THE BUGLE
October 2002
From the
Director. . .
Congratulation to all on a
very successful start to our competitive season. We had the best band camp ever, a strong first performance at our
first football game and we have gained momentum with the high music award and
first place trophies for our Color Guard and Drum Major at the Simi Valley Days
Parade. Way to go everyone!!!
We now enter the performance
portion of the competitive field show season.
This is going to be a very exciting season for us. The feeling of pride and confidence comes
through in everything we do, whether it is a fundraiser, football game or
public performance. That is a huge improvement
for our organization.
As we begin the weekly grind
of Saturday tournaments, let us keep our focus on the overall goal of the Band
for this season, Grand National Championships, and pace ourselves and our
product week in and week out to put us in a position of constant confidence and
the understanding that we can do anything we set our minds to.
Remember:
If we settle for excellence
. . . that’s exactly what we will get.
If we settle for average . .
. that’s exactly what we will be.
LET’S PICK EXCELLENCE!!!
I am proud of all of the
students, staff and Boosters of this great organization. Keep up the great work and let’s make
history for our Band.
Mr. Martone
Speaking
of awards…
Awards are
given at every competition that we attend.
The awards are based on the guidelines set forth by the Western Bands
Association (WBA) in their Handbook.
The awards that they present at each event are as follows.
There are
four classes or categories that bands fall into : A, AA, AAA and AAAA. We are in the AAAA category. The Sweepstake
Award (the overall best band award) is given to the band with the highest
overall score in its class. This band is then removed from the its class and
the awards are as follows: 1st Place,
2nd Place and 3rd Place overall in the class.
Then there are awards for the component parts of the show. They are as follows: Best Music, Best Marching/Movement, Best
Effect, Best Percussion and Best Auxiliary (Color Guard). The scoring is done from the press box as
well as by judges on the field. Scores
are compiled in the various categories and a final score recorded. The scoring sheets are usually posted in the
Band Room the week after the competition for review. Mr. Martone will also go over the score sheets with students at
the event. For more information on
scoring check out the Western Band Association website, www.westernband.org.
Simi Valley Days
Parade Awards
The Band took away the Music Sweepstakes Award, 1st
Place Award for Color Guard and 1st Place Award for Drum Major, Dan
Loomis. Great showing for our first
time out this season. Congratulations
to everyone for a fine performance on a really hot day. Thanks too to all the families who cheered
us along on the route!
We have 11 bands participating, which is two more than
last year. Both Westlake and Newbury
Park are coming, making it a real community wide event.
Lots of hungry
spectators are the key to this event's fundraising success. Please encourage family and friends to
attend by spreading the word to everyone you know who loves instrumental music
or pageantry. All Conejo Valley Band
students get in free with a paying adult – no flyer necessary. (Limit of two
students per paying adult.) Ticket costs are:
Adults $9, Kids 6-12 $5, 5 and under free. The Opening Ceremony is scheduled for 4:30. The Lancers will perform last at
approximately 8:15.
· Outdoor, three prong extension cords?
· Clip on utility lights?
· Pop-up canopies?
· Banquet tables?
Call Betsy Connolly now and tell her what and how
many. Please securely label all items.
Drop off on Friday October 11 in Band Room or make other arrangements with
Betsy.
Our Tournament volunteer coordinators, Gloria Paul
and Jane Zehnder, are calling Band families and assigning duties. If you have not yet received your call,
don't wait! Call Jane,
or
Gloria. No matter what your family
obligations on the day of the event we still need your help. We need volunteers for errand running and
office work on Friday. There are
morning setup and late night cleanup shifts to fill.
Event day volunteers receive a personalized name badge
when they check-in to room H-2. The
badge entitles the volunteer to free entry into the spectator stands. If your shift is later in the day, you can
stop by for your badge whenever you arrive as a spectator. Just return to the volunteer room to sign in
prior to your shift.
As a small token of our thanks and to keep you
energized, the volunteer check-in staff will be serving a variety of foods and
beverages throughout the day.
