August 7, 2022 Bulletin
- Director’s Message
- Band Camp Spirit Day Themes
- Penny Wars– August 8-18
- Family Membership Directory (updated with corrections)
- Uniforms
- Student Financials/CHARMS update
- 50th Anniversary Shirts–DEADLINE TOMORROW, 8/8
**THIS is the only opportunity to get an Anniversary shirt & this is the only design that will be offered. - Quartermasters’ Report–Work Day August 9
- NPMK Spiritwear sale–August 8-22
- Show Shirt Design
- General Parent Meeting
- Writing Checks for NPMA
- Chaperones and Nurses
- Clearances
- How does volunteering work?
- Car Wash Fundraiser
- Band Camp Meals Menu
- Band Camp Hints
- Band Camp & Event Pictures
- Quartermasters–Spotlight on Crew (Volunteer opportunity)
- Scrip/RaiseRight Fundraiser
- Upcoming Fundraisers–SAVE THE DATES
- Ongoing Fundraisers
- View & Share Photos
- Video Posting Policy
- Reminders
Director’s Message
It’s an exciting night — Band Camp Eve! While we certainly have been busy since school let out, nothing can compare with Band Camp! These next two weeks are the best opportunity for our kids to create something great out of our 2022 production, In the Air. The staff and I are excited for the possibilities ahead with this outstanding group. What we’ve seen so far shows us there is potential for another special year!
While we need to work hard to get this show off the ground, our number one priority is always the health and safety of your children. It’s going to be a hot week! Sadly, the cooler temps seem to have shifted to the weekend. Please take a moment to review the Rehearsal Expectations Acknowledgement that you and your child signed at the beginning of the season. This really has ALL the information you need to ensure a safe and healthy experience!
Band Camp is not all hard work. We try to have a lot of fun too! Encourage your children to participate in the Spirit Days and build memories with their peers!
Finally, I like to remind all parents (and students) that Band Camp will be challenging. Every child (and a lot of staff members) will experience discomfort and failure, perhaps many times, over the course of these two weeks. When experienced in the context of a nurturing and safe environment, these failures and that discomfort help our students learn to overcome adversity and develop the grit and tenacity that will serve them well beyond band and high school. It is one of the reasons that Marching Band students are some of the most sought after by college admissions officers and corporate recruiters. I truly believe that our students will emerge from the other side of this camp (and this season) better and stronger kids! That’s the Marching Knight way!
Let’s have a great camp!
Mr. S
Joseph J. Santanello
Director of Bands, North Penn High School
North Penn School District
North Penn Music Aides
NPHS Band on Instagram
Spirit Day Themes for Band Camp
Penny Wars during Band Camp
2022-2023 NPMK Family Membership Directory
Please click this link to find the updated 2022-2023 NPMK Family Directory.
We have provided information we have been given permission to share. Any omissions or errors are mine.
If there is an error, this is a live document, so please email any changes to me at npmarchingknights@gmail.com and I will make all changes and post the directory for the next few weeks here in the body of the bulletin.
As you will see this week, and for the remainder of the season, there will be a link in the upper right-hand corner, under our United Way information.
Thank you for your patience and grace with the directory.
Jennifer Diffley
Uniforms
Students will be arriving home with their traditional uniform over this week and next.
It is very important that uniforms are not altered in any way.
If an item needs to be hemmed or repaired, please reach out to Susan Donahue at npma.uniforms@gmail.com
The traditional uniforms are dry clean only and were cleaned after last season. Please air dry after each wearing and spot clean any mud/dirt but DO NOT WASH under any circumstances. Please hang neatly on hangers between wearings.
Please see the Facebook posts for more details about the uniform requirements.
Student Financials/CHARMS Update
The CHARMS transfer request buttons are now working and sending the request directly to me. You no longer need to follow up with an email to inform me of the transfer.
The Philly Raffle fundraiser credits should be in your accounts sometime this week and can be applied to any past or future payments due.
In addition to applying student credit to membership fees and accessories, you can now apply it to the cost of the Peach Bowl trip, for students only. You need to email me the amount you want transferred from the student’s account to the fee due in your PEAK account.
I will be submitting the transfers on the 15th and 30th of each month to PEAK. You will not see the account balance change in PEAK until they receive a check payment from NPMA which will occur once a month.
Email me at npma.studentfinancials@gmail.
Thanks,
Kim Sisian
50th Anniversary Shirts
DEADLINE – 8/8!!
2022 marks the 50th anniversary of the North Penn Marching Knights. In honor of the anniversary we have designed a commemorative shirt. Please visit the website listed on flyer to make your purchase.
The shirt sale runs from 7/31/2022-8/8/2022. Delivery will be approximately 8/17/2022 and pick-up will be at the high school.
More details to follow on delivery.
Thank you.
