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Admin
 
Franklin High School Band Parents Association
Webmaster
PO BOX 6451
SOMERSET, New Jersey
08875-6451
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 Important News |
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REMINDERS AND UPDATES
See the Calendar page for rehearsal times, games and competition schedules as well as BPA meetings for 08-09. Several fundraising dates have been announced here, in the newsletter and on the Calendar page. Some dates and times are still tentative and all the information is subject to change. The calendar page will be updated as new information becomes available.
FUNDRAISING
The BPA runs fundraisers from time to time throughout the year. Their purpose is twofold. The BPA uses money it collects to support the marching band program, be it providing a vehicle to transport equipment needed in home and away football games and band competitions. (remember that since “home” games are played at the Middle School field, all games are essentially away games) to providing food, water, and treats at events and band camp to assisting with the band trip activity. Fundraising also helps student increase their student trip account balance. Most fundraisers are run on a 70/30 split where 70% of the fundraising profits are credited to the students account and 30% is credited to the BPA account. The BPA is able to continue to provide the many valuable services to the band program and yet keep the membership fee to the extremely low $5 through this fundraising percentage arrangement.
Most fundraisers will be sent home with a due date for return and will be posted here and on the Calendar page.
One fundraiser running all year long is what we are calling the Warrior Gold Scrip Program. This fundraiser allows band members to earn funds for their account through the purchase of gift cards. Cards are available for many merchants and if used for everyday purchases like groceries and gas can add money to the account quickly. More information was contained in the cover letter that went home earlier and that can be found on our Handouts page.
While the scrip program is the only currently running fundraiser and there are no others scheduled at this time, more fundraisers and the dates are expected to be announced soon.
Our most recently concluded fundraiser was selling fresh Florida Citrus again this year, a popular Marching Band tradition, with delivery expected the week of December 8, 2008. It featured a delicious selection of navel organes, red grapefruit, tangelos, pineapples, tangerines, clementines as well as several fruit samplers. We also offered a quality line of gourmet snack items from The Trail Home. The sale started on 11/3/08 and ended on 11/17/08. All orders with payment were due to be returned no later than November 17th, 2008. If you have any questions, please contact Rita Patel at 908-616-4484.
We had a canister drive on Saturday, November 8. Students who participated in collecting funds during the canister drive got the opportunity to earn extra money toward the Disney trip. All proceeds are split equally between the canister drive participates without the usual Student/BPA percentage.
The Fall Fundraiser contained four sections each with its own order form. The fundraiser featured products from the Irresistible Treasures group of companies including gourmet specialty cheesecakes from A Taste of Rubies, handcrafted birthday, holiday, and note cards from Keepsakes by Faith (a fellow band parent), and gourmet teas from Taking Tea in Style. Also offered in this fundraiser was a selection of gourmet pies from Mr. Tod's Pie Factory (a local business known for making delicious pies from scratch using only the finest ingredients). All orders and payments in full were due no later than 10/28/08. Checks should be made payable to FHSBPA. Besides earning funds for student trip accounts, this fundraiser has an extra incentive as everyone earning a total net sales of $200 or more from the Irresistible Treasures product lines will be entered into a raffle for their top sellers with a prize of a $100 Visa Check Card that can be used anywhere the VISA Cards are accepted. Please direct questions to Mrs. Washington at 848-391-4640.
Our first fundraiser of the season was the sale of the KidStuff Books. The sale took place from August 28th through September 30th. Kidstuff books were sold for $25.00 per book. Of that $25.00, the band made $12.50 and $8.75 of each book sold went into the student’s account toward money collected for this year’s trip to Disney! The books were distributed to each student at the end of Band Camp on Thursday, Aug. 28th and all books and orders were due to be given to Mr. O or Ms. P by TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30th. Any questions, call Tina Kanterman at 732-805-9725.
MEETINGS
Regular monthly Band Parent Association meetings will be held in the FHS Faculty Dining Room the fourth Wednesday of every month, at 7:30 P.M., with the exception of November and December. All parents are welcome and encouraged to attend!
Dates are:
September 24th,
October 22nd,
December 1st, (recent addition)
January 28th,
February 25th,
March 25th,
April 22nd,
May 27th,
June 24th.
FHS 3RD ANNUAL BAND COMPETITION
On October 18, 2008, the BPA proudly hosted our 3rd Annual USSBA Silver Star Band Competition at the George S. Ackerman Stadium at the Franklin Middle School, 415 Francis Street, Somerset, NJ. This year we hosted an afternoon show that was the first half of a Super Saturday competition with the second half being held in the evening at our partner Manville High School. The competition featured the FHS Golden Warriors Marching Band, along with other USSBA member marching bands from around the region.