President’s Corner
Dear Booster Families,
Thank you to those of you who attended the Booster Meeting in September. The first meeting is usually longer due to the budget discussions and the presentation of all the information that is necessary at the beginning of the season. I thank you for your patience and support. I had made a statement at the beginning of the meeting that I would like to share with those of you who were not able to attend. The portion in italics is something I heard recently and it meant a lot to me and I wanted to share it with you. It is just a little something to think about.
“As you know, we all have choices in this world. Your students have chosen to belong to this program. It is not mandatory; it is not required by the school. You, as parents, all have the choice to fully support our band director and participate in this program or only drop your student off at the curb. I heard a great talk the other night where the speaker said that it’s sad when sometimes people choose to live in this negative, pessimistic box. They are unable to see outside the box and view the whole picture. View what is good for the whole group and not for the one individual. They are missing out on the great possibilities that are out there for all of us.
“This program offers great possibilities for our students and for their parents if they are willing to see outside the box. This program offers students positive leadership, values, the ability to make good decisions, it teaches them to think for themselves and to think outside the box, it encourages teamwork, friendship, the importance of community involvement, school spirit, and yes, music and performance art.
“We, as parents, are all volunteers doing the best job that we can for this program. We realize it’s a big commitment both financially and of your time. A little advice, if you find yourself getting upset or irritated, please remember, we are all doing this for our kids not for our own egos. It’s not life or death, it’s just Band and it’s suppose to be fun. We have had many fun, successful events thus far. We thank everyone for participating and making them fun.”
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the many alumni who continue to love and support this program. You still attend and help at our events, fundraisers and performances. Thank you to the Friedmans, McClellans, Buczynskis, Cabrals, Bronsons, Cleavers, Chotiners, Simpsons, Lees, Lorentsons, DeGennaros, Fargotsteins, Harts, Marshall, Solomon, Summerfield and many more.
This past month Mr. Martone and some of our students had the opportunity to perform and provide instrument demonstrations at music assemblies at area elementary schools. This is a program that Mr. Martone is proud to have developed with the area music teachers. It allows our students to come full circle and become great mentors. It was so exciting to see the fourth and fifth grade students watch with such enthusiasm and admiration of their older peers. Thank you to the parents who provided transportation for our students. We hope to see many of those younger students become part of the TOHS Lancer Band and Color Guard in the not too distant future.
We are in full swing with fundraisers, performances and competitions. Please read this Bugle from front to back so you don’t miss a thing! Thank you to Gail Williamson for continuing to provide us with this awesome newsletter every month.
Musically yours,
Lynne Phillips
THANK YOUS AND KUDOS
Pasta Dinner was Delicious
Thanks to the help of our wonderful kitchen staff
who prepared the meal: Jeanne
Lenoir, Bruce Douglass, Bill Cole, Roy Hauger and Chris Soltow. But we would
not have had the great food had it not been for the efforts of alum mom Kay
DeGennaro and alum Jeremiah. Kay
was sick during the week but was still able to supervise the preparation of the
sauce, Jeremiah stayed with the cooks
until everything was finished to make sure mom’s recipe was cooked to
perfection. Thanks for your continued
support of our program.
The decorations were beautiful and everyone
commented on the great covering on the tables.
Thanks to the Hilf and Burns families and Sandee Tischler,
Sally Benson, and Jane Zehnder who endured the heat of the day to make the
room look fabulous. Thanks also go to Bharati
Savla for making sure the serving and kitchen ran smoothly. Melody Fouse, as usual, did an
outstanding job of organizing this event.
Not to be out done by their parents, our students
put in some outstanding performances. Lynne
Stokell MC’ed an evening of musical fun as she introduced our talented
performers. They were: Jason Paul, Brian Crawford, Stacy Hecht, Anna
Zehnder, Shannon Fouse, Amanda Phillips, Gabe Dulek, Lucas Nishimoto and Jon
Russell and last but not least we were excited to have a new freshman, Jeanine
Eyre, perform a duet with her grandpa, John Eyre.
The
students who waited table were especially courteous and attentive. Good job to all!
Thanks also go out to the area businesses that
supported our event: Agoura Flowers,
Etc. provided the flowers for the centerpieces, Lampost Pizza of
Newbury Park donated the lettuce and the bread and desserts was contributed by Champagne
Bakery.
