Falconaires 2012-2013 Student & Parent Handbook

1. Falconaires2012-2013Student & Parent Handbook

2. WELCOME It is a pleasure to welcome your daughter, as a member of the 2012-13, Briar Woods Falconaires; the premier choreography and performance group here at Briar Woods High School. As we enter our 8th year, it promises to be our most exciting yet, with our “Star Trek” marching band show and a February trip to New York City and Carnegie Hall. The Falconaires are one of the most important aspects of The Briar Woods Falcon Regiment and add the “personality” and “color” to the music that the band is performing.

3. Welcome Welcome to the 2012-2013 Briar Woods Falconaires. Thank you for attending this meeting. The comment I’ve heard the most from parents in the past is, “I had no idea what my student was getting into.” Hopefully this meeting and information packet will help you and your student understand his or her commitment to the Falconaires. Some information about my experience—I have been performing in colorguard since 1989. I have won one gold, three silver, and two bronze medals at summer and winter World Championships. I have performed at the 1994 World Cup Opening Ceremonies in New York and Boston, the 1996 All-Star Baseball Game and the Closing Ceremonies of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. I have been teaching colorguard since 1994 in Texas, Tennessee, Georgia, and Virginia. In addition, I have a Bachelor’s Degree in English, a Master’s Degree in Secondary Education, a Master’s Degree in Gifted Education, and am ABD on a Ph.D. in English. Parent involvement is extremely important to this organization. Please plan to be involved and to attend games and performances. Your student wants to perform for you and for you to be proud of him or her. Please also join the band boosters. The Falconaires are part of the band and we do not have a separate booster organization. Thank you for your student’s participation in the 2012-2013 Briar Woods Falconaires. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to let me know. AntaresLeask Falconaires Director bwfalconlove@gmail.com

4. WELCOME from the Parent Liaison Photo of

5. $ MONEY – MONEY MONEY Colorguard is not an inexpensive activity in which to participate. However, it is less expensive than many other school activities. • Band Program Fees • From the beginning of the school year and on, parents must pay fees for their student’s participation in the band activities. The fees help to supplement the band programs along with the School System funds and Booster fundraising. • Falconaire Fees cover expenses for water (Entire Year), music folder, , marcher T-Shirt, band camp snacks, instruction, flags, drill, guard box supplies, and other music program needs. • Band Fee – if your student is particiipating in the band class they will be required to pay the general band fee addressed at the beginning of the school year. • Costume fees – custome costumes cost for Falconaires, & Winterguard will be paid directly to the manufacturers. • The Falconaires will be accompanying the band to New York City this spring.

6. FUNDRAISING • We will need money and we can get it one of two ways: parents can write checks or we can organize fundraising activities. If you prefer to write a check for your son or daughter’s expenses and not participate in fundraising, that is wonderful. We also need to raise money for flags, equipment, clinicians, etc. The Band Boosters provide the colorguard a very generous budget; however, it is not always enough to cover all the equipment costs and guest clinicians we may want to bring in during the season. • We do want the Falconaires to be affordable for all and therefore we want to be sure that we have enough fundraising activities to reduce the costs. • Fundraising dollars will be allocated to the students who participate this year. If your student drops out or is removed from colorguard, the money he or she raised will go into the general colorguard account. • Some fundraisers will be dedicated to raising money for the general colorguard budget. • We will do as much fundraising as YOU, the parents, want to do. We are looking for a parent who would like to coordinate our fundraising activities. Keep in mind that we will also participate in fundraisers with the band. Many of these fundraisers last all year long, such as the Gift Card program, and are excellent ways for your student to fulfill his or her financial commitments.

