New Band Parent 101

High School Band resembles club-level youth soccer more than middle school band. With two weeks of summer band camp followed by 3 practice days after school and weekly (or twice weekly) performances during the fall marching season. The band attends and performs at all football games and will have competitions on 3 or 4 Saturdays as well as a few parades throughout the year. Like club sports, we eat, sleep and breathe marching band during our season from August to November. It is intense, but rewarding for the whole family. 

The band calendar lives on the “Calendar” tab. The band directors and boosters keep this updated with rehearsal times, performance and contest date and times, Parades, concerts, booster meetings and fundraisers. Sync it to your calendar, print it out and hang it on your fridge, however you like to manage things. Check it weekly! It is your guiding star! 

When the calendar says rehearsal ends at say, 7:00 this means that the band will stop rehearsing at 7:00.  Then it generally takes at least 10 minutes for the students to get back to the band hall put away their instrument and head out to be picked up.  If you have a percussionist it may take longer.  Expect to be a bit flexible.  If you show up at 6:50 you may be waiting up to half an hour for your student to be ready to go.  

There are also times, often just prior to competitions, when the band is soooo close to finishing a section on the practice field and will rehearse for 5 minutes longer than end time to complete the sequence.  The band directors try to be respectful of your time, but just expect that 7:00 rehearsal end does not mean your child will be walking to the car at 7:01.  

When you pick up your student from rehearsals, you should either park in the guest parking lot in front of the school or use the drive up lane in front of the school.  Please don't use the bus lane.  The band crosses back and forth at the bus lane to get in and out of the band hall.  They have instruments, water bottles and sometime large, heavy equipment and having cars driving in that lane is a danger to them.  Please keep the bus lane free of cars and do your pick-ups out front.  

Marching Season: All band students and color guard are in the marching band and begin rehearsing in July. Games start in August and generally end before Thanksgiving – unless the football team goes into playoffs. In addition to games, the marching band plays pep-rallys and attends marching competitions and parades.

• Marching Eligibility: Students must have required forms turned in and be academically eligible as defined by the "No Pass, No Play" law. They must attend rehearsal regularly and communicate expected and unexpected absences with the band directors.  

• Primary Marchers: Assigned to one of the permanent positions in the show which are performed at every game and contest.  Assignments are made by assessing student performance level, attendance, and eligibility.  

• Alternates/Shadows: Alternates have a temporary position in an alternate block or as a "Shadow" of a primary. Directors assess and move students to primary as needed. Alternates attend games and contests with the band.  Students who do not or cannot attend summer band camp often begin the season as an alternate.

Concert Season: Once football games are over, the band begins concert season in which they play in either the Symphonic Band (JV) or the Wind Ensemble (Varsity). Both bands and the color guard will perform in a Holiday Concert and a Spring Concert and the bands will also compete in UIL Concert and Sight-Reading competition in the spring.

Full Orchestra: The Wind Ensemble combines with the Varsity Orchestra to make the Full Orchestra. They perform together for a Veterans Day Concert in November and compete in the Full Orchestra UIL and Sight-Reading competition in the Spring.

Color Guard/Winter Guard: Our visual performance team which uses various equipment, including flags, rifles, and sabres, along with dance, to enhance the music of the marching band show. During marching band competitions, the guard adds to the overall score of the band and is also judged in a category usually called auxiliary. After marching season the winter guard competes and performs in an indoor gym setting.

The Battery: The percussionists who march on the field with Snare Drums, Tenors and Bass Drums.

Bibs: The overall-style pants of the marching uniform.

Dinkles: The brand of marching shoes the kids wear is Dinkles; a shoe company that has been making marching shoes since 1940. So now you will know what it means when you hear the kids asking you, "Mom, where are my Dinkles?"

The Drill: The steps and positions that make up the Marching Band show is called the drill. If it were a musical, we'd call this choreography.

Drum Major(s): Student conductor(s) who direct the marching band as it plays. They also take a leadership role in the governing of the band. Their uniform is grey/blue instead of red/blue.

Pass-Offs: During marching season students will memorize quite a bit of music such as the fight song and the marching show music. This is a major effort that is split up into sections to make it easier. Each section of music will have a due date and your student will need to “pass-off” their music either to a section leader, a director or in the SmartMusic application.

