newsletter
OCTOBER 26, 2025

Weekly Newsletter - OCTOBER 26, 2025

Sent 10/26/2025, 7:10 PM.

Wow - what a week.  I'm very proud of all the hard work the students put into this past week.

And of course, we could not do any of it without every single parent volunteer who showed up to chaperone, feed the kids, sell spiritwear, manage uniforms, hydrate, haul equipment...  What an amazing community we have!  Thanks to EVERY SINGLE ONE of you who helped get us through this very long week.

We are now in our FINAL WEEK of marching season...  I can't believe it!

And this is the last week of Spring Trip commitments!  Get those in by this Friday, 10/31!

Let's look at what I have for you.

What's in this newsletter?

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

• Spring Trip Commitment - Registration is now open!  The deadline to register is THIS FRIDAY - 10/31 - Register Today!

• Uniforms - A few things regarding uniform care

• Volunteer Opportunities - Take a look at all the volunteer opportunities, and consider helping where you can.

• And a word from Mr. Sayre - Important upcoming schedule information

This week in band...

Monday 10/27

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

Tuesday 10/28

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

Wednesday 10/29

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

Thursday 10/30

• Football Game vs. Atrisco Heritage (Home) @ Wilson Stadium - HALLOWEEN GAME/SENIOR NIGHT - Report Time: 4:45 PM in the band room.

Saturday 11/1

• Zia Marching Fiesta - Report Time: 9:00 AM in the band room.  See the details below in Mr. Sayre's section.  Here is the itinerary.

Now on to the details...

Spring Trip Commitment

Spring Trip registration closes THIS FRIDAY, 10/31.  See all the details on the trip, including the link to register, on the Spring Trip page.  If at all possible, please do not wait until the last minute to register - we are carefully looking at numbers and the sooner we can get commitments, the better.

Get those registrations in today!

Uniforms

A couple of notes regarding uniforms...

• In all the madness of October, uniform pieces can easily get mixed together.  Please take some time this week to look at your uniform parts and match them to the items that are assigned to you in Cut Time.  If you find extra pieces, or pieces that are not assigned to you in Cut Time, contact the uniforms chair at uniforms@eldorado.band, or see her before the game on Thursday to work out any issues.

• While you are looking at your uniform pieces, if you smell anything funky, please take the time to give your uniform a laundering.  Here is the link to the uniform guide for reference: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZizCA1TZzpUP57bjR0bL3SpR8WdTRiXd/view?usp=sharing
  Zia is a very long, sweaty, and smelly day.  You don't want to compound that with any smells that may have gathered from the past week.

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.  Remember, you need to have your unsupervised clearance to volunteer.

• Zia Chaperones: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0D48ADAA2DA1FB6-ziamarching#/ 

• Football Chaperones: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0D48ADAA2DA1FB6-football#/

• Football Spiritwear Helper: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0D48ADAA2DA1FB6-football2#/

• Hydration Volunteer: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080F4BA4AD23A4FE3-57908908-hydration#/

• Football Game Uniform Helper: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0D48ADAA2DA1FB6-58669471-uniform#/ 

Go Eagles!

JD

a word from Mr. Sayre...

Hello Eagle Band Community!

What a week we just had! Between our regular rehearsals, the APS Marching Performance Assessment, a Thursday football game, and the UNM Side-by-Side game—not to mention all the Homecoming activities—it was one of the busiest weeks of the year at Eldorado! Huge shoutout to all the students and parents for communicating in advance and balancing so many commitments with focus and flexibility. Every year presents new challenges, and this year we happened to have our busiest week's schedule intersect with many other busy schedules for athletics and activities on campus. 

Our UNM Side-by-Side game was spectacular. It was an eye-opening experience to see the full Division I football atmosphere and perform alongside such talented collegiate musicians.

Congratulations on earning an overall Superior rating at the APS Marching Performance Assessment! Out of three adjudicators, we received two Superior ratings and one Excellent. They highlighted many strengths in our performance and pointed out areas where we can improve upon or should be performing at a higher level.  We have and will use this feedback to direct our rehearsal priorities this last week of marching band.

A big thank you to the EHS volunteers who helped run the APS MArching Performance Assessment:

Anne Lacy, Allison Pendell Jones, Teri Mauldin, Lisa Berenberg, Robby Claspell, Ashley Dodd, and Julie March.

And a special shoutout to our seniors who helped also:

Luke Hollister, William McGlumphy, Rebecca Whiston, Andrew Shaw, Lexi Sadler, Dylan Dencklau, and Cameron Brooks.

A huge thanks to Shelby Cruver for organizing student check-out on Saturday—your help made a huge difference! We are fortunate to have such devoted parent volunteers that donate their personal time and energy to keep all of our students safe and accounted for.

And thank you to Juan Guzman, Clint Hobart, and Jeremy Dencklau for transporting trailers and equipment to our events last week.

Lastly, a big shout out to Anayeli Olivas, Lori Black, Heather Fitzgerald, Lori Van Note, and all our food, hydration, uniform, and pit crew volunteers for keeping the operation running smoothly. We could not do it without you.

Looking Ahead:

All-State Audition Recordings

Sign-ups for time slots are posted outside the band room. Please fill early slots first! I have hundreds of recordings to submit, so getting them done early will make the process smoother. Check Google Classroom for scale requirements and reminders.

Halloween Game – This Thursday!

Wear an appropriate costume and make sure you can still march and perform at halftime. Call time is 4:45 PM. This is our last regular season game of the year! If the football team continues into postseason play, we’ll share more details as soon as we know.

Zia Marching Band Fiesta

Here’s the itinerary: Zia Itinerary

This will be a long day, so plan ahead! As we learned last year, the weather can be very unpredictable—bring gear for any condition.

Please note: there will also be a New Mexico United soccer match that evening at Isotopes Park, so parking will be tight and tailgating will be happening nearby.

UNM Athletics—not the UNM Band Department—sets the stadium policies, parking fees, and entry rules. If anything seems confusing or inconvenient on Saturday, please know in almost all cases it is outside the control of the UNM Bands and you should direct any concerns to UNM Athletics.

This Week’s Rehearsal Schedule:

• Monday: Woodwind & Brass Sectionals, 4:00–5:00 PM

• Tuesday: Final Tuesday Evening Rehearsal! 4:00–6:00 PM

• Wednesday: Color Guard Class, 4:00–6:00 PM

• Thursday: Halloween Game vs Atrisco Heritage – Call time 4:45 PM

We’re in the home stretch, Eagles! Every ounce of work you’ve put in this season has led us here. Let’s make these final rehearsals and performances the strongest of the year. Keep your focus, play with confidence, and finish the season with the same pride and energy that got us this far. You make Eldorado proud!

Go Eagles!

Mr. Sayre