Dear Parent/Guardian,
Parent participation is key to a successful season for the New England Champion Mustang Marching Band!
The students and staff really need our help! Plus, it’s a great way to meet people and participate in a wonderful community organization.
Here are some of the roles for which you can volunteer and a brief description. You might decide to assist in one or more areas. We will, of course, schedule our volunteers based on each person’s availability.
“Pit Crew”
We call this volunteer group the “pit crew” because they assist the front, “pit” percussion ensemble with moving their equipment. And there’s a lot of it! Marimbas, xylophones, speakers, cymbals, tympani, a conductor’s podium – you name it. So, it takes a crew of adults to help the students bring this equipment to and from the school to the performance field and back again, as well as packing and unloading the equipment truck on show days. This group becomes a real team in the process!
When: Tuesday and Thursday evenings, set-up from 5:45 – 6:15 p.m. and/or break-down from 8:45 – 9:20 p.m.
Before and/or after Saturday rehearsals.
Show days: load truck and/or unload upon band’s return. We also need truck drivers.
Show days: assist students in bringing equipment to and from the performance field
Contact: volunteering@norwoodpma.org
Props
Here we look for parents who may be handy with building things, painting or have an eye for design. The
Marching Band Staff will decide on what type of props will provide a visual element to the show, and then our Props parents help bring those ideas to life! These parents may also assist on performance days, moving the props to and from the performance field.
When: This group typically works together on Saturdays, and sometimes during Tuesday/Thursday rehearsals.
Contact: volunteering@norwoodpma.org
Chaperones
It takes a village! Our chaperones ride the bus and monitor the students wherever they may be on show days. It’s a tradition for the chaperones to bring nut-free cookies for the students to enjoy on bus rides. Chaperones may help students solve small uniform issues on performance day. If you are handy with a needle & thread, spot removing, or otherwise just a pretty good problem-solver, this is the job for you! It is a wonderful way to get to know our students behind the scenes and play an important role in getting them ready to perform.
When: Show days, based on Mr. Conant’s posted schedule
Contact: volunteering@norwoodpma.org
Home Show
While traveling to competitions has its own special challenges, the MICCA show we host in Norwood – this year on Sunday 10/19 – is of much larger magnitude. On this date we will need lots of help – parking assistants, food servers, event staff, and more. In addition, we will be asking for food and drink donations. This is our biggest fundraising event of the year, and so we will need all hands on deck! Keep an eye out for a Sign-Up Genius email in September or October.
For now, please take a look at the various volunteer positions for the season reach out to the contact(s) with your areas of interest and availability. The staff and students thank you!
Sincerely,
Norwood PMA
