HELP!!!

We Need Your Help!

We MUST submit a video of the THS Wind Ensemble in concert performance during the past 12 months to complete our Disney audition!! We have many tapes of Marching Band activities, but we can't find ANYTHING in a concert setting - yikes!

Please, please, PLEASE!!! Check your video archives and contact McKee right away!

Corvallis!

As Tanner says in The Pursuit!,
"money can't buy you love" -
but it can help the Boosters pay for an
overnighter in Corvallis!
Make sure your $10 comes to the
Booster Black Box
by Monday November 3 - every little bit helps!

THS Band Supports Breast Cancer Awareness!

It was a great event...

The Band played the Banner

Go guard, go!

What a terrific night!

Wondering Why I Haven't Answered?

Trying to reach me by email? My aol mail has been down since Thursday evening, with some weird message about "temporary maintenance (undefined)", but also the notice I have 53 new messages - arrgghhh! So for now, please use kmckee@ttsd.k12.or.us if you need to reach me...

:)

Please Help Out...

Please take a moment to check out my Race for the Cure page, and prayerfully consider helping out. Thanks so much for taking a look.

http://race.komenoregon.org/goto/teechur

Calling All Drummers!

Attention drummers and others! If you want to take Percussion Techniques class at THS this year, please email McKee right away - inquiring minds want to know!

It's That Time of the Year...

Everyone is invited to the annual Tigard Church of God Service on the Green - our outdoor celebration and BBQ! Sunday August 23 @ 10 am. Terrific music, a great message, fun for the kiddies, and free food - what's better than that? We're easy to find - the 2nd church on 98th in Tigard, just off Durham Road down the street from Tigard High!
Hope to see some of you there!

Band Camp, Part Deux...

It's time for the second week of a Band Camp! Check out McKee's Band Page! for the latest info - marchers and non-marchers alike!

Band Camp Is Here!

Could we all be more excited? Band Camp for show marchers begins tomorrow, and we're ready! And remember, it's going to be HOT, HOT, HOT! That mean water, water, and more water - tonight, tomorrow, tomorrow night. We'll see everyone by 9AM...

Two Weeks And Counting...

Band Camp for people in the competing Marching Band begins two weeks from today - wow! How's that music memorization coming? Are YOU ready? Your Band Staff is getting ready for you! And for those not competing, your Band Camp begins in three weeks, so make sure you look at that pep packet!

Do you have questions? (Who am I, and where am I going?) Are rumors causing you to lose sleep? (Yes, Dylan still works for us, and we do have a color guard!) And what IS the meaning of life, anyway? (Life is band, and band is life - duh!) If you have ANY questions, email McKee and get the straight info - don't be in the dark any longer!

And if you're unsure of when things will be happening (like rehearsals, football games, competitions, parades, etc), click on the calendar above and you'll see the faithful ol' Band Calendar - what a great service!

Two weeks, 14 days, 336 hours...

HOT MUSIC!

This Sunday is the day for the
Tualatin Valley Community Band at Cook Park!
It's our final concert of the year,
and it promises to be
hot, hot, hot - in more ways than one...

Bring a chair or blanket to sit on,
bring something cold to drink -
heck, bring along a picnic dinner -
and listen to music ranging from
Bernstein and Williams to Holsinger and Ticheli,
played by a great group of musicians,
including yours truly!


The baton drops at 7pm, so plan to come early
and claim your spot for an evening of
some of the best musical entertainment around.

Hope to see you there!

Hear Great Music and Help Out!

Here are two great opportunities to hear music and help folks at the same time - what a deal!

Sunday, come to the Tualatin Commons for a 5PM concert with Johnny Limbo and the Lugnuts and help the Tigard/Tualatin Schools Foundation raise money to help bring one teacher back to each school in our District.

Monday, head on over to Southridge High School at 6:30PM and listen to the Oregon Crusaders, as they raise money to finish funding their national DCI Tour to Indianapolis.

Each event is $20 - money well-spent!

See you there!

Many Thanks!

Now that it's July 7, Balloon Fest AND Fireworks are behind us (except for those who count and total everything). For those who worked, many many thanks, and now let's all take a collective deep breath and relax!

We will now bestow titles on our Fearless Fireworks Folks for their amazing dedication to ensuring that no Tigard resident had to go without something explosive for this year's Independence celebration! From henceforth, they will be known as "Coordinator Extraordinaire" Bill Ervin and "Marketing Maven" Michelle Kubes!

