October 12, 2025 Band Notes

Upcoming Events

Monday, October 13

• No School / No Rehearsal

Tuesday, October 14

• No School
• Full Band: 1-9pm; MHS
  • On-campus dinner break 4:30-5:30pm

Wednesday, October 15

• Color Guard: 6-9pm; MHS

Thursday, October 16

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

Friday, October 17

• Full Band: 6-9pm; MHS

Saturday, October 18

• Full Band: 1-9pm; MHS
  • On-campus dinner break 4:30-5:30pm

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

Parent To Do Checklist For This Week

1. Optional: Order this year’s memory book by October 27.
2. Purchase car raffle tickets, and spread the word about this fundraiser.
3. Optional: Order additional tour shirts by October 28.

NEW INFORMATION

Mason Invitational Congrats

Congratulations to the Lakota East High School Marching Band for being awarded Grand Champion at yesterday’s MSBA Mason Invitational!

We hosted 11 Marching Bands for our Mason Invitational. We feel incredibly honored to have had these talented bands grace our field with their incredible performances. We are also grateful to be able to share our love of music and provide an opportunity to contribute to the performing arts education of hundreds of students from surrounding communities.

An event of this magnitude is not possible without the help of many hands. Special thanks to the following:

Mason Invitational Chairs - A huge thank you for your leadership in planning and executing such a large and important event for our band program. We are so appreciative of all of you.

• Ann Higdon Wiesman
• Julie Chaney
• Whitley Winstanley

Band Directors- We are grateful for your support and guidance throughout the planning phase of the competition and during the event itself.  

Competition Committee Leads- Special thanks to all of you for taking on the task of running the Invitational!  The day went smoothly due to your leadership, flexibility, and the hard work you put in all day (not to mention the weeks before). 

• Jason Langbein - Announcer
• Kate Davis - Ticketing
• Jim Mills - Concessions
• Peter Huisman/Uday Kiran Gannavarapu/Avious Jackson - Tabulations/Judges
• Micah Ewing/Scott Sojda - On Field Staging, Control & Exit
• Chris Minniear - Band Guides, Band Check-in, and Watering Station
• Alison Adduci - Bake Sale
• Michelle Andre/Laura Deardorff - Spirit booth, Event shirts, & Program design
• Kelly Hall - Candy Grams / Shout Outs
• Johanna Chasse/Jen Livingston - Hospitality
• Blake Norfleet/Aaron Smith - Truck and Bus Parking
• Shari Whited and Pete Hackman - Car Raffle
• Kate Bubak - Volunteer Check-In
• Lee Chaney - Ushers
• Jennifer Rodway - Sponsorship
• Smita Ankola - Feed the Band (so our students could eat!)

Uniform Crew- As always you worked tirelessly behind the scenes to make sure our kids looked sharp and pristine out on the field!  

Pit Crew- You not only took care of our props and equipment but were some of the latest to stay Friday night after the game and were there first thing in the morning to help with all the heavy lifting of set up and tear down of the event. The Pit Crew also took the lead in making sure all the trucks and buses of the visiting bands were parked safely and assisted other bands with any needs they had.  

Color Guard Crew- Thank you for making sure our color guard members are taken care of and look great on the field.

Announcer- Thanks to you for being the voice of the competition and making sure everyone had the information they needed throughout the day.

Photo Crew- Words cannot express how wonderful it is to have you capture the special memories of the competition so the rest of us can simply enjoy the day. Your photos are simply breathtaking! 

Financial Team- Thank you for taking on the difficult task of keeping our finances in order and keeping track of our profits we make from such a large event. Your job is often unseen by others but is incredibly time consuming and important to our organization.

• Tabytha Lopez
• Angie Anthos

Booster Board- You all did so much behind the scenes these past several weeks. Hopefully you are able to get some much deserved rest this next week until our next big event.

Band Aids and Chaperones- Thank you for taking care of our kids. We can always trust our kids are in good hands and well cared for with you.

Every Volunteer- Thank you to all the parents, alumni, extended family, and friends who stepped up to volunteer a shift, multiple shifts, and in some cases the entire day to make sure we filled all the critical spots we needed to make the day run smoothly. We are also grateful to those who contributed yummy food and drinks for both the bake sale and for hospitality.  

Trophy Sponsors- Thank you to all the families who sponsored trophies for the invitational!  

School administrators, facility coordinators, janitors, and other school staff- Your support and behind the scenes work did not go unnoticed. 

Students- Most importantly thanks to you for putting on a fantastic performance and making us so proud! You are the reason everyone listed above goes to so much effort.

We are looking forward to doing this all again in a few weeks! More information about that will be coming soon.

Thanks again! 

Invitational Shirts, Programs, & Buttons still Available

Invitational shirts ($20), Programs ($10), & Buttons ($5) will be available to purchase Tuesday Oct.14th after rehearsal. The program contains all the senior spotlights, so these are wonderful souvenirs for Senior families. 

Contact Michelle Andre - spirit@masonbandboosters.com if you cannot make it, but would like to reserve an item.

MilkShake Factory Dine & Donate

Don’t miss our next dine and donate opportunity - it will be delicious! Stop by The MilkShake Factory on Kings Mills Rd on Wednesday, October 29, any time from 12-10pm for a yummy treat that also supports the band!

