Seminole High School Band

Saturday, January 1st – 6:45am ET / 11:45am GMT

We have been told by a contact at the BBC that it will be streamed LIVE and it it will be promoted on their homepage from 11am GMT (6am Eastern Time) on New Year’s Day (45 minutes before the parade starts). To go to their homepage click here.

For more information about the parade go to their homepage here.

Hello Parents and Students,

This is general information about UCF events and what the compensation is for these events. Until January 1, 2011, the UCF event proceeds are all going to the band trip account. After January 1, this will be revisited.

The following are UCF events which need volunteers. Some are events that can be worked by students. Generally, beer events cannot be worked by students. However, we have been able to get permission for 1-2 students to work in the back (cooking, cleaning, putting out food) at beer events.

The UCF games MUST BE MANNED. We MUST fulfill our obligation to Football. UCF has given us our own concession for the football season and we do not want to lose it! I have noted where there are conflicts with other band events. For the marching festival conflicts, obviously the students will not be able to work. But we do need to fill our concession. 

Working a UCF event earns $25 per person working toward the student’s trip account. For example, if your student, John Smith, worked an event he would earn $25 in his trip account. If a parent worked with him, that would be another $25 into John’s account. If another parent, a friend, a grandparent, etc., worked, that would be another $25 per person. The student does not have to work to have his or her account credited. To work, a student must be 15 for football games, 16 for concerts.

These events are filled on a first come, first serve basis. The proceeds do NOT necessarily go to London. Some students want to build their trip accounts for other band trips. That is the idea! There may be another trip this year and there will definitely be trips in coming years. Kind of a painless way to build up the account.

Some UCF event earnings do not cover our commitment to you of $25 per person. However, some pay more – sometimes much more. This way, we fill our commitment to you and any overage will be distributed among the student accounts that have worked UCF events up to the end of December 2010.

Cherie Heckford
secretary@seminolehsband.org

“British Invasion”

Seminole High School Band

Charity Golf Tournament

Seminole High School Marching Band is taking their act across the “Big Pond” to London, England this year! These outstanding musicians have been personally invited to march in the Lord Mayor’s Silver Jubilee New Years Day Parade.

In order to help the students earn for their “7-Day British Invasion”, the SHS Band Parent Association will be hosting a Charity Golf Tournament on Saturday, September 11, 2010 at The Magnolia Plantation Golf Club on Markham Woods Road in Lake Mary. The PRE-PAID entry fee for the tournament is $100 per player or $400 for a foursome. There will be prizes for the longest drive, closest to the pin, raffles and of course, lunch after the tournament.

The tournament will start at 9:00 am sharp. Check-in will be from 7:30 until 8:30 and the driving range will be open early for those who wish to warm up (range balls provided as part of your entry fee).

This event offers band members 3 ways to earn towards their Trip of a Lifetime:

1. Ask your friends, family, neighbors and business associates to play! A student can earn $50 for EACH golfer they register.
2. Ask local businesses, friends, neighbors, etc. to be a Hole/Tee sponsor for just $100 donation. A sign will be placed at the tee box with the name of the person or company sponsoring the hole and a thank you note from the band. Approximately $75 will go to the student’s trip account for each hole/tee sponsorship sold.
3. Students will have the opportunity to earn additional money if they or their parents help with working the day of the tournament.

• Deadline for hole sponsors is August 30, 2010.
• Deadline for tournament play registration is September 9, 2010

You can enter the tournament by completing the registration form and dropping it off in the band office with appropriate entry fee or sponsorship fees attached (there will be an envelope next to the safe in Mr. Malcolm’s office for these registration forms)

OR

You can also mail your form and entry fee to Jill McAuley, 548 Avon Glade Place, Sanford, FL, 32771. Please make checks payable to “SHS BPA”. Questions can be emailed to Jill and Brian McAuley at bmjmhbz@att.net or call 407-920-7217.

In celebration of Best Buy Mobile’s milestone 100th store opening at Seminole Towne Center Mall, Justin Bieber shocked students when he appeared during an assembly on Thursday August 5th. Bieber’s appearance included a special presentation of a $5,000 donation on behalf of Best Buy and the GRAMMY Foundation to Seminole High School in support of the school’s music program. Read more here…

Even though it is March, the year is winding down and it will soon be time for new band leadership to be chosen. Every year towards the months of April and May, the drum majors host a camp that is held for anyone wishing to be a drum major, captain, or any other type of position. This year the camp will be on May 3rd, 4th, and 10th. The drum major audition is on May 11th. This camp is just not for potential drum majors, everyone who wants try for any position is encouraged to come. If you have any questions, feel free to ask Antwione Britt.

For those of you who missed it, we had an amazing concert on February 16.  See the finale of Journey Thru Jazz! The entire finale of this amazing concert is now posted on ShutterFly. So much talent that it fills THREE segments! Whether you attended the concert or wish you had, check out our Jazz Chiefs and the professionals.