It truly was a great night of entertainment and
relaxation. Thanks again to everyone
who made the event a success.
Janss Car Wash
Thanks go to
Steve Miley and Jeff Hoffman for their generous donation of hotdogs and sodas
at the Janss Car Wash on September 14.
They supplied all the food and stayed around to grill for us. This really helped boost our fundraising
efforts that day. Thanks again for your
generosity and support.
Much
appreciated was everyone who worked that day and provided baked goods for the
bake sale. Over seventy of our families
were involved. We raised over $1700 and
were able to expose our program to the community.
As always we
must thank our great student performers who entertained throughout the
day: Don Chiurazzi, Jason Paul, Janette
Liu, Liz Engler, Gabe Dulek, Zack Stokell, David Feldman, Steven Sun, Amanda
Phillips, Shannon Fouse, Tori Wood, Pamma Tahan, and Katy Hauger.
Thanks to Shari
Smith who went above and beyond the call of duty to organize this event. Thanks again to the Ventura County Professional Firefighters
Association and the Janss Car Wash for their support of the Lancer Band.
Jill Savla Earns Congressional
Award
On September 27 Jill received the Congressional
Award for our nation’s youth at a ceremony at the Gene Autry Museum. Jill is the first woman in California to
have this honor bestowed on her and the fourth person ever in California’s
history. The award was based on setting
and achieving individual goals in four areas:
personal development, volunteer public service, physical fitness, and
expedition/exploration. Jill spent over
2000 hours working to meet the requirements for this award. We are so proud that she is part of our
Band family. Congratulations, Jill, on
this once in a lifetime achievement!!
We keep driving on the
“Road to Indy”
By now you should have received a Band Account
statement. Please do your best to make
your payments as soon as possible. The
final payment should be made to the Band Office by October 15. The final payment of over $136,000 is due to
the travel agent shortly thereafter. So
far we have only about half of that collected.
Remember we do take credit cards as payment. Scott Fouse has all the latest info on your student savings
account figures (AdBook sales have been credited to your account) so call him
if you are uncertain of the amounts available for your use.
This is a very special opportunity for our students
as they participate in a national championship event. Please do your part to uphold the commitment you made last spring
when you signed your financial agreement.
Color Guard Thanks
The Color Guard girls would like to extend a big
thanks to all the parents who have helped them so much so far this season. A big thank you goes to Erin McPherson,
Laura Rodriguez, Francesca Stipicevic and Margie Vandezande for helping sew the
flags for the fall show. The girls’
make-up is a big part of their costume, thanks to Erin McPherson, Ivy Reid,
Francesca Stipicevic and Sarah Barukh for helping the girls with this and
general prepping. And thanks also to Renee Fleming for arranging the donation
of make-up. And last but not least we
thank the Hilfs for painting our poles and sabres. Your help and support means so much!!
Chaperone Time
Listed below are the chaperones for the trip. Please notify the Band Office of any special
needs your child may have while we are away and we will make their chaperone
aware of the situation. Please thank
these people when you see them for taking the time to travel with us.
Kelly Pinkowski, Donna Chiurazzi, Julie Lindberg,
Judy Hightower, Gloria Paul, Bharati Savla, Bill Cole, Gregg Stokell, Cathy Philipp,
Theresa Luna, Gail Williamson, Gari Ann Douglass, Diane Folsom, Dorothy
Hatfield, Naomi Burns, Edith Hauger, Lori Crosse, Cheryl Pavell, Linda
Heckendorf, Jeff Hoffman, Stephen Scheck, Tim Bernstein, Irv Hilf, Vivian Hilf,
George Davies, Shari Smith and Lynne Phillips.
SAN DIEGO—We still need a few chaperones for the
following weekend, November 22-24, when we travel to San Diego. This will be the seniors final performance
and the state championships.
Take your best shots and share them in this year’s AdBook!
