What a performance

​BANDS OF AMERICA REGIONAL COMPETITION, DELAWARE, OCTOBER 7 - The results are in. congratulations to our Marching Blue Devils on placing 13th in prelims Saturday out of 28 competing bands.  Their score was only .5 out of finals, and the 2nd highest score of bands from NJ at the regional.  Congratulations to our hard-working students who put on a great show!!  You made us proud with your performance and how you cheered on the other bands as they performed!  And big congrats to our friends at Old Bridge HS for their first BOA Regional Finals appearance!
DUE SOON - WHS Marching Band - Half Time is Our Time t-shirts back by popular demand.  See attached order form for details.  Orders must be placed by 10/13.  Late orders will not be accepted to ensure delivery prior to States.  Note - we must have a minimum of 12 orders for both crew and v-neck styles so order today!!  Contact Heather Bryant with questions - hlbryant@comcast.net.
 
MOVIE NIGHT - Mark your calendars for the 1st annual WHS Marching Blue Devils Movie Night!  Movie will be shown on Friday, October 13th in the WHS courtyard (auditorium if weather does not cooperate).  The BPA will provide popcorn.  Bring your favorite snacks and join your band friends for a relaxing evening and a good movie. What movie you ask? Guess you'll have to show up to find out! This event will start at 7:30 and will end at the conclusion of the movie. Hope to see you there! NOTE: This event is for marching band members only.   
 
NEW - REHEARSAL/FOOTBALL GAME AT RUTGERS/HILLSBOROUGH COMPETITION OCTOBER 14TH -See Mr. Vitale's 10/8 weekly email for the day's schedule as well as details for PSAT takers.  Remember to have your child's uniform dry cleaned before the competition!!  FYI - Flair Cleaners on South Avenue/Boulevard offers a great deal at $6 for dry cleaning our band uniforms!
 
NEW - ROTARY CLUB FASHION SHOW - Watch some of our senior members walk the catwalk and support the Rotary Club at the same time!  The Rotary Club's annual fundraiser "Small Plates for a Great Cause" will be held at Lord & Taylor on Thursday, October 26th, 6:30 - 9 pm.  It is a fun night, offering appetizers presented by over 28 local restaurants, wines to taste, live music and a fashion show by some of our WHS Marching Band students, as well as discounts to shop at Lord & Taylor.  Proceeds are used to help relieve hunger through Rotary programs, provide scholarships and support the Rotary Club's community grant program.  Tickets are $40 (checks made payable to The Westfield Rotary Foundation).  Please contact Liz Ensslin at liz@theinkwellusa.com or Beth Matin  at bmatin64@gmail.com for tickets or more information.  
 
NEW - HALLOWEEN PARADE 10/29 - It's that time of year again! The WHSMB will once again be performing in the Optimist Club Halloween Parade. We do not wear uniforms for this parade. Instead, students are asked to dress up in creative costumes. These costumes must be elementary school appropriate as our audience that day is young children.  See Mr. Vitale's 10/8 weekly update for details.
 
Please visit the calendar on the WHS Bands web site for all practice dates and times.
 
BAND PHOTOS - The publicity crew is back at it again, with hundreds of awesome photos from this weekend's performances. Not only are the pictures fun to look at, they can be great learning tools! Haven't received your invitation to log-in? Contact Mr. Paglialungaalbert.paglialunga@gmail.com.  
 
NEW - VIDEOS OF THE BAND -   We respectfully ask that members, friends and family DO NOT post videos of the marching band on the internet.  This includes posting videos on social media and YouTube. We plan to post a show video later in the season available to be shared with the general public. The video from this past weekend will go up in the member area of the website to be used for educational use only. We thank you for your cooperation.


 Fundraising 
NEW - SHAKO DAY A HUGE SUCCESS!! - The final figures are in - our SHAKO wielding students raised $6,485!!!  WAY TO GO!!!
 
