HOME OF THE RED RIOT MARCHING BAND

Bingo Calendar

March Meeting to congratulate MS honor students

The March Booster meeting - Ice Cream social at 6:30 followed by meeting at 7 PM at Mahoney MS - will feature an ice cream social as we recognize and honor our Middle School music Honors students. Students and their families are invited to join us as we recognize our young musical students and their accomplishments.

HS Musical - Bye Bye Birdie big success

Congratulations to all the cast and crew who worked so hard on this year's musical - Bye Bye Birdie. They were rewarded with 2 weekends of fun and amazing shows. Once again, the talent and hard work of our students were showcased - they are truly amazing. They are wonderful representatives of their school, their music program, and their community.

Congratulations also to Steve and Jane Fileo who once again directed and produced the show. You provide the opportunity for our kids to learn and grow.

And of course, thank you to all the parents who work in the background getting the food ready, the hair curled just right, the costumes ironed, the sets built and painted, the shirts, flowers and other mementos made, the tickets sold, the ads sent out, the audience seated. It is truly a "family" team effort.

To see some pictures from the performances, click on the Photos button to the left.

SPHS to host State HS Jazz Fest

We will be hosting the State HS Jazz Fest on March 26 & 27 at the High School. We anticipate approximately 70 bands to be in attendance. If you are interested and available to help, please contact Rusty Quinn or Steve Laberge, our VP's of Special Events. For further contact information click on the Contact Information link to the left.

2010 Senior and Summer Scholarships

The forms for this year's scholarships will be available from the MS & HS music teachers as well as in the HS guidance office starting in March. You can also click on the Scholarships button on the left to print one. Please note that to qualify for a summer music camp scholarship, a parent/family member must have worked at least one shift of bingo.

2010/2011 Elections

The nominating process for the 2010/2011 Music Boosters E-Board will start at the March meeting. The nominating Chair is Beth Doane. If you are interested in running for any office for the next school year, please contact Beth.

Elections will be held at the May meeting (May 11, 2010) for President, VP Special Events, VP Bingo, Secretary, and Treasurer. Volunteers are also needed for the appointed Board positions of Publicity Chair, Fundraising Chair and Membership Chair.

School Board Budget Workshop Meeting Dates

The School Board will be holding budget meetings that are open to the public on:
Wed., Feb. 24, 2010 - 7:00 pm Memorial Middle School
Thurs., Feb. 25, 2010 - 7:00 pm Small Elementary School
Mon., March 1, 2010 - 7:00 pm Skillin Elementary School
Tues., March 2, 2010 - 7:00 pm Mahoney Middle School

Tentatively Scheduled
Wed., March 3, 2010 - 7:00 pm Dyer Elementary School
Thurs., March 4, 2010 - 7:00 pm Kaler Elementary School

All parents are encouraged to attend at least one meeting. A visible presence is important to show School Board members our support for the music programs in our schools.

Check out the Advocacy Page (link on the left), for ways that you can be an advocate for our music programs and links to studies showing the benefits of music education! You will find research results such as "backed up by statistical data that found:
Schools that have music programs have significantly higher graduation rates than do those without music programs (90.2 percent as compared to 72.9 percent)."

Regular School Board meetings are held the first Monday of the month at 7PM at City Hall in the Council Chambers.

SP High School Marching Band Honors Veterans













The South Portland High School Marching Band members woke up early on this school holiday to don their marching band uniforms and march in the annual South Portland Veteran's Day parade. At the conclusion of the parade they mustered in the parking lot of the American Legion Post 35 to honor our Veteran's by performing the National Anthem followed by taps.

November 2, 2009
For Immediate Release:

(South Portland, ME) The South Portland Red Riot Marching Band finished its Maine Band Directors Association 2009 season with a Gold Medal finish for the fourth consecutive year. At the MBDA finals Halloween night at Marshwood High School, South Portland was the only Maine high school band to finish with the Gold Medal distinction. Two other high school bands, Dover, NH and Salem, NH, also scored Gold.

The Red Riots began their 2009 marching band season in August with a 10 day "band camp" under the direction of Craig Skeffington and his marching band staff. The 75 students involved learned their music and the choreography for this year's program, "The Planets," with music by Gustav Holst. Over the past several months, the band and color guard worked tirelessly with the season's-end goal of a Gold. Mission accomplished!

The Red Riot Marching Band competed in the New England Scholastic Band Association finals in Bridgewater, MA on Sunday, November 1, finishing with Gold Medal distinction. Also, the percussion section took 1st place in its division.

Next, the South Portland High School marching band will participate in the South Portland Veteran's Day parade on November 11.

Many thanks go to principal Jeanne Crocker, Craig Skeffington and his marching band staff, and the year-round efforts of the caring and dedicated parents of the South Portland Music Boosters. Details on the city's music programs as supported by the boosters, as well as photos and video highlights of performances, are available at www.southportlandmusicboosters.org.

