I hope everyone is doing well! Our staff has been working hard creating videos, doing zoom rehearsals, and checking in with students on various online platforms. I’m so proud of the work they have done to keep our students going with preparations for the marching band season, as well as the work the students have been doing to stay active.  It’s an unusual summer, but I applaud everyone for being flexible and adapting to the challenges in front of us. We have a few updates (please read all):

• Due to State executive order, in-person activities are halted for the time being. We will NOT be able to hold an “in-person” Band Camp as scheduled (Week of July 20 or July 27). However, we will continue to hold virtual rehearsal options. Please stay tuned for more details, as rehearsal times might be adjusted based on the availability of our instructors.
• Due to this change, we are delaying the first payment of Marching Band to August 17 (district course fees will still proceed as normal)
• Our next Band Booster meeting has been rescheduled to Thursday July 23 at 7 pm. 
• “In-person” school will be ONLINE starting August 3, and staying online until AT LEAST August 16. The plan is to resume in-person school on August 17, but the state government may extend the delay of in-person school and we may stay online for a while. My best guess is that students will follow their school schedules at home starting August 3 (i.e. – first hour at 7:25am, etc – get ready to wake up early again!). 
• Dr. Mendivil and TUHSD will be doing a virtual forum next Tuesday, July 14 at 6 pm to answer questions from parents, teachers, and students. Please see your email or tempeunion.org for more information. 
• The question has been asked if Tempe Union Online students will allowed to participate in extracurriculars such as marching band. We don’t have the answers yet but we are also asking these questions of our supervisors and will keep families in the loop.
• The district band directors are meeting with district/school admin next week to get a better picture of the weeks ahead. Any new details will be shared as soon as possible. 
• Any brass and woodwind players that are having trouble submitting assignments on SmartMusic on a computer or tablet are encouraged to check out a free district-issued laptop when they become available. We will be using this application more during the school year (for actual grades) and everyone needs to have a device that supports it.

Please stay safe, limit your contact with others when possible, wear a mask outside of your home, stay home if you’re sick, and keep washing your hands! In Arizona, there have been 108,614 confirmed cases as of today, and 1,963 deaths. Arizona is now the #1 hotspot in the world in this global pandemic. Let’s all do our part to lower the COVID-19 case numbers NOW so we can return safely to school sooner. Our State Superintendent has also released a statement regarding schools safely reopening here: https://www.azed.gov/communications/2020/07/07/superintendent-hoffmans-response-to-the-white-house-summit-on-safely-reopening-americas-schools/

For the Week of June 22, we have assignments due this Friday (June 26) by 11:59pm. Here’s our intro video from Mr. DuPlessis for this week: https://youtu.be/It77LwM5Z6E

There are two big visual assignments that are due on Friday (see Schoology for more details). Brass/Woodwinds: See email for links to Zoom Meetings and more information on dates/times (these are also on the band calendar to the right -> )

Congrats to our Students of the Week! Week 1 – Erin Alfonte and Nathan Yang; Week 2 – Ava Bickler and Mathias Logvin. Band Council – please email me with your nominations for this week!

Time for Week 3! We have new visual assignments posted to Schoology to start working on! Please watch this NEW video for Week 3 from Mr. DuPlessis first: https://youtu.be/Q87eBsCpUVA

• Reminder: Brass/Woodwinds Music Assignments due to SmartMusic by Friday.
• Guard Members: check out the new flag/weapon video assignments on your Facebook group.
• Zoom Rehearsals this week – see email for login links! (WW Music – Tues/Thurs 1pm; Brass Music Wed 3 pm; WW/Brass Visual 1pm)
• ALL: Start working on the NEW visual assignments on Schoology – lots of new content to check out!
• Students: Want to get occasional Text Message reminders on assignments? Woodwinds Brass Percussion Colorguard
• Returning Corona students can sign on to Schoology here
• New members can sign on here (new members: here are instructions on how to login).

