newsletter
August 25, 2024

Weekly Newsletter - AUGUST 25, 2024

Sent 8/25/2024, 7:29 PM.

What a great weekend we had.  The March-A-Thon was a resounding success - the students worked incredibly hard, and we had a ton of people come out to hear these students play.  All-in-all, we raised over $2000 for the band program from the generosity of our neighbors.  And afterward, we partnered with Slice Parlor to help raise even more.  Additional thanks to all the parent volunteers that helped out on Saturday - from watering the kids, directing traffic, providing snacks and goodie bags, and even scheduling our Slice Parlor fundraiser.  We truly have an amazing band community here at Eldorado.

Here is what I have for you this week...

What's in this newsletter?

Here's what I have for you all this week:

• Important Student Safety Notice - Please read

• Parental Reminders - some recurring reminders for things I need from parents and guardians

• Spring Trip Commitment - Spring trip commitment is open.  You need to register and pay the $250 non-refundable commitment fee by 9/15 - 3 WEEKS LEFT!

• Fundraising Updates - a number of upcoming fundraisers to get ready for, and update on our fundraising campaigns

• Student Accounts - performance fees and direct charges will be added to all student accounts this week

• Volunteer Opportunities - plenty of volunteer opportunities are open right now - take a look and consider grabbing a slot

• And a word from Mr. Sayre - always make time to read through this section

This week in band...

Monday 8/26

• 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM - Woodwind/Brass Sectionals

Tuesday 8/27

• 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM - Tuesday Rehearsal

Wednesday 8/28

• 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM - Color Guard Sectional

Thursday 8/29

• 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM - Percussion Sectionals

Saturday 8/31

• 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM - Car Wash Fundraiser - See the Car Wash for details

  • Morning Shift Call Time - 8:45 AM

  • Afternoon Shift Call Time - 11:15 AM

Now on to the details...

Important Student Safety Notice

If your student has any medical needs that require medication, even if it is only needed sporadically or in emergencies, PLEASE make sure they bring those items with them to all band events.  This includes any prescription medications, inhalers, epi-pens, etc.  They may provide these items to a chaperone, if necessary, but it is important that we have what they need should an issue arise.  Thanks in advance for your assistance with this matter.

Parental Reminders

I have a few small reminders and notes for all the band parents - we still have some outstanding needs from some of you - please take care of these items ASAP.

• If you have not yet done so, please sign the parent handbook acknowledgement form.  This form is available in your students Cut Time page (using the magic link sent from Cut Time) - scroll down to about the middle of the page to find the link.  Let me know if you are having any issues with this..

• If you have completed your Unsupervised Clearance process with APS, please do not forget to scan and email the clearance form they provide you to our VP, Robby Claspell at vicepresident@eldorado.band.  We want to keep track of all of our volunteers cleared for unsupervised access.

• Also, if you have not yet done so, please pay your $80 activity fee as soon as possible so we can fully fund the activity fund for our directors.  This fund is required by APS and pays for buses and other critical class elements, so it needs to be fully funded.  You can pay this here: https://eldorado-band-course-fee.cheddarup.com

Spring Trip Commitment

Spring trip commitment season is open.  If you plan to attend spring trip, please pay the $250 non-refundable commitment fee at the link below by 9/15 - 3 WEEKS LEFT!

Some things to remember regarding spring trip...

Spring Trip Commitment Link: https://ehsband-spring-trip-registration.cheddarup.com 

All the details are on the Spring Trip 2025 page.  If you have any specific spring trip questions, you can contact our trip coordinator JP at springtrip@eldorado.band.

Fundraising Updates

A great weekend for the March-A-Thon.  We raised over $2000 - a hugely successful event.  We have more on the way.  See below

We have the following fundraising events upcoming:

• • Fall Car Wash - coming on 8/31 (see the Car Wash page for details) - volunteer opportunities are available, see below - we still need a number of helpers for the 2nd shift

  • Mattress Sale - coming on 9/8 (see the Mattress Sale page for all the details - GET THE WORD OUT TODAY - ONLY 2 WEEKS LEFT!)

Student Accounts

Student accounts have been assigned appropriate fees in Cut Time.  Uniform direct charges, student performance fees, and spring trip balances (if applicable) are all live and assigned in the accounts.  You may begin paying down your student account balances.

These may not be the only fees assigned during the year - Jazz uniforms are forthcoming and any replacement/penalty fees may yet be assigned, if applicable.  The account balance is always available in Cut Time.

Don't forget, Cut Time provides the opportunity to "Share" the costs of these fees, if desired, with family or friends who might be willing to help out.  Use the share costs capability in Cut Time to take advantage of this capability.

One note - Cut Time automatically charges card processing fees.  We do not have the capability to turn this off.  While we prefer payment in Cut Time, as it simplifies the process and ensures the correct amount is assigned to the correct account, we understand that you may opt to pay by check to avoid those processing fees (NO CASH PAYMENTS PLEASE).  Know that if you choose to do this, it may take 1-2 weeks for those payments to be received and credited to your accounts.  Should you decide to do so, please make sure you make the check out to Eldorado Band Boosters, you denote somewhere the student name and that it is for their student account, and either drop it in the gray safe next to Mr. Sayre's office, or mail to us at:

Eldorado Band Boosters
PO Box 14424
Albuquerque, NM 87191-4424

If you have any questions regarding fees assigned, or if you believe the fees are incorrect, please let us know.

Volunteer Opportunities

Here are the current active signups available.  You can also always see any open volunteering opportunities on the Volunteering page.

• Fall Car Wash Volunteers: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0D48ADAA2DA1FB6-carwash1#/ 

• Hydration Volunteers: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080F4BA4AD23A4FE3-50748878-hydration#/ 

Have a great week!

Go Eagles!

JD

Now, a word from Mr. Sayre...

Greetings Eagle Band!

Great week 2! We had our first of many playing tests for Marching Band as well as our MARCH-A-THON.  Our supportive community is what allows us to do many of the things we do here at Eldorado High School and we are glad to put on a show for our neighbors.  Big thanks to the parents and volunteers that guided us along the way and provided waters and refreshments throughout the route.  Thanks to Mica Travers for the awesome gift bags given to the students at the end of the event.  

A few Eagle Accolades:

Most Improved Member: Addison Davis, freshman flute player, for her improvement in marching AND playing. 

Outstanding Student: Kieran Fejer for holding it down at March-A-Thon and pacing out the playing and marching for the band.  That was no easy task. Thank you!

Outstanding Section: Color Guard! You guys deserve it!  Thank you!

Coming up this week:

Permission forms are out.  Get it in as soon as possible.  A small updates on the dates: The football game on Thursday September 12 vs Los Lunas does not have an 8:00 AM call time but rather a 5:00 report time.  This was an oversight because originally the game was scheduled on the Saturday that week and the call time was for that day.  

Assembly on Thursday. Wear your band shirts.  Report time will be at 10:25 AM.  

Car Wash Saturday.  At the Firestone.  We will split the band into 2 groups - A and B - to split the day up.  Let the directors know if one of the shifts works better for you.  That information will go out on Tuesday.  Members are welcome to work the entire day for extra lettering points.  

Here is the plan for the week.  As usual the plan may change based on how we progress as a group.  

Please continue to report absences using the ABSENCE REQUEST and DOCUMENTATION form. 

Go Eagles!

Mr. Sayre