parade (Eagle’s Nest)
Inspection: 6:00 PM – NO TAILGATE
Arabian Nights Performance: 7:05 PM
Kickoff: 7:30 PM
For halftime, we will be participating in the Homecoming festivities.
FULL UNIFORM: GEB compression shirt, GEB black athletic shorts, LONG black socks and marching shoes.
Guard – Contest Uniform
A student will fail inspection if he/she:
shows up late
wears the wrong attire
is missing uniform items
is missing instrument (and parts of instrument)
has a unclean and not fully functioning working instrument
is missing a lyre/flip folder
is lacking a filled water bottle (water only)
wears make-up/nail polish
wears jewelry (religious affiliation allowed)
has an unnatural hair color (blue, green, etc.)
has the incorrect “show hair”
is not clean-shaven (boys)
talks
After the game, everyone will hang their uniform correctly and turn in their shoes. We will also have an after party!
Parents – As always, we will need MANY volunteers for the football game. Mrs. Forssell will be sending out information so be on the look out and sign-up!
Upcoming Events
Fri, November 3rd: RHS vs Berkner (Senior Recognition)
Sat, November 4th: RISD Spirit Run (Leadership/Volunteers)
Thur, November 9th: FREE Saxophone All-Region Clinic at Lake Highlands
Fri, November 10th: RHS @ Coppell
Sat, November 11th: 9th Grade All-Region Auditions
Tues, November 14th: RABC Board Meeting
Sat, November 18th: Lone Star Percussion Contest
Spring Trip (San Antonio) – Commitment Trip Form and NON-REFUNDABLE down payment ($100) Due 11/08/17
The 2017 spring trip information was sent out last week; 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 8th 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.
*we will be going to Schlitterbahn and Six Flags Fiesta Texas. We NEED and WANT all of you to go!
Thank you,
Mr. Marquez