We are starting our online Marching Band rehearsals this week! Please watch this introduction video from Mr. DuPlessis first: https://youtu.be/uQe5b3F7C5k

• Returning Corona students can sign on to Schoology here
• New members can sign on here (new members: here are instructions on how to login).
• Guard members can view assignments on the Schoology page, and submit on the Guard Facebook Page (email brandy.dubose@asu.edu to get added). There will also be additional guard assignments posted on Facebook.
• Drumline members should complete the assignments on Schoology for visual, and submit Drumline music assignments with instructions from Roberto Paz (roberto@pazmusic.com). Please check the Drumline Facebook Group regularly.
• Pit members should complete the assignments from Mr. Werner (swerner@tempeunion.org) – music can be found at http://coronabands.com/percussion/. Pit members are also expected to participate in Physical Training on the Schoology page.
• Students: Want to get occasional Text Message reminders on assignments? Woodwinds Brass Percussion Colorguard

Please read this important letter from your Band Directors regarding information on Marching Band Camp 2020 (click to read)

New or Returning to Band/Percussion/Guard next year? Please fill out this Google Information Form by Friday May 15 (this form is for ALL members, even if you aren’t doing Marching Band)

Need a school instrument for the summer (especially Marching Band)? Please fill out this quick request form so we can get in touch with you about check-out days.

Help us build our city. We have multiple levels of sponsorship opportunities available.

• Skyscraper sponsor – $500(we will use existing scaffolding with new custom-printed vinyl to create a few skyscrapers to set our scene. Your name/message will be printed on the vinyl) – our goal is 3 sponsors
• Central Park bench sponsor – $200 (your name/message will be included on a gold plaque on the bench) – our goal is 12 benches
• Central Park light post sponsor – $100 (your name/message will be included on a gold plate on the base) – our goal is 12 light posts
• Front Panel sponsor – $50 (the front of the field will have 3′ tall panels that will be decorated with New York scenes and Subway maps. Your name/message will be printed on the vinyl) – our goal is 30 sponsors
• Bass Drum Head sponsor – $150 sponsor a drum head and you get to keep it as a souvenir at the end of the season – our goal is 5 bass drum heads
• Flag sponsor – $25 (we will be looking to bring down costs for our color guard members, so purchasing a flag can help bring down fees and get more people involved in the guard. No names will be printed on the flags to keep the flag costs low) – our goal is 50 sponsors

Click the link below to access our online store and become a sponsor today!

https://squareup.com/store/cds-band-boosters-inc/item/a-day-in-the-big-city-sponsorship

We live-streamed our Band Awards on Tuesday May 12. We celebrated our Winter Guard, Percussion Ensembles, Steel Band, Jazz Bands, and Concert Bands – with awards presented for all groups. We also celebrated our Class of 2020 with a special video tribute, as well as the reveal of our Fall Marching Band Show theme!

• Senior Tribute Video – Class of 2020
• Marching Band Show Theme 2020 trailer
• Sponsor our Cityscape!
• Rewatch Full Band Awards here

Video Update from Mr. DuPlessis (Week 6 – week of May 4)

Congratulations to our students who auditioned for upper-level concert bands for next year. Here are the results of the auditions for Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band for next school year.

Congratulations to our new 2020 Band Council! (see video above for more details). We had a record number of students try out for leadership positions and we are excited to begin our training. The first leadership meeting is Tuesday May 5 from 3-4 pm on Zoom. We will follow up with a meeting with Bill Humbert on Thursday May 7 from 3-5 pm, with more to come. Click here to see the new band council list.

Calling all Seniors! Check your email – we are collecting photos and videos for our Senior recognition. Send to dduplessis@tempeunion.org to be included in the slide show (send by Thursday this week!)

Band Awards will be online next Tuesday, May 12 at 7 pm. We will honor our seniors, and present awards for Concert Bands, Percussion Ensembles, Jazz & Steel Bands, and our Guard program. We will also reveal the new 2020 Marching Band theme!