West A Band Parent
FAQs
Are the Parent Meetings mandatory to attend?
How are most announcements sent out, and how do I register for those announcements? - Remind
Where should my student turn in payments, fundraising order forms, etc.?
Who is considered a “rookie”?
If a parent/guardian is interested in chaperoning, what do you need to do?
What is an ISA Account?
What is the marching band’s website url, and what can I find on the website?
What is the cost to participate in marching band?
Band shoes
What is a show shirt?
Are the marching band trips mandatory for my student to attend?
Are their fundraising opportunities in the marching band?
Marching Band Fundraising 101
- Parent Meetings are not mandatory to attend, but extremely helpful and highly recommended. Attending parent meetings and paying close attention to the Remind messages from Mr. Fox are the best ways to have the most recent up to date and accurate information.
How are most announcements sent out, and how do I register for those announcements? - Remind
- 90% of the information that is sent out regarding marching band is sent through Remind. If you need to sign up for Remind, follow the instructions below for your group:
- Students - text @wapride to 81010
- Parents - send a text to 81010 with the @ sign followed by waband and your student’s graduation year (no spaces) For example - @waband2024
Where should my student turn in payments, fundraising order forms, etc.?
- The Gray Box - This is a locked “gray” box with an open slot that is located behind Mr. Fox’s office door. Our treasurer is the only person who has a key to this box. This box is for payments that have to do with marching band. Dues, Activity Fees, and Fundraiser money all go into this box.
Who is considered a “rookie”?
- Any band member that is new to the band is a rookie. It has nothing to do with the grade your student is in.
If a parent/guardian is interested in chaperoning, what do you need to do?
- Any parent/guardian that would like to chaperone for the marching band needs to submit all district required clearances to Mr. Fox, via e-mail. He will then submit them to the district office. Information on how to obtain your clearances is on the WA district website. Also, once you have all of your clearances, you would need to borrow or purchase a red embroidered Polo shirt so that you can be easily identified as a chaperone.
- Red Polo shirts can be purchased from the Chaperone Shirt Coordinator. Please reference the marching band contact sheet for the contact information of that individual.
- Chaperones are needed for all home and away games. Chaperones are also needed for other events such as Kennywood, festivals and parades.
What is an ISA Account?
- ISA - Individual Student Account - This is an account that is kept track of by the band treasurer for your student, individually. Any money that your student fundraises individually will be put into this account for them to use for specific band items only. These include band dues, band shoes and any band trips. This account will also reflect any other payments you make specifically to the marching band for your student.
What is the marching band’s website url, and what can I find on the website?
- www.westamarchingpride.com - updated information, meeting minutes, copies of our by-laws, forms, videos of previous performance and other important information.
- Subscribe to the calendar and you can get it on your phone. There are Iphone and Google Calendar links.
What is the cost to participate in marching band?
- Every participant pays $160 in band dues to the booster organization. This money goes towards paying for many important things. The dues are broken down into 2 payments. The first payment is due by 6/30 and the second is due by 8/31. There is a flat sibling discount of $145 for annual band dues per each additional marching band member in your household.
- There is also one payment for the “Pay to Play” Activity Fee. This fee is from the school district and is not associated with the booster finances. This fee is due by 7/30 and does not go to the band directly. If you have free/reduced lunch, you do not have to pay the activity fee to the school, but you still need to fill out the digital form. A link will be provided to us from the district and located on our site under Links.
Band shoes
- Rookies (or anyone who may need new shoes) need marching band specific shoes. The cost is approximately $35. Information will be sent out via Mr. Fox. THE SHOES ARE AN ISA QUALIFIED EXPENSE.
- Booster dues cover many costs including, but not limited to, the main course of band camp meals, extra band camp instructors, show shirts, meals before festivals or long distance games, and game day snacks.
What is a show shirt?
- A show shirt is a t- shirt that is paid for by the band dues for your student to wear the entire season. Students wear this shirt under their uniforms and they wear it as their uniform top to other events. This shirt will have a design on it that is specific to that year's show theme. Please take care of this shirt, it is important.
Are the marching band trips mandatory for my student to attend?
- No, the annual traveling trips that the marching band plans are not mandatory, but they are highly recommended. It is a great experience for the kids to perform in numerous venues and settings. Take a look and see if one of the many individual fundraisers we offer may work to help pay for any trips.
Are their fundraising opportunities in the marching band?
