Week of February 2, 2026

Parent Meeting Locations, Dates and Time

2025/2026 – All Meetings are at 6:30 PM in the MPR unless otherwise noted.

• Feb 25th
• Mar 18th
• Apr 15th
• May 20th
• June 17th

*Stay tuned for more information on upcoming meetings!

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Director’s Notes

We had a great weekend of performance excellence. Congratulations to all of our All State Students:

Julian Pekarek and Everett Creek also got Honorable Mention for their Composition Work.

Congratulations to the Winterguards on their excellent performances at the MCCGA Contest at Wentzville.

Our Scholastic AA Winterguard had a tremendous performance on their first competition of the season and ended up placing 1st in their round with a score of 61.79. We could not be prouder of their early season success!

Our Scholastic A Winterguard had a wonderful performance as well. It was also their first competition of the season and placed 5th with a score of 65.76. I should note that only 3 points separated the top 5 A guards, so this shows how competitive the A class is. We are so proud of the performance they had and are really excited for what’s to come.

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Upcoming Events

The next two weeks are very busy with rehearsal and meetings. Students attending the LA trip are
expected to be at all rehearsals.

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Halpin Music

We’re excited to continue our partnership with Halpin Music, who will periodically bring their instrument repair truck right to our school this year.

This is a great opportunity for our band students to get their instruments repaired without ever leaving campus!

Students – Fill out this form to participate: https://halpinmusic.com/serv…/oths-instrument-repair-plan/

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Student Accounts

Please reach out to Katie Stump with any questions about payments

Payment Options:

1. Gold drop box in the band room — label envelope with student’s name
2. Venmo: @ofallonbandtreasurer (last 4 digits: 1152)
3. Mail: Katie Stump, 704 E. 3rd St., O’Fallon, IL 62269
4. Cash payments: Call or text me (Katie) at 618-402-9914 to arrange a hand-off. I’m not responsible for cash left in the drop box or at my house without direct contact.

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Boutique News

We will let you know when LA trip orders are ready for pick up.

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Fundraising

New Fundraiser Opportunities

In an effort to reduce the amount of events parents and students are required to volunteer for, we are attempting a new fundraiser that will replace the Spring Yard Sale. This event, if people participate, has the potential to make us even more money than the yard sale, and all that is required from band families is to gather unwanted items and drop off at school Friday April 10th. Remember to ask around your neighborhood, work, you can even find tons of freebies on Facebook Marketplace! All soft goods should be placed in preferably black yard trash bags, or the standard kitchen trash bag (please no paper or plastic grocery style bags). All hard items should be placed in boxes that have the ability to close. (any box will do – from amazon boxes to diaper boxes, just please ensure they close). As you gather items, please enter in quantities on our sign up genius link as this will help me track the amount we are receiving. If we have enough, Savers will deliver trailers Saturday April 11th directly to
school for SUPER easy transport.

Feel free to share the following flyer with members of your family, friends, and community!

Remember, if successful this could eliminate events that we need to have MANY volunteers for in order to be successful! Just gather items and drop off – SO EASY!

If you have questions, please feel free to reach out to Tori Gill – thewobblybird@gmail.com or 303-720-3825.

When: March 7th and 8th but continuing to take book donations.

Details: We are currently requesting book donations for this new fundraiser for the band. If you are purging excess from your bookshelves, please think of us. Any genre of book is welcome. Donations are currently being dropped at either Tori Gill’s house or Tiffany Rea’s house.

Contact: For any questions or requests to drop off please reach out via email or text/call to:
Tori Gill: thewobblybird@gmail.com or 303-720-3825
Tiffany Rea: Tiffrea2006@hotmail.com or 270-881-8376

Any genre of book is welcome!!!

General Fundraising

Dine to Donate:

Thank you to everyone that braved the cold weather to dine out at Panera! We made $54.09 despite the winter weather!

Mark your calendars now for the Band Fundraiser Dine to Donate Nights (a percent of the total sales will go back to the band. More info will be provided as it gets closer to each event):

• Jan. 26 Panera Shiloh
• March 10 Texas Roadhouse
• May 12 Drakes

Continued Fundraising

Soda Cans

We collect them! They must be tied in garbage bags and dropped off in the back of smiley near the dumpsters.

Goodshop

Similar to amazonsmile but you can pick your stores to use. Follow the link to sign-up!

Does your company match gifts?

Does your company/business do match gifts? We currently have a family enrolled in a gift matching program through CarMax where if you donate time or money CarMax will match the monetary gift or hours given. So, CarMax pays $15 an hour for every hour that they volunteer up to $5000 a year for matching donations, if we donate an amount of money CarMax will match that also up to a certain amount. Check with your company and see what they offer. Every little bit helps!

