newsletter
July 27, 2025

Weekly Newsletter - July 27, 2025

Sent 7/27/2025, 4:15 PM.

Another band camp is in the books.  And what a camp it was!  The show is already looking great - the amount of effort, focus, and work that went into the last couple weeks was very evident.  Congratulations everyone that made it happen - directors, staff, clinicians, and all the parent volunteers who handed out water and popsicles and distributed uniforms.  Thanks for making this such an amazing community to be a part of.

If you did not make the parent meeting yesterday, we certainly missed you.  I have attached the slideshow below for reference, but remember that the handbook is the BEST place to get your questions answered.

Also, our summer fundraiser is going great!  Keep those golden booster donations coming in, and get out into our community for those sponsorships.  Our target is $45K, but the more we raise, the less shared costs are distributed among the band families.

There is SOOO much to cover this week.  I apologize for the long newsletter, but please take the time to read through it all, as it is important that we all stay on the same page.

What's in this newsletter?

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

• Parent Meeting - Thanks to those that made it out to our annual parent meeting.  If you couldn't make it (or even if you did), this is a quick summary of what we discussed

• A Word From Our Uniform Chair - Our uniforms look AMAZING!  Thanks to all that helped distribute them this past week.  I have some words from our uniform chair.

• Yearbooks - Strange to be talking about yearbooks in July, but a great yearbook requires memories from start to finish.  I have a word from our yearbook chair.

• Fundraising - Our summer fundraiser is going well.  Keep up the good work!

• Mattress Sale - We launched our annual mattress sale yesterday.  Here are the details (see the Mattress Sale page)

• Volunteer Opportunities - all our current volunteer opportunities will be listed here throughout the season

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

This week in band...

Nothing is going on this week.  Enjoy the last few days of summer!

Now on to the details...

Parent Meeting

Our annual parent meeting is the best way to get some face-to-face time and talk about everything that you need to know regarding the band year.  It was great to see such a large crowd, but I know there are many that were not able to make it.

Everything discussed in the meeting is documented in the Band Handbook, so please make sure to always check there first if you have any questions about anything band-related.  I am attaching a link to the slideshow from yesterday for your reference, but keep in mind that it contains a snapshot of the information - it is subject to change during the year, and the handbook will be the place to receive those updates.  Also the slideshow contains high-level bullet points, not the depth or detail that is in the handbook.

Slideshow link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dIJ3SFrifWvwg3U8za5G3swM7Ao2fzOy/view?usp=sharing 

Here is a list of the topics we covered:

• Booster board member introduction

• Website/band handbook

• Cut Time/Band Store

• Volunteering

• Drop off/pickup policies

• Finances/student accounts/estimated budget

• Spring trip

• Activity fee

• Uniforms

• Committees and chairs 

We also had permission slips for band events available for signing.  Those need to be filled out and turned in as soon as possible, so if you were not in attendance, make sure you get one and have it turned in quickly.  And don't forget, freshmen parents, to also complete the PE waiver form (available on the Forms page).

Regarding the $25 activity fee due to APS for band class, stay tuned.  Mr. Sayre is looking to make that available online.  You can also pay by cash/check to Mr. Sayre once school starts.  Stay tuned for all the details.

A Word From Our Uniform Chair

I have some words from our uniform chair, Lori Van Note.

I wanted to give a BIG thank you to all the volunteers that helped with uniforms during band camp. I could not have done it with them. 

Also, it might be helpful to put a small piece of painters/masking tape inside of your hats and write your name on them.  This will help to make sure we don't get hat owners confused when we have to set them down, as we did during the parent showcase yesterday.

The printable uniform guide has been added to the band handbook.  For convenience, here is a direct link to the instructions.  It is suggested you print it out and refer to it directly when laundering the uniforms.

Uniform Guide link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZizCA1TZzpUP57bjR0bL3SpR8WdTRiXd/view?usp=sharing 

Yearbooks

Did you know that the band yearbook is a yearlong process? In fact, the band camp pages will be completely designed and finished within the next three weeks!  Now is a great time to email any band camp or parent performance pictures. 

