THE PRIDE OF LOUISVILLE - Louisville Ohio High School Band Director's Update

July 7 Update

7/7/2020

I hope this message finds everyone safe and sound. I trust that you have had fun this summer and enjoyed the 4th of July weekend:)

I also hope that you are looking forward to the beginning of band on Monday July 20. Color guard will be starting one week earlier on Monday July 13. We look forward to seeing you all and can't wait to once again hear you play your instruments...it's been awhile! Our fingers are crossed in hopes that we can start as planned. Musically, make sure you are ready. Our expectation is that you come to band knowing how to play the music you were given at the beginning of June.

Below are some very important guidelines that must be followed as we begin our season. Please be sure to read through these thoroughly so that you understand what is expected in order to keep each other safe.

Take care and see you soon!
Mr. B

rehearsal_covid_guideline_letter.pdf
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Unfortunate news

5/15/2020

Please see the letter below from Mr. Portzer. We are sad to see him go and we will miss him dearly. Please know that Mrs. Markiewicz and I will be doing everything possible to make our band program run as normal as possible, in spite of now having just two band directors...for the first time in 42 years. We've been fortunate to have three band directors since 1978.

Please reach out to Mr. Portzer and wish him well. He's an amazing educator and we wish him all the best and look forward to his continued friendship.

Mr. Bleininger

Hello Louisville Band Family,

I hope you all are doing well during this crazy time. Today I received the unfortunate news that due to the levy’s failure my position is being eliminated and I will be leaving this district I’ve come to love. It is hard to find the right words to express what this last year has meant to me. I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to get to know each and every one of you. Working with you all has been the highlight of my time as a band director. I’m incredibly proud of all the work we have done and I can’t wait to see where the future takes you. Thank you for welcoming me into this community. Lastly, it is impossible to truly say how grateful I am to have gotten the chance to work with Mr. Bleininger and Mrs. Markiewicz. I could not imagine better people to call colleagues or friends. They are some of the best educators and people I know. This virus has turned the world upside down but I know we will make it through stronger and more resilient than ever. This isn’t a goodbye, just see you later.

-Mr. Portzer

Band Update 4/20/2020

4/20/2020

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3/30/2020

3/30/2020

We hope that everyone is well...safe, healthy, and following the guidelines that have been set to the best of your abilities. Doing so will go a long way in seeing each other again as soon as possible...and that's what we want because we miss seeing your smiles and hearing the music that we make together everyday!

I encourage you to continue to do your VERY BEST work as our e-school learning begins today. You know that we expect nothing less than 100% effort in all of your classes. Please be patient with your teachers and the technology...there are bound to be some hiccups and this is a new way of instruction for us and a new way of learning for you.

Please know that I am available via email for any questions that you may have...or if you just want to say hi:) I've received a few nice emails and some videos that have truly brightened my day. As always, I'll respond as soon as possible.

If you are an underclassmen, send a text, an email, or call a senior in the next few days. This is not how they envisioned the end of their time at LHS and a little encouragement and a kind word goes a long way. They're a resilient bunch, but we can all be here for each other, no matter what.

Keep in mind that your present situation is NOT your final destination. The best is yet to come!!!

Take care of yourselves and each other:)
Mr. Bleininger

Checking in...

3/17/2020

Just wanted to take a moment and let everyone know that I'm thinking about you. I hope that everyone is safe and healthy. I think we'd agree that all of this seems a bit surreal. As you are home with your families, take the time to reflect on what a great year we have had so far! Think all the way back to July when marching band started and count all the great moments and memories we have shared together all the way up until the last few days. I feel so grateful that we were able to get our Disney trip in before all of this craziness started.
Seniors, I realize this isn't how you envisioned the end of your final year at LHS. Fingers are crossed that we get back to school to enjoy most of the remaining events that are scheduled, many of which are in celebration of you:) Regardless of what happens the next few weeks, please know that I understand and appreciate the hard work and dedication that you have given to our band program and to our outstanding Louisville City School District. I am certainly proud of you and your many accomplishments!
In the coming days I encourage all of you to enjoy your time with your family members. Use this unexpected time to start a new hobby, read a new book, start an exercise program, and practice your instrument:) Anyways, know that your band directors value and care about you and we hope to see each of you sooner rather than later. Stay positive and safe everyone...
Mr. Bleininger

Update/cancellations

3/13/2020

Dear Parents,

I regret to inform you that we will be cancelling the performance part of our annual Band Festival this year due to the corona virus situation. The Band Festival was scheduled for Saturday, April 18th. In addition to the safety concerns of the district, with the next three weeks away from rehearsals, our students simply will not be prepared to perform.

