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Welcome to the 2026-27 school year!
Congratulations on a fantastic 3 weeks of summer band camp!
We are starting the year off with a busy week...first varsity home football game of the season is on FRIDAY, followed by TAG DAY on SATURDAY!
Here we go! 🎉
| | 2026 MARCHING STATESMEN SEASON IS HERE! | Remember to check the Marshall Band website (www.marshallband.org)
for the most up-to-date calendar! | | |
THIS WEEK’S SCHEDULE
Monday, August 24
Tuesday, August 25
- 3:30 PM – 5:45* PM: After-school Marching Statesmen Rehearsal
*Note: Please check the “set down” schedule in the band room and remember to add 10-15 minutes onto the end of your dismissal time for the days your section is assigned to this rotational duty throughout the season.
Wednesday, August 26
- 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM: Evening Marching Statesmen Rehearsal
- 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM: Band Parent Social and Tag Day Envelope-Stuffing Event at the home of Sam Rayburn (8603 Antioch Circle). Please come help!
Thursday, August 27
- 3:30 PM – 5:45 PM: After-school Marching Statesmen Rehearsal
Friday, August 28
- 8:30 AM – 3:30 PM: Elementary Recruitment Tour (Band students will be notified by Mr. V if they are selected/expected to attend)
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7:00 PM: First Varsity HOME Football Game v. Annandale
All Marching Statesmen studnts report to band room at call time provided by Mr. Vesilind and section leaders…usually 5:30 PM. First game does not include field performance, but students will perform music in the stands wearing their black band t-shirts and will stay for the duration of the game!
Saturday, August 29
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8:00 AM – 4:00 PM: TAG DAY FUNDRAISER!!!
This is an all-day fundraiser for ALL band students (concert band & marching band) and raises a critical amount of money for our band program! We still need MANY parent drivers and volunteers to assist with this key fundraiser, so please make plans to participate! See below for details!
| | TAG DAY IS THIS SATURDAY!!! | |
Mark your calendar for TAG DAY, this Saturday, August 29th; 8:30 AM – 4:00 PM.
PARENTS:
WE STILL NEED 7 MORE DRIVERS for ALL DAY and 3 MORE DRIVERS for PM!
Sign up below!
| STUDENTS:
Please sign up below to indicate your availability. We are aiming for 100% participation, and need an accurate gauge for how many drivers we will need! | | Parents: Please join us on Wednesday, August 26 for Tag Day Envelope Stuffing & Social! While the Marching Statesmen are attending Wednesday evening rehearsal, you are invited to make your way to the home of Sam Rayburn (8603 Antioch Cir. Vienna, VA 22180), where we will mix and mingle and stuff envelopes with fundraising marketing materials in preparation for our annual Tag Day fundraiser! No sign-up required…just show up and pitch in! New faces are welcome! | | Marshall High School cafeteria will serve as Tag Day “Headquarters,” and we are so excited that all NON-Driving volunteer slots for our breakfast and ice cream social are full! THANK YOU! | |
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What is Tag Day?
Tag Day is our single largest fundraising event for the Marshall Band and Marshall Colorguard/Winterguard programs! On Tag Day, Marshall band and guard members go door to door throughout the Marshall area and ask for donations to support our program. If no one answers a door, the students leave a flier (called a Tag) that explains the purpose of the visit, describes how funds are used, and provides instructions for those who are interested in submitting donations online or via mail at a later time. Donations are fully tax-deductible. All money collected goes
directly to the band and guard to finance repair and replacement of instruments, uniforms, and equipment; instructors for sectionals; special clinics; and competition fees, and more! Participation in TAG DAY is expected for band and guard members. And we ask that all parents support this effort through volunteering as drivers or in other roles throughout the day.
| | SIGN UP FOR A CONCESSIONS SHIFT! | | The Success of our Marching Statesmen season is made possible by our many parent volunteers! We ask that ALL parents commit to signing up for at least 8 shifts/tasks (PLUS Tag Day) during marching band season to support our band program. | Field Hockey home games begin this week and we still need 3 volunteers for short shifts on Monday (8/24) and Wednesday (8/26). Please consider donating an hour and a half of your time for one of these short shifts if you are able! These are typically much lower-crowd events than varsity football, and it’s an stress-free introduction to new families who want to work in concessions! | ALL SLOTS ARE FILLED for our first varsity home football game on Friday (8/28)! Band parents are AWESOME!!! WOO-HOOOOO!!! 🙌🏼 Thank you! | | |
Please be on the lookout in the coming weeks for the following Sign-Ups:
- SEPTEMBER VARSITY HOME FOOTBALL GAME (9/25)
- US MARINE CORPS INVITATIONAL (10/3)
- VMBC SHENANDOAH VALLEY MARCHING INVITATIONAL COMPETITION (10/10)
- VARSITY HOMECOMING FOOTBALL GAME v. McLean (10/16)
- VARSITY HOME FOOTBALL GAME (Middle School Night) v. Wakefield (10/23)
- VMBC SOUTH COUNTY HS COMPETITION (10/24)
- VIENNA HALLOWEEN PARADE (10/28)
- VARSITY HOME FOOTBALL GAME (Senior Recognition Night) v. Herndon (11/6)
- VMBC CHAMPIONSHIPS (11/7)
- FALL BANQUET FOOD CONTRIBUTION & DECORATING (11/10)
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We appreciate the following volunteers for working the final week of band camp lunch shifts: Trish Vanstory, Kevin Glasscock, Shilpee Arora, Nina Roehl, Hankyul Kim, Amy Ites, Karen Growney, Susan Ganter, Jamie Ganter, Ron Wu, Teresa Pipia, Denise Taranov, and Melinda Batman; our popsicle purchaser, Michelle Gephardt; popsicle/ice cream distributors Trish Vanstory, Kerry Frantz, Michelle Gehpardt, Michelle Thompson, and Karen Growney; our band camp photographer, Lara Fabiano; and our band t-shirt design/ordering/distribution team, Cooky Bysura and Melinda Batman!
