Articles by the A. I. duPont High School Band Director Rich Weaver.
Good Evening,
Attached is information about a fundraising coupon from Boscov’s. Mrs. Weyl will be at AIHS tomorrow at 1:00 pm to hand out coupons for any family wishing to participate. Please remember that all unsold coupons will need to be returned so that they are accounted for.
Rich Weaver
Good Morning A.I. Band Family!
Christiana Game on 10/06/18: The football game at Christiana is this Saturday, 10/06/18, at 3:00 pm. It was changed from the previous time of 11:00 am due to several student athletes taking the SAT in the morning. Band members are to report to AIHS at 1:00 pm. Students should call/text for a ride when we depart Christiana. My best guess would be that we will be back at AIHS around 5:45 pm.
This is Christiana’s Homecoming Game and they have festivities, including a Hall of Fame induction, from 2:15-3:00 pm. Because of this, we have been told that our band will not have the opportunity to perform our field show. I met with our student executive board yesterday morning and they voted to still attend the football game. We will play music in the stands throughout the game to support our football team.
Practice: Marching band practice is on Monday, 10/08/18, from 7:00-9:00 pm. (Reminder to students that the band room will be locked at 2:40 pm and opened for practice at 6:00 pm.)
Homecoming Dance Help: The Homecoming Dance is one of the biggest fundraising events for the A.I. duPont Band each year! We cannot do it without all hands on deck. Help is needed with planning, decorating, concessions, breakdown, etc. The dance is on Saturday, 10/27/18, but help is needed now (and before, during and after the event). PLEASE volunteer a few hours to help you kids! Contact Ms. Stephanie Simpson at aihsbandboosters@gmail.com or Ms. Chrissy Cesario at chrissy@myfcres.com if you are willing to help out.
Glasgow Game at AIHS on 10/12/18: Our game next week is home vs. Glasgow. The start time of the game has been moved up to 6:00 pm. Band members are to report to the band room in full uniform at 5:00 pm. We will step off around 5:15 pm, so please be prompt.
Richard Weaver – Director of Bands
Good Evening AI Band,
Marching Band practice is tomorrow night (Monday 10/01/18) from 7:00-9:00 pm. Students should not be staying after school for band practice. If they are not involved in a sport or club they should be leaving the building at 2:15 pm, and returning for practice at night. The band room will be locked at 2:40 pm and opened at 6:00 pm.
The football game on Saturday (10/06/18) is at Christiana High School. Due to a high number of students taking the SAT that morning, the game time has been moved from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm. Kickoff will be at 3:00 pm, which would usually mean that the visiting band would perform between 2:40-2:55 pm. However, this is Christiana’s homecoming game and they have festivities, included a hall of fame ceremony, beginning at 2:15 pm. Because of this…
The Athletic Director at Christiana High School had their Band Director contact me to let us know that there will not be time for the A.I. duPont Marching Band to perform before the game. They are instead asking us to perform our show after the game. I have been a teacher at AIHS for 16 years and this is a first for me. I have been able to speak with several of our band officers and school administrators (including Mr. Palladinetti). None of us like the idea of being told to perform after the game and we are frustrated with this situation. I am not sure how this will turn out.
As of now, the report time to AIHS for band members will be 1:00 pm on Saturday (in full uniform). However, if we are not provided with a respectable opportunity to perform our show we may decide to not attend the event. I will let you know as soon as I can. Just plan on reporting at 1:00 pm on Saturday.
Richard Weaver – Director of Bands
Good Afternoon A.I. Band Family,
This past Friday, the marching band performed very well. Even with the field being muddy, they put on an excellent show! Great job! And, our football team defeated Mount Pleasant!
Unfortunately, there were some fans at the game who decided to cause an incident in the parking lot after the event. During the 4th quarter, there seemed to be tension between several groups of people by the concession stand. Something was off and just didn’t feel right. Administration called for additional state troopers. We also decided that the cheerleaders and band members should remain in the stadium while the crowd exited after the game.
Once in the parking lot, a large fight broke out between several groups of people. Even with the extra troopers for support, the crowd took a while to disperse. Nobody involved in the fight was an AIHS student. I will repeat that: No AIHS students were involved in the altercation. Keeping the band and the cheerleaders in the stadium after the game turned out to be the correct decision. Regardless of anything else, student safety is always our highest priority. I hope that you will agree with me…even if it was slightly inconvenient for families picking up their students after the game. I could not have been more proud of the way our band members handled this unfortunate situation.
Rich Weaver – Director of Bands
Thursday, 9/20: Band Booster Meeting at 7:00 pm in the AIHS Library. All parents/guardians of band students are invited to participate. Meetings are usually the 3rd Thursday of every month and last approximately 1 hour.
Friday, 9/21: If you have ordered a sub and are participating in the Sub Dinner it begins at 4:30 pm in the AIHS Cafeteria. Please remember to bring a dessert to share.
Friday, 9/21: Home football game vs. Lake Forest. Band report time is 5:30 pm in uniform. The Lake Forest Band is scheduled to perform at 6:10 pm. Football Senior Night occurs at 6:30 pm. (This is NOT the band’s senior night.) We will perform the national anthem at 6:55 pm. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 pm. Our marching band will perform our field show during halftime.
Saturday, 9/22: Inaugural HBCU Battle of the Bands at Frawley Stadium. This event will feature 4 HBCU Marching Bands. AI duPont and Smyrna High School will be performing before the college bands compete. The show begins at 3:00 pm, with the gates opening at 2:00 pm. Students are to report to AIHS at 1:00 pm to take the bus over to Frawley. Please report in full uniform with your gold marching band shirt under your jacket. While we do not have every detail of this event, I am guessing that it will finish around 4:30-5:00 pm and we will return to AIHS approximately 15 minutes after that.
Monday, 9/24: There in no band practice/event this evening due to Back to School Open House (which is from 6:00-8:00 pm.)
Tuesday, 9/25: Marching Band Practice from 7:00-9:00 pm. Reminder that parents/guardians should be at school by 9:00 pm to pick up their student from practice.
Friday, 9/28: Home football game vs. Mt. Pleasant. Report time is 5:30 pm in full uniform. Mt. Pleasant’s band will perform before the game. AIHS will perform at halftime. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 pm.
Monday, 10/1: Marching Band Practice from 7:00-9:00 pm.
The football game from Friday has been rescheduled for Monday, 9/10/18, at 6:00 pm. The game will be played at Appoquinimink High School (vs. Polytech). The band will NOT be traveling to perform at the football game.
There is no school on Monday, 9/10/18.
Marching Band practice this week will be Wednesday, 9/12/18, from 7:00-9:00 pm.
Mum Fundraising Forms need to be turned in by practice Wednesday night (9/12/18). We cannot accept any orders after that date because the boosters need to place their order with the grower.
Sub Dinner Forms are due by this Friday, 9/14/18.
Our next football game is Saturday, 9/15/18 at Charter School of Wilmington at 11:00 am. Students should report to AIHS by 9:30 am. We will perform our show at 10:40 am. The Cab Calloway School of the Arts Marching Band will perform at halftime.