The Pit/Front Ensemble: the stationary percussion instruments positioned along the front sidelines and the students who play them. These instruments include marimbas, tympani, electric piano/synthesizers, and misc. cymbals and other hand-held percussion instruments.

Shako: The hat worn by the marching band. Our shako is a visor-style that has a separate decorative wrap that must be velcro'd on. The wrap and the plume are assembled just prior to the half-time show. They do not wear them in the stands at games.

Plumes: Feather adornment worn on the Shako with the marching band uniform.

Sectionals: A practice or rehearsal by only a section of instruments.

Tech Shirts: These are red or black dry-fit t-shirts with the band logo printed on them.  They are worn at pep rallys and under marching uniforms. 

Weskit: The vest portion of the marching uniform.

BoosterHub: We manage our volunteer communication and sign up using BoosterHub. Please register for your account here.  BoosterHub is a desktop website and also has an app for you to download to your phone. We use the chat function on the ap to communicate vital info such as reminders about upcoming events and real-time information such as scores at contests and what time the bus is expected back to the school on game night. 

Charms: Band fees are paid through charms.  You can pay all at once or set up a payment plan.  You will receive information from the Band Directors on how and when to set up your account.

SmartMusic: Students and directors use this web-based suite of interactive music education tools and digital music library. Many of the student’s graded music assignments will be turned in using this application.

SMORE: This is the newsletter application that we use all year. We generally publish each Sunday evening with the upcoming week's events, recaps of the prior week, and upcoming volunteer needs. We send this out to an email list. If you are not receiving it, but would like to email Evbandpres@gmail.com to be added.

UDB App: Students will download the Ultimate Drill Book app to their phone or device. This interactive app will contain the specific movements for each student and will animate the movement and trajectory on the screen for each move assigned to each student for the entire show.

As a parent or guardian of a Patriot Band student, you are already a member of the EVPB Booster Club! The Boosters support the band as a whole in many ways. Your time and varied talents are critical to the success of this band. There are many opportunities, fitting a broad range of talents. Your gift of time, whether big or small, is a much-needed gift throughout the school year. Fill out our interest form here to let us know what you would like to help with!

Pit Crew: The team of parent volunteers who help bring the pit/front ensemble instruments and equipment such as speakers, generator, and drum major podiums into place on the sidelines for each halftime performance and marching competition. 10 to 15 volunteers are needed for each game and marching competition. This is a fun group and training is provided!

Chaperones: Travel to and from each game and competition on the busses with the band. Duties include taking roll and managing meals/snacks for your assigned bus, sitting with the band in the stands and helping distribute hats and plumes before the half-time show.

Field Prop Crew: Sometimes the marching show includes large props that need to be placed on the field as the band sets up the show. Often Chaperones and/or Pit Crew members help with this task.

Event Planning: There will be many opportunities to help us plan summer band treats, holiday parties, banquets and more.

Sponsorship and Fundrasing: Are you outgoing? Connected in the community? Own or manage a business? We are always looking for boosters who can help us canvas businesses, make phone calls to write emails to get the word out about our sponsorship and fundraising activities.

Flag Delivery/Pick-up: Help with our Flag subscription service for patriotic holidays throughout the year. Students and/or Parents place a 3’ x 5’ American Flag in subscribers yards and pick them up after the holiday.  We need volunteers with vehicles capable of carrying a 9 foot flag. Trucks, Minivans, small SUV's and even some sedans with folding seats will work.

Prop Build Crew: Help build and create props for the marching show.  No experience with tools or building necessary, but if you have these skills we do need you!

Uniform Fitting: We will have a fitting day in August for the whole band.  Sewing expertise not required, but if you can sew and have a machine we need you.

Truck Driving:  Class A CDL drivers needed! We have about 20 events a year that require us to bring our equipment trailer. The more volunteer drivers we have, the better. If you don't have a Class A license and would like to help, the process of getting a CDL is free, it just requires passing a written test and then a driving test.

Before you are cleared to volunteer for the band, GISD requires you go here to submit your once-yearly background check.  Once you get results (within a day usually) forward your confirmation email to evpbvolunteer@gmail.com. GISD Employees are exempt from this requirement.