THE Houston Band

Hello, Houston Band family,

Seeing the effort, commitment, and fast-paced growth of our student-musicians never ceases to inspire me. I love that we cover the full spectrum of music education in our band programs, with students that are the most skilled in the state on their instruments sitting next to brand-new beginners. They are all working towards the common goal of bettering our band program.

It takes a village to comprehensively teach this great group of young people, and we have a FANTASTIC village. Our band boosters and parent volunteers move mountains, our student leaders push themselves and their peers, our TAs are hard at work painting/copying/organizing, and our alumni contribute in big ways. One thing that's stuck out to me specifically is HHS band alum Owen Hardin, who I got to meet last school year when he visited to talk with some HHS students about his trade: welding. He mentioned that he'd be happy to help us out with any welds needed, and he sure meant it! He has been hard at work pouring into a band that poured into him while he was a member, and I can't wait to show off our amazing backfield prop carts he's building for us!

This week, our focus needs to be on aggressively meeting fundraising goals and finding sponsorships with the same vigor Owen is bringing to welding our props. Unfortunately, what we do is not cheap. We try to keep costs in line with or lower than other bands in the area and lower than similarly-involved activities in our district, with fundraising being a core part of what we do. While we won't all be picking up welding torches on behalf of the band, if our community rallies together we can make sure our boosters stay financially capable of running this band at a level fit for our INCREDIBLE young performers!

Please read details below about fundraising and upcoming events and have a great week, Mustangs!

With excitement and gratitude,

Mr. C

So far, we have raised only one third of our goal for our calendar fundraiser. There are still nearly 50 students who have not fundraised anything with their virtual calendars. We need to collectively move the needle on this fundraiser aggressively, and I know we can do it! Share your student's link on social media, in family group chats, and with any individuals/communities that may care about your student's music education!!

Virtual "Calendar" Filling FAQs

Where is the link? Check your emails for a message from me (kevin.carpenter@gmsdk12.org) on July 15th. If you didn't get a calendar link, reach out to me ASAP!

Can I finish my calendar late? No. After this coming weekend, the calendar fundraiser will close, and our boosters will be sent the proceeds. Please don't let this slip your mind this week!

How challenging is this fundraiser? This is the easiest fundraiser of the year, as there are no goods to distribute. Mrs. Ortiz (volunteer booster fundraising chair) works INCREDIBLY hard the rest of the year with butter braids, car washes, cookie dough, spirit nights, and more. All you have to do for this fundraiser is send your virtual calendar link to people near and far for them to donate a bit of money to help pay for your student's hobby. Posting on Facebook, sharing in a community GroupMe, or posting a QR code in a breakroom will take seconds to minutes, and will make a world of difference in our operational capacity.

What are the numbers looking like so far? As of last night, 72 students have raised at least $20 with their calendar, 55 students have raised $100 or more, 40 students have raised $200 or more, 21 students have raised over $300, and 9 students have completely filled their calendar. As stated above, this has taken us to about a third of our target number ($50,000).

Are there prizes or incentives? Beyond the basic and core incentive of making our band financially stronger, the next student to complete their calendar will get the final "first 10" prize, and everyone who fills their calendar will get entered to win our GRAND prize, with lots of local music swag!

I don't want to fundraise, but I do want to contribute even if it's not mandatory. What does the calendar fundraiser generate if a student meets their goal? If a student fills their calendar, they will raise $496 for our band. Our boosters are always happy to take donations on their Givebacks page.

Why don't we just raise band dues if we need more money? Band is for everyone. We don't want sticker shock turning a young person or a family away from the truly life-changing opportunities a comprehensive music education provides developing minds.

Typically, we reserve Monday afternoons for sectionals or full-group work as needed if we get behind. We try to limit the use of these Mondays because we understand everyone is busy, but we are not always successful. Due to the extended construction of Landers Stadium at HHS, we are missing out on field time during the school day. As a result, we will be calling full ensemble rehearsals Mondays starting August 18th and going until we've closed the gap on drill learning.

This is not ideal, but it is necessary to field our competitive show on the timeline this much memorization demands. Find the full Sectional Monday schedule below.

8/18 - Drill work (2:55pm-4:15pm) - ALL band students!

8/25 - Drill work (2:55pm-4:15pm) - ALL band students!

9/1 - TBD (drill work or true sectionals as needed, determined by stadium construction schedule)

The first of two band dues payments ($250) is past due. SchoolCashOnline is available if you wish to pay online. If you don't see band dues on your account, feel free to reach out. Please note that you can avoid the online surcharge by sending in a check to school.

See the "Repeat Announcements" for more details!

Like I said above, Mrs. Cara Ortiz has been doing amazing work for our spirit nights and other FUNdraisers! Check out some of the upcoming dates below (remember to MENTION the band!). We will of course share these closer to them happening, as well!

Aug 19 - Pyro's Pizza (5-8pm)

Aug 26 & 28 - You Had Me at Bobba (all day)

Sep 9 - Crumble (4pm-close)

Sep 9 - Zaxby's (5-8pm)

Sep Tuesdays/Thursdays (ongoing) - Zaxby's

Sep 18 - Chick Fil A (all day)

Sep 24 - Duck Donuts

and more to come!

Dining in Germantown, supporting the band, and seeing your band friends! Win, win, win!!

The road to all west starts today! The band room will be open to practice in the mornings from 7:00-7:45 and after school M/W/F until 4:30pm. If you want specific one-on-one help, ask Mr. Sims or Mr. C in advance for a free 20-30 minute lesson!

If you work at or own a business (big or small!), please consider sponsoring the band. Our booster president Mrs. Gilbert has created the following sponsorship document that is printable to present to interested parties. We are grateful to all businesses that support arts education in Germantown.

If you weren't able to help with camp because of weekday obligations, please check out the weekend volunteer opportunities below!

https://forms.gle/Wvyy41YRBpo8hAni9

Please do not just scroll past this form. Take a moment to find something you can help with this school year. As our band grows, so does our need for our exceptional community to rally around it.

We will have outside class the DAY the field is available to us. Please plan accordingly by having water, cool clothing, sunscreen, sunglasses, and anything else you need to beat the heat every day to school.

At our first rehearsal, many students attempted to participate while wearing inadequate clothing. Jeans, layered tops, black attire, and other hot clothing ARE NOT allowed at after school rehearsal until the weather gets much more comfortable. Please also remember to wear comfortable athletic shoes.

Many students forgot water. We will always have a few waters on hand for emergencies, but the expectation is that students supply their own, reusable water bottle. We went through several cases of water at one rehearsal last week. That is costly, negatively impacts the environment, and is overall a worse experience than a reusable bottle. Things like water jugs, Stanley cups, Owala bottles, or equivalent vesicles can keep water significantly colder than a disposable plastic water bottle, so they are strongly recommended in the heat.

From booster president Deanna Gilbert:

Our Booster Board is looking to fill some vacant spots and this is a perfect opportunity for some of our new families to join in behind the scenes of supporting the band. Specifically we are in need of a Booster Secretary (takes minutes at monthly Booster meetings and invites various admin, city leaders and school board to events), a Uniform Co-Chair or 2 (will assist Uniform Chair Erica McCarrens in getting our students ready for games and competitions), and a Publicity Chair (takes pictures at events, updates social media and assists in event promotions). If you are interested or have any questions please reach out to Booster President Deanna Gilbert at dlgilbert3@bellsouth.net.

Our band dues will not be raised moving into this year. Last year, we reduced band dues by $225 to make band as accessible as possible to all students. It's important to participate in our year-round fundraisers to supplement that cost. If fundraising is NOT your thing, please consider just writing a check for $225 (or donating that amount online) to offset what students will typically fundraise over the year if they fully participate in everything. Please note that while there are no consequences to not participating in fundraising efforts, it hurts our band when lots of people don't.

Total mandatory dues: $500 (two payments of $250, one due on August 15th and the other due on September 15th)

Total booster requested donation: $225 by the end of the year - note that this is not a mandatory payment but greatly appreciated by our amazing boosters to alleviate some of the fundraising burdens they have.

If you are unable to pay dues on time (or in full), please reach out to Mr. Carpenter immediately. We will do everything we can to fundraise, provide scholarships, etc. Band is an expensive activity, and these funds are necessary for travel, staffing, instruments, repair, show design, concert music, and much more. Our dues are lower than many other municipal band in the area, and we are incredibly proud of that.

You can pay via check any Friday of the school year or via card on SchoolCashOnline.

Please note, students that miss rehearsals and performances without prior approval will be penalized with grade deductions. All you have to do is give us as MUCH heads up as possible, emailing me the reason for missing and (when relevant) a doctor's note. Please note that the closer we get to a date, the less likely exemption will be granted. Give us time to plan for other students' success when sending us your reasonable conflicts due to health, religion, family emergencies, etc.

