| AFM Newsletter
Copies of the AFM Newsletter mailings just in case you've misplaced yours. February 13, 2008 London Registration Deadlines
We have had a few questions about a final registration date for our upcoming London trip. We are providing these dates to avoid any confusion.
For current students, the last date to submit your down payment is February 28th.
For incoming freshmen, the last date is March 15th. Please contact us with any questions or concerns.
Once the down payment is submitted, the current payment schedule should be adhered to.
London Registration & Payment Information :
A $200 down payment is due at time of registration, of which $100 is non-refundable. There will be no refunds made after May 1, 2008.
London fees may be paid by check or by a transfer from your student's account. AFM is unable to offer financial assistance to students traveling to London.
If you were unable to attend AFM's in person registration, please download the registration form from the band website and mail in both form and payment to the address below. Payments must be received by February 28th. (March 15th for incoming freshmen)
Please mail payments to:
AFM
c/o Cindy Gehl
4517 Shearwater Road
Pleasanton, CA 94566
Do not place London Payments in the box in the bandroom!
Payments must be received by the due dates. Late payments may result in cancellation.
A full payment schedule is available on the band website:
amadorband.org
Important-
Passport information:
Passports must be valid for 6 months beyond time of travel; therefore, expiration date needs to be June 2009 or beyond.
Allow a minimum of 4-6 weeks for passport to be processed.
Passport information can be found at: http://www.usps.com/passport/
London Trip Chaperone Information
Thanks to all of you who have shown an interest in being a chaperone for the London trip. The following is information that will hopefully allow you to make a final decision as to whether you would like to be a chaperone.
Chaperones must be adults traveling with the band. The job of chaperoning will be a full time commitment; therefore other family members, children or spouses may not travel with the band. Couples may chaperone but may not be traveling with other children. Families are welcome to travel independently and join the band at their public performances or free times. Families will not be accommodated on the band's scheduled sightseeing tours.
Many parents have asked if they would be able to chaperone their child's group in London. We will try to make that happen but cannot guarantee it. If 2 students in a single group each have their parents chaperoning, it would not be possible for both parents to chaperone one group. However, the students will have the opportunity to select their own group. If it is important to them for their parent to be their chaperone, they may have to choose their group with that in mind. Also remember that a lot of the sightseeing in London will be done as a large group on tour buses. Even if you were not your child's chaperone, you would be able to spend time with them on these tours.
At this time, we can offer a $200 discount to adults who travel with the band as a chaperone. It is hopeful that enough money will be raised at The Magic of Music that we will be able to offer further discounts, however it cannot be guaranteed. Chaperones will follow the same payment schedule as the students. Student Account money cannot be used to pay for chaperones.
If you have further questions, contact Cindy Gehl at gehl4s@pacbell.net or 426-1481.
Air Travel Option to London
Many families have asked if they can travel with their child to London prior to the scheduled trip.
Youth Music will offer a package, which does not include airfare. The fee would change from $2500 to $1700 based on $1.95/pound. You would be responsible for arranging ROUNDTRIP airfare for your child.
Please note that we must communicate this to Youth Music before the contract is signed. Once it is signed, the airfare cannot be deducted. You must commit to this option by March 1.
*** Jon Grantham
Amador groups shine this weekend!
Congratulations to Jazz "B", Jazz "A" and the Jazz "A" Combo for earning Unanimous Superiors (highest rating possible) at the Campana Jazz Festival. Amador's groups do not compete as the hosts of the festival but turned in outstanding performances.
Also, congratulations to the AVHS Winterguard!
This weekend at the Ceres Regional the guard turned in two strong performances to earn a spot in it's first regional finals since 2006. The guard finished 9th out of 22 and are proving to be their most competitive in years. Good work!
** Band director says "Thanks!"
This year's Campana Jazz Festival was a huge undertaking and a huge success. As teachers we have a lot of choices about what festivals we
take our groups to and comments were heard throughout the day regarding the friendliness of our parent and student volunteers as well as the highly organized way in which our festival was run.
On behalf of Mr. Aubel, a heartfelt thanks to all those Amador band students and families who gave so much time and energy towards the
festival. A very special thanks to Marilyn and Carl Palowitch for their year-round effort towards making the Campana festival a premier
educational event for bay area jazz musicians.
