August 24, 2025 Band Notes

Upcoming Events

Monday, August 25

• Full Band: 6-9pm; MHS

Tuesday, August 26

• Color Guard (Optional) Leadership Office Hour: 5-5:45pm; MHS Guard Room
• Full Band: 6-9pm; MHS

Wednesday, August 27

• Color Guard (Optional) WG Skills Session: 5-5:45pm; MHS Large Commons
• Color Guard: 6-9pm; MHS
• Please bring all hair supplies to complete the competition look (no makeup supplies needed this time). We will be teaching the bun to all members this evening.

Thursday, August 28

• Brass and Woodwinds: 3-6pm; MHS
• Percussion: 6-9pm; MHS

Friday, August 29

• Full Band: 3-6pm; MHS

Future planned events can be found on the updated band calendar: Mason Band Calendar.

Parent To Do Checklist For This Week

1. Pay Experience Fee 2 by Monday, September 1 - invoices were emailed on August 19.
2. Order Regency Tour Shirts by Sunday, September 7.
1. Reminder: Each student will receive one cotton t-shirt as part of their consumables fee.
3. Complete Bob Rogers Registration Forms by September 12, 2025. 
1. Follow the Bob Rogers 2025 Registration link and click “Register for this Trip”
4. Senior Families
1. Complete the form for Senior Night by September 19, 2025. 
2. Please fill out the Senior Spotlight Note to be placed in the Invitational Competition Program. These are due by September 12, 2025. 
5. Order mums from our Fall Mums Sale by August 31.
1. Send the flyer/link to 10+ friends/family members.

NEW INFORMATION

Regency Tour Shirt Orders Are Live!

2025 Regency Tour Shirts are now available to order on Friday Threads! Click here to see the options and order.

The order window closes on Sunday, September 7 at 11:59pm. THERE WILL NOT BE ANOTHER CHANCE TO ORDER!

Additional Information:

• The shirt will not look like the picture - the actual design remains a secret until the students get the shirts.
• Each band and guard student will receive one cotton T-shirt as part of their consumables fee, which will be delivered to them at school.
• Any shirts for parents, family members, or friends, and any additional shirts your student wants would need to be ordered directly from Friday Threads.
• Options include:
• Short- or long-sleeve cotton shirt
• Short- or long-sleeve drifit shirt
• Hooded long-sleeve t-shirt
• Crew neck fleece
• Hooded fleece
• You can have your order shipped to you or opt to pick it up at the store when it is ready.
• Keep in mind that shirts will not be ready until right before the Toledo Regional, so if you have it shipped you likely won't receive it in time.

For any questions, please reach out to spirit@masonbandboosters.com.

Picture Yourself in a Brand New Audi!!!!

This gorgeous 2025 Audi Q3 S line 45 TFSI quattro could be yours! 

Mason Band Boosters is thrilled to announce we will once again be partnering with Audi Cincinnati East for our 2025 Car Raffle. A HUGE thank you to them for the donation! We are very excited! 

Look for the car to arrive next week in the Middle School lot at the corner of Mason-Montgomery and Tylersville, as well as at the gates for our home games!  

More information is coming soon, but here is a preview of a few key details:

• We will need some parent volunteers to help at the raffle table during the football games and the competitions - sign-ups coming soon.
• As a band, we need to sell 4000 tickets (about 13 tickets per band/guard member) to be able to give away the car.
• Tickets will be $25 for one entry and $100 for 5.
• The drawing will be held on November 8 at the MSBA competition.

This fundraiser is a very important one for our organization as it helps provide some much needed funds to help with the expenses of our program as well as allows us to reach outside of our band family and community to help raise funds!

Mad Monks Dine & Donate

Our next Dine & Donate event will be at Mad Monks Pizza Company, located at 753 Reading Road on Monday, September 29th from 6pm-9pm. This Dine and Donate event is during the Monday Night Football game for the Bengals. The band will get a portion of all pizza sales that evening. No flyer is necessary, just mention you are supporting the Mason band when ordering.

August Booster Meeting Slides

Thank you to everyone who attended the Booster Meeting on Monday! Below you will find slides from the meeting, along with answers to the Slido questions from the meeting.

8-18-2025 Booster Meeting Slides

SLIDO Questions Answers Doc

Marching Band 101 for Parents - 8/24 Edition

New to Marching Band and have questions about what your student is doing or learning? Have you watched rehearsal and wondered how it all works? Each week in Marching Band 101 in Band Notes you’ll learn a little something new. 

