Weekly Band Update - 7/19/2026

Happy Summer everyone! I hope you are all staying cool.

Here’s your weekly band update for 7/19/2026

Volunteering

We have several critical needs for volunteers in the upcoming weeks

• 16 Fitting Assistants for Uniform Fitting Day for this Saturday, 7/25 (morning and afternoon shifts available)

• Our Family Preview and Potluck even coming up on 8/1 needs 5 volunteers to help set-up and 5 volunteers help to clean-up.

• A Tag Day Coordinator as well as 20 Drivers for Tag Day on 8/15

• Two Food Co-Coordinators for the Marching Season

• An Assistant for the Monarch Festival Coordinator

Look through all the available positions here: https://www.monarchbands.org/account/volunteer 

(Your Members account is needed to browse and sign up for volunteering)

Marching Band

We are so excited that Band Camp begins on Tuesday 7/21!!

Attendance is mandatory! We begin learning our show during this camp and we need everyone there, unless you have a pre-excused absence cleared with Mr. Vandermeer.

Here are some important reminders for everyone.

Bring a positive attitude and an open mind with you to every practice. The more you put into this, the more you will get out! A positive mindset will be the “make or break” for 2026 camp.

Arrive early. Practice starts at 8:30, so you should be at MHS no later than 8:20. If you show up right at 8:30, you will be late. Remember that the MHS parking lot is still closed, so plan in extra time to walk from the K8 parking lot.

Bring these items every day:

• Instrument

• 3-Ring Binder with page protectors and all of your music/warm ups/pencils

• Water (big jug 1+gallon)- Students will typically consume 2-3 liters of water in a rehearsal. Sometimes more depending on the heat.

• Snack- something to keep energy up. We are going to burn a lot of calories

• Bring lunch. Most students bring a lunch and eat it at MHS. Some students bring money and drive to get food. Students will have 1 hour for lunch.

• Sunscreen (we will be outside a lot!)

• Good athletic shoes that tie (NO SANDALS OR CROCS ALLOWED)

• Hat (we will be outside a lot!)

• Sunglasses (not required, but suggested)

• A smart phone or something similar - we will use this to learn drill

Support each other. We are a team and we have to work together every single day!

Remember to dress up for the spirit days - IT IS FUN! Reach out to your section leader if you are not sure what the spirit days are.

There are evening events that are NOT required, but STRONGLY encouraged. These events are organized by the student leadership and are student bonding events. It is suggested that you go to these to help create the strong connections that make the Monarch Marching Band special!

Remember - YOU CAN do this. There will be days where you are tired and sore, but this is completely normal. By the end of camp, you will realize that you have gotten stronger and that you are capable of so much more than you ever thought possible!

I can’t wait to kick off the 2026 season with you all! - Mr. Vandermeer

Members Area

If you haven’t activated your Monarch Website Members Account yet, please visit https://www.monarchbands.org/account/members and request to have your password reset. Email webmaster@monarchbands.org if you have any issues.

Peaches Success!

Our Peaches Sales was a huge success this year! We sold 450 cases of peaches which represents a 29% increase in volume over last year. Thank you to everyone who helped make this a success, and for the volunteers who helped get everything delivered!

If you have questions please contact your Parents Rep, Wandee at parent@monarchbands.org

If you have technical issues with the website, please contact the webmaster, Webb at webmaster@monarchbands.org

Have a great week!