September 17, 2023 Band Notes

Upcoming Events  

Monday, Sept 18

• Must be up to date with all fees to sign up for housing assignments
• Full Band 3-6 pm; HS

Tuesday, Sept 19

• Full Band 6-9pm; HS
• Pick up Car Raffle Tickets or bring in tickets sold/money 8-9pm; either beside the stadium or bus circle depending on location of practice

Wednesday, Sept 20

• Wind Symphony Rehearsal 2:45-5:00pm; HS Band Room
• Color Guard Rehearsal 6-9pm; HS
• Dine to Donate at Skyline (5214 Bardes Rd location only; details below)

Thursday, Sept 21

• Full Band (No Color Guard) 3-6pm; HS
• Full Band Homecoming Parade 7:00-7:30pm; HS

Friday, Sept 22

• Full Band Rehearsal 3-5pm
• Homecoming Football Game 5pm (Please see below for details.)

Saturday, Sept 23

• No band; Enjoy the dance!

Please note: Concert Band rehearsals and performances are now entered in the band calendar for students and their families.

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

Parent To Do Checklist For This Week

1. Please sign up to volunteer for the Mason Invitational. (See below for details) 
2. Senior parents- If you have not yet done so, please fill out this form regarding senior ads in the Mason Invitational program. We want all Seniors to be recognized.  We need this completed no later than September 17th for it to make it in the program. DUE TONIGHT BY MIDNIGHT!!  
3. Senior Parents- Please fill out this form regarding Senior Night. Due October 4th
4. Senior Students- Please pick out your Senior Song for Family Showcase/Senior Night HERE (Student responses only please)
5. Pick up Car Raffle Tickets to sell and drop off sold raffle tickets/money. (Please see details below) 
6. Schedule and order your pictures today! (Please see below for details)
7. All fees must be up to date by this Monday, September 18th. In order to be allowed to sign up for a hotel room on September 18th, students must be current on all fees due or have made plans with a director. (Please see below for details)
8. Eat at Skyline this Wednesday for our next Dine and Donate event (Please see below for details.)

NEW INFORMATION

Volunteers Needed For The Mason Invitational Oct. 7th

One of our biggest local events is quickly approaching. On Saturday, October 7th our marching band will be hosting the Mason Invitational. This is a fantastic event for both our students and other bands in the area to showcase and get feedback on their shows that they have been working so hard to put together. This year the Rose Bowl Parade President will also be flying in from California to attend as our special guest. It truly takes a village to make this wonderful opportunity happen for our young musicians. We cannot pull off an event of this magnitude without the help of every single band family. As a gentle reminder, each family agreed at the beginning of the year to work at least one shift of the Invitational as outlined in the Marching Band Handbook.

You may sign up to volunteer now through Charms. The following is a list of the links to sign up for each area. Job descriptions can be found there as well. Slots are first come first serve so the earlier you sign up, the greater the chances you have of finding the area that suits you best. Volunteers receive free admission to the Invitational!

Mason is scheduled to perform at the end of the night to allow parents the opportunity to watch their student perform. Details regarding the complete student schedule will be released soon. Please plan that your student will need to keep the entire day free.

If you have any questions regarding the competition, please contact our competitions team at competitions@masonbandboosters.com. Please direct any questions regarding volunteer sign ups to secretary@masonbandboosters.com.

Thanks for your help in making the Mason Invitational a fun and successful event!

Bake Sale Donations (Does not count towards volunteer hours)

Bake Sale Volunteers-Full

Band Guides and Band Check In

Car Raffle Ticket Sales-Full

Concessions

Extra Helpers

Guest/VIP Parking

Hospitality

Hospitality Food and Monetary Donations (Does not count towards volunteer hours)

Spirit Booth-Full

Ticket Sales

Truck/Bus Parking

Ushers

Volunteer Check In-Full

Water Station

Pick Up Your Invitational Tickets-For Those Who Donated $50 Or More For Tag Day

Invitational tickets will be available for pick up during practice this Tuesday, September 19th from 7:30pm until the end of rehearsal. This only pertains to those who donated $50 or more during Tag Day. If you are not available to pick up your tickets on Tuesday, please contact fundraising@masonbandboosters.com so we can mail them to you. All other tickets are sold at the gate. Volunteers will receive free admission!

Homecoming Football Game This Friday Night!

The homecoming football game is this Friday night! 

Mason Bands Football Primer--Key Things to know:

Ticket information, schedule, and other important information for Friday night can be found HERE.

Uniforms

Plan A is for students to wear classic uniforms. Please read all communication from the directors in case it changes due to the weather. 

