Band Notes | Mason Bands

Upcoming Events

Note: Do not park in the Band Lot during camp unless you have an assigned spot. Access is needed for students painting their designated spaces. Alternate option is the Staff Parking area outside B Pod (the opposite side of the bus circle from the Band Lot.).

-- See the BAND CAMP GUIDEBOOK for more information --

Sunday, July 27

Deadline to purchase Ultimate Band Drill (optional)

Monday, July 28

Band Camp: 9am-5pm; MHS

On-campus lunch break 12-12:45pm

(Optional) DCI Summer Music Games: 7-10pm; MHS Dwire Stadium

You can purchase tickets, or watch warm-ups in the parking lot for free

Tuesday, July 29

Band Camp: 1-9pm; MHS

On-campus dinner break 4:30-5:30pm

Senior Families - Pick up senior banner products for those who ordered them: 6:45, back of auditorium, or 8:45-9:15, chaperone table
Parent Booster Meeting: 7pm; Auditorium

Wednesday, July 30

Band Camp: 9am-5pm; MHS

On-campus lunch break 12-12:45pm

History Night (students): 7-10pm; Auditorium

Thursday, July 31

Band Camp: 1-9pm; MHS

On-campus dinner break 4:30-5:30pm

Friday, August 1

Band Camp: 1-9pm; MHS
- On-campus dinner break 4:30-5:30pm
Experience Fee #1 Due

Saturday, August 2

Tag Day: 9am-2pm; meet in MHS Small Commons

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

Parent To Do Checklist For This Week

Attend Parent Booster Meeting this Tuesday.
Sign up to drive for Tag Day (sign up in BoosterHub) - Tag Day is this Saturday.
Senior Families: Pick up senior banner products if you ordered anything extra this Tuesday at the Booster Meeting.
Pay Experience Fee 1 by this Friday, August 1 - invoices were emailed on July 19.
(Optional) Order Ultimate Drill Book TODAY, July 27 (see below).

NEW INFORMATION

Tag Day This Saturday - DRIVERS STILL NEEDED

This Saturday is our biggest fundraiser of the year - TAG DAY - when our students work in teams to canvas our Mason neighborhoods and ask for support. In addition to raising money for our program, this is a great team-building opportunity for the students, who will work in teams that include both under- and upper-class student members.

Teams and Drivers

Students put together their teams this past week. Your student may have asked you to drive for their group.

If you are able to drive - whether your student asked you or not - please sign up in BoosterHub. Please indicate the number of passengers you can take in the optional message field on the volunteer signup.

Parent volunteer involvement is CRITICAL to the success of TAG DAY. with approximately 50 teams of students needing 1-2 adult licensed drivers each, we need at least 75 drivers!

Please note that although everyone wants to drive a team that includes their own child/grandchild, that isn’t always possible, although we try very hard to make that match.

Uniforms

Instrumentalists - Summer Uniform

Green Mason Bands polo
Black shorts
Black belt
Black socks
Black shoes (sneakers are fine)
Lanyard

Color Guard - Rehearsal Uniform

M Tank
Jean Shorts or Black Practice Shorts/Skirt
Sneakers
Lanyard

Saturday Logistics

Students and adult drivers meet Saturday morning in the Small Commons by 9am for the kick-off. We will provide instructions and neighborhood assignments. Volunteers will drive their team of students to their assigned neighborhoods and their team will go door to door requesting donations. We make sure that every team includes an upper-class student who is a “veteran” of TAG DAY. Once a team is finished canvassing their assigned neighborhood, they return to the Small Commons with their donations and supplies and are released for the day.

Booster Meeting this Tuesday

Join us this Tuesday, July 29, at 7pm in the Auditorium for our first parent Booster Meeting of the 2025 Marching Band season! Come get all the important information firsthand for the upcoming weeks and months.

Comet Cupboard - Donations!

During Band Camp Week 3, please support the Mason Band’s service project as we collect donations for the Comet Cupboard! The Comet Cupboard is an in-school pantry service that provides weekend food, clothing, and personal items to their peers in need. Donations should be brought in by students from August 4-8 during rehearsal. Top needs include: Cereal Bars, Tuna Packets, 16oz Peanut Butter and Fruit/Applesauce Squeezes. Please contact vp-studentexperience@masonbandboosters.com with any questions.

SmugMug - Band Camp Edition

Band is in session, which means our awesome Photo Corps team are also hitting the pavement to get great shots of all our students! Keep an eye on SmugMug all season long for new pics!

There are already some great shots from Week 1 of Band Camp!

For login instructions, see the SmugMug Information sheet in BoosterHub, or email Smugmug@masonbandboosters.com.

Senior Banner Products are in!

If you ordered prints, buttons, or other fun senior swag, you can pick them up Tuesday at 6:45 p.m. at the back of the auditorium prior to the booster meeting. You can also pick them up 8:45 at the chaperone table or have your student pick them up immediately after dismissal.

