Daily Archives: January 30, 2017

Concert Band Students: your Hershey payment was due on Friday 1/27 (checks made payable to the YHS Music Boosters). All CB students received their personal account information in class.  If you have questions, Ms. Kluga is happy to help.  A reminder that our Hershey trip is Saturday 5/13/17.  PARENTS, we are still in need of 4 chaperones for this trip.  E-mail Ms. Kluga if you are interested.

Wind Ensemble Students: – your Philly trip payment #2 information was sent home this past week.  If you have questions, Ms. Kluga is happy to help.  Please send in your payment by this Friday 2/3, checks made payable to the YHS Music Boosters.  A reminder that our Philly trip is Sat. 4/1 – Mon. 4/3.

On Saturday 2/11 at 7:00pm the YHS Gym will be transformed into a 1940’s style Night Club, complete with bandstand, dance-floor, linen-clad tables, and as much Valentine’s Day ambience as we can muster.  The YHS Concert Band, Jazz Band, and Wind Ensemble will perform Swing Era music for your dancing and listening pleasure!  Light refreshments will be served. Swing Era attire is encouraged.  Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for non-band students and senior citizens.  The evening will begin at 7:00 with a one-hour swing dance lesson by a professional dance studio.  Live music (provided by your students!) and dancing 8-10:30pm.

THIS EVENT IS A CONCERT THAT WILL FEATURE YOUR STUDENT.  IT IS ALSO A SOCIAL EVENT OPEN TO THE ENTIRE YORKTOWN COMMUNITY.  THIS IS NOT JUST A DANCE FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS!  PLEASE INVITE YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS!  LAST YEAR WE HAD OVER 300 PEOPLE (Ages 2 years to 90 years!) ATTEND.

FLYER ATTACHED!

A flyer advertising our Swing Dance is attached.  Please feel free to post at your place of work, place of worship, or anywhere you think people would be interested.

PARENT HELP NEEDED

As usual, many parent volunteers will be needed to make this evening a success.  Please visit

http://donate.yhsbands.com/swingdance to donate a food item, or to help chaperone.

Questions?  Please contact (Band Aid Core Helper) Margaret Serafin ([email protected]) or Ms. Kluga.

RAFFLE ITEMS & BASKETS NEEDED

As part of our Swing Dance, we hold a really amazing raffle.  Each year we ask families/local businesses for prize donations, which are then organized into themed baskets.

Interested in helping with the raffle?  Here is how:

1. Do you have wicker gift baskets you are not using?  Our raffle committee would love to use them!  They will fill and wrap the baskets with prize items.  Please send baskets into school by Friday 2/3.
2. We are looking for additional items to complete some of our themed baskets.  A list of what we need is attached.  If you are interested in donating some of these items, please e-mail band parent Anne McKeown ([email protected]).  Please send items into school by this Friday 2/3. Thank you!

What: Valentine’s Swing Dance Concert

When: Saturday 2/11

Time: Dance Lesson 7-8pm / Music and Dancing 8-10:30pm

Where: YHS Gym

Cost: $10 for adults / $5 for students and seniors.  Tickets sold at the door.  YHS Band students are free.

WHEN TO ARRIVE:

1. Jazz Band – arrive by 5:30 for our sound check.
2. Students interested in participating in the dance lesson – please arrive at 6:30pm.
3. Students NOT interested in participating in the dance lesson, please arrive no later than 7:30pm.
4. Upon arrival ALL STUDENTS should place their instruments/cases/coats/etc in their designated warm up room (Rooms TBA).  AT THAT TIME STUDENTS WILL HAVE THEIR HAND STAMPED FOR FREE ENTRANCE INTO THE DANCE.

SWING ERA ATTIRE ENCOURAGED (For both adults and students!)

Get into the “swing” of things and have fun dressing up in 1940’s garb!

SWING CONCERT DRESS FOR STUDENTS

In lieu of the usual concert black, Swing Era attire is encouraged!  Below are some ideas.

Boys 

Usual Concert Attire: Black pants, long sleeved button down black shirt, black shoes, black socks

AND/OR Swing Additions: fedora hats, suspenders, solid color or pin striped shirts, colorful ties, spats, jackets.

Girls

Usual Concert Attire: Black top (appropriate neck-line, no spaghetti straps or sleeveless tops), black skirt or dress (appropriately below the knee), or black pants.

AND/OR Swing Additions: Girls are welcome to wear any color 1940’s style dress as long as it has an appropriate neckline, sleeves, and falls below the knee.  Other ideas are: swing-y skirts, polka dots, pin-curls, a flower in their hair, seamed stockings, saddle shoes, 1940’s style hat and gloves.

We have many homemade decorations planned for our event and will need lots of help to create them!  All students are invited:

1. After school the week of 2/6 from 1:30 – 3:00 to help craft our decorations.
2. To help decorate the gym on Saturday 2/11 from 10:00am – 4:00pm.
3. To CLEAN UP from 10:30-11:30pm.

Sign-up sheets for all above dates and times are available in the band room.  As always, students will receive extra credit for their extra efforts!  Thank you in advance for donating your time to make our event a success for our learning community, and our greater Yorktown Heights community!

Please be aware that the Swing Dance Snow Date is Saturday 2/18.

The students and Ms. Kluga are very excited to perform our music for you!  And, in case they haven’t shared, we have all been learning how to swing dance in class one day each week for the past 4 weeks.  ALL YHS band students are now equipped with about 10 stunning swing dance moves which Ms. Kluga hopes they will use at our event!  (All they have to do now is get up the courage to ask someone to dance 🙂

Also, on Thursday 2/9 during Concert Band and Wind Ensemble, professional swing dance instructors Bill Kline and Katrine Bangsgaard (from Swing and Samba Dance Studio) will be visiting YHS to work with our students.

On Friday, March 10th, the YCSD Band Program will hold it’s 4^th Annual Town-Wide Band Concert (a.k.a. BANDAPALOOZA!) in the YHS Gym.  All band students grades 5-12 will participate.  This is a wonderful experience for all of our students – fostering positive relationships between all levels, and allowing our youngest band students and parents to see the full progression of our band program.

As in years past, due to fire codes and the possibility of exceeding the maximum gym capacity, we ask that YHS band parents and families please not attend this concert as audience members.

Ms. Kluga apologizes for this and thank you for your understanding.  (If it is any consolation, the YHS Concert Band and Wind Ensemble students will each be performing a selection that you will already have heard at our Swing Dance).  However, we do need parent volunteers.  If you are interested in helping us achieve this intensely logistical feat, we would love your help!  Please e-mail Ms. Kluga.

As always, please contact Ms. Kluga with any questions and thanks for your help and support!  Looking forward to seeing you all the our Swing Dance!