WINTER PARK BAND Weekly Newsletter

Dear Winter Park Band families,

I hope you are currently enjoying the relaxing, three-day weekend!

Congratulations again to the SOTW on their performance at Timber Creek HS Friday evening!

Special shout-out and thank you to some parent volunteer Band Booster Board members who fill critical roles each football game afternoon and evening:

• Christina Armendariz and Beth Lybarger for feeding the Band.
• Vanessa Flemming and Damaris Lima Olmeda for helping the Band look sharp for their performance.
• Jennifer Mullins for coordinating the amazing team of parent chaperones.
• Laura Cambridge for coordinating the Band Booster Board and keeping everything running smoothly.

Homecoming week is here! The SOTW will perform at the Homecoming parade on Wednesday, 10/14 in Downtown Winter Park and at the Homecoming football game on Friday, 10/16. We're also excited to again welcome back the Winter Park Alumni Band for their annual reunion and to join us for the national anthem on the field and in the stands throughout the game. Wednesday is Summer Uniform for the parade, Friday and Saturday are both Full Marching Band Uniform.

On Saturday, October 17 we will join up with our friends in the bands from Freedom HS, Apopka HS, Ocoee HS, Dr. Phillips HS, Olympia HS, Horizon HS, and West Orange HS at WOHS for the annual West Side Showcase. This is by far one of my favorite events of the whole school year. For those who haven't been to the Showcase before, it is a non-competitive, no rating, super supportive pre-MPA style event. We will have a few FBA trained adjudicator’s whose sole purpose will be to provide feedback on ways to improve our shows going into Marching MPA. Each band will get to perform for all the other bands and then have a short clinic time with wind, percussion and guard adjudicators on the field after their show. SOTW is scheduled to perform FOR ALL MANKIND at 2:00 PM, and a complete itinerary is available on the Band website. Students who plan to attend the homecoming dance will be transported back to school immediately following our performance and clinic. Special this year The West Side Showcase will conclude with a performance by the UCF Marching Knights!

Looking farther ahead at our Band calendar:

• Friday, October 30 is a big annual event for our Band program - it's SENIOR NIGHT! Please join us at the home football game Friday evening as we celebrate the "first last" for the Class of 2027 at their final regular season home football game. This is one of my favorite nights of each year, and so many special memories will be made for our seniors and their families.
• Our journey with FOR ALL MANKIND concludes at Marching Band MPA on Saturday, November 7 at Boone HS. This performance culminates the students' hard work and journey creating this show from Band Camp until now. This is another one of my favorite days of the school year, and I can't wait to see where the show ends up for this performance! Performance time and itinerary TBA.
• We celebrate the entirety of our Winter Park Band community at the 11th annual Fall Festival of Bands on Tuesday, 11/10 at 7 PM in the WPHS Auditorium. The evening includes performances by the Audubon Park School Symphonic Band, Glenridge Middle School Symphonic Band, the Maitland Middle School Wind Ensemble, the Winter Park Wind Symphony, combined students from APS, GMS, and MMS along with the Wind Symphony, the SOTW Color Guard, and the SOTW Marching Band to top it all off! It is a night celebrating the entirety of our community, the success of our 6 - 12th grade program, and the bright future of the Sound of the Wildcats. The concert is free and open to the public, as are all our home Band concerts. A complete itinerary will become available on the Band website soon.

Let's make it a great week!

Mr. Clemente

Auditions for the 2026-2027 OCPS All-County Bands and Jazz Ensembles are scheduled for Monday, November 16, and will be held at Lake Buena Vista HS. Members auditioning for All-County Band and/or Jazz began to register for their auditions this past week. Student Participation Agreements must be completed, signed, and turned in to the Band office no later than Monday. October 19. Members may audition on as many instruments as they feel confident preparing audition materials.

Audition requirements and materials for both the Band and Jazz auditions can be found in the Modules section of your Canvas course.

Band families,

Thank you for all your efforts so far this year. We are getting into the exciting part of marching season when all of the parts are on the field! I hope you can make one of the remaining performances.