7. MONEY & ESTIMATED COSTS Estimated costs for the 2012-2013 Season  SET FEES: (to be paid to Briar Woods Music Boosters Association) • Falconaire Fee $150.00 • Spring Trip $1,500+ ADDITIONAL COSTS (estimated): (To be paid to vendors directly) • Costume (estimated) $150.00(dress, tights, shoes, long-sleeved shirt for cold weather) • Windsuit : $100.00(will be used for multiple years) • Flag bag $ 20.00(if we choose to have individual bags this year) • Tape, gloves, etc. $ 50.00

8. PARENT SURVIVALTIPS (Written by former colorguard parent Kelli Mulloy) • Yes, your student will complain incessantly but he or she will love being part of the Falconaires. • Yes, colorguards change part of the show every week. • Yes, everything that Mr. Minnick and Mrs. Leask do, they do for a reason (usually a good one). • Yes, you may be asked to learn to run a sewing machine and sew a seam. You can do it! • Yes, your student’s gloves will smell and no amount of Febreeze will help. (If you choose to buy a set of practice gloves, buy washable ones—they will make the car ride home more pleasant). • Yes, that smell in the backseat is your child. • Yes, you will feel like you have to write a lot of checks. • Yes, you will get tired of watching drop spins. • Yes, you will know what a drop spin is by the time band camp is over. • Yes, you AND your student will make some great friends!

9. COSTUMES • Costumes will be recommended by Mrs. Leask and the final decision will be made by Mr. Minnick. Parents, guard members, and guard leadership may be consulted, but will not have a vote in the selection of the costumes. • Colorguard costumes are similar to dance costumes. Be forewarned that the costumes are often form fitting. Please make sure your student understands this. This is a standard throughout colorguard organizations. The staff will ensure that your student does not look bad; however, costume decisions cannot be made on an individual basis. The costume will be selected to make the overall colorguard look professional. The costume may be designed by a professional colorguard costume designer, ordered from a dance shop, or ordered from a company that specializes in colorguard costumes. • Mr. Minnick does not allow costumes that are in any way inappropriate. He will not allow spaghetti straps or bare midriffs, as the costumes must comply with the LCPS dress code. • Special undergarments may be required to be worn with the costumes.

10. SCHEDULE &PRACTICE • The summer schedule is set far in advance to allow families to plan for vacations. The Falconaires will rehearse in June and Band Camp will start July 30. Other than Band Camp, there will not be any Falconaire rehearsals with the staff in the month of July. • Every effort is being made to find gyms for summer rehearsals. If this is not possible, we will be rehearsing outside. Most of the Band Camp rehearsals and before/after school rehearsals are outside. • June rehearsals Mrs. Leask and Mr. Minnick will set dates soon  • Band Camp July 30-August 24 Week 1 & 2: 8:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m., 5:00 p.m.-7:30 p.m. Week 3: Varies between morning sessions and evening sessions 8:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m., 5:00 p.m.-7:30 p.m. Full days only if needed for program practice or sectionals Week 4: Evening Band Camp Only: 5:00 p.m.-7:30 p.m. Some days off FRIDAY—Dress rehearsal for parents and BBQ Dinner • Fall Rehearsals Monday, Wednesday, and Friday: 7:30 a.m.-8:30 a.m. (please schedule doctor’s appointments for afternoons on these days) Tuesday and Thursday: 5:00 p.m.-7:30 p.m. Some sectional rehearsals may be needed BWHS FALCON REGIMENT MARCHING BAND CAMP WHERE? Briar Woods High School WHAT IS IT? Band Camp is a day camp that starts a month before school for students of all levels to learn the routine for the upcoming football and marching competition seasons. In four short weeks, over a hundred individuals will learn to move and play as one. The Falcon Regiment production for the 2012 fall season is, “STAR TREK”, featuring the music of Academy Award winning composer, Michael Giocchino. This show will be performed throughout the fall at football games and competitions across the state of Virginia. Band camp starts covering the basics for both first timers to learn and for returning students to review. Time is spent each day in small groups, sectioned by instruments type to work on the music, techniques and marching band terms. Part of each day is spent outside working on marching and drill. Students are asked to bring sunscreen, extra water, hats and appropriate footwear to be safe and comfortable outside in August. Water and snack breaks are provided by the music boosters each day but additional hydration is needed to stay healthy. (cont. next page) .