Our Marching Band is made up of a variety of instrument sections and our Color Guard. Percussion is represented in two different sections with their own unique traditions and cultures.

Front Ensemble (aka Pit) at Mason consists of marimbas, synthesizers, rack, and vibraphones. Front Ensemble sets up on the sideline facing the audience and these instruments remain stationary throughout the performance. When you hear Pit Crew mentioned, this is the dedicated group of volunteers that help push, set up, and remove these instruments (and show props) before and after performances. In other bands you might see other instruments included in Front Ensemble including guitar, drum set, xylophones, glockenspiels, and others. Rack is a collection of auxiliary and specialized percussion instruments such as gong, triangle, cymbals, concert bass drums, chimes, blocks, bells, whistles, tambourines, and more. You can spot the rack at the far left side of the Front Ensemble.    

Battery are the marching percussionists. At Mason this section includes bass drums, tenors (or quads), and snare drums. In other Marching Bands you might see toms and cymbals included in the Battery. 

Website Tip:

As the season goes on you’ll see and hear a lot of acronyms used when discussing competitions. The Mason Bands website contains a helpful Glossary of Acronyms. Check it out! 

Parent Section Ambassadors

Freshmen parents should have received an email introducing your Section Parent Ambassador. They are a great resource for quick questions and an opportunity to meet other parents in your student’s section. If you did not receive an email, please reach out to vp-membership@masonbandboosters.com 

Sponsorship

Know a company that would like to see their name and logo on the band’s semi trucks, t-shirts, website, and programs? All while helping our our amazing band program continue to thrive?

We are always looking for new sponsors!  We cannot do all the wonderful things we do as an organization without the generous support of our sponsors. 

If you own, work for, or know of a business or person who may be interested in sponsoring our program, please forward their contact info to our Sponsorship committee-Jennifer Rodway and Marlo Swanson at sponsorship@masonbandboosters.com. We are a 501c Non-profit and happy to talk to anyone. 

You can also find more information our our website.

REMINDERS

Hilinski’s Hope - Mental Wellness Event

Please join us on Monday, September 8, at 7:15 pm in the Auditorium for a very special program, presented by the Hilinski’s Hope Foundation. The Hilinski’s Hope Foundation promotes awareness and education of mental health and wellness for student athletes.

The program features a live talk with Kym & Mark Hilinski, and honors the life of their son, Tyler (Wazzu college football quarterback)

This program is for parents as well as students - we encourage all Band families to attend.

Students will have an after school rehearsal that day, with dinner provided (Feed the Band), followed by the program. Parents and other family members are invited to join us in the Auditorium for the presentation.

We are honored and grateful to be able to host this event, thanks to funding by the Jacob Langbein Fund. For more information, or to donate to the fund, click here to visit the page on our website.

Remind Is Staying!

You may have heard that the band might be switching from Remind to a different system. We just got confirmation that will not be necessary - we are saying with Remind, because it was approved through Mason City School’s process for technology use. 

If you have not already done so, please be sure to sign up for your appropriate group. 

Remind is the group messaging system the marching band uses each year to send out notifications to students and parents. The directors use Remind to communicate rehearsal updates, changes due to weather, travel updates, and other important communications.

Groups are set up by section, with separate groups for students and parents. See the MB 2025 Remind Information guide for instructions on how to join and codes for each group.

Competition Subcommittee Leads Needed

The competition committee is in need of your help!  We are looking for subcommittee leads to handle several different areas for the Mason Invitational on 10/11 and the MSBA Championship on 11/8. 

Competitions are an important fundraiser for the boosters, but most importantly provide a high quality competition experience for the many bands and students we host.  Subcommittee leads are vital to making sure we continue our reputation as one of the best marching band competitions in the area. Please note that shadow positions will learn the ropes from current leads who have seniors, with the shadow taking over the role next year.  

Areas with Openings:

• Band Check-In/Band Guides/Water Station - shadow needed
• Programs - shadow needed
• Spectator Parking - sub-committee lead needed, partner with Competition co-chairs

Please email the competition committee at competitions@masonbandboosters.com for more information.

And as a reminder, ALL marching band families are required to donate their time to help with each competition.  Signups for volunteer shifts will be posted in BoosterHub as we get closer.