We are grateful for the support provide by individuals and businesses that purchased event program ad space, sponsored trophies, and purchased boosters in our 8.5” x 11” program that was distributed with admission to families from our community, as well as visitors from other schools who attended the event. We included ads from the FTBOE, FT Soccer Club, Ellen Adesso CPA, Expert Travel, Investigative Resource Center, Jem Cleaners, Middlebush Reformed Church, Safety 1st Diving School, Cedar Grove Cemetery, Raymond Salon, Somerset Park Pharmacy, Dr. Geri Bauer, Optometrist, Shari L. Burack, DDS, Fun & Sun Travel Center, Law Offices of Edward P. Shamy, Jr., Party Lite Consultant Sheila Johnson, Soumas Heritage School of Music, Ubry's Inc., UFO Salon & Spa, Venus Jewelers, and Takiyah Wilson at Continental Airlines. Trophy sponsors included Blue Ribbon Awards, Café Amici, FHS MB Clarinet Section, FHS MB Flute Section, FHS PTSO, Hillcrest PTSO, and Roz Siegel - Expert Travel. We also are grateful for the donations of goods and services from Costco, Rick Goetz, Jim & Tim, Pepperidge Farms, Wil Vina, Wegman’s, Franklin-Somerset First Aid Squad, Franklin Township Police Department, Franklin Township Board of Education, Franklin Township Board of Education Grounds Department, Franklin Township Board of Education Security Department, Franklin High School & Franklin Middle School Administration, Franklin High School Band Parents Association members, and families & friends that made donations of food and baked goods, and all our hard volunteers who worked so hard to make the event the success that it was. Watch this space for announcement of next year's competition.
For more information on the show see click here.
SPIRITWEAR
The last day to order Band, Colorguard, and Band Parent spiritwear from our online store at SneakersPlus was September 1st. (Click here for the Franklin High School store at Sneakers Plus) Spiritwear will only be sold online once during the 2008-2009 school year Limited sizes and styles will be sold to the general public at home football games this fall.
New Equipment Vehicle Campaign In High Gear
As some of you have seen, the present equipment vehicle has been painted and lettered and has been receiving rave reviews from band members, parents and everyone else that it passes along the way to football games and competitions, or even just parked in it’s spot by the band room. This truck was donated recently to the Band Parents and it has taken an extensive amount of work to get it to the point it is now. Mr. Don Ubry put in countless hours getting the vehicle ready for the first season. Although this 1993 truck works great for us now, it would be foolish to think that we can depend on it holding up 2 or 3 years down the road.
We needed to look to the future to make sure that the Franklin High School Marching Band has an equipment vehicle for years to come. A committee was formed in September 2004 to initiate a campaign for a new vehicle.
The campaign is well under way. We have contacted and are seeking donations from corporations in town, local businesses, parents, past alumni and everyone else associated with Franklin High School. Brochures have been mailed out and every dollar donated will be earmarked for the purchase of a new vehicle. This is a huge undertaking and your generosity is greatly appreciated.
New Vehicle Campaign Update
• The new blue band truck was the result of a lot of hard work provided by a limited number of Band Parents
o Find someone to donate the vehicle
o Make a number of repairs to get the vehicle road worthy
o Clean/paint the vehicle up to show Franklin Pride
o Pay for all of the above items
• Present equipment vehicle is 13 years old and has 150,000 miles on odometer.
• The blue truck was intended to be a band-aid since the demise of the blue bus was not planned. The Blue truck will require an extensive overhaul in the not to distant future.
• The Band Parents Association is the SOLE owner and operator of the equipment vehicle. The BOE does not contribute to the operating costs in any way.
• The Band Parents Association pays for the registration, insurance, repairs, maintenance and fuel for the vehicle
• Without an equipment vehicle, the marching band would not be able to accompany the football team at away games or participate at competition
• All football games are considered AWAY until FHS builds a stadium or a field at the new high school.
• In November of 2005, 600 letters were mailed out to local businesses asking for financial support for the New Vehicle Campaign.
• As of January 2006, 36 responses totaling $2,300 has been raised.
Present Equipment Truck Update
The Equipment vehicle is back. Some of you may have noticed that it wasn't parked in it's usual spot for 10 days or so. The truck was getting painted by Maaco in North Brunswick (donated labor) and lettered by town resident Lew Pinnella (donated material and labor). The entire band community would like to thank these two establishments for their generosity.
Although this truck was always intended to be a temporary solution to transporting equipment, the Band Parent's Association governing body felt we needed to have a vehicle that proudly represents our band, our school, our town.
Our continued efforts of getting a new equipment vehicle is still a priority. In the coming days, the new vehicle committee will announce how you can help make it a reality.
Mailing Address
Franklin High School Band Parents Association
PO BOX 6451
Somerset, New Jersey 08875-6451
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