11. SCHEDULE &PRACTICE • Students are encouraged to be enrolled in the Falconaires class. • In addition, there are at least three marching competitions on Saturdays, usually in October. These are all day events, and the dates have not yet been determined. There may also be weekend fundraising events. • Some students may not participate in some sections of the show. Students will spin different pieces of equipment at different times. There may also be features which will not involve all students. If a student is not capable of being successful for a full show, he or she may be asked to only perform certain sections. • Practice is mandatory. Any scheduling conflict regarding rehearsals must be discussed individually with Mrs. Leask and/or Mr. Minnick and a plan will be put in writing. Excessive absences may result in how much a student is able to participate in the marching band show. • Possible reasons for not having a permanent marching band or winterguard position: • Not attending summer rehearsals • Not attending Band Camp or missing part of Band Camp • Missing several regular rehearsals during the school year. A distinction cannot really be made between excused and unexcused absences, as absences result in missing instruction in either case, and being unprepared can result in injuries to your student and/or other students. If a student is consistently missing from rehearsal, it is almost impossible to continue without putting another student in his or her position. • Excessive lateness to rehearsal may also affect a student’s position in the Falconaires. The first two weeks of camp are full days, each day, Monday through Friday. The third and fourth weeks of camp vary with half day practices. Some full days may be added as Mr. Minnick deems necessary. Many families arrange car pools to make the 4 trips a day easier. Look to the music boosters website for an area to list your name if you either need a ride, want to offer a ride or share the duties with others. With four families working together each person only needs to drive once a day – working parents can do the morning drop offs or evening pick-ups and parents that stay in the area can do the morning pick-ups and evening drop offs Mr. Minnick would prefer to have all students participating in band camp to fill out a commitment form before camp starts, but welcomes any student who wants to join the Falcon Regiment Marching Band Camp when it begins on Monday, July 30, at 8:30am. There will be a mandatory parent meeting prior to the first day of band camp at which the parents will receive a packet of information with the required forms that need to be filled out for participation in marching band. The 2012-13 Marching Season forms will be available on the Briar Woods High School Music Booster Website after July 15th, 2012 for those who want to download and fill them out ahead of time.

12. SCHEDULE &PRACTICE • Sometimes it is also necessary to remove students who do not have the maturity to discipline themselves to maintain the schedules and guidelines of the Briar Woods Band. When this is a problem, Mr. Minnick will make the decision about the student’s involvement in the Falconaires. • In all situations, Mr. Minnick will have the final say about whether a student will march or not. • Missing two practices in one week may result in a member being rotated to alternate status. The colorguard does not have as many alternates as the band, and this makes it much more difficult to adapt the show when a member cannot perform. Please make every effort to ensure your student can fulfill the time commitment the Falconaires requires. • Attitude is also extremely important in determining marching positions, and may sometimes be more important than other considerations. If your student is not fully mentally and/or physically able to perform the entire show, he or she will only be placed in sections where he or she can be successful.

13. CARPOOL INFORMATION During the summer weeks for Falconaires rehearsals and Band Camp, there may be students with parents who work and those students may need assistance with rides to and from the school. __________ I would be willing to help with getting students to and from rehearsal. ___________ I need carpool assistance. Dates/Times: Neighborhood: Name:

14. Parent Volunteer Opportunities Name: __________________________________ Student’s name: _____________________________ Phone number: _____________________________ E-mail: ___________________________________ I am willing to volunteer for the following: _____ I will assist in fundraising activities _____ I will chaperone games and practices _____ I will supply popsicles and snacks for practices (the Band Boosters provide snacks, these would be special Falconaire treats) _____ I can organize and manage the flag sewing process (if needed) _____ I can cut flags (if needed) _____ I can sew flags (if needed)

15. Briar Woods Falconaires I have received and read the Briar Woods Falconaires Student and Parent Handbook. Student’s name: Student’s signature: Parent’s name: Parent’s signature: Date: