WINTER PARK BAND Weekly Newsletter

Dear Winter Park Band families,

What a weekend! I hope everyone has time to recover today and prepare for the week ahead.

SOTW did a great job at both the Homecoming Parade on Wednesday and the shortened Homecoming game on Friday night celebrating 100 years of WPHS! It was great to have the Winter Park Alumni Band for their annual reunion and joining us both for the fight song on the field and in the stands throughout the game.

To say Saturday was an eventful day would be an understatement, but it was a great day filled with band and homecoming festivities! We had great time performing and watching our friends in the bands from Freedom HS, Apopka HS, Horizon HS, Ocoee HS, Dr. Phillips HS, and West Orange HS at WOHS on Saturday afternoon/evening for the annual West Side Showcase! Kudos to our students for having a very nice first full performance of the show in not-so-ideal weather conditions. It's so special each year to see the bands cheer each other on and appreciate each group's hard work that they put into their shows. It was so special to cap off the day with an incredible performance by the UCF Marching Knights - wow! Again, a big thank you to all the parent volunteers who fed the students, chaperoned, moved equipment, and overall made Saturday run smoothly. All in all, a great day filled with band and community!

A special shout out and thank you to Aaron Strickland, Dave Martin, and the entire Band Ops crew of parents for their help this and every marching band weekend! They were there early Friday and then early again on Saturday and throughout both events to make sure that our large equipment made it safely to and from our performances.

Also, a special thank you to Dr. Vetter for coming out to support the SOTW at the Showcase on Saturday!

All-County Auditions are fast approaching. Student Participation Agreements (SPAs) are due to the Band office no later than tomorrow, 10/19. Keep practicing!

Looking ahead at our Band calendar:

• Come out to have some spooky season fun this week with Trunk-R-Treat right after rehearsal Tuesday, 10/27! Parents, get your car’s trunk décor planned and grab some candy for a fun, band family event! Trunk-R-Treat will begin at 6:30 PM after marching band rehearsal and our annual Student Costume Contest.
• 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! All students arrive in the Band room at 1:00 PM. Performance time is 6:50 PM and a complete itinerary is available on the Band website.
• We celebrate the entirety of our Winter Park Band community at the 12th 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.
• All-County Band & Jazz Auditions will take place on Monday, November 17 at Lake Buena Vista High School. The schedule of auditions will be released about a week before auditions. The earliest audition time slots begin at 4:00 PM, and the latest are around 9:00 PM.

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 showing up and supporting the band this past busy week. There was a lot going on but the performance at West Side Showcase made it all worth it! Now the students have some great information to help prepare for Marching MPAs on November 7. Thank you to all the volunteers who showed up this week and contributed their help and school spirit.

Upcoming events:

10/27- Trunk or Treat after rehearsal in D lot

11/2 7pm- Zoom Q&A

11/7- Marching MPA

11/10- Fall Festival of Bands Concert

As always, reach out if you need anything!

Laura Cambridge

wphsbandboosterpresident@gmail.com

Hey Band Families!

Chick-fil-A Spirit Week!

Monday, October 19-- Saturday, October 24

3391 University Blvd. next to Costco

Mention WP Band in the store or drive-thru or USE THE CODE WPB26 in the app for the band to receive 15% of sales back to the band!

Plan a meetup with band friends, your whole section or enjoy a family meal! The Spirit Week runs ALL WEEK for breakfast, lunch or dinner and sales count as often as you'd like to go.

Lucky Goat Coffee Fundraiser

October 12-26

Great news: as of Friday morning, we've raised $5,300! Thank you to everyone who has already jumped in.

If you've registered but haven't added your contacts yet, now's the perfect time. Every contact you add is another chance to support our students.

Need a way to pitch it? Coffee makes a great addition to gift baskets, an easy birthday present, and a perfect holiday gift for teachers, neighbors, coworkers, and family.

Let's keep the momentum going!

Our Leaderboard as of Friday, October 16th:

Lucas Rodriguez $550

Landon Mullins $340

Ethan Diaz $310

If you have any questions, reach out to:

Robyn Fodor & Deanna Glidden

wpbandfundraising@gmail.com

--

Robyn Fodor & Deanna Glidden

Fundraising Coordinators

WP Band Booster Board

WOW! WHAT A WEEK TO BE A WILDCAT!

From celebrating 100 YEARS of Winter Park High School at the Homecoming Parade to supporting our Sound of the Wildcats at the Homecoming football game AND West Side Showcase, our volunteers have been EVERYWHERE!!

A HUGE, EXTRA-SPECIAL THANK YOU to every single volunteer who gave their time, energy and probably a little sleep to make these events happen! We know many of you rearranged schedules, stepped away from family time and juggled everything life throws your way just to be there for our students.

Whether you volunteered for one event or somehow managed to survive ALL THREE, please know that your time, dedication and willingness to show up for our students NEVER go unnoticed!

Marching season apparently doesn't believe in slowing down so... HERE WE GO AGAIN!

FOOTBALL VOLUNTEERS - LET'S FINISH STRONG! We're heading into the final stretch of football season, including Senior Night! There are still opportunities to jump in, lend a hand and make some memories with our students!

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

DOOR-TO-DOOR 2027 - ALL HANDS ON DECK! Our biggest volunteer event of the year is coming Saturday, January 23, 2027 and sign-ups are OPEN! New families, come experience one of our favorite traditions! Returning volunteers, we're calling on our D2D veterans! Senior Families, this is our LAST ONE - let's make it 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!

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

From the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU for continuing to show up, step up and make a difference!

Jennifer Mullins

WPHS Band and Colorguard Volunteer Coordinator

Dear Band Families,

We’ve been having a growing number of students arrive at the uniform room on Fridays unprepared for Friday night games. Many students are regularly missing essential items like show shirts, black socks, gloves and marching shoes. To ensure everyone is prepared and to streamline our uniform operations, we are implementing a new three-strikes policy for missing items. Students will receive a verbal warning for the first two instances. A third missing item will result in a consequence determined by the band directors. We appreciate your partnership in helping our students stay organized, and look forward to seeing our students march with confidence and pride.

— Your Uniform Crew 🖤🧡

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