DHS Band & Chorus

Fundraising is Underway We have set our current target at $20,000 - the amount needed to fund the stipends for our evening programs - and this needs to be in by July 31st. Please try to attend or support the following endeavors: Spring Concert featuring Alumni - Saturday May 30th - 6:30pm on the Douglas High School Athletic Field Raffle Prizes - 50/50 Raffle - Food - Fun! Our annual spring concert that showcases our students - this year also featuring returning alumni. Come hungry, bring your friends and family, and don't forget your lawn chairs or blankets! Raffle prizes include tickets to a Revolution soccer game (Putnam Club seats!), Family 4-pack to the New England Aquarium, Dinner & a Movie package, and more! We're still looking for parent volunteers to help out during the day at rehearsals and that evening during the program. Please email us if you are able to help. Support the Music Programs by Purchasing a Shirt Only $25 - a limited amount will be on sale at the Spring Concert - reserve yours now! Download an order form here. (Sizes available are adult SM, MD, LG, XL, and 2XL in limited quantities; orders will be placed for 3XL, 4XL and Youth sizes following the concert) Spring Concert at the Middle School - Tuesday, June 9th Free admission - Raffle prizes include a Family 4-pack to the New England Aquarium and a Dinner and a Movie package. Luau Dance - Grades 6 to 8 - Friday, June 12th 6:30 to 9:00 at the High School - Outdoors (inside if rain) Summer Concert at the Sokol Hall - Saturday, July 18th An adults only event featuring the band Harkness Road, a spaghetti dinner, and a cash bar. Tickets only $20 per person, and will be on sale at the Spring Concert. Raffle prizes include dinner for two at Mohegan Sun and a Basket of Cheer. We've also got a business donation mailing going out this week, we're working on mini grant applications, and several other fundraising ideas. Please come to our next meeting on June 15th (6:30pm - DHS Library) and get involved!

Let's Get GOING!!  We are still waiting for final details, but have decided to move forward with fundraising. We have set our current target at $20,000 - the amount needed to fund the stipends for our evening programs ONLY. This is above and beyond the usual funding we provide to our programs, and does not include any further stipends or salaries that may yet need funding.  Please try to attend or support the following endeavors: Spring Concert featuring Alumni - on the Douglas High School Athletic Field Raffle Prizes - 50/50 Raffle - Food - Fun! Our annual spring concert that showcases our students - this year also featuring returning alumni. Come hungry, bring your friends and family, and don't forget your lawn chairs or blankets!  Support the Music Programs by Purchasing a Shirt Only $25 - a limited amount will be on sale at the Spring Concert - reserve yours now! Download an order form here. (Sizes available are adult SM, MD, LG, XL, and 2XL in limited quantities; orders will be placed for 3XL, 4XL and Youth sizes following the concert) "Kiss the Seniors Goodbye" (in-school fundraiser) For $1, send a packet of Hershey's kisses to your favorite graduating senior(s)! A personal note is included. Kisses will be delivered to the students on the last day of classes, Tuesday, May 26. Purchase during any school lunch period until Friday, May 22nd. There are more ideas in the works - please come to our next meeting on June 15 (6:30 - DHS Library) and get involved!

Summary of Special Meeting Held April 27, 2015

Primary Goal: Keep Music Programs in the Curriculum 
If you attended our meeting on Monday, thank you!! Your presence was appreciated, and will be very much needed as we move forward. If you couldn't make it, please read this summary, help spread the word, and GET INVOLVED - without your support, our programs WILL cease.

At present, it is unclear exactly what cuts will be made to the music departments. No amount of fundraising can keep the program alive if music is entirely cut from the curriculum, so this is our primary goal. The best way to achieve this is to attend the Town Meeting on Monday, May 4th - 7pm in the DHS Auditorium. Between now and then our Band Booster spokesperson, Phil Smith, will be working with officials to determine if those details can be obtained. At the town meeting, we will need to keep an eye on Phil and follow his lead. If he makes a motion, we need to support that motion with enough votes to carry it. We are not sure at the present time what that motion will entail; details are still being worked out. We will do everything we can to keep you informed prior to the Town Meeting. Watch your emails, especially on Monday!

Other Action Items:

• Take the Survey - As a parent, you should have received an email from the Superintendant asking for your opinions. Give them! Let him know how important these programs are. If you can't find the email, click here:  http://goo.gl/forms/kK6hmYvBA7
• Email the Administration - Send an email to the school committee (schoolcommittee@douglas.k12.ma.us), the superintendent Mr. Norman Yvon(Nyvon@douglasps.net), and your school's principal and respectfully let them know how much our Music programs mean to you and your student, and that they need to be kept in the curriculum at both the Middle and High Schools in order to be kept alive.
• Email or call your Legislators - our deficit is greatly due to the cuts in state funding (underfunded state mandates, decreasing PILOT payments, and the governor's budget cuts). Let them know how dissatisfied you are with the lack of funding for our public schools.
• Join us at our next Booster Meeting - Monday May 11th, 6:30pm in the DHS Library - to learn what our next steps will be (fundraising plans, presentations to the School Committee, increasing awareness…)

Other Items Discussed:

• Importance of keeping Music in the curriculum - This is primary to the survival of our programs. If music is cut from the curriculum, there will be no positions to fundraise for. It must be kept at both the High School and the Middle School in order to continue; without the feeder programs at the Middle School, the programs at the High School will wither and fade.
• Our situation is not the fault of the school committee or the town - It is a result of increases in mandated costs (contractual salary obligations and underfunded state mandated spending) coupled with decreases in state funding.
• More money may come in, but it won't be enough - So many parents have expressed the opinion that this situation is simply an annual scare tactic, and that "they always find the money." While it is true that there is a good chance additional funds may come in after the budget is passed (possible Circuit Breaker payments), they are an unknown amount, and certainly won't total more than a couple hundred thousand. While they will help, they will in no way cover the 1.3 million dollars that have had to be cut from our budget.
• Fundraising - If we CAN keep Music in the curriculum, we are looking at a LOT of fundraising. Before even considering salaries, the program would need at least $20K to stay afloat. We would need more parents to become active Boosters. We're open to new ideas and welcome all who wish to help. Ideas being tossed around are revisiting the Gillette program, which would possibly require pairing with another organization to ensure a large enough workforce; searching for someone with Grant-writing knowledge; canvasing for corporate sponsorships; and looking into membership fees and/or transportation fees. While partnering with other groups is essential to raise awareness, we would continue to keep our fundraising separate. Monies raised would be transferred using "Directed Donations" to make sure our funds are accounted for and spent where intended.

Please join us at the Town Meeting on Monday, May 4th at 7pm in the DHS Auditorium, and at our next Booster Meeting on Monday May 11th at 6:30pm in the DHS Library.

You CAN make a difference!!