"But McKee, I - I don't understand! What do those words mean?" Well, boys and girls, this is a full-service Forum, and I have synonyms for you - yay! Dictionary.com says Maven (Michelle) means advisor, authority, expert, guide, master, mentor, pro, specialist, aficionado, devotee, fan, nut, and specialist. What do you think? And Extraordinaire (Bill) means amazing, bizarre, exceptional, fantastic, gnarly, incredible, marvelous, out of the ordinary, outstanding, particular, phenomenal, rare, remarkable, singular, special, stupendous, terrific, unheard-of, unimaginable, unique, and unprecedented. How's that?

So next time you see our Marketing Maven and our Coordinator Extraordinaire, make sure to thank them and give them all the respect they are due - they're terrific!!

Let's Blow Things Up!

It's almost the 4th of July, and you know what that means! To paraphrase my good friend Pyroman, "Let's blow things up!" And the best way to blow things up is to go to one of the 2 (that's right, not one but two!) fireworks stands run by the Tigard High Band and Color Guard Boosters - yay! The main stand is at the Grange on Pacific Highway in Tigard, near BiMart. The classic stand is right at good ol' THS. So support the Tigard High Band programs by buying your tools for "blowing things up" at one of our terrific stands!

AllState Festival of Balloons!

Click on the poster to find a great deal on
the AllState Festival of Balloons!
When you get to the site, click on "Buy Tickets"
and follow the prompts to Friday Combo Special -
make sure to choose Tigard High Band
from the drop-down "Fundraising" menu
and the Band will get $3 from each Combo sold!

Rose Festival!

We'll be leading the Grand Floral Walk this Saturday - the pre-parade event that comes 30 minutes before the Grand Floral Parade! Here's the itinerary:

7:00 am * Call time - put on uniform and get ready! (Remember your black socks!)
7:45 am * Load buses
8:25 am * Arrive Rose Quarter parade staging area
9:30 am * Step off! Entertain the crowd, have fun, play great music!
11:00 am * Load buses for return trip
11:30 am * Arrive THS - go home!

To prepare for the parade, between now and Saturday smart band students will:

• Eat healthy, nutritious meals
• Drink AT LEAST 6 glasses of water daily!
• Get a reasonable amount of sleep each night
• Get new, thick, fluffy BLACK SOCKS! (BTW, shorty socks are evil and just plain dumb!)

The day of the parade, remember these important things:

• Smart band students always eat a healthy meal before a performance.
• "Clean" is a great smell. Deodorant is your friend.
• Guys, if it grows, shave it. Seriously.

Parade Stuff and Ring-a-Dings!

Check out McKee's Band Page! and find out the latest information on the upcoming parade rehearsals, and a Ding-Dong-Dandy opportunity to hear some good music!

Hot Jazz, Cool Desserts!

So check out McKee's Band Page! and get the latest information on our upcoming Jazz Night! It's gonna be great..

It's Time!

Well, it's time to get back to regular communication! Check this space often - updates about everything from Band performances to selling wieners will be coming your way!

Jazz Night Postponed

Due to unforeseen scheduling issues we find it necessary to postpone Jazz Night. We are in contact with Tony Pacini regarding a date in the next 6 weeks. This is not a cancellation, just a postponement. Tickets that have already been purchased will be honored at the rescheduled date. Refunds will also be made for those who request them.

Stay tuned for more information!

"Your Parents Are Such Good Hosts!"

Well, RhythmFest was a great success, and I think I have now caught up on the sleep I missed while preparing for and running the day! So many of you stepped up and did such a great job keeping things running! The best comment I heard all day, and I heard it many times over, is "Your parents are such good hosts!" - what a terrific thing to hear! I think we have many things of which we should be proud. We have begun a list of what we did well, and what we should change for next year. And there will be a next year - the NWAPA circuit is very pleased with the show we hosted. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

SOMETIMES I HATE COMPUTERS!!!

Well, folks, the program for me to do most of what I do to communicate with you has crashed and burned - can you smell the smoke? :(

OK, so we'll improvise. We need adults to work in several areas of RhythmFest. Food and Security are the biggest needs, as well as Tickets. Here's how to sign up:

• Food - Email Stephanie H and list your three preferred times to work - morning, mid-day, or evening, in order of preference, with any special information she would need to know. sharlow623@hotmail.com
• Security - Email Karen D and list your three preferred times to work - morning, mid-day, or evening, in order of preference, with any special information she would need to know. krizkid90@yahoo.com

• Tickets - Email Laurie W and list your three preferred times to work - morning, mid-day, or evening, in order of preference, with any special information she would need to know. whitehousenw@comcast.net

Please copy your emails to kmckee@ttsd.k12.or.us.