Quartermasters’ Report
The crew will be having a work day on August 6th from 6pm to 9pm. We are planning on cleaning out the garage and trailer, sorting, and organizing in preparation for the fall season. We need about 6 people. Please sign up if you would like to help. Thank you.
—
Kris & John
Quartermasters NPMK
NPMK Spiritwear
Now is the time to show your Marching Knights spirit!! The spiritwear sale is officially upon us. This will be your only opportunity to purchase a show shirt which shows the theme of the show on the front and all of the students’ names on the back (See the attached photos).
Our sale will run August 8 through August 22 and orders will be distributed by a NPMA representative the week of September 12. Pick-up details will be available at a later date.
This may be the only opportunity to order items for holiday gifts!!
The spirit wear vendor will be at the high school on Thursday, August 18th at 8pm with samples for sizing.
If you have any questions please reach out to Julie Hanley at npma.spiritwear@gmail.com.
Here is the link to order
Writing Checks for Fundraisers and Fees
All checks should be written out to NPMA, not NPMK. Also, please write the full name of your student in the memo line and what it the check is for.
Please place in an envelope, with what it is for, and student’s name on the outside of the envelope.
Any questions feel free to contact me: Alicia Hayes
**There was a Facebook post with more details. Please join if you have not already! 2022-2023 NPMA Parent Connection**
Clearances
As we prepare for a new Marching Knights season, it is time to update clearances. Clearances are required to volunteer with the Marching Knights and must be renewed every 60 months. Please follow these instructions:
1. Visit the North Penn volunteer website at: https://www.npenn.org/for_
2. Follow the instructions to obtain clearances.
3. Complete this Volunteer Affirmation Form: https://www.npenn.org/
4. Put a note on the forms indicating that they are for NPMK.
5. Please submit the required documents in one packet to the address as listed below. Documents may also be personally presented for copying in the District’s Office of School and Community Engagement for immediate return.
Volunteer List/HR
Attention Terry Dolan
North Penn School District
401 E. Hancock Street
Lansdale, PA 19446
6. Have fun volunteering with the North Penn Marching Knights!
Note about clearances:
- No students under 18 need to have clearances for volunteering
- Any volunteering that involves the direct supervision of students requires clearances
- Not all of our volunteer positions require clearances (for example, concessions) but just in case there is crossover–for example, you are working on crew but need to “chaperone” by taking a student to the restroom, it’s best to have them.
- Volunteer clearances are free unless you need to get fingerprinted, or if you’ve gotten clearances in the past 60 months
- Clearances only need to be renewed every 5 years (60 months)
- If you have clearances on file with the school district for another purpose, you simply need to place a call or send an email to Terry Dolan to ask her to add NPMK to your existing clearances.
I signed up to save $100 by Volunteering…Now what? How does it all work?
In August we have the following volunteer activities to offer NPMA families:
DCI Chaperone–completed on August 6
Crew Work Day–Tuesday, August 9
Car Wash–Saturday, August 13
Band Camp Meals–August 8-11 and 15-18
There will be plenty of future opportunities to volunteer as we approach our football and competition weekends and we will need your help!
We wish to thank the parents that volunteered to fill some of our open positions:
–Photography–Christine Erb
(Christine will need people to help take photos at all events)
–Band Meals–(Friday football & Saturday competitions) Laurel Kennedy, Michelle Ashley and Lisa Swartwood
As for getting your 12 hours in, we need weekly crew, chaperones, and people to serve the band meals, and concessions help. On October 15, we will need a ton of people to help to make Knight of Sound a success–we will need both committee chairs and hourly volunteers.
Here is a reminder of the Q & A from previous bulletins and from the July parent meeting.
How will I find out about the opportunities available for volunteering?
Signup geniuses, work days, and calls for help will all be posted in the bulletin and on the parent Facebook page. Some will come out via Remind notification.
Am I on the hook for all 12 hours? Or 24 if I have multiple kids in the program?
The board voted that if you have multiple kids in the program, to reduce the full requirement by 3 hours, so if you have two children in the program, you only have to volunteer 21 hours, rather than 24.
Also, volunteering is a FAMILY responsibility, so bring those siblings, aunts, uncles, grandparents. Grandparents LOVE working in the concession stand.
Some positions (crew, in particular) require fast moving and some heavy lifting, so keep that in mind.
Smaller, younger siblings might be more in the way than a help, so as long as the expectation is set, and they are up for it, they are welcome. They are usually a huge help on painting days and serving band meals. They can also help chaperones collect trash at home and away football games. (They cannot ride the student bus, though)
Students in National Junior/National Honor Society can get service hours, as can Scouts, Confirmation classes, JROTC, and any other service organization. We will sign whatever they need signed, or give a letter.
I volunteered and I LOVED it! I made some new friends, and I had a lot of fun. Can I keep going after my 12 hours are up?