Please look ahead in our calendar when scheduling routine doctor or dental care. Your appointment may have been scheduled for six months, but our calendar has been set for 18 months. If you have an immovable appointment, let me know ASAP, not the day before. The former will be exempt, and the latter will not.

Thank you for your understanding and commitment to our band's success!

It is extremely important to plan ahead for ACT dates when you are in band, as we often have Saturday events outside of our scheduling control. The ACT dates with no conflicts are (2025) June 14, July 12, September 6, October 18, (2026) April 11 for most students, June 13, and July 11.

That is more than enough dates to take the ACT an adequate number of times. Missing a band event for the ACT is NOT excused. We understand the inconvenience of not having these dates available, but all of these Saturdays are outside of our scheduling control. Our ACT date conflicts this year are: December 13 (Holiday Parade), February 14 (All West), and April 11 (for All State Students only). Please plan accordingly.

If you are interested in private lessons, please reach out! We are happy to recommend teachers for students of all levels at any budget. The time to start preparing for regional honors ensembles (All West/ All State/ Memphis/ etc.) is NOW, not just the two weeks leading up to those events.

Mr. Sims has created a list of some practice resources for students. If you have any additional resources that have been helpful for you, please feel free to share them!

• The Woodwind Fingering Guide
• "Fingering Chart by Tremolo" on iOS
• PlayScore 2
• Sight Reading Factory (see Mr. C for activation instructions at the start of band camp)
• MusicRacer.com (note that there are strobing lights in this game)

Additionally, students have reported having improved outcomes utilizing the Tonic App. I've heard comparisons to the popular running app Strava, but for music. Parents, please feel free to explore this option for your young musician but be advised that there is a social media element to this app.

Our 2026 Spring Trip will be to UNIVERSAL STUDIOS! This trip is optional and not included in band dues. Due to a very busy Q4 this year, we will be traveling to sunny Orlando at the END OF JANUARY, which is typically a beautiful time of year in central Florida. This trip will cost around $1300-$1400. Charter buses, hotels, and theme parks are all getting more and more expensive. Most students save up money (from birthdays, holidays, mowing lawns, working jobs, etc.) to go (or at least offset parent costs!), and the time to start doing that is now!

If you have a friend, neighbor, family member, or ANYONE else in your life in 4th or 5th grade within GMSD, let them know about the transformative experience band has been in your students' lives. If you know an 8th grader that wants to be in a great band but doesn't live in Germantown, let them know about our academies. We are so excited to continue building our program's numbers back to sustainable levels, but that takes work from everyone. Thank you for helping with that work!

If anyone has ANY questions about band at any level, I'm more than happy to field those questions.

Find upcoming dates for performances, events, and one-off rehearsals below. Note that regular rehearsals are Tuesdays and Thursdays, with sectionals on Mondays.

You can always find our full calendar (including Google and iCal integration links) here: https://www.thehoustonband.com/calendar

Upcoming Dates

• Rehearsals continue every Tuesday and Thursday.
• 8/29/25 - Football v. Whitehaven
• 9/13/25 - Marching Band Mini Camp (all day)
• 9/27/25 - Contest #1 (TBD - Olive Branch or Bartlett most likely)
• 10/4/25 - Contest #2 (Champions @ Collierville)
• 10/10/25 - Football v. Arlington
• 10/25/25 - Recording Session (@ HHS)
• 10/30/25 - Football v. Collierville
• 11/1/25 - Contest #3 (Bandmasters @ Liberty Bowl)
• 11/7/25 (and following Fridays through November) - Potential Playoff Football
• 11/8/25 - Recording Session Rain Date (@ HHS)
• 11/11/25 - Holiday concert rehearsals begin (Tuesdays Concert Band, Thursdays Wind Ensemble)
• 11/22/25 - WTSBOA All West Auditions
• 12/11/25 - Holiday Concert (@ HHS, 6pm)
• 1/8/26 - After school rehearsals begin for CPA cycle (Tuesdays or Thursdays, depending on ensemble)
• 1/28/26 to 2/1/26- Spring Trip - Universal Studios!!
• 2/12/26-2/14/26 - WTSBOA All West Clinic
• 2/21/26 - CPA/Festival Mini Camp (@ HHS, all day)
• 3/12/26 OR 3/13/26 - WTSBOA Concert Performance Assessment
• 4/9/26-4/12/25 - TnMEA All State Clinic and Conference
• 5/5/26 - Tentative Band Concert (dependent on GPAC)
• 5/8/26 - Graduation

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