Frequently Asked Questions

Who is a Booster?

What is the march-a-thon?

An annual fundraising event. How does the band make money marching around? 

• Donations solicited along the route:  There will be band students walking along the edge of the band during the event. They will have hats (shakos to be exact) the intent is for spectators that are appreciative for the show to make a donation by dropping money in the hat. 
• Sponsored concerts: Concerts can happen anywhere along the route. There are areas that are predefined as concert locations - usually a park along the route. People that live along the route can request a concert be played in front of their house. Can you imagine a 200 person marching band playing for you in front of your house? (Yard of the month? Who cares! Top this!!)  You can have a concert like this for a minimum donation of $100.  In the past families have had neighbors over and made a little block party out of it. If you are interested send an email to marchathon@cphsband.org. 
• Pledges to sponsor marchers: The last way is to get sponsorships. This is where individual band students contact family, friends and neighbors and have them make a contribution to the band in recognition of the student participating. 

Do freshmen or new students in the band attend Wolf Camp?

All freshmen and new Cedar Park students will have a band wolf camp.  All of the information including handouts will be presented on wolf camp day after they eat their lunch.  ALL of the information will be presented at our session with the students.  This allows students to not miss any instruction with the band that day as well as school related information.  The freshmen will also find out how to navigate the campus.

Why does the band sometimes travel in yellow school buses and other times travel in charter buses?

The type of bus selected is based upon cost. The school district uses a "BUS CALCULATOR" to determine the most economical means of transportation. It takes into consideration the number of students to transport, the miles needed to travel and other equipment needed to move. Sheila Olenich calculates the best bus for each event. Even though we may think school buses are free, the CPHS is charged for bus use by the district. Because of the number of students we transport, many times a charter is more economical.

What is Pack Night?

This is a school wide pep rally type evening. The band plays, cheerleaders perform, sports teams are introduced and everyone gets fired up for the upcoming season.

No.

There are several reasons that we do not maintain our "competition" show during the half time of ANY game after our final competition:

First and foremost, many (most all) of the students are simply mentally and physically exhausted from the performances and rehearsals of that show! At each contest, the students are asked to leave their best performance on the field, and they do!

Second, we can not execute a show of that caliber and demand without continuing our marching band practice schedule of 7 hours a week! The show quickly becomes sloppy without constant practice and one wrong turn could trip or injure students.

I understand that other schools may be "doing their show".... but let me point out that most other schools performances do not place the same level of demand on the students physically and mentally as our show does..... thus... there would be a need for continued marching practice that we simply do not want to ask of the students.

Third, after the last contest, preparation begins for region band and orchestra or other winter and spring band competitions. The color guard begins preparation for the the winter guard contest season. We do not want to adjust the schedules of these activities as it will adversely affect our plans. 

Fourth, since the 6 weeks has usually ended we have had several students that are now ineligible. Our show would have numerous performers missing and simply would not look good.

Director of Bands - CPHS

What are the lyrics to the school song and the fight song?