We need you! We will need more than 12 hours per family, but we thought this was a fair way for people to get slowly introduced to what volunteering as a band parent was all about. Please continue! We are also doing this for succession planning as many board members have seniors and will need to be replaced next year.
I didn’t sign up to help, because I wasn’t sure I could commit to 12 hours, and we didn’t need/want the discount. Can I still work in the snack stand or help with Crew when I am available?
Please! We are hoping that parents who didn’t take advantage of the discount will still want to help. We need all hands on deck most weeks. The more, the merrier, and the less work for everyone if we have plenty of help.
How are you tracking this? Am I sure to get credit for all of the minutes I put in?
Yes! We have an app, created by one of our awesome parents. This tool will help us track and reconcile your volunteer hours.
Car Wash Fundraiser
We are having a car wash on August 13 from 9:30-2:30.
We need student volunteers to wash cars and parents to supervise. Please also invite friends, family and neighbors to attend. The car wash is run by donation, and is a great opportunity for those who wish to help the music programs but may not know how.
Band Camp Meals
Here is the menu for the 2 weeks of band camp. 2 of the days will be sandwiches because of the kitchen doing some training before we get there, but we will have all the extras that we prepare (salad, fruit salad, desserts and drinks). If your child does not like these choices please prepare to send them with something else.
8/8: popcorn chicken & tater tots
8/9: turkey & cheese on kaiser roll with chips
8/10: ham & cheese on Kaiser roll with chips
8/11: cheese pizza
8/15: pulled pork sandwich & mac & cheese
8/16: grilled cheese & french fries
8/17: pasta & meat sauce & meatless sauce
8/18: cheese and/or chicken quesadilla
For those that have signed up on the sign up genius, thank you so much! Looking forward to seeing everyone! There are still openings to volunteer or for donations, every bit helps. Please see below.
cell# 215-260-6093
Link for donations and volunteering:
Band Camp Hints
Hopefully, the heat wave will be over, but it will still be August hot, so here are some important tips to help your student thrive at Band Camp:
Students should hydrate all morning, the day of and the day after, and all day Sunday before Band Camp starts.
Students should be well rested. Yes, it’s summer, but they should not be staying up until 2 am, then getting up at noon and not eating enough to sustain them through the day (I mean, I’ve heard this happens. I’m not accusing anyone, especially not anyone in my household)
Students should eat a good breakfast and a nutritious lunch. Protein and complex carbs will help keep them energized. They should put some snacks in their backpack that are able to be quickly eaten during a water/snack break, which is about 10 minutes.
Students should wear good, supportive sneakers and socks. Students should not leave those socks rolled up in a nasty, wet ball in the bottom of their hamper after Band Camp.
Students should wear sunscreen to Band Camp and pack some in their backpack to reapply. Don’t forget the back of the neck and ears. There are times that groups are out in the field in direct sunlight. Hats are also recommended.
Chapstick or lip sunscreen is also highly recommended!
Students should have at least 1/2 gallon of water. Water will be replenished at dinner. Water is much better than Gatorade or anything like that due to sugar content. They should also watch caffeine intake earlier in the day as that is a diuretic and can be dehydrating.
PLEASE LABEL ALL PARTS OF WATER BOTTLES. There is an assembly line of volunteers taking lids off and filling water bottles, then reapplying lids. Sometimes the lids get separated so label the lid and the water bottle so they end up back together properly. Mabels Labels are great for this (see below, ongoing fundraisers) but Sharpies work just fine, too, if you don’t mind a permanent mark. Please make sure that lids are tight enough not to leak, but not so tight that volunteers cannot get the lids off to refill.
Dinner will be provided by NPMA (see signup genius for volunteer and donation opportunities above)
Band Camp & Event Pictures
If you have a good camera, feel free to stop by at Band Camp during the week to take pictures. Please just be mindful not to interrupt nor get in the way.
These are useful for Champs (more on that in future bulletins.)
If volunteering for dinner, grab pictures with your camera or even on your phone to post on the Facebook page.
You can post them on the Flickr account, as explained below.
We need people to take pictures in high resolution at all events and competitions and upload them to Flickr, for Champs, the year end program book, and the alumni group that keeps historical data.
Thank you in advance for your help with this.
Quartermasters’ Report: Spotlight on Crew
If you’ve been at the General Parent Meetings, you’ve heard the calls to help Crew. What does this involve?
- Crew builds and paints props for the show. You will see notices here in the bulletin for painting/building help.
- A cleaning day will be hosted soon as the band garage is packed and disorganized (we share the garage with the theater department, so things get crazy in April) and we need to figure out what we have and to organize for the season
- During Friday night home games, Crew helps get the band onto the field with setting up props, helping to set up equipment and then gets the band off of the field as well.
