WINTER PARK BAND Weekly Newsletter

Dear Winter Park Band families,

Looking at the week ahead:

• 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.

Looking farther ahead on the Band Calendar:

• 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,

As we approach the end of Marching Season, I would like to thank every student and parent for all the work they've put in so far. We wouldn't be able to do it without everyone's support!

I hope to see you at Trunk or Treat on Tuesday after rehearsal. Students may wear costumes to rehearsal and siblings are invited to join the trick or treating. Please reach out with any questions or clarifications.

The Lucky Goat fundraiser is so close to reaching our band's goals, please use these last few days to close it out strong!

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

Hello Band Families!

Lucky Goat Fundraiser ends tomorrow, Monday, Oct. 26!

Send out your link one more time for all the procrastinators out there who are waiting for the rush of purchasing coffee and supporting your fundraiser just before the deadline!

Everyone has done so well in this fundraiser and as of Friday morning, we have raised $9050----that's 91% of our goal of $10K. We will send a Cut Time update after the fundraiser ends with the final total and profit distribution plans.

The leaderboard as of Friday morning:

Lucas Rodriguez $750

Landon Mullins $605

Yonica Scaife $405

Sage Negron $380

Lucas Gayle $365

Chick-fil-A Spirit Week ended yesterday- thanks for participating! We hope you got out with family and friends to enjoy some good food!

Robyn Fodor & Deanna Glidden

Fundraising Coordinators

wpbandfundraising@gmail.com

SOTW VOLUNTEERS - ALL HANDS ON DECK! MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!

What a WEEK! Our incredible uniform volunteers took on the HUGE task of transitioning our ENTIRE marching band into their BRAND-NEW uniforms! Sorting, organizing, relabeling, fitting students and tackling what seemed like endless uniform chaos!

When we called for ALL HANDS ON DECK, y'all really answered the call! You rearranged schedules, dedicated countless hours and worked tirelessly to make this happen.

A special shoutout to our amazing Uniform Chairs, Vanessa and Damaris, for leading this massive undertaking!

The BEST part? Our Sound of the Wildcats will officially debut their BRAND-NEW marching uniforms on SENIOR NIGHT, Friday, October 30! Behind every jacket, every fitting and every finishing touch is a volunteer who helped make that moment possible.

THANK YOU WILL NEVER BE ENOUGH!

SENIOR FAMILIES - YOU'RE AMAZING TOO! A special THANK YOU to our Senior Families who volunteered, came together and put all those finishing touches on our Senior Night celebrations! From pins and sashes to all the little details behind the scenes, your time, creativity and love are helping make this milestone unforgettable for our Seniors. It's hard to believe we're almost here!

Marching season doesn't slow down... HERE WE GO AGAIN!

FOOTBALL VOLUNTEERS - LET'S FINISH STRONG! We're heading into the final stretch of football season, including Senior Night on Friday, October 30! Come help us finish strong!

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 a favorite Wildcat tradition! Returning volunteers, we need 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

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