e-News Update – Football Game and Ryle Contest Information

Invitation to Band Family Celebration

Please join us in the parking lot on Thursday afternoon for a “Band Family Celebration” between 5:00pm – 6:15pm.  We will have free cold refreshments (thanks to your generosity) and paint pens available to decorate your cars.  Let’s celebrate the Pride of the Bluegrass as we prepare for the football game on Friday evening and the contest at Ryle on Saturday.  We know that the Lafayette Band Family is awesome and we truly appreciate your help and dedication this past weekend.  Let’s gather on Thursday afternoon to celebrate our band family as we prepare for an exciting weekend! 

Band Store

The band store will be open on Friday during the football game.  There is a limited quantity of short sleeve and long sleeve “Vox Populi” show shirts available, so don’t delay in purchasing your shirt!  Please pick up the pre-order show shirts.  

The “Vox Populi” lapel pins and patches have arrived and they will be available at the band store on Monday night for $7.00 each. 

** The band store has Lafayette water bottles available for $10 each.  You will receive 2 free sodas or water with each purchase.  Stop by the band store trailer on Friday evening!

Football Game Itinerary for Friday, September 23

The half-time show will be live-streamed (approx. 8:00).  Link through www.lafayetteband.org
Gattitown after the Game for those that wish to go!

Gattitown After the Home Football Games

Download Flyer

The Lafayette Band will be heading to Gattitown after the home football games on Friday nights for pizza, salad, cinna-sticks and drink buffet. Costs are: Students $5 plus tax and Parents $7 plus tax.  A video of the halftime performance will be displayed on the huge video screens.

The dates are September 23, September 30, and October 14.

Ryle Contest Itinerary

Download Itinerary

LAFAYETTE BAND
“Pride of the Bluegrass”

ITINERARY

RYLE HIGH SCHOOL Band Competition
Union, Kentucky

SATURDAY, September 24, 2016

BAND MEMBERS — It is very important to check and double-check the items in your Red Bag prior to every performance! Make certain all required items are present and clean. This is important information to remember prior to every football game and competition!

Parents and Students — Carefully review these instructions:

• Bring money for gloves if needed – $6.00
• Clean and polish shoes
• Have your band camp shirt to wear under your uniform.
• Wear long white socks – plain, no stripes! (It’s good just to keep an extra pair of socks in your bag)
• Bring white shorts to wear under your uniform.
• Wipes & deodorant in your bag.
• If there is a problem with your uniform, see a member of the uniform team.
• We always appear in public dressed in full uniform unless Mr. Smith or Mr. Bishop have informed the students otherwise.

Hair should not touch the collar when dressed in uniform, therefore, students with longer hair should bring items to secure their hair in a ponytail or purchase a wig cap.  Wig caps can be purchased from the Uniform Team for $1 for a package of 2 caps.

Have class – YOU are the “PRIDE OF THE BLUEGRASS”!  Always support other performing groups! Refuse to say anything negative, no matter what might be said to you.

Ryle Contest Information

GENERAL CONTEST INFORMATION

Ryle High School

10379 Highway 42

Union, KY 41091

Medications for the Ryle Contest

If your child needs to take prescription or over-the-counter medication during the day on Saturday and we do not have a physician’s signature on file, you will need to complete and return the “2016 Medical Prescription Form” found under the FORMS link on the Lafayette Website (www.lafayetteband.org). 

Return the completed form and the medication needed for that day only in its original container to any chaperone at the blue building next to the practice field. We will take medications for the Ryle contest on:

Friday: 5:00pm -6:00pm (before the football game)
Saturday: 7:00am – 8:00am

Please note that over-the-counter medications must be accompanied by a physician’s signature on the FCPS form noted above.  If a physician has already signed the LBA Medical Form then you are not required to submit an additional form for the OTC medications included and initialed.

If you have any questions you may contact Mike Booth (mikeboothgm@gmail.com).

Food for Ryle Contest

Cookies
The band loves cookies, brownies, and rice crispy treats on contest days.  If you can bake (or buy) 2 or 3 dozen cookies, deliver to Stacy Stone (a.k.a. ‘The Cookie Lady’) on Saturday morning as you drop off your student.  Due to allergies, please no peanut butter, nuts or sesame seeds.

Meals
Make sure students eat breakfast before practice begins at 7:00am on Saturday morning.  We will be serving brunch, dinner, and a snack. We will have a vegetarian option for those students who have made this request. If your student will not eat the meals provided, please send a packed meal for them.  It will be a long day and no one should go hungry.