Please have your pick up email ready so we can move the line quickly and make sure we give you everything in your order. The email, sent 7/23/2025 to both students and guardians, will have “Senior banner products” in the subject line and be from photo@masonbandboosters.com.

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 now through August 31. This fundraiser benefits the entire Mason Bands program.

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.

Feed the Band!

Looking for an easy way to volunteer for a few hours? Feed the Band is a great way to help! We have Feed the Band before home football games and special events throughout the season. Food is provided by a local restaurant - all we have to do is plate it and put it out, and then clean up afterward. You will also earn lots of gratitude points with our hungry students!

To find and sign up for these events, go to the Volunteer section of BoosterHub, and search for “Feed” - you’ll see the full list of opportunities.

REMINDERS

Parking Reminders

The safety of our students is our top priority! We have over 230 students arriving for practices, many student drivers/new drivers, and students and volunteers unloading equipment and moving it through both parking lots - nothing is more important than keeping them all safe!

During Band Camp: Do NOT park in the Band Lot during camp unless you have an assigned spot there. Access is needed for students painting their designated spaces. Alternate option is the Staff Parking area outside B Pod (the opposite side of the bus circle from the Band Lot.).

As always, please:

Drive SLOWLY through the back parking lot, watching for pedestrians.
The parking lot is ONE WAY, counter-clockwise (see arrows in image). Do NOT drive the wrong way, even for a short distance.
Do NOT drive or park in the bus circle before/during/after band practices, even if it looks like there is no one there.
Do not drive on the ramp between the parking lot and bus circle - it is for band instruments, props, and equipment only, it is NOT to be used by an automobile as a crossing.
When dropping off students, please PULL UP as far as possible along the building to speed up drop-off for everyone - do not stop right by the door.
If your students need to get items out of the back of the car, or you are changing drivers, please PARK. This not only speeds up drop-off, but reduces the risk of cars cutting around dangerously.
When picking up students, you MUST PARK - do NOT pick up at the curb. Note that you can park in the staff lot outside B Pod (the other side of the bus circle) as well as in the Band Lot.

Exception: If practice has already dismissed and your student is waiting at the curb, you can pull up to pick them up.

Thank you for your cooperation!

Informational Coffee Talks

Have questions about Marching Band? Not sure what terminology means? Lost of the sea of information and to-do’s?

This is the place for you!

All new member parents (and returning member parents) are invited to attend our New Member Coffee Talk sessions that we will be holding throughout the season. These sessions are an informal opportunity to socialize with other new parents and have your questions answered by seasoned band parent mentors.

Our first three sessions are scheduled as follows:

Wednesday, August 6, 7-8pm in the Staff Dining Room
Tuesday, September 9, 7-8pm in the Staff Dining Room
Wednesday, October 8, 7-8pm in the Small Commons

To get to the Staff Dining Room, enter the building through the music wing doors at the back of the High School. Walk straight down the hallway past the Band Room entrance, and past the hallway with the trophy cases. The Staff Dining Room is on the right just past that second hallway.

The Small Commons is immediately inside the Bus Circle doors to the building.

Band Camp 2025 Guidebook

It’s July, and that means Band Camp is soon to be upon us! Be sure to check the BAND CAMP GUIDEBOOK as the “one stop shop” for all the information. The most important aspect is the weekly schedule with times, special events, and theme days!

Ultimate Drill Book - Optional

This year we again have the ability to allow students and families who like having access to the “Ultimate Drill Book” tool to purchase this individually for the season. This is not required, and is completely optional only for families/students. This is the same drill tool that the directors and staff use, and allow students to hear and see their individual “dot” in the show as the drill moves with the music on their device. The cost is $10 plus tax, that covers the entire season. The deadline to purchase is TODAY, July 27th.

To Purchase UDB for your student:

Go to this link: CLICK HERE
Add the subscription to your cart
Pay the fee ($10.30)
Download the "UDB" app from the App Store on your phone or Ipad (see UDB website for compatible devices)
Once per week on Wednesdays, Mr. Hinson will receive an email from UDB with students that have purchased. Students will then receive an email to their school email with the ensemble code that allows them to join the Mason UDB group.

If you'd like to learn more about UDB before purchasing, see this video from the Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps about UDB: CLICK HERE

Tutorial for students on how to use UDB: CLICK HERE

2025 Marching Band Next Steps

Marching Band Registration Next Steps:

Registration Guide is now live.
Due August 1:

Student Experience Fee #1, $400 to Mason Band Boosters

Invoice were sent on 7/19 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
FINAL FORMS

Fill out all forms
Upload a current physical

Complete Student Care Forms

Accept BoosterHub Invite

Other Marching Band Documents:

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.

Step 1

Complete: 2025 Marching Band Commitment and Financial Agreement

Pay: $400 MB School Fee 1 to Mason City Schools via PaySchools Central

By MAR 1

PAST DUE

Step 2

Pay: $400 MB School Fee 2 to Mason City Schools via PaySchools Central

By APR 1

PAST DUE

Step 3

Pay: Consumable Fee to Mason Band Boosters

By MAY 1