We also want to thank our awesome band director Mr. Vesilind, amazing color guard directors Alex Stenseth and Sami Marino, terrific percussion instructor Mr. Wallace, and our talented team of band camp staff Amy, Ryan, Ms. Iddings, and Gabe for their incredible dedication and hard work with our students throughout band camp!
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THE MARCHING STATESMEN
SPIRIT WEAR SHOP IS NOW OPEN!
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Need some Marching Statesmen Swag? Our shop is now open with the following items available for purchase!
- Black Marshall Band student t-shirts*
- Black Marching Statesmen hoodie*
- Black Marshall Band parent “Band Crew” t-shirts
- Black Marshall Band bike shorts/wind shorts (great for under bibbers!)
- Plaid Marshall Band pajama pants
- Marshall Band cap
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Marching Statesmen drawstring bag
*Please note: ALL band members should have already received a brand new black Marshall Band t-shirt with our new logo. All Marching Statesmen FRESHMEN and new marchers will receive a complimentary black Marching Statesmen hoodie!
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Students will wear their Marshall Band shirts under their uniforms at games and competitions. You are welcome to purchase additional t-shirts if you would like to have some backups on hand rather than doing late-night laundry between events!
By popular demand, we have also added our BAND CREW shirts to the store so that our amazing band PARENTS can show their support in the stands and at competitions!
| | CHECK OUT THE BAND CAMP SEASON PHOTOS
(AND UPLOAD YOUR OWN!!) | |
Take a look back at some of the fun from the end of Band Camp! Special thanks to Lara Fabiano for these photos!
Have any additional photos you’d love to share? We’d love to see them! Please upload any favorite moments from throughout the season to our shared Google Drive — from practices and games to competitions, special events, and everything in between. We’d love your help in capturing all the fun, excitement, and memories from the marching band season!
| | REMINDER: MARCHING BAND SHOES | |
New Marchers: When your shoes arrive, you will need to put them in your red bag that hangs with your uniform in the uniform room. Marching shoe fee is $45 and can be paid through My School Bucks (myschoolbucks.com) as soon as the site is updated.
NOTE: We are aware that the pricing has not yet been updated and the band shoes icon has now been removed from myschoolbucks, but we do not have direct access to make any changes to this site. Requests have submitted to the front office admin to update marching band shoes pricing and icon on myschoolbucks, and we appreciate your patience while this is sorted. (Shoes have already been ordered, so this delay with the payment portal corrections will not impact the arrival of the shoes.)
| | PARENT VOLUNTEER LEADERSHIP STILL NEEDED! | |
We still have more vacancies to fill! Each of the remaining “posts” below are roles that new parents can fill, so don’t be shy about stepping up if you are interested! Please reach out to Michelle at president@marshallband.org if you would like more information about serving in one of these vacant roles below:
- Concessions Coordinator Co-Lead for NON-Varsity Football Events
- CONCERT Band Uniform Assistant
- Fall Band Banquet Organizer (handles decorations and paper goods purchasing)
Your help is welcome, valued, and NEEDED for our upcoming Marching Band season! (No experience necessary. We gratefully accept all donations of your time and talent!)
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Tuesday, September 1
- 3:30 PM – 5:45 PM: After-school Marching Statesmen Rehearsal
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5:00 PM – 9:00 PM: Chick-Fil-A BPO Fundraiser
Place a mobile order or walk-in order for dine-in or carry-out at the Tyson’s West location on Leesburg Pike, and BPO earns 20% of the purchase—no code needed! (Fundraiser not valid for delivery orders.)
Wednesday, September 2
- 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM: Evening Marching Statesmen Rehearsal
Thursday, September 3
- 3:30 PM – 5:45 PM: After-school Marching Statesmen Rehearsal
Friday, September 4
- NO SCHOOL! Enjoy the Labor Day weekend!
Monday, September 7
Tuesday, September 8
- 3:30 PM – 5:45 PM: After-school Marching Statesmen Rehearsal
Wednesday, September 9
- 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM: Evening Marching Statesmen Rehearsal
- 6:00 PM: GCM Back-To-School Night (parents only)
Thursday, September 10
- 3:30 PM – 5:45 PM: After-school Marching Statesmen Rehearsal
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