Fall Mum Sale

It’s time for our annual Fall Mum Sale! It definitely hasn’t felt like fall out on the Bus Circle during rehearsals, but fall will be here before you know it!

The order form is open through August 31. This fundraiser benefits the entire Mason Bands program.

We encourage all band families to Copy/Paste the message below and TEXT or EMAIL to at least 10+ family and friends. We appreciate your help supporting Mason Bands and keeping our fees as low as possible for families! CLICK HERE FOR SAMPLE EMAIL/TEXT MESSAGE

*The link above also has info for those who want to donate, but are not local or interested in flowers! 

Pickup will be the morning of Saturday, October 4 outside the Performing Arts entrance at the Mason Middle School.

Should you have any questions, please feel free to send an email to flowersale@masonbandboosters.com.

Guard Updates

We will be offering two NEW sessions for our guard members this fall. Our first sessions are this week!! 

Leadership 'Office Hour' Sessions

On some Tuesdays throughout the season, our leadership team will be available for you - to help with anything you may need during the season. Need help with a toss or choreography? Need someone to talk to or help with school-guard balance? These sessions are for you!

WG Skills Sessions

Before our sectional rehearsals on Wednesdays throughout the season, come learn tricks and skills that will be used in the upcoming Competitive Winter Guard season. If you are interested in auditioning for the CWG team, you should plan on attending as many of these sessions as you are able. We will also train interested rifles and sabres during these sessions.

Senior/Family Night

Attention Seniors and Senior Families: The William Mason High School Marching Band senior night is one of the most looked forward to and special events we do throughout the year. We want to honor our seniors and their families for their dedication to our program. In the midst of our planning, we need to collect a little information from our seniors so they can be honored accordingly!

Please fill out this form 2025 Mason Marching Band Senior Night Information with the names of those planning to escort your student during the on-field recognition of seniors. Traditionally, escorts have included: parents, step-parents, guardians, siblings, and/or grandparents. We will need the list of all those escorting the student - including phonetic spelling so that everyone can be recognized. Please submit this information NO LATER THAN Friday, September 19th, 2025.  

Also, please fill out the Senior Spotlight Note to be placed in the Invitational Competition Program. These are due by September 12, 2025.

The 2025 Senior Night/Family Showcase will take place on Friday, October 3rd. Below you will find the schedule for the night for your planning purposes.  Thanks so much for your help!

Please contact Kaja Harper at seniors@masonbandboosters.com with any questions.

Secret Buddy

Update:  Secret buddy information will be shared to students via email by Wed, 27 August.

This is a fun and completely optional way for your child to spread a little happiness while giving (and receiving) treats. Students will “gift” their secret buddy snacks/treats and drinks throughout the season on selected dates - see below.  Data submitted on the sign up form by your child’s buddy will be shared in order for your student to find out more about snack/treat preferences and any allergies or dietary concerns. 

If your child wants to be a buddy, please make sure they take good care of their buddy! 

Also, it’s more fun to try to keep your identity secret until Grand Nationals. 

There will be 7 Secret Buddy exchanges this season:

• Home Football Game Friday, September 5th
• Full Band 3-6pm Rehearsal Friday, September 19th
• Home Football Game Friday, September 26th (HOCO)
• Mason Band Invitational Saturday, October 11th
• Home Football Game Friday, October 24th  
• MSBA Championship Saturday, November 8th
• BOA Grand Nationals Friday, November 14th  

Any questions, please reach out to vp-studentexperience@masonbandboosters.com

Uniform Lookbooks

Instrumentalists

See here for the 2025 Instrumentalist Look Book, which contains information for the summer and classic uniform, including undergarments for classic and competition uniforms. 

If you have any questions, please contact the Uniform Crew at uniforms@masonbandboosters.com. 

Color Guard

See here for the 2025 CG Season Lookbook, which contains information for the competition show hair and makeup, as well as other looks throughout the season.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact Erica Sleppy (sleppye@masonohioschools.com). Have a great rest of your week!

Toledo Regional Ticket Information

Tickets can now be purchased online here for the BOA Northwest Ohio Regional Championship happening at the Glass Bowl in Toledo on Saturday, September 20. However, all tickets for this event are General Admission, so there is no need to purchase these way ahead of time. (For veteran parents, this is different from the Indianapolis Super Regional we did in past years). That said, BOA does recommend that you purchase your tickets online before arriving.