These are all live links - use them now! :)

Tomorrow afternoon we'll open up the time slots to band members to choose when they will work, so if you want the best shot at getting your favorite time, choose soon!

Tune In For More Information...AND Basketball!

Hi Folks!

RhythmFest signups will be available after 5pm Thursday - check back and see what YOU can do for RhythmFest!

Also, Friday is the GBX/BBX Doubleheader against Forest Grove. This means more hungry people for us to feed - YAY! Working concessions on Friday are Ally E, Tyler P, Patrick B, Frannie W, Linda E (Parent), and Cathi P (Parent). I'll see you all between 4 and 4:30PM!

Security and Food - What More Could You Want?

It's time for the Security and Food committees to meet! Here's the schedule:

• Security - 6 PM
• Food - 7 PM
• Place: McKee's classroom.

Don't know where you're going? Just go through the Band Room and out into the hall. Head up the stairs and turn left at the top - go to Room 215 in the corner!

See you there!

GBX vs Newberg

Tonight it's Tigers vs. Tigers, and I predict the Tigers will win! And all those Tigers will be hungry! Working to keep them happily fed will be Cynthia S, Nick P, Joey G, and Gayle G (Parent). See you all at 5:30!

Musings on a Snowy Morning...

Well, look at all that snow! The forecast is for rain by mid-day, so we'll procede as usual.

That means feeding hungry fans at the basketball game tonight! It's BBX vs. Canby, and after the way the girls took care of those Cougars last night, you know the Canby fans will be wanting revenge, and that will make them hungry! Working tonight will be Nick B, Bernie G, Sierra B, and Joan S (Parent) - we'll see you around 5:30.

Also, the Food Committee for RhythmFestwill be meeting Wednesday February 11 at 7pm. We'll convene in the Band Room, but may move to McKee's classroom. If you can't find us, head up the stairs by the band lockers and turn left - we'll be in Room 215 in the corner.

See you there!

Grammy Update

For those of you looking for Blake tonight, the performance schedule has been modified. It appears Radiohead will be on sometime after 10pm, so just keep listening for them to be announced and you'll still see Blake up front. And to check out what the reviewers say, click here and read all about it!

THS Grad On the Grammys!

For only the 2nd time ever, musicians from the USC Band will appear on the Grammys, and for the 2nd time, a Tigard High School drummer will be there! Blake Phillips, our own curly-headed drummer/oboe player extraordinaire from THS Class of 2007, will appear with Radiohead in the opening act. And who was the previous Tigard grad to have such an honor? None other than Trevor Phillips, Blake's older brother!

Watch Blake on the Grammys - Sunday February 8 at 8pm Pacific on KOIN TV Channel 6 - and don't be late! He'll be in the front right corner as you look at the screen.

GBX vs. Mac

A big THANK YOU! to Doug and Janeen Loughin for stepping up to help last night - we appreciate it! Here's what's next: let's feed the fans as Tigard takes on McMinnville Thursday! Working at this game will be Alyssa D, McKay F, and Sue D (parent). Call time is 5:30 - see you then!

BBX vs FG

Time for the boys to play Forest Grove, and for the band to feed those hungry Vikings!
Working concessions tonight (Tuesday 2/3) are Kyle Me, Michelle W, and Celena D, and call time is 5:30. We are in dire need of a parent-type to be here as well. Can YOU do it? Contact McKee right away!

RhythmFest!

Thanks for checking in prior to our important Monday meeting!
Among other things, we'll be talking about the topics listed below and if you haven't already chosen your RhythmFest specialty, you'll make that choice at the meeting. In addition to the list below, we have added these categories:

1. Judges' Airport/Amtrak Pickup/Delivery
2. Local Parking Shuttle

We're especially interested in your input for Raffle Items, including combo baskets and individual items.

We also must get your shirt size, so that the order for RhythmFest Volunteer Staff shirts can go in this week!

Remember, here are the other categories - and we need your help!

