May 5, 2024 Band Notes

Upcoming Events  

Monday, May 6

• Winter Percussion 5:30-8:30pm
• Color Guard Parent Information Session 6:30-8:00pm; MMS Large Commons

Tuesday, May 7

• Marching Band Leadership Team Meeting 2:45-4:00pm; HS Band Room
• New Member Marching Band Clinic 7- 8:30pm; MMS Aux Gym (Details Below)

Wednesday, May 8

• Color Guard Spring Training; 6-9pm; MMS Arena

Saturday, May 11

• Percussion Ensemble Concert 2-3pm; HS Auditorium (Details Below)

Future planned events can be found on the updated band calendar: Mason Band Calendar

Parent To Do Checklist For This Week

1. 2024 Marching Band Students And Parents (Including Incoming Freshmen) Please review the additional next steps for Marching Band found at the bottom of the band notes. Note: The due date for the Final Forms related steps has been extended.
2. Sign up for a medication drop off time if your student needs medication during Mini Band Camp. (Details Below)
3. Graduating Seniors- Please click on the following link for instructions on submitting information for Social Media Shout Outs.

NEW INFORMATION

New Executive Committee Elected/Meeting Slides

Thank you to everyone who attended the Booster Meeting this past Tuesday. Slides from the meeting can be found HERE.

Congratulations to our newly elected Booster Executive Committee! We appreciate your willingness to serve the band in this important capacity for the 2024/2025 school year.

Executive Committee

• President-Andy Weiss
• Treasurer- Tabytha Lopez
• Recording Secretary/VP of Communications- Laura Minniear
• VP of Student Experience- Melissa Woodward
• VP of Marketing- Carrie Upchurch
• VP of Membership- Cassie Myers
• VP of Fundraising- Nancy Wagner
• VP of Travel- Tiffany Williams

Mental Health Awareness Month

May is Mental Health awareness month and it was also Jake’s birthday month! This year Jake would have been 25! The Langbein family would like to challenge everyone to donate $22 in honor of Jake’s birthday and his forever being 22. Mason Band is proud to be partnering with the Jake Langbein memorial fund to continue to promote mental health awareness and training for students and staff! For information on how you can help, go to https://www.masonbands.com/support-mason-band/jacob-langbein-memorial/

Please be sure and spread the word to alumni friends and family! Thank you to the Langbein family for your continued efforts to positively impact the students and staff in our program.

Students: Schedule Classic Uniform Fitting (Instrumentalists)

It is time for each musician to sign up to get fitted for their classic, black uniform. They will wear these uniforms until the new competition uniforms come in later in the season.  Students will also be fitted for shoes, gloves, and apollos.  Sign up links can be found below. Please be sure to sign up for a day that corresponds with your grade level. Fittings will be at the high school. 

Please wear tight fitting shorts, tank top, and socks to your fitting.  

Rising Sophomore, Junior, and Senior instrumentalists can sign up for a slot on any of the following days:

• Monday, May 6 - 5-8 pm
• Wednesday, May 8 - 5-8 pm
• Thursday, May 9 - 5-8 pm

Rising Freshman instrumentalists can sign up for a slot on:

• Saturday, May 11 - 10 am-1 pm

Note: Guard members do not need to sign up.

Sign up HERE or in the BoosterHub app.

Directions on how to sign up in BoosterHub can be found  HERE.

Please email uniforms@masonbandboosters.com with any questions.

Percussion Concert Information

This document has all of the information for the Percussion Ensemble concert on May 11th, featuring all of the concert band percussion sections and the MHS Winter Percussion ensemble: CLICK HERE FOR INFO DOCUMENT

BoosterHub FAQs

With the upcoming season getting under way and people using BoosterHub more regularly, we are getting some great questions, particularly on “volunteer” sign-ups. We recognize that BoosterHub is very different from Charms, so we are all going through a learning curve. Hopefully sharing information from questions we’ve gotten so far will help everyone.

1. Why don’t volunteer links take me directly to the event?

BoosterHub does not currently have a way to link directly to an event for volunteer sign-up, so all links are to the general volunteer page. You will need find the event you are signing up for once you are on that page or in that area of the mobile app. We recognize that this is currently a long list with the way BoosterHub displays it - we are looking into whether there is a way to make this more user-friendly.