Mason will hopefully perform twice that Saturday:

• Prelims - guaranteed
• Finals - likely, yet never guaranteed

You can purchase tickets for Prelims and Finals separately if you are only able to attend one or the other, or you can purchase a Day Pass that gets you into both events. Note that students, military, and senior citizens get a discounted rate, and children 10 and under are free.

Band students and volunteers who are part of our Travel Team for this event do not need tickets. Only those who are NOT volunteering at the event and wish to travel and watch the Band perform need to buy tickets. Totally OPTIONAL for families as students will be bussed via charter buses to and from Toledo. 

More information can be found at https://marching.musicforall.org/northwest-ohio-regional/.

Grand National Tickets on Sale

Tickets for Grand Nationals are now on sale. Click here for the BoA/Music For All Grand Nationals page, or here to go directly to purchase tickets.

There are four separate ticket options - read carefully the information below about the different events and tickets so you do not purchase one you do not need or miss out on one you didn’t know you needed.

Preliminaries

Grand Nationals is a bigger event than Regionals. There are two days of Preliminary competition on Thursday and Friday, each with separate tickets. Mason will perform on Thursday, November 13, so that is the day you would purchase ticket for if you plan to attend. Our performance time has not been confirmed yet. Prelims tickets are General Admission, so you do not need to purchase these until you are sure you are attending.

Semi-Finals

Mason hopes to perform a second time in the Semi-Finals on Saturday, November 15 during the day. Our performance time on that day is typically late morning or afternoon, but we will not know for sure until late the night before. There are some reserved seat tickets available for Semi-Finals, or you can purchase General Admission.

Finals

Based on the results of the Semi-Finals, bands have the opportunity to perform in the Finals on Saturday evening November 15 (yes, the same day as Semis). If we make Finals, we will not know our performance time until late afternoon that day. Finals tickets are all reserved seats and typically sell out, so if you plan to attend we encourage you to purchase your tickets as soon as possible. However, there is no guarantee that Mason will be in the Finals.

Prelims - Thursday, 11/13/2023 - Mason performs - General Admission tickets.

Prelims - Friday, 11/15/2023 - Mason does NOT perform this day - General Admission tickets.

Semis - Saturday, 11/15/2023 - Mason Semis performance time TBD (announced Friday evening) - Reserved or General Admission tickets.

Finals - Saturday, 11/15/2023 - Mason performance NOT guaranteed. Performance and time slot contingent on score in Semi-Finals and results. Reserved tickets only (likely to sell out).

Hotels

***Pro Tip*** If you plan to stay in downtown Indianapolis at any point during the weekend, we highly recommend you make reservations/plans for accommodations now to ensure you have a place to stay.

You may also elect to stay in a hotel outside of downtown (there are plenty available, even in November) and park in a day lot near the stadium. There are several lots a few blocks away that typically charge $20 per day.

Medical Secretary Notes

TRAVEL MEDICATION REMINDERS:

1. Per school policy, students may not have any medications in their possession while participating in band (while at school or traveling) unless a DMS with ‘self-carry’ form has been turned in. All medications go through our Medical Secretary and need to be dropped off by a parent by arranging a time with Sally McDonald, our Medical Secretary.
2. You can continue to submit DMS forms as the need arises. Please think ahead to get them filled out by your doctor and submitted prior to our travel dates. Our Band Aid team is here to serve all students who will need medications while traveling. Medication drop off times will be posted prior to trips.
3.  Click Here to access our Medication Policy (i.e. blank DMS forms and upload instructions).  
4. Current Medication Drop Off Times – Please sign up on Booster Hub for a time!
1. BOA REGIONAL TOLEDO: travel timing: 9/20 3:30 a.m. - 9/21 1:00 p.m.
1. Tuesday 9/16/25 5:30-6:30, staff dining room
2. Friday 9/19/25 during practice, red tent  3-6 
2. MSBA Invite Miamisburg: travel 10/25 only
1. 10/24/25 during practice 3-5, red tent
3. BOA GRAND NATIONALS: travel 11/13 - 11/16
1. 11/10/15 practice, probably at Let’s Play, time tbd
2. 11/12/25 practice, probably at Let’s Play, time tbd
3. 11/13/25 early practice, before we leave at Let’s Play, time tbd

If you have any questions, please contact Sally McDonald at medicalsecretary@masonbandboosters.com

Parking Lot Information - Stadium Nights

The safety of our students is our top priority! 