• Security - Indoor; Outdoor
• Parking - Spectator; Trucks; Buses
  
• Concessions - Food
• Concessions - Stuff
• Concessions - Strolling
  
• Runners
• Hospitality
• Setup
• Cleanup
• Program - Ads; Layout; Editing; Printing
  
• Trophies - Sponsorship; Purchasing
• Signs
• Tickets

See you Monday 2/2, at 7PM in the THS Library!

Timberwolf Doubleheader!

GBX and BBX vs. TuHS - and THS Pep Band is there! 5PM call time, and PIZZA to get you through the evening - what could be better?!? And working concessions will be Jordan L, Lydia F, Renae W, Nicki R, and Jon Sch (parent), and Larry S and Scott W on the grill!

Looking For Grillers!

We're grillin' burgers for the Burger Basket Deal at the THS/TuHS Doubleheader this Friday, and we need a couple of grillmasters! Do you qualify? Do people come from miles around for your burgers? If so, check out McKee's Band Page! and sign up!

Bring On Those Cougars!

Time to play the Canby Cougars, and pep, pep, pep! Friday January 23 is the night, and it's Silly Hat Night - what a great idea! Wear your silly hat (nothing McKee or Irving wouldn't approve of), and have a ball. Call time is 6:15 - in place, and ready to play!
And as far as concessions goes, workers are Stephanie H and Peggy M (parents), and Alex S, Chris S, and Nicky. See you between 5:30 and 6!

Inauguration - What a Party!

The distance between the Capitol Building and the Washington Monument is just under 1 mile, with the crowd for the Inaugural Ceremony estimated at 1,000,000. The 1.7 mile parade route, which leaves the west side of the Capitol Building and heads east on Pennsylvania Avenue, will be lined with people who have left behind any umbrellas, bottles, coolers, signs, and strollers. With temperatures hovering around 30 degrees (with a 19 degree windchill!), many will wish they had a nice thermos of hot chocolate, but no thermoses allowed...

Welcome, Mr. President!

See President Obama's speech here.

BBX Tuesday January 20

Hey, let's feed those hungry parents and students who come to see our guys take on the McMinnville Grizzlies! Working this game will be Greg D and Karen D (parents) and Brenden D. See you then!

Students and Adults, Mark Your Calendar!

RhythmFest!

Yes, we know it's a day off from school, but you'll done by evening anyway, so come to the Commons at 7PM and get set to put on a great RhythmFest Show!
Be thinking about what you would really like to do. Here's a list of some of the categories we will need to have handled:

• Security - Indoor; Outdoor
• Parking - Spectator; Trucks; Buses
  
• Concessions - Food
• Concessions - Stuff
• Concessions - Strolling
  
• Runners
• Hospitality
• Setup
• Cleanup
• Program - Ads; Layout; Editing; Printing
  
• Trophies - Sponsorship; Purchasing
• Signs
• Tickets

Questions? Contact McKee!

See you Monday!

GBX Tuesday January 13

It's THS vs. TuHS tonight - let's get ready to rumble!
And all those rumblers and their supporters will be hungry - yay!
Working tonight will be Luann L (parent), Jason C, MacKenzie S, and Dev S.

Come support the Tigard Girls as they take on those Timberwolves!

Ring Those Bells...

Many have spoken about their disappointment in missing out of Christmas Eve bells, because of the nasty road conditions. If you're looking for your bell fix, I'll again be filling in at Newberg Friends this Sunday January 11, at both the 9 and 11 am services. We play both prelude and offertory music, so if you're interested, be there by 20 minutes prior to the service time and you'll hear a bunch of dingalings! (Groan...) :)

Newberg Friends is between 3rd and 4th on College Street in Newberg - just a few blocks south of Highway 99W.

:)

Time Is Running Out!!!

ATTENTION!!! Those in Economics class MUST turn in their NewsHours on or before Monday January 12 - NO EXCEPTIONS!
Do the right thing...

Feeling a Little Peppy?

It's time for Basketball Pep Band - Yay!
We play this Friday, January 9, and it's Slipper Night!
Call time is 6:15 PM - remember, that's not when you arrive, that's when you're in place, ready to warm up.
Wear your pep shirt, jeans, and slippers, and get ready to be peppy!

:)

Enquiring Minds Want to Know...

For those who have wondered, Mr. Toft says Monday will be a "B-Day" - we will stick to the published schedule.

See you then! :)

What The Heck?!?

Deep freeze? Record rainfall? Flooding? More snow?
What's next - locusts? :)
Check out the forecast and we'll see what happens...