We need pictures of:
~Spring 2002: Concert Season for Band, Color Guard &
Drumline, Conejo Valley Days Parade
~Summer 2002: Band Camp, City Work Day, Freshman Kidnap,
Family Night
~Fall 2002: Simi Valley Day Parade, Field Show Competitions,
Home Football Games and WBA TOHS Field Tournament
Please call
Cathy Philipp to make arrangements for sharing photos. Thanks!
Donate to the Band through
The United Way
Joanne Ragnarsson, Drumline Vice
President, recently brought to our attention that United Way will direct
contributions made in the work place to the TOHS Lancer Band and Color
Guard. This would be especially great
if your employer has a matching gift program.
Make sure you check with your Human Resources Department this year when
it is time to enroll in United Way campaign.
Corporate Sponsorships Sought
We are looking for local community sponsors to
support us financially in our trip to Bands of America. This would be a great community relations
tool for the sponsoring company. If
your employer is in a position to offer such sponsorship, talk with Lynne
Phillips. She has corporate sponsorship packets that explain all the details of
our program and what corporate sponsorship means to us and to the business.
Just a Reminder…
Field show performance
protocol asks that we help maintain QUIET by limiting talking and movement in
the spectator’s side of the stadium during the performances. Please encourage
your band family to show respect for every band performing on the field. This applies to our own event on October 12
as well as when we travel to tournaments throughout the area.
4:30 - 9:00 p.m.
TOHS Football Stadium
Bands from around the Southland will perform, combining elaborate marching patterns and entertaining music. Enjoy seeing our local high school bands perform their competitive field shows.
*Newbury
Park High School * * Westlake High School *
*Thousand
Oaks High School *
Seating
General Admission-$9,
children under 13-$5, children under 5 are free. Up to two
elementary or middle school
band students will be admitted free with each paying adult.
An abundant selection of food
and drinks will be available at the concession stands.
Uniform/Prep Info
All our students deserve a big thank you for their
great attitude and spirit of cooperation as we have prepped them for our
events. They have been excellent and not
wearing jewelry, make-up and nail polish has made the preppers jobs ever so
much easier. Thanks a million and keep
up the good work.
One item of note, long hair must be put up and
totally concealed under the shako. We
suggest that the girls try French braids in their hair (talk to Toni Fisher she
is our resident expert); it goes up very neatly that way and still looks good
when the shakos come off. For our
gentlemen with long hair, please realize they will be subject to the same rules
for hair as the girls. It must all be
up and if it requires a pantyhose top they will need to wear it. Please work with your student so that they
are able to have their hair ready for the preppers. The preppers do not have time to do each individual students hair
at every event. Thank you again ahead
of time for your help with this small matter.
PSAT UPDATE
All students in Band who have signed up to take the
PSAT will be able to take it on Saturday, October 19 as originally
scheduled. We will not be leaving for
the Simi Valley High School Field Tournament until after the test that afternoon.
Again, Band students do not need to sign up for the
alternate date.
INDY UPDATE —
November 13-17
PACKING LIST
Start planning now for the
items that your student will need for the trip to Indianapolis. Listed below are the things they should
include when packing:
~Alternate shirt, black
pants, alternate jacket or letterman
~Black marching shoes and
black socks
~Undergarments– we suggest
long underwear and warm pant
~T-shirts - black, you may
want two of these
~Sweatshirts or sweaters
~Warm jacket as we will be
outdoors for practice on Thursday and Friday
~Hats - knit and alternate
baseball hat
~Scarves and gloves may come
in very handy-especially the gloves.~Comfortable shoes/boots - it may be cold
and damp outside, remember we are marching two days outside
~Warmers - little packets
you buy in a ski store for cold weather -for gloves and shoes at least two each
for hands and two for feet
~Rain gear just in case -
umbrellas, waterproof jackets
~Socks - lots of them
It will be very important to
layer while we are there. Better to
have too many layers and take off one than to be cold. It will be dropping to 32 degrees at night. It will be cold! Questions? Call Shari
Smith.
AdBook Need Your Help
AdBook editor Cathy Philipp has
everything formatted and ready to go.
All she needs now is a few good readers. She needs people who can come in and proof all the copy of all
the ad. This is a very critical step in
the production of the AdBook. In order
to maintain the quality of past AdBooks we need YOU!