Contact: Chuck Igo
South Portland Music Boosters publicity
publicity@southportlandmusicboosters.org
or chuckigo@maine.rr.com

Marching Band Gets Gold

Well, 75 kids who spent 1 1/2 weeks back in August, sweating, learning what "toes up" meant; used up a ton of chalk; quickly learned to never forget your dot book; learned to march to set movements, play an instrument, cover down, watch the Drum Major, and split the field markers all at the same time, ended their Maine Marching Band season tonight. And they did it in style. WITH A GOLD MEDAL!!

Each of them will be coming home from the finals proudly wearing their hard earned gold medal. For some it will be their 1st. For others it will be their 2nd, 3rd, or even 4th (for our seniors who have done it all 4 years).

They have had a wonderful season, full of hard work, disappointment in having 1 indoor show and another canceled; they have endured the sweltering heat of the band camp to the cold evenings of late October practices. In the end, they stood proudly on the field to receive their gold medals from the staff - the only Maine band to receive a gold medal.

This was a special day for our seniors as it was their last performance in the Maine Marching band circuit. I am sure they have all fond memories of their years with the band. I know that we all have fond memories of them.

The kids did the work to earn the gold medal - but they could never have the opportunities to succeed, without the parents there to support them. Thank you parents for that support. They also have an excellent staff to instruct and guide them in a professional and caring way.

On behalf of the Boosters, thank you all for your support. Our kids have the greatest opportunities due to the support of their families - bringing snacks, moving equipment, fixing uniforms, polishing shoes, getting them to practice, baking potatoes, driving the equipment trailers, cheering them in the stands. It all helps.

Thank you parents, thank you kids, thank you staff

Mike Fletcher
President, SP Music Boosters

New Bingo Schedule Calendar

Am I working bingo this weekend?
Who is working bingo?
I wonder if I am needed next month?

The South Portland Music Boosters Bingo Schedule is now online: Bingo Calendar

SPHS 2009 grads receive scholarships

On Friday, June 5, the SP Music Boosters presented the annual Senior Scholarship awards to the Class of '09 music students. Scholarships are awarded to music students on a point system basis. Students earn points for each completed music program they participated in during both middle school and high school. Parents and students have also earned points to add to the total points by working Bingo. The student must have earned at least 6 of their points at SPHS. The higher the point score, the greater the scholarship award; the maximum award available is $2500.

The total amount of the scholarships awarded this year to the 24 seniors was $19,200. Congratulations to our very talented music seniors:

Aileen Russell	Nicole Horton	Elisabeth Soong
Devin Young	Ryan Clancy	Allison Stack
Natasha Baxter	Maggie Tuttle	Margaret Bagley
Jalana Sloatman	Kellie Estey	Ben Cobleigh
Kaylee Newcomb	Baxter Key	Hannah Roderick
Jamie Arn	Kaitlin Carmichael	Ben Fox
Janaye Holt	Leah Greer	Laura Patriquin
Johanna Landau	Albie Gingrich	Megan Lundgren

ELAINE WOLFSON MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP
Unlike the South Portland Music Boosters Scholarships that can be applied to any course of study, the Elaine Wolfson Memorial Scholarship has very specific criteria. The recipient must be a 4 year student of the South Portland High School Chorus Program, they must be planning to attend a College or University to major in Music Education or Music Performance, and they must also have participated in extra curricular music activities the entire 4 years at South Portland High School. The scholarship may be shared by 2 students per year.

This year the scholarship was presented to 1 student: Albie Gingrich

ANDREW GERKE MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP
This year, the Music Boosters presented a new annual scholarship in memory of Andy Gerke.

Andy Gerke passed away on April 14 of this year from injuries sustained in a car accident.

He was a 2003 graduate of SPHS where he excelled both academically and musically. He was heavily involved in concert band, wind ensemble, jazz band, jazz ensemble, marching band, honors band & pit band for the musical. After high school he graduated from UMO with degrees in engineering and German. During his high school and college years Andy was constantly involved in volunteer work in his communities. After graduating from SP he continued to be involved with our marching band as a paid staff member, and then as a volunteer for 5 years. During the band season, he would commute from Orono on a weekly basis. He will be remembered for his smile, his perseverance and his hard work. He is a person who was respected and liked by the band members, the staff and those of us parents who knew him.

This award is given to the band student who best represents the ideals that Andrew stood for - leadership, excellence and volunteer service.

The first Andrew Gerke Memorial Scholarship was awarded to: Laura Patriquin.

The scholarship was presented by Andy's sister Katie McAllister, one of his friends Mike Neff, his mother Robin Lawson, and music booster President Mike Fletcher.

The South Portland Music Boosters congratulate our graduates and wish them all the best in their future endeavors.

SPHS band and chorus perform for graduation

The SPHS Band and Chorus performed as part of the graduation ceremonies for the 197 graduating members of the Class of 2009.

Congratulations and Thank You to our officers for the 2009-2010 School Year...