Brunch – breakfast sandwiches

Dinner – Qdoba

Want to help serve lunch or dinner?
We need volunteers to help serve lunch and dinner on Saturday.  If you are interested in helping with brunch at Lafayette (serving at 10:00am) or dinner at Ryle (tentatively serving at 6:00pm), please contact Jane DeRossett (fullpantry@hotmail.com or 859-396-5387).

Lafayette Band Competition Etiquette

Have good manners!  Recognize and support the efforts of other students, band families and schools!  Remember you are representing Lafayette and the “Pride of the Bluegrass” tradition! 

·         Don’t talk or enter/exit the stands during performances.

·         Silence cell phones.

·         Choose words wisely when speaking about other bands. 

·         Be cautious about comments made on social media outlets (i.e., Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, band blogs, etc.). 

·         Always applaud a band’s performance.  Students will appreciate our support and recognition of their efforts. 

·         The Lafayette “flag in the stands” tradition continues.  Distribution will occur just before Lafayette performs.  Please do not raise your flag until the band that performs before us has completely exited the field.   After the performance begins, lower your flag so that everyone can see the show. When the performance ends, raise your flag until Lafayette leaves the field.  Please return flags to Carole Howell for distribution at the next competition.

·         Please refrain from yelling a specific student’s name when the band is set to perform.  This can be a distraction to your student and others.  They are prepared to deliver an excellent performance and this requires concentration.

·         When photographing or recording a performance, be careful not to block the view of the people seated around you.

Let’s represent Lafayette and ourselves by exhibiting good manners and respect for others.

What to Expect on Band Contest Days

Band Contest Days are LONG days with a lot of HARD WORK and a lot of FUN for everyone!  Below are some notes about Contest Days and what to expect:

Parents and students should not plan to visit each other during the day.  Students are focused on practice and performance. They will be dropped off early in the morning at school for practice and picked up very late at night at the school. All parents are invited to cheer together in the Lafayette section of the stands at contests.  Just look for the blue, white, and red colors and flags!  Plan to arrive early for prelims, take a break for dinner, and then return for finals. 

Students should try to get a good night’s sleep and eat a good breakfast. Sleep might be difficult when Gattitown nights are planned after Friday night football games, but try to get to sleep as soon as possible.  Students might practice in sun, heat, cold or rain and they will be marching from early in the morning until very late at night.

Students should have appropriate attire and a well-packed red bag.  Students should wear the provided blue t-shirt and white shorts to be ready for uniform changes following morning practice.  Red bags should be packed according to the Uniform Crew reminders in the weekly e-News.  Remember to bring white marching shoes and money for gloves, if needed.  Some students pack snacks, blankets, and warmer clothes for the bus ride back to school at night.

Students are fed throughout the day. The Food Crew takes excellent care of the students. They will be provided with snacks, meals, and several water breaks.  The students will not be hungry on competition days.  This is a benefit of our fundraising!

Itineraries of each contest will be posted on e-News. Our band is usually honored to compete two times at each contest – a preliminary performance and a finals performance.  The Prelim performance times are published but the evening performance times for finalists are determined the day of the contest.  We hope to be in the finals at each contest but it is never a guarantee.

Parents, families, and students should dress for the weather. Kentucky weather changes drastically over the course of our marching season. Watch weather forecasts the night before and pack a bag as needed – sunscreen, hats, sunglasses, rain ponchos, cushioned seats, blankets and hand warmers.  If you are attending the contest, bring cash for entry fees and concessions.

Uniform Crew Update

Shoes and Gloves

·         Make sure you have a band camp shirt, white shorts and LONG white socks

·         Make sure your shoes are clean and ready to go!  Please remember to clean your shoes after the football game on Friday night.

·         Your red bag needs to contain deodorant, band camp shirt, white shorts, LONG white socks and marching shoes.  You will probably want to bring sweats or other comfy clothes for the bus ride home.  If the forecast calls for rain, it’s handy to bring Walmart bags for muddy shoes or wet items.  You’ll also need to remember items to contain your hair.

·         Speaking of hair….hair MUST be contained in your hat, it MUST NOT touch the collar of your uniform.  Guys, if you opt to not get a haircut, you will be required to wear a wig cap to contain your hair on Saturday.

·         No visible jewelry is allowed in uniform.  If you have piercings that cannot be removed, please cover with a skin-tone Band-Aid. 

·         No nail polish is allowed in uniform.  Please remove nail polish for the contest.

·         Please bring $6 for gloves if you need another pair. We will be selling them at the contest. 

Please review this document about shoes and gloves.
Any questions?  Contact Amy King 859-227-4253, amy@bleedsblue.com