You have a two week window; email your band camp pictures to yearbooks@eldorado.band. 

Fundraising

We have launched our summer fundraising campaign and are a little over 1 week in.  We've had over 200 donations and 3 sponsorships raising over $23K!  This is an excellent start, but we still have a long way to go to get to our goal, and lower those student shared costs down as low as possible.  We need everyone to spread the word to their friends, families, and communities.  Here is what we need you to do.

There are 2 ways to support us in this campaign - as individual donors (Golden Boosters) and as businesses (Sponsorships).  Again, we are looking to raise at least $45,000 during this campaign - if we can raise more, the student shared costs go down that much further!

For the Golden Boosters, we need you to ask your family, friends, co-workers, and others in your communities to see if they would like to support us.  You can simply send them to our website, the Golden Boosters page, and all the information on how to participate is there.  If everyone asks 10-20 people they know to help out, we should have no problems reaching our goal - and probably more!

We love partnering with our local businesses, so for Sponsorships, we simply need you to think of any businesses you frequent, businesses owned by family members, or any businesses that you think may simply want to support this band program, and bring/send them our sponsorship letter (link below).  The letter has all the information they need, and sends them to the website (the Sponsorships page) to participate.  Dentists/Orthodontists, realtors, mechanics, restaurants, music stores, construction/contractors - all good ideas.  We promote their businesses on our website and during our concerts, so it's a win-win for everyone.

Sponsorship Letter: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RmGsfQzd1pQrI98ocrdNnCKG67yJY5kT/view?usp=sharing

Last year, through this fundraiser, we were able to cut the student shared costs in HALF!  So please get out there over the next few weeks and help us raise the funds needed to run a program of this size.

The last day for Golden Booster and Sponsorship donations to count against the student shared costs is August 15th.  While the Golden Booster donations are open all year, the sponsorship window closes on August 31st. 

Mattress Sale

Our annual mattress sale kicked off yesterday.  This is a fundraiser we do every year, and does very well for us.  The best part is, it requires very little work from students and parents - our job is simply to get the word out.  Talk to coworkers, family, and friends, and just let them know the sale is happening - that's it!

The sale will be in the Eldorado Cafeteria on September 7th, from 10AM - 4PM.  If you were at the parent meeting, you received a packet with all the details, but I put those details on our Mattress Sale page as well.

So, talk to your community, share the Facebook event (here is the link: https://www.facebook.com/events/1839451783268477/), and help the band program raise funds!

Volunteer Opportunities

Here is a list of all our current volunteer opportunities.  You can also see these anytime on the Volunteering page of the website.

• No active volunteer signups - stay tuned!

Go Eagles!

JD

a word from Mr. Sayre...

Hello Eldorado Band Community,

Congratulations to all of our students on one of the best and most enjoyable band camps I’ve ever had the chance to be part of. The energy, focus, and musicianship you brought each day made this experience not only productive, but genuinely fun. The performance on Saturday morning was outstanding—and the crowd was the biggest I’ve ever seen at a Band Camp Showcase. You should all be incredibly proud.

A huge thank you to Angela Adcox, our Curriculum Assistant Principal, for attending the performance and supporting the band from the tower. She got the full bird’s-eye view of what we do and why it matters. Be sure to let our administration know how much we appreciate seeing them at our events—it makes a difference.

We also want to sincerely thank our Band Booster Organization and all the parents who supported us throughout camp. From water and popsicles to meals, equipment, clinicians, curriculum, and general coordination, they play a vital role in getting the year started strong. We couldn’t do nearly as much without them, and we are deeply grateful for everything they do.

Coming Up

Next Performance: Soar Day – Wednesday, August 6

• Call Time: 7:30 AM

• Dress: Jeans and your band show shirt (if it arrives in time)

Looking Ahead

Students, take this time to get some well-deserved rest. You've earned it.

We officially begin the school year on Thursday, August 7.

• Zero Hour call time is 7:40 AM on the marching field.

• Come ready to start the year strong!

• Practice your music if you have the chance. Practice will make retaining the information easier. 

Go Eagles!

Mr. Sayre