*** Magic of Music
*** The Must Attend Event of the Year!
Pleasanton Hilton April 26
Dianne Jones
The New Year has begun, Marching Season is over, Campana was a Huge success, London Planning is off and running, and now it is time to focus on the bands only Major Fundraiser of the Year, The Magic of Music.
Your participation in this event is crucial to our fundraising efforts. The work we do now will effect the Band Program for years to come. Fortunately, there are people now, as in the past, with the vision to plan for the future. Be a part of that vision, be a part of the team that is the Amador Friends of Music.
Plus, this is your chance to help offset some of the costs associated with the Bands participation as representatives of Pleasanton in the London New Year's Day Parade! Everyone's participation means we make more money which means it costs you less.
You should have received your Magic of Music parent packet in the mail. Thank you to Andrea Holmquist for putting these together!
These packets give you the opportunity to learn some more about the event and its importance to the band program, make event reservations, make donations, and take out an ad in the event program.
Formal invitations will be forthcoming.
If you did not receive a packet please contact me at dodijones@comcast.net and we will make sure you get one.
There will be many specific volunteer opportunities available but right now I am looking for a few creative people who can help with Decorations. Most of the work has been done but I need some people to help with set-up. Please email me if you are interested.
Please take the time to send in your Event reservation form and get your donations in as soon as possible. Fill up a table of 8 or 10. Bring your friends and family.
All donations can be dropped off at my house- 2824 Foothill Oaks Terrace or at the Band room. If you have any questions about donations please contact Marcia Ikeda at Mikeda_88@yahoo.com
To Volunteer for the event please contact Thom Kato at thom.kato@comcast.net or Trish Moosbrugger at pmoosbrugger@comcast.net
For ad questions contact Cindy Gehl at gehl4s@pacbell.net
For reservations contact Paulette Callahan at pcallaha@ebmud.com
*** Marilyn & Carl Palowitch
Just a quick note to say THANK YOU to everyone who helped in the success of the Campana Jazz Festival.
It was a wonderful day, full of great music and it could not have happened with the support of AFM and the AFM families. Thank you very much! We are working on a fuller recap of the day, with more acknowledgements, stories and photos. Look for it in an upcoming newsletter.
*** Sleep Train Pavillion for 2008 Season:
*** Earn $$ for your student account
Cecilia Melby
This year's concert season starts in May. Our team runs the Corona Beer Hut, selling bottled beer, draft beer, wine and sodas. For each event we typically provide 2-3 people who are entirely responsible for manning the booth. We are responsible for accounting for the beginning and ending product inventory and all cash sales. We then receive 5-7% of the proceeds from the event, in addition to any tips collected. 10% of our earnings are applied to the band General Fund, and the remaining earnings are allocated to the student accounts of the parents working that event. The tip money is pooled and distributed to the entire volunteer pool to help adjust for any events where earnings are low. Last season volunteers averaged $100 per event once the tip money was allocated. Week-day events usually require the group to leave Pleasanton around 4:00 PM for a 5:00 reporting time. We typically are home by about 11:30 PM. Weekend events are more variable, sometimes requiring a full day/evening (full day events paid out at $150).
Interested? In order to qualify for this opportunity, you are required by the Pavilion to take a 3 hour training class in Concord that covers the regulations for selling alcohol at this venue. There is also an internet option for training that costs $40 per person that you can elect to pay for yourself (Concord on-site training is free). The training is good for 3 years - Parents of Seniors please take note, your TIPs card may be expiring before the season ends and you may need to take the class again. In addition, everyone is also required to take a short on-line training course that covers the Hospitality aspects of running a booth.
Training in Concord is usually offered in April/May - usually with very short notice! Please email Cecilia.Melby@Clorox.com if you are a new participant this year and I will add you to our current volunteer list and notify you of the training dates once available. Once you have completed the necessary training, you will then be eligible to volunteer.
*** AFM Scrip
Cherie Stueve
Link: Scrip Reference Sheet
A Scrip Reference Sheet in Excel is available on the band website in response to the frequent request of a quick reference of the most popular & local scrip. This does NOT serve as an order form. All orders MUST be placed online at www.shopwithscrip.com.
If you are interested in getting friends or coworkers to order scrip, they might prefer to complete this worksheet and you can order online for them.
Next scrip deadline is February 29th. Call or email with any questions!
timstueve@earthlink.net Updated: February 13, 2008 |