The entire concert, including this finale is now available on DVD.  An audio CD of high-quality mastered tracks is also available at a discounted package price.  All funds benefit the SHS Band. Deadline for orders is next Monday, March 8th, send payment in with your student.  Order form.

As a group we have the opportunity to work at the UCF Arena to raise funds for your trip account. Normally these come to our attention very quickly and if you are on the e-mail list (subscribe here) you will be notified about them a few days before they occur. Some of the frequently asked questions are listed below. If you have other questions about these events you can contact Cherie Heckford at president@seminolehsband.org.

• Q: I this ALWAYS (unless otherwise stated) working in the concession stand (No walking up and down stairs)? A: Yes, always a concession stand unless advised otherwise.
• Q: Is this payment always $25 PER person working? A: Always $25 per person per event — regardless of length of event.
• Q: Are there also tips involved and shared amongst the group? A: Tips are involved and are distributed among the STUDENT accounts of the people working. If a parent works and the student did not, that portion of tips would go into the student’s trip account.
• Q: Can both a parent and their student work at the same event? A: In a lot of cases the answer is yes. However, if beer is being sold in the concession then the student must be 18 or older and that leaves out most students. The parent can still work the event without their student.
• Q: What is the required dress? A: At UCF in the arena it is black pants, black shoes, and a black visor. We have the visors. During football season, it will change to t-shirts (which we have) and visors. Pants become khaki.
• Q: Will you need to know how to count out change or run the register? A: Not everyone works the cash register. If someone has a challenge with this, DO NOT volunteer to work the register.
• Q: Is there heavy lifting involved (cases of food, soda, or beer)? A: Some moderately heavy lifting — we usually have a man or two who is capable and if not there are staff members who can help us.
• Q: Will you be on your feet with no opportunity to sit for long periods of time? A: If the event is a long one, we make sure everyone gets a quick break to rest their backs. Depends on the event and how busy we are as to whether smoke breaks are available. We try to work it out for everyone.
• Q: Do you have to pay for parking? Is there special parking for workers? A: UCF provides free parking.

Cherie will get an e-mail from UCF asking for us to work an event. She sends out an immediate e-mail asking for volunteers. First responders work. If we have the same people consistently responding first, she will change it up so everyone gets a chance.

We are working to acquire work at the Amway Arena. If we contract with them and they put us on the schedule we will let everyone know.

Hello and Happy New Year to everyone.  For those of you who were not around, we had an amazing concert last year taking us on a Journey Through Jazz.  This concert was a combination of our own Jazz Chiefs, some wonderfully talented professional jazz musicians, and some non-jazz students who were able to fill in some gaps (think Dixieland).  The evening was unforgettable.  I am very pleased to announce that we will again be privileged to bring to our auditorium the Journey Through Jazz concert for 2010.

Last year the professional musicians donated their time and talents and thoroughly enjoyed working with our students.  The students had a rare opportunity to perform on stage with professional musicians and learn from them.  The musicians promised last year to come back and they have kept their word!

So, please mark your calendars for an incredible evening of great music.  February 16, 2010, at 7:00 p.m. in our own auditorium.  All proceeds from this concert will benefit the entire Seminole High School Band.  This is not a fundraiser for the London trip; it is not for the Jazz Chiefs.  This is a way for some really wonderful professional musicians to pave the way for newcomers and benefit our music program.   We would ask that you spread the word to your family, friends, co-workers, strangers you meet, and anyone else you can think of.  You will truly be doing them a favor by inviting them to this concert.  The cost will be $10 for adults and $7 for Students/Children. There is a pre-order form available on the web site which you can access here. 

To give you some incentive, I am very grateful to Dr. Sonia Bhatia for getting a DVD of last year’s concert to SGTV, who will be airing last year’s concert this month.  Two dates I am aware of are Tuesday, January 5, at 2:00 p.m., and Friday, January 8, at 9:00 p.m.  Tune in and get a feel for what will go on this year.  I bet the musicians will outdo themselves! 

More information will follow, but don’t wait.  Make plans to join us on Tuesday, February 16.  We’ll see you there!

Cherie Heckford, President
Seminole High School Band Parent Association

There is now a London Trip page on the web site for you to find information about everything from what the london trip is all about to the payment schedule.  Visit: http://www.seminolehsband.org/London.aspx.

Parents and Students,

UCF is requesting 20 people to work two stands on Saturday, December 5 (this saturday) from 6 am to 6 pm.  These are both stands that will make a lot of money — one selling hot dogs, the other selling pizza.  On Sunday we sold about $5,000, these two stands should generate more.

I only have 2 responses for Saturday.  Your child does not have to work (parade is at 6) for you to work; your child can work without you if we have enough adults; if your child is in the pit, they do not have a conflict with the parade, and if you have friends who would work with you they would get the same credit for your child’s account as you do.  If we can’t staff these events, we will lose the UCF connection.  We have a basketball tournament coming up, the Rocketts, and the Harlem Globetrotters.  All should generate funds for the trip accounts.  Please help yourself by earning the funds for the kids!

Thank you so very much.

Cherie Heckford, President
Seminole High School Band Parent Association