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Marching Band Basics
The spring training for students is usually held at the end of May and this is great opportunity to meet the band director, color guard coaches, and Booster officers. For these scheduled days, students will be given information regarding the schedule, costs & fees, general information and volunteer opportunities for the parents. Registration for Marching Band will get you an email sent with the information you will need for the summer. If you need access to that information, you can email bhsspartanmusic@gmail.com and we will get it to you.
We know from experience that getting involved in the organization’s Booster Club truly benefits your child. This is a active band and it takes many hands to make it possible. We have individual and team tasks that the parents start working on in July.
Communication Tools
SportsYou App
The Berthoud Spartan Band program uses the app called SportsYou to communicate timely information with students and parents. The main Marching Band group is primarily read-only but does allow for sign-ups and polls. This is the group where the directors will post about pick-up times after band activities during marching season.
Because of the setup of the main group, there is a second group just for parents/guardians. The Music Parent group allows for full use of the app functions and is a great place to crowd source information by using posts, public chats, and private chats. The Booster Club officers and many volunteers are active and ready to provide answers when needed.
For student specific questions, it is always best to contact the Band Director, Tait Krogstad, directly via EMAIL, not through the SportsYou app.
The SportsYou App can be found:
On the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store. It can also be accessed through a web browser at https://www.sportsyou.com.
All students and their parents need to join the Berthoud Spartan Marching Band group - Spartan Marching Band
Parents - we have a group just for you. Join the Music Parent group: Parent Music Group
Schedule
Schedule
Marching Band is a 9th period class that meets outside of the school day. Our class times are -
Monday - 6:00-8:00pm
Tuesday - 4:15-5:45pm*
Wednesday - 4:30-6:30pm
Saturday - 9am-Noon
In addition to our normal class periods, marching band has required attendance at Friday night Football Games.
There is no Saturday practice on Labor Day weekend (Sept 3)
Please don’t plan trips/vacations during Marching Band season (August through October)
All of these attendance-required events are entered as grades in the gradebook.
Marching Band is an activity like no other. At ALL times the other students are depending on each other. It’s incredibly difficult to make shapes on the football field if people are missing from the formations. There is no second-string or back-up positions in marching band. Think about it like this: if your student misses math class, they are the only ones that feel the negative impact of being a day behind. If your student misses Marching Band, they have just impacted every other performer on the field.
The 9th Period Marching Band class will stop meeting once our final football game or marching band competition occurs as we will have far exceeded the amount of instructional for a semester class.
We will briefly resume Tuesday and Wednesday after school practices before the December parade (3-4 total). Rehearsal dates will be posted in the SportsYou app as soon as the parade date is confirmed. We will work with Student Athletes that are involved in Winter Sports…we’re talking about a potential conflict of maybe 1 day. We’ll make it work!
Show Shirt
Every year, the band directors design a logo with the current year’s marching show theme. Shirts with the logo are available for sale once a year at the beginning of the season. We do sell these shirts to parents, siblings, grandparents, teachers and friends to enjoy wearing these items as a sign of support for the band program. The show shirts on the student Marching Band Registration form are for students only. These are typically dri-fit shirts worn under the uniform on competition days and home football games.
If you plan on being a chaperone, in the pit crew, truck driver, or more we highly recommend purchasing a show shirt to wear on game and competition days. A link to order the show shirt for your family will be availble through the SportsYou group mentioned above.
Money: What am I paying for?
There are fees for high school marching band, just like any other sport and activity in our school district. Below is a summary of fees and equipment.
Fair-Share Fees
Fair-Share Fees
The Fair Share Fees pays for: competition registration fees, food at competitions, sheet music, copyright
permissions for our music, student show shirts, transportation, equipment truck rentals, color guard
flags and costumes, instrument repair, instrument purchases, uniform rental fee, marching band gloves,
and clinician pay. The Boosters also provide food for a bus full of teenagers at competitions and any possibly overnight trips.