Please take a minute to check out the information in the rest of the newsletter; we have the Lucky Goat fundraiser and several volunteer opportunities.

Mark your calendars: October 27th after rehearsal for Band Trunk or Treat in D lot! We welcome families to decorate your trunk and hand out candy to our band students.

Please reach out with any questions,

Laura Cambridge

wphsbandboosterpresident@gmail.com

WILDCAT VOLUNTEERS - LET'S KEEP THE MOMENTUM GOING!

A HUGE THANK YOU to our incredible volunteers who joined us Friday night for our away game at Timber Creek! Whether you were chaperoning, helping with uniforms, Operations, feeding the band... we appreciate you! Our Wildcats couldn't do what they do without the amazing families who continue to show up and support them!

We're not slowing down yet! We have some exciting events coming up and there's always room for more Wildcat families to join the fun!

FOOTBALL VOLUNTEERS: The season isn't over yet! We still need helping hands at our upcoming games. Grab a spot and be part of the action!

🏈 Football SignUpGenius: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080A49A8AE22A02-65163027-football#/

HOMECOMING PARADE CREW: We're celebrating 100 YEARS of Winter Park High School! Help us keep our Sound of the Wildcats fueled and ready for this historic celebration. Our Food Crew needs YOU!

🕺💃Homecoming Parade SignUpGenius: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080A49A8AE22A02-66378913-homecoming#/

WEST SIDE SHOWCASE - SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17! Our Wildcats are hitting the field for an early afternoon performance! Whether you're heading out afterward to prepare for Homecoming or staying to enjoy the other bands, we have volunteer opportunities for you! Be sure to read the SignUpGenius description for details.

🖤🧡 West Side Showcase SignUpGenius: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080A49A8AE22A02-65842397-west#/

DOOR-TO-DOOR 2027 - ALL HANDS ON DECK! Our biggest volunteer event of the year is coming Saturday, January 23 and sign-ups are NOW OPEN! New families, come experience one of our favorite Wildcat traditions! Returning volunteers, you know the drill! Senior Families, let's make your FINAL Door-to-Door unforgettable!

🚪Door-to-Door SignUpGenius: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080A49A8AE22A02-66378842-2027#/

READY TO VOLUNTEER? Make sure you're ADDitions APPROVED for the 2026-2027 school year before signing up!

ADDitions: https://ocps.samaritan.com/custom/503/opp_details/119839

Your time, energy and Wildcat spirit make all the difference! THANK YOU for continuing to show up for our students!

Jennifer Mullins

WPHS Band and Colorguard Volunteer Coordinator

Hey band families!

We're getting ready to begin our Lucky Goat Coffee fundraiser on Monday, Oct 12th!

Please help your student get ready by registering for our fundraiser and adding 7–10 contacts who may be willing to support them. These can include family members, friends, neighbors, coworkers, coaches, and other friends of the family. Please add the their name, email and phone number. Those supporters will receive a message about the fundraiser and can donate in support of your child.

Register your student here:
https://instaraise.com/winterparkhs/band/volunteers/register

Registration only takes a few minutes. Thank you for helping us get off to a great start!

Please see the Cuttime message sent on Thursday for more details on this fundraiser.

Don’t forget our next Spirit Night!

October 19-24th (all week)

Chick-fil-A

3391 University Blvd (Next to Costco)

And, as always, we must mention WP Band at checkout. Details will follow soon!

