.MNBAND.NET. Ryan Placek Millard North Director of Bands. April 2015 WWW NET

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1 NET WWW April 2015 t seems the older get, the faster time flies. Where do the days go? We have already met and performed with next year s freshmen and are preparing to say goodbyes to our seniors! Our remarkable students never cease to amaze at what they do for the Millard North Band program! Our sense of family continues to grow and love the potential see in our students each day! The MNHS Elkhorn Band Olympic Team once again brought home the championship trophy for earning the most medals and superior ratings in their division. Our 2 nd year for Winter Percussion and Winter Guard continued to see success and growth in the programs. Winter Guard once again earned 3 rd place at the HWAA Regional Championships while Winter Percussion finished 2 nd at every competition they attended! The Jazz Bands had another outstanding showing as both groups received superior ratings at the UNO Jazz Festival and are currently preparing for the Big Band Dance. Percussion has already begun chops sessions in preparation for this next fall, while Color Guard auditions are just wrapping up. The MNHS Band Program received the NSBA Academic Achievement Award for the 2 nd straight year! We are one of only two AA band programs in the state to win the award for a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher! The Concert Bands have been pushing themselves to higher levels for contest and our final concert. Our new marching show arranger is working hard to put together another outstanding field show for our students. Drum majors and leadership team have already been selected for the coming year with a HUGE number of candidates applying! t is very exciting to see so many students with an interest in serving our family! We are very excited to welcome back nationally renowned student leadership guru Scott Lang this summer! am so excited for this opportunity for ALL our 9-12 band students to learn more about themselves and foster the potential each of them possesses. Leadership is just one essential component of our complex organization that can lead to success. Another of those crucial element is Color Guard. 40 percent of our marching scores at competitions are visual components - much of which comes from the talents of our Color Guard. We need your continued help in recruiting great talent to become part of our band! Another essential component is balanced instrumentation within the band. Without good balanced instrumentation, our program CANNOT function successfully. Over the past two years, we have been receiving an enormous number of flutes, clarinets, saxophones, and percussion in the freshman classes. We are getting very few low brass players. The past two years we have only gained 5-6 low brass players in each freshman class of over 70 students. This is a very frightening trend and one we need to correct immediately. We need current woodwind players to switch to a low brass instrument right away to help rectify our problem and help our program continue its success. m not sure many of you would enjoy listening to a band comprised of only flutes, clarinets, saxophones, and percussion! As our school year draws to a close, please consider how important music is in the lives of our students. look for every chance to give our students more OP- PORTUNTES! understand that all our students are busy, but remember busy students are SUCCESSFUL students because they are involved! They learn life skills in perseverance, teamwork, flexibility, dedication, communication, presentation, performance, cooperation, goal setting, commitment, time management, focus, stress management, self-discipline, and self-confidence just to name a few. Thank you everyone for your continued support of our students and the music programs here at MNHS. am truly blessed to be a part of the Millard North Band family! -Mr. P Ryan Placek Millard North Director of Bands Millard North Band Boosters Newsletter 1

2 President Ann Leever President-Elect Ann Leever Treasurer Joel Knudson Secretary Debi Tompkins After State Party Joe and Beth Coughlin Apparel Bob Lyons Big Band Dance Stephanie and Joe Sacco Booster Buttons Kathy Luddy Bus Chaperones Kristin Vavricek Bus Cookies Jackie Bulger Contributions Matt and Barb Sheppard Finance Committee Coffee Fundraising Sara Ellis Music Scholarships Matt and Barb Sheppard New Families Knut Haasch Newsletter Marcia Shavlik Pit/Truck Crew Pat Potter Post-Prom Paula Hardin Premier Night/ Jeanette Meacham Meetings of the Band Boosters are held once a month in the room next to the Band Room. The next meeting will be Tuesday, May 5, 2015 At 6:30 P.M. in the Mustang Center We need a quorum to vote that night n order to maintain our nonprofit status Please be there for the vote before the concert! All Band Parents are ALWAYS welcome to attend! f anyone has any business they would like to discuss at this meeting, please call Ann Leever at to get your item(s) added to the agenda. Directors Ryan Placek, Band Director rlplacek@mpsomaha.org Uniforms and Records Coordinator Kathy Luddy Spirit Committee LeNae Nelson Leslie Russell Website Douglas Annis REMNDER TO SENORS: A senior video is being prepared to show after the final band concert on May 5, Seniors are being asked to send a baby picture and any other candid band pictures they would like included in the video to mnbandseniors@gmail.com before Sunday, May 3, 2015, that would be great! Additionally, don t forget to send a senior picture to mks345@yahoo.com at the same time! Craig Mathis, Assistant Band Director cdmathis@mpsomaha.org Millard North Band Boosters Newsletter 2

