NY Trip Update

Dear New York Trip Families:

Hi All!

Thank you again for your patience in trying to settle out the final details of the postponement of our Instrumental Trip to New York City. I know in these times that the uncertainty of the trip has been difficult at times, so I hope this statement of the final details of the trip help alleviate some of the stress.

The trip has been postponed to March 4-8, 2021. We will be traveling to New York City to perform in Carnegie Hall. It will be an exciting trip and an amazing experience for all involved. For those of you who did not request a refund, your trip is all ready rolled into the next trip with no further payments needed. The only concession is that there is a $400 non-refundable portion of the trip if you needed to pull out of the trip for any reason.

For those of you who requested a refund, the refund process has begun and is slated to take 45 days. Usually, Encore would take 30 days to refund, but due to there social distancing protocols, processing all of this is taking a little bit longer. For those that made payments from their bank accounts using the Automatic Payments, they will be refunded back to your accounts and for all others, they will receive back a check in the mail. Everyone who asked for a refund will receive a $400 voucher from Encore and the rest of the cost will be refunded back as stated. If you used MPA Student account money, those funds will be returned back to the MPA Student Accounts for future use. Since the money in the student accounts comes from fundraising under the name of the MPA, legally the funds must come back to the MPA Student Accounts. MPA Student accounts are set up to help cover costs and donations made to and through the MPA.

For those with the $400 voucher, MPA is willing to help broker deals with future travelers, but MPA is not in a position to take on the financial burden of the vouchers. Since this is not a MPA sponsored trip, we need to make sure that MPA is financially sound. I have the upmost faith that we will be able to broker the deals in the future, most likely in the fall, but we will work with the current Senior class first, and then work our way down through the classes. Realize only one voucher can be used per person in future travels.

For those of you who ask for a refund now, and want to come back on to the trip next year, we welcome you back on the trip and you can use your voucher then. We will be advertising this trip soon, with a new sign up page and information. I highly recommend you all come along. Seniors, I even open it up to you as well. Feel free to come back and join us on this trip. I feel like you got a little shortchanged on this, so I am hoping we can make it work.

Thank you all again for your patience! Please feel free to email me about any questions.

Thanks,
Jason

Save the Date

Save the date! Monday, May 4th, at 7pm we will be having our annual Marching Band Informational Meeting and 2020 Fall Show Reveal.

Normally we all meet in the band room, but in this strange new environment, we will be meeting in a zoom meeting. Details for the sign in will be given next week, but keep this on your calendar.

This is a great time to ask questions, get the info for the fall, and hear the music we will be working on for next year’s show.

While there is still some uncertainty in what our future holds in light of COVID-19, we will still plan to be back to the business of music making together, in person. See you all there!

Mr. Stone’s Thought of the Week…

As we all are getting used to distance learning, zoom meetings, webinars, video assignments, and finding out how a house can suddenly feel four times smaller each day, I am still excited by the work being done by all our musicians to continue to be better musicians and students. It’s an insane situation, but we are fortunate for the time we have to build our individual skills and creatively connect with each other in so many new ways.

Keep up the good work! Keep the hope alive that the end to this separation is closer than it appears! Keep smiling!

Have a great week!

Ms. Munday’s News & Notes…

I just wanted to send a note to say hi and keep in touch with everyone. I hope that everybody is well and is managing with all of the new expectations that have been put on all of us.

I am enjoying hearing from the students. They are being brave and coping with staying at home, but I think it’s growing old for them! Thank you, parents, for shepherding them through this time. I am in awe of you and your children!

I want to let you know about the assignments that will be given till the end of the school year. There is one this week where each student is asked to create a symphonic program. They will have until May 8th to complete it. The next assignment will be the jury/final where they play the appropriate scales/arpeggios for their level and a solo that is appropriate for their level. This will be due at the end of May. Both of these assignments will be posted on Google Classroom.

Your child should check Classroom each day for announcements, activities, assignments, etc.

Some of the students have missing assignments, which can lower their class grade. You can look on Aeries to see which I ones are missing. I will accept late work, so encourage them to complete all of their assignments.

If you have any questions, please email me.

As we start another week, let’s look out for one another and help keep each other positive. Thank you to all of you.

Message from MPA President

I hope everyone and your families are all doing well and staying healthy.

I wanted to update everyone on the current financial status of the Music Parents Association. The MPA had a strong first half of the year with our fundraisers. The fall Boosters Raffle, Poinsettia Sales, ACT/SAT Practice Tests, Scrip/Gift Cards and Dine Out at Doña Maria all performed at or above expectations. Thank you to the many parents who volunteered and supported all these events to raise much needed funds for our programs.