We are in fact still planning to hold our festival raffle. This is a large fundraiser for our program for all grades 6-12. Students will receive their raffle tickets once we are permitted to return to school, and we will then find an appropriate date to conduct the raffle.

I would ask that you be patient with the schedule for the remainder of the school year. Tryouts, spring concerts, upcoming fundraisers, the band banquet and other events may have to be postponed and or cancelled. We'll just have to wait and see how this all plays out. Once our school administration has the chance to evaluate the situation in the coming weeks, information about these events will be communicated at a later date.

FYI, the Ohio Music Education Association has cancelled all remaining adjudicated events for the remainder of the school year. There will be no middle school Solo and Ensemble or large group performances. Our students will be informed of this decision today.

Thank you for being flexible and open minded as we work through these changes. I appreciate your patience. Please don't hesitate to email me with any questions. As always I'll do my best to respond promptly.

Take care,
Mr. B

Large Group Itinerary 3/14/2020

3/7/2020

See below for Saturday's itinerary.

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Happy New Year...and some other stuff!

12/30/2019

Dear Parents,

I hope this post finds you well. I trust that everyone had a Merry Christmas. We are looking forward to a new year of making music and memories together!

I've included a few dates below as reminders for the beginning of 2020. As always, please let me know if you have any questions.

Monday Jan. 6 - Final Disney payment due ($100.00), or balance of whatever you may owe. Remember, trip total is now $750.00 thanks to our (your) fundraising efforts!!!

Tuesday Jan. 7 - Band Booster meeting @7pm in the HS band room

Friday Jan. 10 - Pep band vs. Massillon...pep band members report at 5:45pm.

Saturday Jan. 11 - We have four students performing as members of the Kent State University Honor Band. Congrats to Victoria Davis, Kristen Flinner, Bethany Haskell, and Harley Nunez! The concert begins at 7:30pm in Cartwright Hall on KSU's campus. The concert is FREE.

Friday Jan. 17 - No school for students (waiver day, teacher inservice)

Saturday Jan. 18 - Solo and Ensemble @ Glenoak HS. Times will be announced once received from Glenoak.

Monday Jan. 27 - Pep band for the Royal Knights game. Report time TBA

Tuesday Jan. 28 - Pep band vs. Norton. Report time TBA

Tuesday Feb. 4 - Band Booster meeting at 6pm in the HS band room...followed by a MANDATORY Disney meeting at 7pm in the HS cafeteria. At least one parent of each student going on the trip must attend the meeting. It should last approximately 1 hour.

Tuesday Feb. 11-16 - Walt Disney World Trip!

Lastly, congratulations to band parent and Louisville City Schools employee (one of our tech guru's!) Troy Davis on being named our new LHS head football coach. We are looking forward to working together with Coach Davis and his staff to continue to make Friday nights in Louisville the place to be! Well deserved and best of luck to our team next season!

Have a safe and happy new year!
Mr. Bleininger

Updated times and Disney info

11/26/2019

Please note the updated times for Light Up Louisville on Sunday 12/1

Band room open from 5:45-6:00pm
Band and color guard report to Paradise UCC at 6:15pm
Parade begins at 6:30pm

We will be marching from Paradise to downtown, turning left on Main, left on Gorgas, and then left on Mill where we will end up back on Main Street for the tree lighting. Students will be dismissed from Paradise Church once the lighting is complete.

Upon returning from Thanksgiving break, students will be signing up for roommates for the trip and Main St. Tours will be ordering tickets. As we have been announcing for weeks, Main Street Tours will not be ordering tickets for students who are not current with their payments. We currently have approximately 20 students who are not current and will not be traveling with us as a result. Please take care of this asap.

In other news, our students and band boosters have raised enough funds through the Disney trip raffle and our Dining for Disney events to decrease our last payment (due Jan. 6) by $150.00 per student! In other words, the final payment will only be $100.00 instead of $250.00. That's over $15,000 raised! Thanks to everyone who helped fundraise to make this happen! It's incredible what we can do as a group for the benefit of our kids and our band program!

Light Up Louisville

11/24/2019

The band and color guard will be performing for "Light Up Louisville" next Sunday December 1st. Students will meet in the parking lot behind Paradise UCC at 6:30pm. We will be leading a short parade at 6:45pm (the route has not been communicated to me at this time) and will be stopping to observe the tree lighting near the green space downtown. Once the tree lighting is finished we will march back to Paradise UCC and the students will be dismissed from there.

Students should dress in Christmas clothes, red and green, etc. Be creative and get in the spirit of the holiday season!!! Students are also encouraged to decorate their instruments.

The band room will be open from 6:00-6:20pm for anyone who needs to stop there to get their instrument.