A communication of the Lakota West Upbeat Club
Thanks to everyone for bearing with the hot and stormy weather circumstances this weekend. What unfolded certainly wasn’t what any of us hoped for, and credit goes to you for rolling with it. As we move into a new week, here’s a summary of what you should keep in mind:
At your convenience:
- Sign up to help with Tag Day on Saturday morning, September 10. It’s our biggest (and briefest) fundraiser of the year, and the funds raised go directly to our uniform replacement fund. Students form groups of three or four and go door-to-door in West Chester neighborhoods asking for cash or check donations. When a person donates, the band members provide a tag — a receipt noting a tax-deductible contribution. As the students go door-to-door, parents trail them in cars and guide them along their routes.
- Sign up to become part of our pool of bus chaperones for marching band competitions and special events. Note that signing up doesn’t mean you have to chaperone for every bus trip.
- The next time you shop at Kroger, take a close look at the bottom of your receipt. It should say that you’ve requested Kroger to make donations to Lakota West Upbeat Club. If it doesn’t, please make the donation request. It’s free to you, takes just a couple of minutes to sign up, and makes a big difference. Last year we earned more than $6,000 from Kroger courtesy of donation requests from band families, and it helps us get closer to our annual fundraising goal of $77,000. Note that Kroger’s donation program is formally titled Kroger Community Rewards.
- Check out our new Spiritwear Shop that went online last week! You can now order spiritwear and pay by any major credit card via a secure PayPal gateway — all without having to log into Charms, or without having to mess with filling out and mailing in a form. So take stock of your Marching Firebird Spiritwear needs for football games and marching band competitions. If you already placed an order, it will be available at Silvers (Thursday evening rehearsals) as soon as it is delivered to our Spiritwear coordinator. If you’re able to come to Silvers, your teen can check immediately after Silvers practice; alternatively, you can email Rachel Butler to see if your order is in. If you have not placed an order, please do as soon as possible to be included in our next bulk order with our supplier. Questions? See our Spiritwear Shop or email Rachel Butler.
- Speaking of Spiritwear, please email Rachel Butler (a senior’s mom) if you (a freshman or sophomore parent) are interested in taking over Spiritwear efforts for the next marching band season.
- Stay in the know by subscribing to and/or downloading our calendar, and following us on Facebook, Instagram, Flickr and Twitter.
Monday, August 29
- LWHS Stadium: Marching Band Rehearsal from 7 to 9pm
Tuesday, August 30
- LWHS Main Band Room: Marching Band Sectionals from 3 to 4pm
Wednesday, August 31
- LWHS Parking Lot: Marching Band Rehearsal from 3 to 5:30pm
Thursday, September 1
- LWFS Stadium: Marching Band Rehearsal from 7 to 9pm
Friday, September 2 through Monday, September 5
- No band rehearsals or events during Labor Day weekend
Looking Ahead
- Tuesday, September 6: Marching Band Sectionals in the LWHS Main Band Room from 3 to 4pm
- Wednesday, September 7: Marching Band Rehearsal on the LWHS Parking Lot from 3 to 5:30pm, with freshmen and eighth graders rehearsing for Lakota West Bands Day from 3 to 4pm
- Thursday, September 8: Marching Band Rehearsal at the LWFS Stadium from 7 to 9pm, with freshmen and eighth graders rehearsing for Lakota West Bands Day
- Friday, September 9: Lakota West Bands Day activities concurrent with the Lakota West home football game against Dayton Wayne: 3:45 to ~10pm
More Information on Lakota West Bands Day
On Friday, September 9, Plains and Ridge eighth graders, as well as freshmen who are not in Marching Band, will join with the Marching Firebirds for an on-field performance at the Dayton Wayne vs. Lakota West football game.
They will also rehearse with the Marching Firebirds on Wednesday, September 7 in the Lakota West parking lot from 3 to 4pm, and on Thursday, September 8 at the Lakota West Freshman School Stadium from 7 to ~8pm.
On Friday September 9, the eighth graders and freshmen will report to West’s Main Band Room at 3:45pm to rehearse again. Festivities will get under way at 5pm with a joint Marching Firebirds/Freshmen/Eighth Graders Pizza Party in the West cafeteria. Freshmen and eighth graders will march into the stadium with the Marching Firebirds, and will spend the early part of the game with them in the band’s stands in the north end zone area.
Seven Lakota West Students Named to Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra (CYSO) Ensembles
Senior trombone James Smith, senior flute Faith Ann Santucci, junior bassoon Yulia Martinez and sophomore trumpet Joe Keller were recently named to the CYSO Philharmonic Orchestra.
Senior oboe Kevin Eaton, senior bassoon Becca LaManna and junior bassoon Kyle Cleavinger were named to the CYSO Concert Orchestra.
Congratulations to all!
Enrichment Opportunity
UC’s Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music (CCM) Prep Program has a few honor ensembles that may be of interest to our more advanced performers — Symphonic Winds members and/or students who have made or would likely make District Honor Band.
The Cincinnati Youth Wind Ensemble (CYWE) is for students in grades 9 – 12. CYWE meets Sundays from 5:30 to 7:30pm during the school year, with breaks for holidays and Spring Break. They also perform twice in concert at CCM’s Corbett Auditorium in the Fall and Spring. The level of music performed by this group is similar to Symphonic Winds/District Honor Band level. For more information, including signups for an audition spot on September 10 (in the afternoon post-Tag Day activity) or September 11, see CCM Prep’s CYWE page.
Junior Cincinnati Youth Wind Ensemble (JrCYWE) is for students in grades 6-8. The ensemble meets Sundays from 5:30 to 7pm during the school year, with breaks for holidays and Spring Break. The also perform in concert at UC at least twice per year. The level of music performed by this group is similar to that of Eighth Grade District Honor Band. For more information, including signups for and audition spot on September 10 or 11, see CCM Prep’s Junior CYWE page.
CCM also has several Jazz ensembles for students at various levels in grades 7 – 12, with auditions coming up soon. For more information see CCM Prep’s Jazz page.
Photos of the Week
To see more photos from our Upbeat Club photographers, see Flickr.com/LakotaWestBands.
