WINTER PERFORMANCES STARTED

Congrats to all the Black Guard and Indoor Drumline students!!! We really enjoyed their first performances of the season, and can't wait until they get to complete their shows. The Eval Show is just what the name says it is. Each unit performs twice for a panel of judges who then provide commentary to the unit directors on their first impressions, and give comments on how they would see the shows continue to develop. It also provides students an early opportunity to perform in front of an audience, so that their hard work over the winter break (which every unit does) receives some much needed positive reinforcement. The next show on the schedule, at Mesquite HS on Saturday Feb 6th, will be the first competitive show of the season for all of our groups, where scores will be given, and awards handed out.

UPCOMING EVENT

Saturday, Jan. 23: Drumline Carwashes   --RAIN OUT DATE TO BE JAN. 30TH--

• When:  9:00am – Noon
• Where:
  • Valero @ Val Vista & Guadalupe
  • Arby’s @ Gilbert Rd. & Guadalupe

ALL DRUMLINE STUDENTS ARE EXPECTED TO WORK ALL CARWASHES, UNLESS PREVIOUSLY CLEARED BY MR. HINSHAW.

• Parent volunteers NEEDED.  Please come out and support your student.
• Everyone should bring carwash supplies: towels, buckets, sponges, hoses, splitter, soap.
• 2 locations:
  • Valero @ Val Vista & Guadalupe:  Pit and Cymbal line
  • Arbys @ Gilbert Rd. & Guadalupe:  All battery except cymbal line

DRUMLINE

If you have gently used items that you would like to dispose of, we would appreciate the donation for the Drumline Garage Sale on Feb. 27th.  Please contact Julie Weber at jweber1988@gmail.com if you have any donations or would like to help work the garage sale.

• Drumline Uniform Fitting: Tuesday, Jan. 26th @ 5:15pm in the orchestra room. MANDATORY FOR ALL DRUMLINE MEMBERS!
• Drumline 9am – 9pm practice on March 6th – with lunch & dinner breaks

Please contact Tina Besthoff with any drumline related questions or if you would like to volunteer.

COLOR GUARD

The Highland competition on Jan. 30th has just been added for Black Guard Only.

Guard will be holding a winter garage sale to raise money for their Power Regionals Competition in San Diego, CA on Feb. 27th & 28th.  If you have gently used items that you would like to dispose of, we would appreciate the donation for the Guard Garage Sale on Jan. 30th, location not yet confirmed.

Please contact Dayna Sheets with any guard related questions or if you would like to volunteer.

IMPORTANT INFO

ALL students in the Winter Programs MUST have their winter fees PAID IN FULL by February 2, 2010 to continue in the program.  Uniform costs, including shoes and guard/drumline T- shirts are NOT part of the fees. Before receiving a uniform the total cost must be paid.

FUNDRAISING

The GHS Winter Show is coming up.  This is an indoor guard and drumline show that we host. This is our biggest winter fundraiser and we will need your help.  Please contact Sheri Pierce to let her know you would like to volunteer.  If there is a specific area you would like to volunteer in, please let her know.  All parents of students participating in the winter programs are expected to volunteer.  It is a great opportunity to come out and see some of the groups our kids compete against while helping out our guard and drumline as well.

Please sign up with http://onecause.com under Gilbert High School Bands.  This organization pays the band back a percentage of all money spent when items are purchased thru onecause.com or when you use the toolbar to search for items.  Please contact Carolyn Gieszl for more info so you can sign up.

GAME – GILBERT ADVOCATES FOR MUSIC EDUCATION

Visit GAME's website at http://www.gilbertmusicmatters.com to learn more about some important issues that may affect music education.  Gilbert Advocates for Music Education (GAME) is a parent advocacy group committed to promoting a joint effort between the parents, the schools, and the community to build on our tradition of quality music education. You can get in the GAME by e-mailing GAME@cox.net.
 

Also, I would like to offer a friendly reminder to sign up and "follow" our twitter account. All Students and Parents will want to have this account set up before Band Camp. I am using this new media forum to post announcements both formal and informal. When the band travels, you will see this as a necessary (and interesting!) way of keeping updated with all that the band is doing. Please note: you cannot reply/respond to the announcement page. This keeps all the information secure and coming directly from me!

twitter.com/GilbertHSBands

Learn more about Twitter, how to use it and why it's a "good thing" with these two free resourses:

    * A brief video, "Twitter in Plain English": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddO9idmax0o
    * A Twitter educational website with lots of information for beginners and experienced users: http://thetwitterschool.com
  
Mr. Libby, M.M.Ed.
Director of Bands
Gilbert High School