The band will get 25% of the sales during this time on all orders when the fundraiser is mentioned. Here is the full flyer, but it is not required - just mention you are there to support the band!

Regency Tour Shirts - Special Second Chance Order

Our Spirit Committee has worked with Friday Threads to arrange a special second-chance order window for the 2025 Regency Tour Shirts. Whether you missed out on the first order, changed your mind about wanting one, or loved it so much you want more - now is your chance! 

Click here to see the options and order. The order window closes on Tuesday, October 28 at 11:59pm. Shirts will be ready in time for Grand Nats.

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

Mmm…Cake

If you attended our last Booster Meeting, you heard about our exciting new fundraising opportunity partnering with Nothing bundt Cakes, targeted for January/February.

We are in need of two enthusiastic individuals to help chair this event. Please contact Jennifer Rodway at fundraising@masonbandboosters.com for more information.

Competitive Winter Guard

We are just one month out from the end of this competitive season... which means that winter guard is just around the corner. 

See here for the CWG Announcement! This document should be a one stop of information as you begin planning for the upcoming audition, but if questions should arise - send them our way! 

Marching Band 101 for Parents - 10/12 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. 

Awesome Professional Photos of Your Musician

Did you know there is a whole team of photographers who attend rehearsals, events, performances, and competitions with the sole purpose of capturing images for the band program and families? Not only does Photo Corps put together a marvelous memory book, they also make hundreds of beautiful, high quality images available for you to access individually in Smug Mug. They are organized by event and also by section making it easy for you to locate your student. The Smug Mug site is password protected for our students’ privacy. You can find the password in BoosterHub under Files. Continue to revisit the Smug Mug site throughout the season as new images are uploaded. There are some special moments captured in those images! Enjoy!   

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 

REMINDERS

Medical Secretary Updates

The Medication Drop off dates have changed slightly for our future events to allow for prep time for our care team. Below is the list of dates/times for drop offs. Please make sure you have an uploaded DMS sheet on file prior to dropping off the medications. Also ONLY bring the amount of medications we need.  Thank you for helping us support your students’ needs. If these dates/times do not work for you or if you have any questions, please contact Sally McDonald by email: medicalsecretary@masonbandboosters.com. 

Remaining Medication Drop Off Dates for Travel:

Miamisburg  Drop Off: 10/23/25 4-6 p.m., please sign up on Booster Hub for a time slot

Grand Nationals Drop Off: 11/10 and 11/12 times tbd at Let’s Play practices

Grand Nats Booster Meeting - Save the Date

Our next General Booster Meeting will be on Thursday, October 30, at 7pm. This is a CRITICAL meeting, as this will be our last parent meeting prior to Grand Nats.

Order Your Memory Book by October 27!

Every year, the Photo Corps puts together a memory book to celebrate the season, covering  band camps, rehearsals, games, competitions, and behind-the-scene moments. This year’s memory book will be a soft cover book with approximately 70 pages. If you order by October 27, you have the option to create your own custom pages to make sure your students have their favorite pictures featured!

Books are $50 if ordered by October 27, 2025. After that, the price increases to $55.

memory book

The 2025 Car Raffle is Here!

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

Mason Band Boosters is thrilled to 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! 

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!

We Need Each And Every Family To Help Reach Our Goal Of Selling 4,000 Tickets And To Give Away This Fabulous Vehicle Or A Cash Prize!  

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW NOW

Raffle Period - Raffle runs NOW until November 7th at 5pm OR until 4,000 tickets are sold...whichever comes first!

Drawing - Saturday, November 8th, 2025 at the MSBA AAAAA Championships, hosted at Mason. Need not be present to win!

Prizes - 

• Grand Prize -  2025 Audi Q3 S line 45 TFSI quattro or a cash prize!
• 2nd Place Prize - $1000 cash  
• 3rd Place Prize - $500 Cash

Car Raffle Rules And Regulations - Please Click Here for complete Car Raffle rules and regulations. Must be 18 years of age or older and a Resident of Ohio to purchase or be named on the ticket.

Ticket Prices - 1 ticket-$25 or 5 for $100 (to same individual)

• Note: If purchasing a bundle, all tickets in the bundle must have the same name, address and phone number with them.      

Ticket Purchases - Tickets can be purchased two ways:

1. Online via the 2025 Car Raffle Ticket Order Form
2. In person at home football games and the Mason Invitational

Band Family Sales - We are NOT distributing paper tickets to band families this year, but we are still asking each family to sell (or buy) at least 9 tickets to help make this a successful fundraiser.

• Please share the link and QR code with family and friends. Feel free to share it via social media as well.

Information regarding the Car Raffle can be found on our website Here. 

Questions? - Please direct those to carraffle@masonbandboosters.com.

Secret Buddy Reminder

We are glad so many students chose to participate in Secret Buddy this year!  Here are the remaining dates during band season to bring secret buddy items.  Please make sure everyone takes good care of their buddy! 

• 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

2025 Marching Band Next Steps

Marching Band Registration Next Steps:

• Registration Guide is now live.
• PAST DUE: 
• All payments for the 2025 MB Season are now PAST DUE.

Other Marching Band Documents: 

• 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”

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.