- Yes, we have fundraising opportunities 12 months out of the year. Read carefully below to understand both the group and individual fundraisers that the marching band is a part of.
Marching Band Fundraising 101
- We have two types of fundraisers in the Marching Band. One type is group fundraisers and the others are individual fundraisers. All information regarding these fundraisers comes out over Remind and at the Parent Meetings.
- Group Fundraisers - These are the Marching Band fundraisers that benefit the band as a whole. These fundraisers are “events” that happen in one day rather than over time. These fundraisers being successful is vital to the success of the Marching Band. These fundraisers require committees to organize them and many more people are needed for them to be successful. The Cavalcade of Bands, The Cookie Walk and The Purse Bash are three for sure “Group'' fundraisers we will be doing again this year.
- Cavalcade of Bands- (October 5, 2024) - Our band festival here at WA High School. We invite many bands to participate to help us put on a show for the local community. This fundraiser is VERY large and requires many hands on deck before the event and almost all parent hands on deck the day of the event.
- The Cookie Walk -(Date - TBD) - Findlay Township Activity Center - A community event where band members families’ bake cookies ahead of time and bring them to the Activity Center on the day of the event. After all is organized, locals come in and pay $12 for a container to fill with cookies. We keep this event open until almost all the cookies are gone. We need all bakers and then some on hand for this fundraiser. There are also volunteers needed the day of the event. Students are encouraged to volunteer at this event as well.
- The Purse Bash - Spring 2025 This is an event open to the community as well. It is along the lines of Purse Bingo, but with just offering different types of games, instead of Bingo, to win the purses and other prizes. Tickets are sold to this event ahead of time. This event will require many volunteers the day of the event. Students are encouraged to volunteer at this event.
- Individual Fundraisers - These are fundraisers that your student/you do within a given timeline, but on your own time. Any money raised from these fundraisers is kept in your student’s ISA account to be used only for them and for items directly related to them participating in the Marching Band. ISA money may currently be used for band dues, band shoes, chaperone shirts and band trips.
- ( Please keep in mind that any money put into your student’s ISA through fundraisers goes back to the band in the event that your student leaves the band for any reason (including graduation). The exception to this is that ISA money may be passed down from sibling to sibling because the money remains in the same immediate family.)
- Many people find it especially helpful to participate in these individual fundraisers to help offset the cost of any trip the Marching Band may go on. Each of these individual fundraisers is organized by a parent volunteer who is named on the Band Contact List. This specific person can answer any questions you may have about that fundraiser.
- Raise Right (formerly Scrip) - Current code to connect to the marching band is C1C537F29328
- This fundraiser is FAST, EASY and is ALWAYS ON. The Raise Right App is an app where you go in and purchase gift cards for the places you were going to shop anyway. For simply purchasing those cards from Raise Right, they give a portion of what you spent back to your student. Gift cards are mostly electronic. The band only does the physical gift cards during the Holidays. To use Raise Right, you simply link your bank account to the app and the transactions are quick and simple. There is a small fee of $.29 each time to make each purchase, but the reward back FAR outweighs the very small fee.
- EXAMPLE - Walmart trip -
- $100.00 (I want to pay with debit) I pay with Debit at register and get no reward.
- Same Walmart trip - $100 (I want to pay with debit securely linked to Raise Right App) I go into app and purchase my electronic gift card quickly and then scan the gift card to pay right there at the register.
- Raise Right Fee - 0.29 cents
- Cost of Walmart trip -$100.29 but, Walmart returns 2.5% of what you spend back to your student. So, $2.50 (2.5% of $100.00) goes into your student’s ISA account from a Raise Right report that our Raise Right Coordinator receives monthly and reports to the Treasurer. It does not seem like much, but it does add up very quickly.
- EXAMPLE - Walmart trip -
- Each vendor on Raise Right offers different percentages back. There are also special days where the percentages vendors offer increase drastically. You are buying things anyway on a daily basis. Why not turn those purchases into a trip for your student or band dues to help out your finances? Other family and friends can also do this to benefit your student.
- This fundraiser is FAST, EASY and is ALWAYS ON. The Raise Right App is an app where you go in and purchase gift cards for the places you were going to shop anyway. For simply purchasing those cards from Raise Right, they give a portion of what you spent back to your student. Gift cards are mostly electronic. The band only does the physical gift cards during the Holidays. To use Raise Right, you simply link your bank account to the app and the transactions are quick and simple. There is a small fee of $.29 each time to make each purchase, but the reward back FAR outweighs the very small fee.