Now that we have started full band rehearsals with props in the stadium, please help us keep our students safe!

Keep in mind:

• We have a LOT of students, instruments, and props to move each time we go to or from the stadium. It takes a long time, and students will likely be spread out.
• They must cross parking lots at 5 different points along the way (marked with the red triangle below).
• Props and pit instruments must travel in the road that goes along the student parking portion of the lot (marked with the "DO NOT DRIVE" below).
• We try to have adult volunteers help with parking lot safety/flow, but may not always be able to have volunteers out there, or have enough volunteers.

Please:

• Watch for students (and adults) in roads and parking lots and at crosswalks - always let them pass.
• Do NOT drive on the road along student parking from the stadium to the school when the band is in transit. If you park in Staff Parking, turn in the first entrance to the parking lot - before you get to the crosswalk.
• Obey any of our adult volunteers who are helping with traffic - do not drive around them, yell, or honk. Remember - they are volunteers, and they are trying to keep our kids safe.
• Wait patiently while roads are blocked off.
• As always, drive slowly in the parking lots.

If anyone is interested in helping with traffic on stadium nights (you do not have to be part of the Student Care Team), please reach out to Tyler at vp-studentexperience@masonbandboosters.com.

Also, reminder to please not post any videos or any pictures of our props on social media.

Thank you for your cooperation!

Tag Day Thank You - And It’s Not Too Late to Donate!

A huge thank you to Nancy Wagner, all our drivers, and our amazing students for another successful Tag Day! Thank you as well to all our band families who donated.

And did you know - it is not too late to donate to Tag Day! Our friends and family campaign runs through the month of August. Donations can be made online HERE, or by sending a check made out to Mason City Schools addressed to Mason Band Boosters, P.O Box 310, Mason, OH 45040-0310.

Our final fundraising numbers by team can be viewed here. 

Tag Day photos - Drivers/student leaders: if you took photos of your groups during TAG day, please use this link to upload your photos so they can be reviewed/loaded to the SmugMug site. 

“Shared Dot” Information 

Please see this note from the band directors about "dot assignments" in the competitive show, and information about the marching band "shared dot" system for woodwind, brass, percussion and color guard students. 

CLICK HERE FOR SHARED DOT UPDATE FROM THE BAND DIRECTORS 

2025 Marching Band Next Steps

Marching Band Registration Next Steps:

• Registration Guide is now live.
• Due September 1:
• Student Experience Fee #2, $400 to Mason Band Boosters
• Invoice were sent on 8/19 via email from: quickbooks@notification.intuit.com
• PAST DUE: 
• 2025 MARCHING BAND COMMITMENT & FINANCIAL AGREEMENT
• Band School Fee #1, $400 via PaySchools Central or check to Mason City Schools
• Band School Fee #2, $400 via PaySchools Central or check to Mason City Schools
• Band School Fee #3, $400 via PaySchools Central or check to Mason City Schools
• Student Experience Fee #1, $400 to Mason Band Boosters
• Invoice were sent on 7/19 via email from: quickbooks@notification.intuit.com
• FINAL FORMS
• Fill out all forms
• Upload a current physical
• Complete Student Care Forms
• HWBP: Health And Wellbeing Profile
• SCP: Student Care Plan and Upload SCP Electronically
• DMS: Dispensing Medication at School and Upload DMS Electronically
• Accept BoosterHub Invite

Other Marching Band Documents: 

• Marching Band Summer Dates 2025 - One Pager
• Marching Band Summer Dates 2025 - Packet
• 2025 Marching Band Drop Form
• 2025 Marching Band Handbook
• Color Guard Handbook Extension

IMPORTANT: For all payments by check - please include the student’s name and student ID and the fee you are paying on the memo line of the check. Example: “Jane Doe 987654 Band Fee 1”

School fees are available in PaySchools Central. You will find the fees under Performing Arts. Scroll to the bottom of that section and look for the ones that start with "NEXT SEASON". All three school fees are live and payable, with the due date for each listed in the name. 

Members of Our Band Family Need Us

Thank you to those that donated so far. Fuz and the Burton family have greatly appreciated your support. You can still donate to the GoFundMe.