--

Robyn Fodor & Deanna Glidden

Fundraising Coordinators

WP Band Booster Board

Copy the link below to subscribe to the Band public events calendar in Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, Outlook, or other calendar app:

• https://app.gocuttime.com/program/calendar/c308b229-e7ac-4762-93ef-6112f6f8daf3/ics
  

PAST DUE BAND PAYMENTS

• WOODWINDS, BRASS, PERCUSSION
• Friday, August 7, 2026
• Fair Share Payment - $225 OR Fair Share Payment 1 - $100.00
• Marching Band Shoe (new students and if needed) - $50.00
• Extra Show Shirt (optional) - $15.00

• COLOR GUARD
• Friday, August 7, 2026
• Fall Fair Share Payment - $325 OR Fair Share Payment 1 - $100
• Marching Band Shoe (if needed) - $50.00
• Extra Show Shirt (optional) - $15.00

NOTE: On SchoolCashOnline.com, the Fair Share item will show on the main page with a "no cost" indication because it is an item with an open payment amount. When going to make a Fair Share payment, you will need to enter in the amount you are paying. This is to allow our Band families flexibility between the optional payment plans for Fair Share.

This time of year, many families consider purchasing a higher quality instrument for their student. While the rental instruments or student instruments many students had during middle school served them well during that time, high school music and musicians need instruments with higher quality make and materials to continue to improve. Please especially do not buy an instrument for your student from discount websites like Amazon. We music teachers refer to instruments sold on those websites as ISOs - Instrument Shaped Objects.

If you are able and considering a "step-up" instrument for your student (sometimes referred to as "intermediate" or "professional" instruments by manufacturers), please feel free to reach out for guidance. We will be happy to point you in the right direction and give options for quality instruments at fair prices.

Local music stores:

Underwood Music - 4949 N Pine Ave, Winter Park, FL 32792

Music Shack - 702 S US Hwy 17 92, Longwood, FL 32750

Allegro Music - 851 E State Rd 434, Longwood, FL 32750

Music & Arts - 4676 Millenia Plaza Way, Orlando, FL 32839

A few websites to peruse:

www.allcountymusic.com

www.musicmaninconline.com

www.musicandarts.com

www.steveweissmusic.com

Whether a student is learning a musical instrument to pursue a career in music, or simply for personal musical fulfillment and recreation, private lessons are one of the best investments that a parent can provide for their musical child. When working with a private teacher, students receive one-on-one instruction from a professional musician who specializes on that instrument.

​Unlike a full band rehearsal experience, studying with a private teacher focuses in on the student’s individual needs. Students who study privately once a week from a professional musician are usually those who excel and find Band more enjoyable. These students frequently earn positions in honor groups like All-State and All-County, and make entry into our more advanced bands like Wind Symphony and Jazz Ensemble I. Some even go on to earn college scholarships, even if they are not majoring in music!

Below is a link to a list of local private teachers. This list is not exhaustive, and there may be other individuals who are not on the list. If you are a private teacher who would like to be added to our list (or deleted), or know a private teacher who should be added, please contact Mr. Clemente at michael.clemente@ocps.net.

http://www.winterparkhsband.com/private-teachers.html

October 9: Football Game

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October 14: Homecoming Parade & "Roar"

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October 16: Homecoming Football Game

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October 17: West Side Showcase

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October 23: Football Game

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October 27: Trunk 'r Treat after MB Rehearsal

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October 29: Fall Orchestra Concert, Orch. Winds & Perc. Only

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October 30: Senior Night Football Game

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November 7: MARCHING BAND MPA, 9 AM - 9 PM

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November 10: FALL FESTIVAL OF BANDS

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November 14: Jazz Ensemble I @ WPAAF, Downtown Winter Park

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November 16: All-County Auditions

We've been posting lots of photos our social media platforms, and we will continue to post updates, photos, video, and other media to those pages throughout the year. Follow the Band!

• Facebook: @winterparkhsband
• Instagram: @winterparkhsband @wphs_flutes @wphsclarinets @wpsaxes @wphs_trumpets @wphs.trombones @wphstubas @winterparkhspercussion @winterparkhscolorguard @wphs.drumajors
• YouTube: @winterparkhsband
• Twitter: @wphs_bands
• Tik Tok: @winterparkhsband

Email: michael.clemente@ocps.net
Website: www.winterparkhsband.com
Location: 2100 Summerfield Road, Winter Park, FL, USA
Phone: 4076223200
Facebook: www.facebook.com/winterparkhsband