2. Why are sign-ups a mix of students and parents?

Unlike in Charms, with BoosterHub, each parent has a separate login from their student. When signing up for a slot, the name of the person who was logging in is what will show on the slot. Thus, if a parent is signing their student up, the parent name will show. Same is true if a student signs their parent up for something - the student will show. Don’t worry, this is not a problem. If you have a different last name from the person you’re signing up, though, please put the person’s name in the comment field. 

3. Can I change my signup?

Yes! This is new with moving to BoosterHub - you can “unvolunteer” to remove yourself from a slot you previously signed up for as long as it is more than 24 hours out. After that you will need to email the event coordinator or BoosterHub admin to be removed.

4. If my student and I both are signing up, do I use two slots?

This depends. If you are just accompanying your student (e.g., freshman uniform fittings), or just signing up on their behalf, then no - you should only take one slot. If you are both volunteering for an event where students are eligible to volunteer as well, then yes - take two slots.

5. Why did I get a reminder for an event I didn’t sign up for?

It appears that BoosterHub reminders are for the event itself, and not tied to a sign-up. So reminders are sent to any members who are relevant based on tags (e.g., MB Brass 2024), regardless of whether you have volunteered. We are looking into options for this.

We greatly appreciate how patient and proactive everyone has been! Keep the questions coming - we are here to help!

Flower Sale Thank You

Thank you to everyone who helped make this year’s spring flower sale a success! We appreciate everyone who purchased flowers.

A HUGE shout-out to Regina Devassy for chairing the event this year. Also a BIG THANK YOU to the volunteers who helped with the sorting and distribution of the flowers on Saturday. It was very smooth, and all orders were picked-up!

Additional thanks go to:

• Kim Bishop and Carrie Upchurch, who helped with all the questions during planning.
• Gina Marshall for helping with the banner.
• Tiffany Williams covering anything needed and staying extra long for pick-ups.

Senior Photos - Save the Date!

Senior Photos this year will be the evening of Monday, June 3. Sign up at https://form.jotform.com/Masonbands/2024-20marching-band-senior-banners. 

Rising seniors–get ready for your larger-than-life close up! This means get your hair trimmed if you need it, consider carefully before any experimental makeovers, and do your best not to get sunburned the week before!

REMINDERS

Attention 2024-2025 Wind Symphony Students

This document is for Wind Symphony students for the 2024-2025 school year. Here you will find information regarding the end of this school year in preparation for next year. There are two main items addressed within the document. 

1. Completion of the All-State Etudes as our 2nd/Progress check audition.
2. Graduation Band (May 19th) - Required for next year’s Wind Symphony (except current 8th graders) 

Marching Band Clinics

NEW MEMBER MARCHING CLINICS

NEW MEMBER MARCHING CLINICS INFO DOC

BRASS/WOODWIND/COLOR GUARD MOVEMENT CLINICS

MOVEMENT CLINIC GUIDEBOOK 2024

Mini Band Camp Information

Mini Band Camp will be taking place June 3rd-7th. This is for all incoming Freshman through rising Seniors who will be in the Marching Band for the 2024 Season.

Schedule

• Monday, May 27, Memorial Day Parade (For current 9th-12th grade band members only)
  • 9 am Report Time
  • 10 am Parade
  • 11 am Done
• Monday, June 3rd - Friday, June 7th
  • Detailed schedule coming soon! 

Snack Donations Needed

Marching is hard work!  Please sign up to donate snack items to keep our hard working marchers energized! No time to shop?  That's OK, you can sign up to donate funds to be used to help purchase snacks for the band.  Items may be dropped off at the beginning of mini camp. 

Please sign up to donate HERE or go directly to the BoosterHub App. Please see the BOOSTERHUB GUIDE for directions on how to sign up to volunteer. (A link to make a monetary donation will be added to BoosterHub in the near future.)