Please call Cathy if you can spare a
few hours to help with this one time project.
Upcoming
Fundraisers to Benefit Your Student Account...
Great Kards go on sale October 14. Great Kards are credit card sized cards that have
discounts for 18 area businesses on the back of the card. The card is good for the entire year and can
be used as often as your like. The cost
of the card is still just $10. For the
first five cards your students sells $2 is credited to his student
account. After selling five cards, any
additional sales will bring $4.50 to his account. Cards will be available for pickup after marching practice
October 14-19. So have your student
stop by and pick up a few to sell to family and friends. Call Jane Cooperman or Melody Fouse with
questions. Supply is limited this year
so hurry and get your cards now!!
Evergreen Wreath Sale - Our last fundraiser of 2002 is a new one and
we are so excited about it! We will be
selling evergreen wreaths, centerpieces, live tabletop trees and holiday door
shags. The 25 inch wreaths will be
priced at $20 and are very attractive with a red velvet bow and pinecones with
red bells. The other items are priced
from $20-$25. An added bonus is that
for an small additional charge, the items can be shipped to friends and family
for the holidays. This is a student
fundraiser, of course, and your student account will be credited for $4 for
each item sold. These evergreens are
just gorgeous! Brochures will be
available beginning October 14 after marching practice. We will also have orders forms available at
the next Booster meeting, October 15. Orders are due by October 30 so
that they can be placed in time for holiday delivery. Call Sandy Fisher or Melody Fouse for more details.
Senior Circle
Attention Senior Parents:
The WBA Championships in San Diego
will be our senior class’ final field performance. On Saturday, November 23 after the competition, we will celebrate
with the traditional Senior Circle.
Small gifts will be given as a token of our appreciation for the years
of hard work and dedication our students have shown to the Band. It is a very emotional and heart warming
experience not to be missed. We hope
all senior parents can attend. Call
Pauline Pancake, Donna Chiurazzi, or
Bharati Savla with any questions. Mark
your calendars now!!
October 6—Rockwell
Picnic Fundraiser
To everyone who has volunteered to help at this event
THANK YOU!
The picnic will be held this Sunday,
October 6, from 10am-4pm at the Conejo Creek Park-Lakeside Pavilion, located
behind the library off of Janss Road.
Please wear your alternate shirt or Booster shirt and black shorts or
pants. Please be on time, we are
paid based on the entire staff being there at the assigned time. We will be responsible for running game
booths, preparing and serving food items, serving snack items, supervising
children’s activities and running sports tournaments.
Don’t bring any personal items with
you that day, there will be no place to store them. No children younger than 14 may be present at the work site
that day. Don’t forget your winning
Lancer attitude!!
If an emergency arises that day and you are unable to
fulfill your assignment, please call Shari Smith on her cell.
Roster Update
Everyone should have received the newest roster by
now. If not, please call Gail
Williamson. Any corrections or changes,
call Lori Crosse.
SAVE THAT DATE
Saturday, October 5
San Marcos Field Tournament
Saturday, October 12
TOHS WBA Field Tournament
Monday, October 14
Great Kards on Sale
Wreath Order Forms Available
Tuesday, October 15
Booster Meeting, 7:30pm
Subway Night
Saturday, October 19
Simi Valley Field Tournament
Friday, October 25
Home Football Game, 7pm
Saturday, October 26
Valley View Field Tournament
Friday, November 1
No School
Homecoming Performance
Thursday, November 7
Baja Fresh Restaurant Night
Friday, November 8
Home Football Game, 7pm
Saturday, November 9
MANDATORY
ALL DAY REHEARSAL
PACKING FOR BOA
November 13-17
Indianapolis Indiana
Bands of America
Items of
Note
Please keep us informed of
any honors or special achievements your student attains during the year. We love to share their good fortune with
everyone in Band.
Band Hotline
805-435-4331
As we begin traveling this
weekend we will have the Hotline available the entire time we are gone. You can call the Hotline anytime during the
day and find out the latest update on our scores and estimated arrival time
back at the school. Voice mail provide by Adelphia Page Time.