- During Friday night away games, and Saturday competitions, Crew loads the truck, drives to the venue, unloads the truck, gets students set up in practice areas, then gets the band onto the field with props, equipment, backdrops, etc.
- They also get water to the students for after the performance, or to chaperones to distribute before the performance in the case of Saturday competitions.
- During Saturday competitions, Crew tailgates while the band rehearses. It’s potluck style and everyone contributes.
- They also fix props that may break in transit. Lots of cable ties and black tape are packed.
- We are going to need 14-16 crew members for each event this year.
- Remember, it is not just parents that can volunteer for credit toward the volunteer requirement, siblings can help, depending on age. We also don’t turn down aunts, uncles, grandparents, neighbors.
- There is some lifting involved and getting on and off the field is timed, so the ability to move quickly is important…but the payoff is that you see things up close and personally, including the huge smiles of the band students. The excitement is contagious. The crew is also a bunch of really fun people.
- If you come to a game and crew looks light, please jump in. Just ask a crew member how you can help.
- Questions: Contact npma.quartermaster@gmail.com
RaiseRight/Scrip
Now is the time to start building up your account for the upcoming marching band season. As I have mentioned to many, by purchasing $1000 in grocery cards a month you can earn $240 by November.
That’s just your groceries and gas. Are you doing yard work or home renovations? You can buy Lowes electronically, while you are shopping. Paying off your Kohls charge is as easy as downloading a card electronically and paying your bill in the store. Buying gift cards for holidays/events can earn significant money toward our upcoming trip. Use cards for local restaurants when you eat out, earning fees for doing what you normally do throughout the week.
The next order for physical cards will be placed August 14 at midnight (so your order has to be locked in by 11:59 pm)
Physical cards get picked up at 1277 Alexander Drive, Hatfield, but will soon be able to be picked up at rehearsals and events at the high school…it takes about 4 days from order to pickup. Electronic cards are delivered directly to your device and can be used immediately.
For those who haven’t set up their account yet, the enrollment code is 3L9CAFEF13638. Be sure to download the RaiseRight app so that you can purchase electronic gift cards for immediate use.
Happy Earning!
Alicia Hayes
Scrip Coordinator
215-260-6093
Ongoing Fundraisers
Wawa Hoagie Coupons – Wawa Shortie Hoagie Coupons are $4. Students receive $1 credit for each coupon. Contact Amy Walker at nawalker5@gmail.com for more info.
Amazon Smile – Use this link when shopping with Amazon and NPMA will benefit. Click here to shop with Amazon Smile.
Shutterfly – Shop at northpennmusic.
Freddy Hill Mini Golf – Tickets are $6, good for any date. NPMK gets $2 from every sale, and your student gets $1 in their CHARMS account. The tickets have no expiration. Contact Andrea Hinderliter at npma.fundraising@gmail.com for tickets.
Scrip – Order gift cards for everyday use, special occasions or gifts. Use gift cards for home improvement projects. Visit www.shopwithscrip.com or use the Raise Right App. There are also cards available each week that are kept in stock. Questions? Contact npmascrip@gmail.com.
Marketplace – Shop for gourmet cookies, desserts, pizza kits, crockpot meals, coffee and more. Click here to visit the Marketplace Fundraising website.
Mabel’s Labels – Labels for clothing, water bottles, shoes, stadium coats, music cases, lunchboxes–all of those things that end up on the lost and found table outside the band room, dishes for food donations, upcoming holidays. Click here to visit the Mabel’s Labels website. Type in North Penn Music Aides under organization.
View & Share Photos
If you’re looking for photos of your child, please visit our Flickr page at flickr.com/photos/npma/albums.
We encourage you to take photos and upload them to our Flickr account to share with others. Please only upload high quality photos and not multiples of the same shot. We are running into space limitations with Flickr.
Please use the login information below.
Email: npmapublicity@gmail.com
Password: Npma20212022 (PLEASE DO NOT CHANGE THE PASSWORD!)
NOTE: Should you be the one to create a new Album here is the naming convention: “YYYY-MM-DD Name of the event or competition.” Please use this format so the albums stay in order.
Video Posting Policy
A reminder to everyone that we CANNOT put videos of our shows on ANY social media. We purchase the rights to use the music in these programs and any posting of the music on social media can cause these programs to incur fines.
Reminders
- Subscribe to the NP Band Google Calendar. **
- If your child needs to miss any rehearsals, please complete the NPMK Absence Form so the Director and staff can adequately plan.
- Parents: sign up for Remind texts. Text @npmk2022 to the number 81010
- Please join our Facebook page for parents: 2022-2023 NPMA Parent Connection
**If this link does not work for you, please subscribe to the calendar by visiting your Google menu and entering the email address “npmarchingknights@gmail.com“
If you have previously been subscribed to a version of the NP Band calendar and unsubscribed, the links get particularly persnickety.