Mentor Program

Chair:

Purpose

Incoming band members often get a lot of attention and guidance from other students, about what to expect and what to do to be successful in marching band. The parents of these new band members are not so lucky. There is a lot to learn about what it takes to produce an award winning show and just how much work their children are doing to make it look so easy on the field. We try to begin the process with the orientation meetings, but there is just too much to absorb in one sitting. It is overwhelming to try to learn everyone’s name and then remember it from week to week. It seems even more difficult to match parents with their children. In the service of creating and maintaining a strong, vibrant and continuous core of parents that support and grow the band, the Band Boosters Board has proposed the creation of a mentoring program, whereby experienced members of the band become personally involved with integrating new parents and their musicians into the band family.

Goals

Provide one well-known, friendly face that can introduce new parents to other parents at band events.
Provide a point of contact for answering questions and learning about band activities and opportunities.
Increase involvement of new parents by personally inviting them into roles that support the band.

Suggested Activities

As soon as you have the information for your new family, call them and introduce yourself. In the future, they will have gotten information about the mentoring program at the orientation meeting. For the 2004-2005 school year, you will need to introduce the concept.
Have the new, band student over for dinner, early in the season if possible. (You may even want to share a meal with “your” family, either at your home or out.)
Invite them to participate in a fund raising activity with you so you can show them the ropes, sometime during their first year in band.
Coordinate attending performances with them and introduce them to other band families.
Invite your family to either follow you or carpool to competitions.
If you come up with other great ideas, let the board know and we will add them here as suggestions for others.

Time Line

April Solicit current band families to serve as mentor families through e-mail and booster meetings

June Finalize list of new band members and assign mentors.

June-July Band picnic for entire band to take pictures and make name tags for the year (consider doing this the day of we leave for band camp)

July-August Have your student over for dinner

June-Sept Participate in a fund raising activity with your mentor family.

Sept-Dec Attend football games and competitions and introduce your mentor family to other band families