Instrumentalist-Classic Uniform/Equipment Requirements:

• Pack tight fitting dark undergarments such as black shorts and a black tank top.
• Black band shoes (Should be at school, if not, you will need to bring them)
• Long black socks (Should be at school, if not, you will need to bring them)
• Hair ties
• Uniform is at school.
• Water Bottle 
• Money for Concessions (in bag if desired)

Color Guard Uniform/Equipment Requirements:

• Spirit Uniform
• M Flag/Poms (in flag bag/bag)
• Practice Equipment (in flag bag)
• Jazz Shoes (in bag)
• Practice Skirt (in bag)
• Water Bottle (in bag)
• Money for Concessions (in bag if desired)

Feed the Band

All students will be offered food every FOOTBALL FRIDAY compliments of our sponsors and/or the Mason Band Boosters!

This Friday’s Menu, September 22nd, will be sponsored by Mason Band Boosters and provided by:

Chick Fil A - Trailside Drive, Liberty Center

The Menu* will be as follows:

Regular Diets - Chick Fil A Sandwich (no pickle) with choice of assorted sauces, Lays/Frito/Multipack Chips, Cookies, Gatorade

Vegetarian/Halal/Vegan/Dairy Free/Onion Free - Southwest Veggie Wrap (No cheese/no onion) with choice of assorted dressing and sauces, Lays/Frito/Multipack Chips, Cookies, Gatorade

Gluten Free/Nut Allergy - Grilled Chicken Nuggets with choice of assorted sauces, Lays Chips, Fruit snacks, Gatorade

Note:  The special diet foods are ONLY for those who have declared a special dietary need as we only have a limited number of those meals.  Everyone else is expected to eat the Regular Diet meal.  Likewise, those that have declared a special diet are expected to eat their special diet offering. Thank you for your cooperation!

*If the above do not meet your dietary preferences or needs, you always have the option of having food dropped off or packing your own dinner!

Any questions can be directed to our Feed the Band Chair, Smita Ankola at smita.ankola@gmail.com.  We thank Smita for volunteering her time and taking on this large task for us this year!!!

Save The Date-Booster Meeting

Please join us for our next booster meeting on Thursday, September 28th in the High School Large Commons. We will be sharing the latest information regarding the Mason Invitational and our upcoming trips to Indianapolis and California. We hope to see you all there!

Marching Band Secret Buddies

Reminder: The next Secret Buddy exchange is this Friday Night!

Dates: 

9/22- Homecoming Football Game 

10/7- Mason Invitational

10/20- Super Regionals 

11/4- MSBA Championships

11/09- Grand Nationals 

Join Us At Skyline!

Join us Wednesday, September 20th at Skyline Chili for our next Dine and Donate event.   Bring the flier and the band receives 10% of the proceeds. The flyer must be presented at the checkout.

When: Wednesday, September 20, 2023 

Where: Skyline Chili located at: 5214 Bardes Rd., Mason, OH 45040 (This location only)

Changes Are Coming To Charms

Changes are coming to Charms! Charms was recently acquired by a new company called Cut Time. Over time, Charms will be switched over to this new service. Some changes will be at a timeline that will be by our choice and others will happen before we make the official switchover. One unannounced change was the look of the Charms login page. Please see the picture to see how it now looks and for steps on how to enter Charms. It is essentially the same but looks different. We anticipate more subtle changes to Charms over this school year. We may not always be told of the changes in advance. Please know that we are working with Cut Time to make this inevitable change to a new platform as smooth as possible for our band. If you encounter any issues with Charms over this timeframe or have any questions, please contact either charms@masonboosters.com or secretary@masonbandboosters.com. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we navigate through the process of switching over to a new system.

REMINDERS

Mason Bands Car Raffle 

Only a few more weeks to sell and purchase Car Raffle tickets to win a 2023 Jeep Wrangler or a cash prize! Please help us reach our goal of selling 3000 Tickets before the drawing on October 7th. 

Information on the Car Raffle can be found HERE.

If you have not yet done so, please pick up tickets to sell near rehearsal (either bus circle or stadium) on Tuesday from 8-9pm. Adults ONLY please! You may also drop off money/tickets you have already sold during this time. We are asking each family to sell at least 9 tickets. We welcome you to sell as many as you can! The three families that sell the most tickets will win a $100 gift card to Topgolf!!

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

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

BOA Preliminary Performance Times Confirmed!

Bands of America has confirmed performance times for both BOA trips. They are below:

BOA Indy Super Regional - Friday, Oct. 20, 2023 - 4:15pm*

BOA Grand Nationals Prelims - Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023 - 4:45pm*

*Even though these times are confirmed, there is a slight chance that they could change due to bands dropping out, being added, etc.

All of the performances will be streamed live.  This will allow you to still watch even if you are unable to trek all the way to Indianapolis. Details on how to stream the BOA competitions can be found HERE.