Questions?- Please reach out to Melissa Woodward at vp-studentexperience @masonbandboosters.com

Medication for Mini Band Camp

All medication and DMS forms from the 2023/24 school year are considered valid until the end of Mini Camp on June 7, 2024. This means all medication previously turned in and still remaining with the band as well as approved OTC medication will be available for your student during Mini Camp. All medication from 2023-24 must be picked up by the end of Mini Camp or it will be discarded. 

Medication for Mini Band Camp may be dropped off on either Saturday, May 18th from 3-4pm or Wednesday, May 22nd from 7:00- 8:30pm. The Medical Secretary and Band Aid team will have a table set up inside the entrance of the Mason MIDDLE School ARENA ENTRANCE for medication drop-off. The care team will be able to answer any questions and walk you through any documentation needs to ensure that the medication needs for your student will be met this upcoming marching band season. Remember to upload all DMS forms HERE prior to bringing medication to check in. Please also carefully read the Policy and review all of the information about how we manage medication on MasonBands.com in advance. You will need to prepare your student’s medication with a completed med insert card placed in a ziploc bag with their medication following the instructions in our Medication Check-in Guide. 

Sign up HERE or go directly to the BoosterHub App to sign up for a time to drop off medication for your student. Directions on how to sign up in BoosterHub can be found  HERE. PLEASE NOTE: The button to sign up in BoosterHub says “volunteer”. Even though the green button says “volunteer”, the sign up is for dropping off medications. Unfortunately it says volunteer by default. 

If you have any questions or need to make an alternate drop off appointment, email medicalsecretary@masonbandboosters.com

Parent Information Session for Color Guard

All 2024 Marching Band parents are invited to join us for an optional informational session pertaining specifically to color guard. This will be a wonderful opportunity to have your questions regarding color guard answered by seasoned parents. The meeting will take place in the Middle School large commons on Monday, May 6th from 6:30-8:00pm. Performance Doors will be open for parents attending the meeting beginning at 6:15pm. Please park in the front lot of Mason Middle School.

2024 Senior Plans

Attention Seniors!! It's that time of year again...can you believe graduation is right around the corner?! These last few months of your high school career are exciting times! We would love for you to create a senior shoutout slide so our band family can celebrate you and your accomplishments! We're going to start posting senior slides in April. If you’d like, feel free to submit your slide now. If you’re still deciding, send it whenever you’re ready! We will be sharing slides beginning in April and will continue through graduation Please click here for instructions. Deadline extended to May 10th! Please submit as soon as possible.

Interested In Becoming A Band Aid or Chaperone?

Interested in learning more about how to join our Chaperone and Band Aid Team? If so, please go to the Chaperone & Band Aid Information page. There you will find the comprehensive steps required in order to join in the important role of caring for our students and details on what each role entails.

First Steps

• Both Returning Chaperones & Band Aids as well as new volunteers who are interested should complete the form below.
  • Band Aid Interest Form
• Chaperone & Band Aid Training
  • Tuesday, May 21st at 7pm in the High School Harvard Room

2024 Marching Band Next Steps 

Marching Band Registration Next Steps

• 2024 Registration Guide
• Past Due
  • Get registered in BoosterHub, our new student database
    • All invitations have been sent. Please accept the invitation ASAP to allow us time to troubleshoot if there is a problem. (More details above.)
    • BOOSTERHUB GUIDE
  • Pay Consumable Fee to Mason Band Boosters. Payment links are now available. Please check to be sure you use the correct link depending on whether your student is an instrumentalist or in the Guard.
    • 2024 Instrumentalist Consumables Form Link
    • 2024 Color Guard Consumables Form Link
  • Complete Student Care Forms:
    • HWBP: Health And Wellbeing Profile
    • SCP: Student Care Plan and Upload SCP Electronically
    • DMS: Dispensing Medication at School and Upload DMS Electronically
• Due June 1 (Extension due to district shutting down access to Final Forms until May 15th.)
  • Review, Complete, and Digitally Sign all forms in FINAL FORMS.
    • Mason City Schools 2024-2025 Health & Medical Forms
    • Field Trip Permission Form, Tag Day Agreement, and Marching Band Handbook Agreement
  • Upload a current Physical (PPE) to FINAL FORMS.
    • PPE Form
• Pay: $400 MB School Fee 2 to Mason City Schools via  EZPAY