GPHS Orchestra 2016 New York International Music Festival
1st Informational Meeting – April 28th, 2015 @ 6:30pm; GPHS Rm. 500 PAC
Fundraising committee meeting will follow
Introduce GPOP, welcome 8th grade families
Currently Scheduled Orchestra Events through the end of this year
Saturday
5/09/2015
9-2
Krispy Kreme Fundraiser
Tuesday
5/12/2015
7p
Final GPHS Concert
Monday
5/18/2015
6:30p
GPHS Orchestra Potluck Banquet in Commons
Thursday
5/28/2015
7pm
MS / HS "Orchestra Party" Performance at South Middle
Saturday
5/30/2015
1:30 -5:30
NYC Playathon (Playathon fundraiser to choose music for NY)
Friday
6/05/2015
Graduation Ceremony (AM Rehearsal & PM Performance)
New York International Music Festival – Tour Company: World Projects (CA)
Rough festival dates – April 9th – 16th 2016.
Please note: This trip has already been approved by our school board and the initial group deposit has been made.
Features: International festival; performances, workshops, and social events (dance cruise down the Hudson) will
involve ensembles from other countries around the world. Sightseeing will include a visit to the 9/11 Memorial &
Ellis Island, a Broadway Show, a Julliard School of Music or Met Opera Performance, and a visit to Times Square.
Notes: This trip is not mandatory and does not affect student’s grade in class. However, please speak to Mr.
Cousineau if you are having doubts about participation in the trip before you make a decision. There are many factors
to consider. We provide many fundraising opportunities; no student will be denied the chance to go if they are
working hard to raise money and learn their music. Students must meet the Code of Conduct in their GPHS
Handbooks and have 2.0 or higher GPA at the end of this current semester to be considered for the trip. This
must be maintained throughout the first semester of next year as well– please keep this in mind as you are making
decisions/initial payments. Money often cannot be refunded once we begin paying the tour company.
Chaperones: We will need a good ratio of adults to students for this trip. An application is available and will be due
September 21st. We wish we had the funds to help compensate our chaperones, but since those supporting our fundraising
efforts intend their contributions to go to students, your portion of the trip will need to be out-of-pocket. There is a chance that
chaperones will have a slight discount depending on the number of participants the group as a whole commits to and anywhere
that a cost can be cut for adults, we try to do so. Prospective chaperones should plan to pay the entire student cost of the trip as
they plan their budgetary details leading up to the departure date.
Student Cost: Total cost will be around $2000, which is comparable to the cost of trips made in previous years. This
cost covers everything except for spending money & some meals - transportation, lodging, festival fees & itinerary
activities are all covered in this cost. No student will have to pay this full amount out of pocket; the amount each
student pays will depend on their fundraising efforts. Factors that will affect our total and are still to be determined
include: final # of participants, flight costs, bus to PDX cost, total baggage cost, misc. hotel and itinerary decisions.
Initial non-refundable Airline Deposit of $50 is due Monday May 4th and a second non-refundable “Good
Faith” deposit of $250 is due Monday, June 1st along with the signed letter of intent/acknowledgement of
expectations.
Preliminary plan for Payment Schedule:
MAY
05/04/15 - $50 Airline Deposit Due
JUNE
06/01/15 - $250 ‘Good Faith’ Deposit Due
AUGUST
08/07/15 - $200 Due
SEPTEMBER
09/28/15 - $500 Due
NOVEMEBER
11/30/15 - $500 Due
JANUARY
01/25/16 - Final Balance Due (minus meal and bus money)
FEBRUARY
02/26/16 - Meal and Bus Money Due (amount tbd)
Important to consider: Prior to each payment due, Mr. Cousineau can apply any fundraising credit to each payment
due provided the account has sufficient funds. Only the remainder will need to come out-of-pocket. Please contact
Mr. Cousineau if you have questions about your student’s account balance ecousineau@grantspass.k12.or.us.
GPHS Orchestra Fundraising
A Review of 3 types
Single event fundraisers: Students earn wage per hour worked
Examples: Car washes, donut sales “on location,” football
concessions, tree pick-up, Gates sign-waving
Group fundraisers: Amount earned is equally divided amongst students
Examples: Orchapalooza profits, Business/Club donations,
Holiday concert door sales
Individual fundraisers: Money earned is applied directly to individual
Examples: Individual sponsorships, play-a-thon pledges,
donut presales, Holiday ticket sales
To benefit from fundraising efforts, students need to participate in fundraisers. If you have a serious
concern about the financial commitment involved, please contact Mr. Cousineau immediately. No one will be
denied the opportunity to make the trip based on financial need unless lack of participation is also a factor.
Money earned through fundraisers between payment dates can be applied to the next scheduled payment.
Reminder: Only students can earn credit through fundraising hours. The only exception is when there is a school
sponsored activity conflict and arrangements are made IN ADVANCE THROUGH MR. COUSINEAU for a
sibling or parent to fill in doing the same work that the student would have done (note: this is a rare occurrence).
Thank you, parents, for volunteering your time and making these fundraisers possible for the students! Your
involvement inevitably encourages involvement by your child and his/her account benefits!
Note: In the case of overpayment, only money paid directly out-of-pocket will be refunded. This is after the complete trip
cost is covered for your student and in the case that a surplus is earned. As a safeguard while we travel, surplus money will
not be refunded until after we have returned from the trip. Surplus money from sponsorships and fundraisers cannot be
refunded as these are considered donations made to the orchestra program. However, surplus individual student credit rolls
over from year to year.
Annual fundraising plans include:
Krispy Kreme Sales every so often - for each sale, students will have the option to presell.
Orchapalooza! – November (Food, Auction*, Performance by all students) Students earn $ per ticket they sell
*All students are expected to contribute in some way to the auction
Individual Sponsorships
Gift Wrapping at Fred Meyer - Holiday Season
Holiday Concert Tickets
Christmas Tree Pick-up
Play-a-thon Rehearsal (rehearsal required of all students with opportunity to seek pledges)
Flamingo Relocation Project – Fall - Spring
More fundraising ideas are currently in the works! Please share any fundraising ideas that you have with Mr. C.
Expect a handful of summer fundraising opportunities.
Great way to get to know each other AND start building accounts.
WHAT (SIMPLE STRATEGIES) EACH INDIVIDUAL STUDENT NEEDS TO START NOW TO RAISE MONEY!:
1) Have a PLAN. Could take as little as 20 minutes (?) to scratch out a payment strategy between now and the
Trip - especially since you know when the payments will be due and roughly what fundraising might be
taking place.
2) Begin setting aside a portion of any money they earn working or doing odd jobs (babysitting, mowing lawns,
collecting cans/bottles, etc.) in a specific account… they can make deposits to their orchestra account
through the GPHS bookkeeper at any time during the school year.
3) Make a list, gather addresses, and send out SPONSORSHIP LETTERS! This is hands down the fastest way to
build your account and is a win-win option. It is tax-deductible for the sponsor and family & friends
enjoy supporting your child’s musical endeavors when they can. Every little amount adds up!
Contacts for account info: Mr. Cousineau 474-5710 ext. 230, ecousineau@grantspass.k12.or.us
Dawn Murphy is the high school bookkeeper; please note that she will only have record of deposits made
directly to the GPHS ASB account.