We are also ahead for the year in donations/grants that we solicit from 3rd party companies.

Our most important fundraiser of the year is the Dinner Show and this year for the first time we held one for 7/8 and a second for 9-12. The two shows allowed us to better highlight all our programs and were a great success! Congratulations to the entire Dinner Show committee for your amazing commitment and hard work. A special thank you to our co-chairs Michelle Lynskey and Julie Pao!

Despite all this wonderful momentum and the support from many of our families, we like many organizations right now are facing a tough time. With the closure of school activities, we are missing not only all the fun events and performances of our students but important fundraisers to our program and overall planned budget. These events include the loss of income from the Band/Orchestra Festival, Club LC, the second semester Boosters Raffle, and the plan for two more SAT/ACT Prep test fundraisers this spring.

Most importantly, we are down significantly in student family contributions to help cover the cost of the program.

Due to this loss of expected income to our annual fiscal budget we are currently projecting a deficit for the year of $15,000-$20,000. While we have the reserves to cover this loss it will have a significant negative impact on the financial health of our organization.

It still seems surreal to me that our school year is ending in a way none of us could have imagined just six weeks ago. Last week our students and teachers were to have been in NYC on an amazing and educational trip. This week our Winter Drumline would have been competing at WGI World Championships in Dayton, Ohio.

This is a difficult time for all of us. I know many people are out of work (my husband and I included). However, as I write this I think of the important things in my life. I am grateful that my extended family and friends are all safe and healthy, and I hope yours are too. I am grateful that our school district has done a herculean job in getting our students through this with distance learning and an ability for our kids to finish their school year. I am grateful for our teachers who are quickly adapting and working hard through this crisis to deliver educational learning and keep our students engaged. I am grateful to all our amazing students. Over the past four years I have been to all the concerts, competitions, events, parades. I have been in and out of the band room too many times to count. I have always been so impressed with the positive attitude, leadership, and camaraderie of our students. I have watched my own children who have learned so much, matured and benefited greatly by being a part of the Instrumental Music program. I am so grateful to have been a part of this program, it has brought great joy to my life and I hope it will continue to do the same for all of you.

I know we are not yet finished with our school year. The MPA will have a board meeting to finish this school year on June 1st. However, I wanted to take the time now to alert everyone to our current status. More importantly, I want to thank all the parents who have sacrificed so much of their time and money to help our program succeed. Thank you for your amazing hard work and commitment to our students. The Instrumental Music Program cannot survive without the support of the MPA and the MPA cannot survive without the support of the parents. The time and effort you all put in to support our students is deeply appreciated and the reward is the smiles on the faces of our kids at every performance, competition, and event.

Finally, I want to thank Jason Stone, Jennifer Munday, Jimmie Myers, and Sandy Miller. While the Instrumental Program needs the MPA our students need these instructors. They are incomparable in their expertise, teaching and commitment to our kids. They work tirelessly and engage and connect with our students in ways that ensure our kids stay involved in school even through difficult times such as we have now. I am profoundly grateful to have had the opportunity to work with all four of them and feel blessed that my children have had the opportunity to work and learn from them.

Thank you, thank you, thank you! Stay safe and I hope to see you all someday soon!

Elizabeth Bohannon

LCHS MPA President

Booster Raffle Due 4/20

The Boosters Organization will still hold a raffle for this spring’s Booster Raffle Ticket Sales.

If your student has sold tickets they can still turn them in and get credit in their student account for next year.

All students who have sold Booster Raffle tickets must turn in ticket stubs and cash/checks to Elizabeth Bohannon by Monday, April 20th.

Please contact Elizabeth via text or email: Mobile: 818-257-1210; Email: elizabeth@mtbohannon.net for instructions.

Thank you!

Mr. Stone’s Thought of the Week…

I hope you are all safe and secure! In this crazy time, I hope we all can find those positive outcomes in our lives from this surreal moment in time. At the Stone house we are getting to slow down as a family during time we are normally running so fast we barely get to high five each other. Hopefully, you are finding the same. Don’t get me wrong, our house gets smaller by the day, but we are making the best of the situation.