Raise Right Gift Card Program

Earn funds that go directly back to your student!

It’s As Easy As >>>>>

• Purchasing Gift Cards for your daily/regular purchases and earning from 1-20% back
• Family members purchasing gift cards that add to your students account earnings

Watch these videos to learn more:
The #1 Online Fundraiser | RaiseRight
6 Everyday Ways to Earn with Gift Cards | RaiseRight

Sign-up for Marching Panther Earnings >> Click Here

Enrollment Code DBAAECD217989

Questions? Email > marchingpanthersraiseright@gmail.com

Physical Gift Card Orders Are Due 15th of Every Month

• TIP #1 – Order Gifts Card throughout the month to take full advantage of bonuses. There is no limit to the number of orders you place in a month.
• TIP #2 – Download the RaiseRight App and buy gift cards in live time as you make purchases. {Going out to eat? Wait until you get your ticket and buy the gift card to cover the meal PLUS tip…. Buying supplies for a project at Home Depot or Lowes? Buy a GC at the checkout…. Military Family shopping at Old Navy? Request the discount AND buy a card to cover the cost of your purchase – big savings!)
• TIP #3 – Questions on how you can make the most of your earnings? Call Courtney Mihalik at 805-588-9115 as the Marching Panthers RaiseRight Coordinator.

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Important Links and Reminders

Attention Parents: Family ID Registration Needed!

Please register for the 25-26 Season if you have not already done so. We need for all students to be registered by the time June rehearsals begin.

Follow the link below to complete registration. Once your registration is complete, you will receive an email confirmation.

THANK YOU!

Link for FamilyID

Reminders

link to the visual calendar

Medical Records

Parents please add updates to your student’s medical records for permission to give over the counter medication’s if needed during a rehearsal or competition.

*Nurse (Physicals) Bandphysicals@oths.us

School Instrument

Students using a school instrument, they will need to fill out the school instrument form and turn in $25.00 to the band office, checks made out to O’Fallon Panther Band Association. This fee covers necessary repairs during the year. Incoming students needing a school instrument will be issued that instrument on the first day of June band.

There will be information that will go out about the percussion stick fee this week during practice.

Student Pick-Up Event Form

This link can be used for any event which has parent pick-up

Pictures

Log into SmugMug to access band photos

Password (case-sensitive): Tarp

Spiritwear

O-Band Store – spirit wear not offered in our boutique

Varsity Spirit Wear Items
PIN=BAND (case sensitive) Unable to access your My Varsity account? CLICK HERE to RESET your password using your existing email.

Miscellaneous

Amazon Wish List Items

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Communication Sources

CutTime

Website Link

Marc Ellington is our POC for this program.

You can email him at: Marc.Ellington@outlook.com

Band Website

Website Link

About >> Band Families >> Username: members (all lower case)
Password: PantherBand#2022

Choose Current Families for: FamilyID Link / Student Music / Etc.

Band App

Get the App

Used to communicate quick messages.

Absences

**All absences need to be emailed to Dr. G at OTHSBand@oths.us from a parent/guardian email address with absence in the subject line.

This is a temporary solution. Stay tuned for further information.

Facebook

Band Booster Parents, We’d love for you to join our Band Booster Facebook Group — it’s a great space to:

• Get up-to-date information on events and rehearsals
• Ask questions and connect with other band parents
• Stay in the loop on volunteer opportunities and updates

Important Reminder:

When requesting to join, please make sure to answer all the security questions. For the safety and privacy of our students and families, we’re unable to approve requests without completed answers — they’ll be automatically declined.

We’re excited to have you involved and connected — it truly takes a village, and this group helps us stay strong and organized.

Click here to request to join

Thank you for your support! Enjoy your summer – it’s almost Marching Band Season.

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Band Together Leads

Incoming and current families of ALL bands: listed below are your Band Together Leads. They are a great source of information, and you should connect with them for all your band questions. Also, if you haven’t joined our Parent Booster Facebook page, you can access that HERE. We ask that you please answer the security questions to gain access.

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Upcoming Opportunities

Volunteers Needed

Parents with Medical Background

Notes from our Medical Team:

If you have basic CPR training, any medical certification such as nurse, AED training, EMT, medic, physician, etc and want to be on the medical team, please contact Karen Holzum at karen-nurse@hotmail.com.

Please list your name, number and medical background certification. She needs to start scheduling her medical team for our first competition of the year on September 13.

Summer Band 2026

This is the time that students can look for music summer camp opportunities.

Here is the link to the MFA summer camp opportunities 2026.

There are many other options if students are interested. Students and families may contact
Dr. G

All Stars of Music Link