POMPOMS - We have more pompoms if you didn't get a chance to purchase them yet.   They are a fun way to show your support for the band.  The kids love to see parent support!  If you are interested in pompoms, please email Jenn Useloff at jlu624@yahoo.com or Seth Brown at whsnjbpa@gmail.com.
FUNDRAISING OPPORTUNITIES - There are many excellent fundraising opportunities including the annual mum sale, chocolate bars and more.  Some directly benefit the BPA while others are an opportunity to put funds in your child's individual Charms account to offset the cost of marching band fees.  A complete fundraising packet with all our fundraisers was sent out September 12th via email.  If you did not receive it or have any questions, please email Jenn Useloff at jlu624@yahoo.com or Seth Brown at whsnjbpa@gmail.com.  
 
YANKEE CANDLE SALE - October 4-18 - Catalog or online shopping available - catalogs were distributed in band classes earlier this week and can be obtained from the directors.
Catalog shopping (Instructions included with the catalog):
Order Forms and money due on October 18th, checks payable to WHS BAND.  Items will be delivered and distributed 2-4 weeks after sale ends 
 
Online shopping: 
1.)  Click here for Yankee Candle online shopping!
2.) Enter Group #: 990036163 in the "Start Shopping" box
3.) Shop!
4.) Sales tax and shipping charges may apply
5.) Items ordered will be shipped directly
 
Invite Friends and Family:
1.) Click here for Yankee Candle online shopping!  
2.) Click on "Seller Login" button
3.) Fill out the "Sign up to be a seller" form
4.) Enter Group #: 990036163
5.) Provide email addresses of friends and family
6.) Items ordered will be shipped directly
7.) You can track all sales that have been made
 
Any questions, please contact Jenn Useloff jlu624@yahoo.com or Rebecca Kelly rkandlily@verizon.net.  Money from this fundraiser goes into student's Charms account to be used for marching band expenses.
 
NEW - Stay tuned for Gertrude Hawks Chocolate delivery information.
 
NEW - SPIRITWEAR UPDATES - Online merchandise orders have come in and are being distributed.  Flags are available for pick-up, as well.  Track jackets should be in sometime this week.  Contact Heather Bryant hlbryant@comcast.net with questions.
 
Want to make a donation to WHS Bands?  CLICK HERE TO MAKE A DONATION!!
A PayPal account has been set up to accept donations.  The WHS Band Parent Association is a 501-C3 non-profit organization and donations are tax deductible.  Check with your employer to see if they match donations.
INDIVIDUAL FUNDRAISERS - Looking to put money in your student's CHARMs account? You can purchase grocery store gift cards from Shop Rite, Stop and Shop, ACME and Kings.  For every $100 gift card purchased, $5 goes into the student's account.  You can resell the card to friends/family or use it for your everyday shopping.  Gift cards can be purchased anytime throughout the year.  Contact Mary Beyert (mbeyert@comcast.net) or Sarah McGrail (s_mcgrail@hotmail.com).


 
HospitalityNEW - SAVE THE DATE - October 28th - Calling all cooks and bakers.  Our annual Pot Luck dinner for all band members and their families is scheduled for Saturday, October 28th prior to State Championships.  More details to come pending a schedule for the day.

Volunteering 
Thank you to all the parent volunteers who helped make our 2nd BOA trip at U of D a success - Pit Crew, chaperones, photographers - and all the fans sitting in the stands cheering on our Marching Blue Devils!!!   It all makes a difference and lets our students know we appreciate all their hard work!!!
 


 
Marching Band Calendar - Can't remember what time practice is?  Where or when the next game or competition will be?  Subscribe to our google calendar located on the homepage of the website: www.westfieldhsbands.org  Click the subscribe button in the lower right-hand corner of the calendar.
Newsletter Archive - can't locate a newsletter?  Now you can access it via the WHS Bands' website on the Band Parents' Association page.  Just go to the Leadership drop-down and hold your cursor over "Parent Association" and you will have an option to click on newsletters.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PAST NEWSLETTERS! 
Follow the WHS Bands on Social Media and the Web!  FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM @WHSBANDSFRIENDSFAMILYANDALUMNI  Check the Band Website for regularly updated information:  www.westfieldhsbands.org  


Questions??Though we try, we couldn't possibly think of everything.   Feel free to email us at whsbandparents@gmail.com with your questions. We will get right back to you!