In regards to moving forward in this environment, we will keep practicing, find ways to promote our musical spirit to others and work hard to make this new normal an efficient and effective way to be better musicians. In band, we are in the midst of leadership training and applications during this time as we prepare for next year. We will also be holding our show reveal in the coming weeks, as well as possibly having our fall season information meeting both via zoom or google meet. I would prefer to be in the same room with everyone, but these are the times we are in and we still have to move forward.

I hope you all take care, stay safe and keep trying to be better musicians. I am truly looking forward to the day we can all meet face to face once again.
Until then, keep working and we will all get through this together.

MPA Business and More

  1. As with all non-profits and families alike, this time has become somewhat financially stressful. Thank you all for your donations throughout this year, but we still have some obligations to cover moving forward. If you have outstanding donations due for Band, Orchestra, 7/8, Drumline, and/or Color Guard, please consider still contributing. We know that the seasons for some was cut short, but expenses still remain. Thank you.
  2. We would encourage each of you, the next time you shop online from Amazon – which is pretty often these days – to use AmazonSmile. Amazon will donate a small percentage of each purchase to our Music Parents Association. (Look for La Canada High School Music Parents in the list.)
  3. Also, gift cards are another way to raise funds. All the information is below for purchasing them. Contact Ceci Nava if you have any questions.
  4. Booster Raffle Tickets are still available and can still be sold. Boosters are willing to still contribute the funds to our program for all tickets sold. Please contact Elizabeth Bohannon if you would like additional tickets.
  5. The New York trip has been rescheduled for March 5-9, 2021, provided we’re back to “normal” by then. Today is the deadline to fill out the google form. See this post for full information.

Ms. Munday’s News & Notes…

Here we are in April! I hope that everyone is safe and well and keeping their spirits up! I hope everyone has been able to watch the great video of the Band remotely performing the Alma Mater! Time and togetherness has taken on a new feeling and meaning for all of us.

As school starts up again after Spring Break, we are moving to graded assignments, so I want you to know what that means for Orchestra.

The students are tasked with practicing their instrument at least 30 minutes a day. As it would be impossible for me to monitor this, at regular intervals, they will be required to record a video of themselves showing me what they have practiced and upload it to the Orchestra Google Classroom.

Each morning at 7:30 am, I send a “Good Morning” text to the students. Later in the day, I post on Classroom. Your child should check Remind and Classroom each day for assignments and info.

My goals for the students with distance learning are to keep them playing their instrument and to have a daily practice become a comforting habit for them.

Please email me if you have questions or need to talk.

I don’t want Orchestra to be a burden for you or your children. I see it as a wonderful addition to the students’ lives. We will also have opportunities to be creative with music. As much as you can, encourage them to play, listen to them and be cheerleaders for them!

Be well.

New York Trip Information

Dear New York Trip Students & Families,

I hope everyone is safe in these crazy times. I know in my house we are all good, and completely crazy as our house gets smaller and smaller, but we are good and happy to see more of each other than we normally get to at this time of year.

Thank you all for your patience in trying to resolve the financial aspect of the New York trip. As I said earlier, it’s been a work in progress as Encore worked on our behalf with the airlines, who were not being flexible at first, and with all other aspects of the tour. The reason we continue to travel with Encore on our long trips is due to their professionalism and longevity in the travel game. I’m happy we are working with them as I know there are going to be some travel companies that won’t survive this unexpected situation.

Here are the two options that I need you to now choose from:

Option 1: Roll over to the same New York trip on March 5-9, 2021, $400 which will show as a non-refundable credit. Students will miss Friday, Monday, and Tuesday of school, but will be able to make up any missed work and such by Monday, March 15th (as per the State Education Code which will be backed from Mr. Cartnal).

Option 2: Refund the money for the trip. Refunds will be in cash, less a $400 travel voucher with Encore/ACIS, which is transferable to new participants. We will try to broker deals for vouchers to incoming Freshmen who will have the opportunity to join the trip in August. We will work through Seniors first, and then work down through Juniors, Sophomores, and Freshmen to cover vouchers either on the 2021 New York Trip or the 2022 Ireland Trip. Payments to Encore that were paid from the MPA student accounts will be returned directly to the student’s account as these funds were all from fundraisers and can not go back to an individual.

Please fill out the same form as before, but I need everyone to redo the form under these new conditions. Please have this filled out by Monday, April 13th. I will then send out a list to confirm that you are placed in the correct Option, prior to sending the lists on to Encore.

Thank you all again for your patience! I can’t tell you how much that has helped with this process.

If you have any questions, please email me and I will try to clarify any questions you have.

Thanks and Be Safe!
Jason Stone