3 t s spring! Another school year is quickly coming to a hectic end. Our band members have been so busy. There were many pep band performances. The Wind Symphony helped welcome the incoming freshman at their concert in January. The Concert and Symphonic bands, along with the jazz band and stage band, had their concert in February. Our freshmen and sophomores brought home top honors from the Elkhorn Band Olympics. Jazz band and stage band competed with great results at UNO and Bellevue East. The Winter Guard finished third in their division at the HWAA Championships and the Winter Drumline consistently placed in the top3 in local HWAA competitions. would personally like to thank all the band boosters who have volunteered this semester. We ve had the pit crew getting all the drumline equipment to several competitions, which is no small feat (especially in 10 degree weather!!). We had the After Prom group do a spectacular job with decorating and providing treats for After Prom festivities. A big thanks also to all that provide refreshments for all our concerts. Also, don t forget to buy your Battle of the Band Baskets raffle tickets. We ll be raffling off 3 baskets at the Big Band Dance. The band whose basket raises the most money gets a donut party. A new raffle this year is the Lunch with the Directors raffle. The winner and 3 guests get to have lunch with Mr. P and Mr. Mathis who wouldn t like that?! Another new and exciting addition to the Big Band Dance is the Parent Patron Party and Silent Auction. SO many great prizes to win! More volunteer opportunities will be coming up this summer as we work concessions for Storm Chaser games. Please say yes to just one evening to help raise money for our band and their needs. On a more somber note, m sure you are aware that the School Board voted to eliminate three full time elementary music teaching positions as part of their Selective Reduction and Abandonment procedures. We were warned at the Board meeting that this is not the end of cuts to programs. Myself and others will continue to monitor the situation and let you know if actions need to be taken. One positive aspect was that we worked in tandem with many Millard West parents and hope to keep that alliance as we go forward, and try to involve Millard South parents as well. Mrs. Ann Leever Millard North Band Booster President 2012 Millard North Drum Major/Alumni and 2015 Drum Major for the Cornhusker Marching Band, Patrick Luddy, addresses the Millard Public School Board; some of the new drum majors and members of the Millard North Band showing a little band spirit outside the Don Stroh Building before the board meeting. And a big congratulations to Patrick on being named drum major of the Cornhusker Marching Band! Millard North Band Boosters Newsletter 3

4 On Saturday, February 23rd, freshman and sophomore musicians from Millard North attended the Elkhorn Band Olympics at Elkhorn South High School. MNHS had 36 entries from our band program! These students received the overall EBO Championship trophy for their division! Congratulations to all the students on their wonderful preparation and performances! Name Event Rating/Placement = superior = excellent = good Hunter Holoubek/Charlie Mixed Duet Maas an Ghanavati/Noah Sacco Snare Duet Sarah Clark/Denae Jones/ Woodwind Trio Tori Qiu Sarah Osborn/Sarah Woodwind Trio Jacobsen/Bri Hammel Micah Brodsky Bass Clarinet Solo, 3rd place Sofia Cormack 10th Flute Solo, 3rd place Erica Flores 10th Flute Solo, 1st place gold medal an Ghanavati 10th Snare Solo, 3rd place Casey Stokes 10th Trumpet Solo, 2nd place Amy Nelson 10th Clarinet Solo, 3rd place Nan Sricharoen 9th Flute Solo Sarah Osborn 10th Flute Solo Paul Circo 10th Trumpet Solo LeAnna Lui 10th Alto Sax Solo Justin Xiong 10th Tenor Sax Solo, 2nd place Sarah Clark 9th Clarinet Solo, 4th place Jackson Hardin 10th Trombone Solo, 2nd place Fianna Long-Bulduc/Rena Flute Duet Li Mackenzie Reed/Tori Qiu Woodwind Duet Tori Qiu 9th Clarinet Solo, 3rd place Tyler Collins/Matthew Horn Duet Townsend Matthew Vavricek 9th Trumpet Solo Paul Circo/Alex Reilly Trumpet Duet Trevor Lyons Misc. Percussion, 2nd place Riley Goldhorn Misc. Percussion Solo, 4th place Elizabeth Luddy 9th Alto Sax Solo Daniel Fu 9th Alto Sax Solo, 1st place gold medal Millard North Band Boosters Newsletter 4