BOA Housing Update and Room Sign-Ups

We are happy to report we have secured housing for our students, directors, staff and chaperones for the upcoming Bands of America trips in Indianapolis. The entire band will stay at the following hotel in Downtown Indianapolis for both the BOA Super Regional (1 Night-Oct 21-22) and BOA Grand Nationals (2 Nights-November 10-12):

This means we will be creating room lists coming up very soon. Have your student work on creating their groups of 2 or 4 (4 students to a room) and we will plan to have sign-ups after rehearsal on Monday, September 18th, 2023 6-6:15pm.

A few things to note regarding room assignments:

• Rooms will be 4 to a room; we will not be assigning any rooms of 3 this year!
• Each room will have two Queen beds. (no King rooms this year)
• If your student submits a group of 2, they will be paired with another group of 2.
• Students may only room with students of the same gender assigned at birth.  
• We will be using the same room lists for ALL THREE TRIPS this season!

IMPORTANT: In order to be allowed to sign up for a room, STUDENTS MUST BE CURRENT ON ALL FEES DUE TO DATE OR MAKE A PLAN WITH THE DIRECTORS! As we did prior to Mini-Camp, each family will be receiving a statement via email this week which will include any past due fees. There are LOTS of Student Experience fees still outstanding. You should have received two invoices from Quickbooks, both of which are now PAST DUE:

1.  $400 - Due 7/1/23 sent from quickbooks@notification.intuit.com
2.  $450 - Due 9/1/23 sent from quickbooks@notification.intuit.com

If you have not yet paid either of those invoices, please pay them TODAY as it will greatly help us reduce the amount of work for our volunteers who work so hard on these experiences for our students! If you aren’t sure whether you have paid or not, you should have received a payment confirmation email from Quickbooks or if you find the original invoice emailed to you, click on “Review and Pay” and it will tell you your balance is $0.00. If you did not receive any invoices, please email treasurer@masonbandboosters.com.

Time To Schedule Individual Portraits

It is now time to schedule and place an order for individual portraits! You will also be able to place orders for the panoramic picture of the band, section photos, buttons, ornaments, and more. To schedule and place an order, please click HERE.

• Instrumentalist photos: Wednesday, October 4th. (Date is subject to change if the competition uniforms do not arrive as scheduled)
• Color Guard photos: Thursday, October 5th.  

** Please Note** If you are in the Wind Symphony please schedule your appointment after your rehearsal. Your rehearsal ends at 5pm. This will ensure that rehearsal will not be disrupted. For those who are not in the Wind Symphony, if your schedule allows, please sign up for an appointment prior to 5pm. We appreciate your cooperation.

Super Regional Tickets On Sale Now

Super Regional tickets can now be purchased at the links below. 

Friday Prelims Tickets- Guaranteed to perform. (4:15pm performance time)

Saturday Finals Tickets - Will need if we proceed to finals. **Please note that the only tickets needed for Saturday would be Finals Tickets since our preliminary performance takes place on Friday.** You do not need Saturday Preliminary Tickets (unless you are interested in watching other bands that are scheduled for their Prelims on Saturday.) 

The most current details/information on the trip can be found HERE for your planning purposes. 

More information can be found at https://marching.musicforall.org/event/indysuper23/

Grand National Tickets Now On Sale

Performances and Tickets

This is a ticketed event. Families and friends are encouraged to make plans in advance to see the band in action at Lucas Oil Stadium. 

There are two days of preliminary competition and we know Mason will perform Thursday, 11/9/23 at 4:45pm. Pending scores, Mason hopes to perform a second time in the semi-finals on Saturday 11/11/23 during the day. Based on the results of the semi-finals, bands have the opportunity to perform in the finals Saturday evening.

PLEASE NOTE: Each round is a separate ticketed event! Mason's Preliminary performance is on Thursday, November 9th at 4:45pm. Any Semi-Finals or Finals performance times will not be known until Preliminary competition has concluded. The links to purchase tickets are below:

Prelims - Thursday, 11/9/2023 - Mason Performs at 4:45pm!

Prelims - Friday, 11/10/2023- Mason does NOT perform this day, but the plan is for students to watch bands and semi-finals announcement at LOS.

Semis - Saturday, 11/11/2023 - Mason Semis performance time TBD (announced Friday evening).

Finals - Saturday, 11/11/2023 - Mason performance NOT guaranteed.  Performance and time slot contingent on score in Semi-Finals and results.

***Pro Tip*** If you plan to stay in 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.

Please click here for more information. Additional schedule details will be released as it becomes available.

Marching Band Next Steps - Registration Guide

Marching Band Registration Guide

This linked guide below is a comprehensive guide on all of the remaining steps required for both Marching Band and the Rose Parade Trip. 

2023 Marching Band Registration Guide

Next Up

• October 1- Rose Trip Payment # 5 of $575 is due. Payment can be made to Bob Rogers Travel

Please contact medicalsecretary@masonbandboosters.com with any questions regarding medications or physicals. If you have any questions regarding fees, please email Mr. Sleppy at sleppyj@masonohioschools.com.