Truthfully, the Music Boosters heavily sponsor the Marching Band as $350/student
doesn’t cover all of our expenses. For comparison, the marching band fees at other schools are-
Air Academy HS - $1,200 (includes an overnight trip)
Loveland HS $615
Liberty HS $500
The payment schedule for this fee is: $150 due by the start of Required Marching Band Camp, and $200 due by Labor Day. The $350 fee can also be paid in full at registration. We appreciate your timeliness in making these payments. Unpaid fees will be reported to the school and will go on your student’s fees in Infinite Campus. Failure to pay school fees could result in your student’s diploma being withheld when they graduate.
Money should NOT be the reason to not participate in Marching Band!!!!!
Other notes:
Students will be required to have specific black Super Drill Master shoes for marching band. Marching Band shoes are actually specially designed for the activity; they have specially designed slanted heels to make it easier to march and play at the same time, and are designed to give extra traction on grass and artificial turf.
We can order them for you, if you indicate that on the registration form with sizing. The one time $45 cost will be added to your total fee ($350+49.95) at the same cost as purchasing them yourself. You are welcome to purchase them before July 1st from the following website: https://www.bandshoppe.com/product/super-drillmasters-marching-band-shoe/
COLOR GUARD ONLY MEMBERS DO NOT NEED THESE SHOES!
Important note: We do have grants available for families who need financial assistance in paying for the marching band fee, and filling out the request form indicates to the Booster treasurer information regarding payments. Please see the Student Fee Grant Request Form. This fee is payable to Spartan Music Boosters, and we can take payments via other mobile payment apps. Please connect with the treasurer at bhsspartanmusictreas@gmail.com you have issues with making payments.
Registration: Where it all begins!
Registration will usually begin in April. A student's schedule can be adjusted to add the 9th period (after school) Marching Band class easily. We do use a google form to aid registration so we can access parent information in case of emergency during the summer and to take sizes for the student show shirts. It is very important to get registered so that both the Director and the section leaders can get ahold of your student over the summer.
At the mandatory Summer Marching Band Camp in July, students will be measured for uniforms pieces, and families will have an opportunity to speak to other parents and volunteers, pay Marching Band Fees and more.
Spring Training Camp
We highly encourage students to attend the Spring Training Camp in May of each year. Over these 4 days of camp, students will learn basics such as how to step off, how to hold their instruments while marching, and how to march backward. The Directors of both BHS and TMS will send emails regarding this, but make sure you send your student with a water bottle and that they wear athletic shorts and good athletic shoes.
The schedule of the Spring Training is during the last weeks of school before summer break. If your student cannot attend, please be sure they are registered with this form and the fees can be paid to the Spartan Music Boosters via check or by other mobile options.
Band-Athletes
Band-Athletes
This is our third year of using a successful after-school model for our class. The following schedule has
been approved by the BHS Athletic Director for students to split their time between band and their Fall
sport:
Monday - go to Sports practice (come to band practice after)
Tuesday - students alternate going to sports practice every other week.
A week - Football, Cross Country, Tennis, Cheer
B week - Soccer, Volleyball, Softball, Golf
Wednesday - go to Marching band class
Saturday - go to Marching band class
This allows for a pretty close 50/50 split-
Monday, Thursday, and Friday are sports days
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday are band days
We have many student athletes that are also participate in a sport in the fall. It CAN be done.
This schedule allows students to miss this class for a sport games/matches/tournaments, and a good general rule is that games/competitions are more important than practices. This works both ways.
Students must communicate their marching band commitment to their coach. This is your responsibility, not the Directors.
Pre-Season practices for Winter Sports do not fall into this “shared student” model. You can’t miss Marching Band class to attend a pre-season workout.
Dental Procedures
Dental Procedures
For students in the Brass and Woodwind section --Marching Band season is a bad time to make big adjustments in dental care. Please consider getting braces on/off or having wisdom teeth removed either over the summer or in November after State Championships.
Wisdom teeth procedures are a mandatory 2 ½ weeks off of the instrument (at least). Having this done in October means your student won’t be able to perform at Regionals or State Championships when we need them the most.
It takes almost a month to fully recover from adding or removing braces.
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