5 Denae Jones 9th Flute Solo Nithya Mudgapali 9th Flute Solo Dylan Dittman 9th Baritone Solo Autumn Coe Mallet Solo Jacob Morrow 10th Baritone Solo, 4th place Kasey Dresser 9th Tuba Solo, 5th place Alaina Blaker 9th Tuba Solo, 2nd place Riley Cope Bari Sax Solo Nan Sricharoen/sabelle Chavez sabelle Chavez/Kristina Perez Woodwind Duet Woodwind Duet, Outstanding Ensemble MUSC AWARDS BANQUET The Music Department Awards Banquet is scheduled for Thursday, April 30 and will be held in the Mustang Center at Millard North High School. Tickets have already been sold for this popular event. f you have purchased your ticket already, please be sure to mark your calendar! Come out and enjoy the sounds of the Millard North Jazz Bands at the 15 th Annual Big Band Dance! Swing music through current day jazz and rock will be performed live in the Millard North gym for the Millard North community. Desserts and beverages will be served throughout the evening. We are delighted to welcome back the Omaha Jitterbug Club for a group swing dance lesson. The event also includes a Basket Raffle of three themed baskets containing items donated by band families. Tickets will be sold at the Dance as well as at the spring band concert on May 5 th. New this year is our Parent Patron Party and Silent Auction. So mark your calendars and come out for a night of dancing, desserts and fun as Millard North swings! Tickets are $10/adults and $5/students. There is still time to sign up to volunteer and lots of ways to help! Just go to and click on Volunteer to sign up. Thanks and see you May 8 th! Millard North Band Boosters Newsletter 5

6 Uniform Turn-n dates are May 12, 13, 14 before school. Helpers will be directing students through the process. We ll ask three quick questions, hang the uniform, and the student will be able to move on to his/her day. We will check the uniforms in detail after the students are in class. Students will be asked three questions when they return the uniform: Are you returning to band? Does your uniform still fit? (please have students try on ahead of time) Does anything need to be repaired? All uniforms should be returned with the following: A dry cleaning receipt from Yoo s Cleaners Jacket (empty pockets) Pants (empty pockets) Uniform bag (empty pockets) Hat and plume if student is not returning to band Students returning to band will keep their hat/plume over the summer Anyone not returning to band is welcome to donate pep band shorts/shirts and black drillmaster shoes to the band. Every year we have students who struggle to finance participation in the band. Please consider donating those items (in good condition) by sending them to school with your student. Parents: Please help your student be prepared to answer the first three questions, and check that everything is in order for returning the uniform. We would rather not have to track anyone down for missing items. Stay tuned for summer fitting details as we learn the construction updates to the building. Please direct questions to Kathy Luddy, kathyluddy@gmail.com, The Mustang Jazz Bands competed at the UNO Jazz Festival on Friday, February 27th. Below are the results of their performances. Jazz - Superior rating Outstanding Soloists: Andrew Barber, Chris Belik, Carmen Vogt, Beth Shavlik Jazz - Superior rating Outstanding Soloists: Abbey Monahan Millard North Band Boosters Newsletter 6

7 Our Band s themed hallway for this year s 2015 After Prom; hit it out of the ball park, was a slam dunk, and ran it in for a touchdown with students and parents alike! A HUGE THANK YOU to all who made the Band s Fantasy Sports hallway a fan filled event by creating or donating sports equipment, shirts, memorabilia, and so much more. Many students and parents spent hours decorating the night before prom, helping out with finishing touches the day of, and making sure all games, snacks, and photo ops scored BG with the students and event staff. Not only was our décor a huge knock-out, so were the lively games of sports trivia, the abnormal sports games, and concessions provided right in the hallway area. All these activities included prizes (BG and small) for students to win during this overnight event. A huge thank you to the shop students that built several games to provide friendly competition and enjoyment. Next year s theme and location planning has already started updates coming your way this fall! Again, thank you to all for your help! Paula Hardin, After Prom Chairperson The Millard North High School building will be under major construction this summer. Therefore, the original 2015 Summer Schedule published in the January 2015 Newsletter is going to be undergoing a few changes as well. Some of the rehearsals may even move to other locations within the Millard District. As soon as the band directors are aware of the exact changes, the band website will be updated, s will go out to all parents, posts will show up on Facebook, and the band might even tweet about it! Hopefully, by the time the May Newsletter is published, the final schedule will be available. But for now, keep an eye on social media! Millard North Band Boosters Newsletter 7

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10 Date Event Location/Time Thursday, April 30, 2015 Music Dept. Awards Banquet 5:00 p.m. Mustang Center Tuesday, May 5, 2015 Spring Band Concert 7:00 p.m. MNHS Friday, May 8, 2015 Big Band Dance 7:00 p.m. MNHS Gymnasium Tues., Wed., Thurs., May 12-14, 2015 Uniform Check-n 7:30 a.m. (before school) Saturday, May 24, 2015 Commencement 4:00 p.m. CenturyLink Members of the 2015 Show Band that accompanied the Show Choirs this year. This group of musicians was awarded the Best Band Award three times this season! A school record! Newsletter Comments The final newsletter for the school year will be published in May. This newsletter will have a special section in it to honor our graduating seniors. Please forward to me a JPG of your student s senior picture for inclusion in the final newsletter. You may also mail an original to me, and will scan and return it to you. would like to have these no later than May 10th. Thanks for your help! Marcia K. Shavlik, MN Bands Newsletter Editor Valley Street, Omaha, NE mks345@yahoo.com Millard North Band Boosters Newsletter 10