newsletter
August 10, 2025

Weekly Newsletter - august 10, 2025

Sent 8/10/2025, 4:15 PM.
Edited 8/10/2025, 6:15PM - Corrected Chaperone Meeting date to 8/21.

We are officially staring our first full week of school.  Seems right now like there is so much left to go, but it moves fast, so don't forget to take time to enjoy it.  Lot's of new scheduling this week being the first full week, so make sure you are aware of after school scheduling.

Also, we are in our LAST WEEK for our summer fundraiser.  We are nearly to $30K of our $45K goal - don't let up!  Let's finish strong.  This fundraiser is so incredibly important to our band program and it takes everyone doing their part to make it successful.  All the details are below.

Well, let's dig into to what I have for you this week.

What's in this newsletter?

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

• Chaperoning - Are you planning to, or thinking you might want to, chaperone this year?  Read this section.

• Fundraising - Our summer fundraiser is almost done - we are in our last week - 8/15 is the date, after which, student shared costs will be calculated

• Mattress Sale - Our annual mattress sale is coming.  Here are the details (see the Mattress Sale page)

• Spiritwear Need - We are still looking for someone to be in charge of spiritwear

• 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...

Monday 8/11

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

Tuesday 8/12

• 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM - Tuesday Rehearsal - Make sure you have a large water bottle - filled with water!

Wednesday 8/13

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

Thursday 8/14

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

Now on to the details...

Chaperoning

One of the most important volunteering opportunities in this band program is chaperoning.  These are the parent volunteers that are responsible for ensuring our band gets on and off buses, get to where they need to go, ensuring their needs are met, and everything happens safely.  It is truly one of the most rewarding ways for you to give of your time to this program, and the best part is, there are plenty of opportunities to participate!

If you are already planning to chaperone this season, or just thinking you might possibly want to chaperone this season, we are having a chaperone meeting on August 21st, from 6:00 - 7:30 PM at Mrs. Whiston's house.  This meeting will be both informational, as well as setting the expectations for all who are already planning to chaperone this season so we are all on the same page before our first football games.  While chaperoning requires an APS unsupervised clearance, please still feel free to attend even if you do not have yours yet - we will even help you initiate that process should you decide to do so.

The address is 4710 Cedarbrook Ct. NE, 87111.  I hope you are able to make it.

Fundraising

We have raised nearly $30K, but have a way to go to reach our target of $45K.

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 so the boosters can finalize operating budgets and student shared cost schedules.  While the Golden Booster donations are open all year, the sponsorship window closes on August 31st. 

Mattress Sale

Our annual mattress sale is officially launched.  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.  All the details are on our Mattress Sale page.

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!

Spiritwear Need

We are still very much in need of someone to step up to be our Spiritwear chair.  This can be one of the harder positions to fill because it comes with some unique requirements:

• Can NOT be an APS employee (same for helpers)

• Needs to be able to lift large bins full of swag (shirts, sweatshirts, etc)

• Needs to have a large vehicle capable of hauling 8+ large bins

• Willingness to be at most football games, but not necessarily able to see the game or the band

• Willingness to work with our supplier to order/resupply various spiritwear items

If this sounds like something you might have a passion for, please reach out to us at president@eldorado.band and secretary@eldorado.band and let us know.

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 - but we have some big ones coming soon.  Stay tuned!

Go Eagles!

JD

a word from Mr. Sayre...

Eagles,

This will be our first full week of the school year. It was great to see everyone last week and to jump right back into the work we began during Band Camp. This week, we start our afterschool sectionals and class times for most students.

This Week’s Schedule

• Monday, August 11 – After School sectionals for all woodwinds and brass with your section leaders. We’ll cover memorization, new music in the 3rd movement, and other items that will be determined by your section leader. Sectionals run from 4:00–5:00 PM every week unless otherwise communicated by Mr. Sayre.

Note for the following week: On Monday, August 18, sectionals will begin immediately after school and end by 4:45 PM due to a district music teachers’ planning meeting in the building.

• Tuesday, August 12 – First Full Band evening rehearsal at the marching field from 4:00–6:00 PM. Students must bring a large, full water bottle—this is part of your grade.  Plan for hot weather or rain! It's New Mexico so we'll probably get both in the same rehearsal.

• Wednesday, August 13 – Guard Class from 4:00–6:00 PM in M4 with the Guard Staff.

• Thursday, August 14 – Percussion Class from 4:00-6:00 PM with the Percussion Staff.

Looking Ahead

• Permission Forms – Even if you turned in the form distributed at the end of Band Camp, all students will need to submit the updated version. We’ve added events to the calendar and changed others since Band Camp, and we want our paperwork fully up to date. I apologize for the redundancy. 

• Friday, August 22 – First Home Football Game vs. Organ Mountain High School. This was added after the original schedule was sent out. We will perform at halftime and in the stands.

• Saturday, August 23 – March-A-Thon — the day after our first home football game. This event is a huge event for our community!  

Go Eagles!

Mr. Sayre