Frequently Asked Questions

So what is this high school band stuff all about, and is it worth doing?
Short answer - YES. For a really good answer to that question, click on the link below to watch a short video about the Mighty Mustang Band. Although the video was done a few years ago, it is just as applicable today as the day it was made, plus you will hear from real band parents and members of the Mighty Mustang Band. They'll tell you in their own words, totally unscripted, why being in the Mighty Mustang Band is a great educational and life experience.

Click here to watch the video. It's about 10 minutes long and well worth watching.

What is summer band camp?
The band begins holding summer practices well before the start of school. These practices usually begin in late July/early August.  A typical day's schedule might include an early morning drill practice and daytime sectionals until mid-afternoon. To view/print a detailed schedule of the Summer Rehearsals  Click here

Many of the kids stay at school for the full day by choice.  They may go to lunch or just hang out with other band kids during their "down" time.  Their section leaders may also plan social activities for their own specific sections during the camp days.

Each kid is wise to bring a thermos or "camelback" of water and sunglasses, and to wear sunscreen!

Can band parents attend football pep rallies at school?
You sure can!  In fact, parents who have been around for a while say that these pep rallies are great fun to watch.  The pep rally dates and times are published in the Pearce PTA newsletter/website, or you can call the school for the dates.

What happens on football Fridays?
The kids may not even come home from school that afternoon.   They have practice, they eat dinner, they get dressed in their uniforms, and then they load the buses.

Your kid can pack their own dinner or you can take them a quick dinner.  Also, for the last few years a band mom has arranged for local restaurants to provide meals for the kids.  The meals are usually around $5, and you can purchase meals for some or all of the games.  You sign up for these meals at the beginning of football season (watch the website for details and order forms), or look for our sign-up table at the Band BBQ.
A typical schedule for a home game looks like the following:
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Sept. 7 Home vs. The Colony
4:30 Trucks need to be at PHS
4:30 Call time for students on "B" field
4:30 - 5:00 Rehearsal on "B" field
5:00 Load trucks
5:00 - 5:45 Kids eat dinner in the PHS Cafeteria
5:45 - 6:10 Kids change into uniforms and have inspection
6:10 Load buses
6:15 Buses depart PHS for Eagle-Mustang Stadium
6:30 Approx. arrival time at Eagle-Mustang Stadium
6:50 MMB marches around stadium track and enters stands
7:30 Kick-off time
10:15 Approx. time for end of game
10:45 Approx. departure time from Eagle-Mustang stadium
11:00 Approx. arrival time back at PHS
11:00 - 11:30 Kids change out of uniform
11:30 MMB meeting
11:45 Approx. dismissal time
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Is there a tailgate before the home football games?
There is a Pearce High School tailgate before every home football game.  It is held in the west parking lot of the Eagle-Mustang Stadium, in front of the ticket area.   Each tailgate is sponsored by a different school group, including the PABC.  They begin serving food at 6:30 P.M.  The tailgates are free to all Pearce families.

What are Big/Little Sisters/Brothers?
During Homecoming season, kids can elect to participate. Once "signed up" each kid is assigned or picks a big/little sister/brother.  Boys are paired with girls, and underclassmen are paired with upperclass band students.  One person in each pair will know their partner, but it will be a secret to the other. 

Once the pairs are chosen, the two partners often give little gifts to each other.  The gifts aren't meant to be excessive; usually they are silly tokens or candy.   They also write notes to each other.  This exchange will take place all the way up until Homecoming. The Thursday before Homecoming weekend, the brother/sister pair then reveal themselves to each other, and exchange a homecoming mum or garter. They wear their garter or mum to school on that Friday.

What happens with band during Homecoming?
The band, of course, has their usual Friday afternoon and evening commitments for the football game.  The kids are not allowed to wear their mums with their band uniforms.

Many of the kids will choose to go to the Homecoming dance on Saturday.  If they are going with a large group, they may custom design group t-shirts to be worn to school on Friday.

What in the world is a Homecoming Mum or Garter?  (This question is for non-Texans and new band families.)
Mums and garters are worn by the kids to celebrate homecoming. The girls wear them as corsages and the boys wear them as garters on their arms. The corsages have big flowers (mums) in the middle and long ribbons for tails. They are usually covered with lots of decorations and trinkets. Girls receive mums and boys receive garters.

You can order these mums already made from the Pearce PTA "Mum Store" (check out the Pearce PTA website for deatils), local grocery stores and craft shops.  You can also make your own mums.  Many craft stores sell all of the supplies you'll need. 

Each kid will need at least one mum or garter for their big/little sister/brother.  If they have a date for Homecoming, they will need a second mum or garter for their date.   The mums and garters for the dates are also exchanged during school on Friday of Homecoming weekend.

What is the party that is held after each football game?
These parties are meant solely for the band kids.  They are held each week at the home of a band family who has donated their house.  For security reasons, the location of the party is not announced, and maps are not distributed in the band hall until after each football game.  Each party is well-chaperoned by band parents recruited by the host parents.  The parties serve as a great release for the kids after the games, and they enjoy watching the tape of the evening's halftime performance. Click here for the after-party rules and guidelines.

Pizza and sodas are arranged by the host parents for the kids.  Each kid is asked to contribute approximately $3 towards the food. The parties begin immediately after the kids return to the band hall and finish unloading, hanging up uniforms, and putting away their instruments; and usually last until between 12:30 and 1:00 A.M.

These late parties seem to work best when parents combine their efforts and carpool groups of kids from the band hall to the party, and then from the party to home.

What band fees can we expect to pay?
The school district does not provide all of the funding that is needed to support a quality band program such as ours.  Fundraising activities and direct payments by parents/students must cover the additional expenses.  You can expect three different fees:

1. "Registration" fee is applied to expenses such as gloves, shoes, uniform cleaning, and refreshments during marching season.  The amount paid each year varies depending on the number of kids in the band and whether your kid marches, is in the color guard, or is a drum major.  This fee is required for all band and color guard students, including color guard students not in the band.  You will pay this at registration in August during summer band camp.
2. "Operations" fee is applied to expenses such as supplies, staff assistance, entry fees, clinicians, and student development. This fee is required for all band and color guard students, including color guard students not in the band.  You will pay this fee at registration in August during summer band camp.
3. "Spring trip" fee is applied to the transportation, accommodations and other costs associated with the spring trip. In order for deposits to be placed on the various reservations, trip fees are paid in installment during the school year and must be paid in full prior to the trip at a set deadline. To aid in spreading out this cost, you may make partial payments at any time before payments are due.  Every fourth year the band takes a "big trip" out of the state, thus the trip fee is much larger during that year, usually costing about $1500 per student. In "small trip" years the fee has not exceeded $450.

To help keep the costs of fees down, students and parents raise funds by participating in specific band fundraisers such as raising money for the March-a-thon, soliciting items for the annual auction, and getting businesses to sponsor band photos in the football program.

How can we participate in band fundraisers?

1. Find a corporate sponsor for the PABC.  The sponsor’s name will be listed on the band website.
2. Find a business to sponsor one of the band's photos in the fall football programs.
3. Raise funds for the MMB's annual March-a-Thon! This exciting event takes place in mid-fall and is intended to provide an opportunity for all band students to help raise funds for the MMB. The concept is simple: we will march up to 10 miles, and our students will solicit donors to sponsor them. Everyone will march - whether or not they have solicited any sponsors. Therefore we encourage all students to seize this opportunity. For detail information about this exciting event, watch for a details each year.
4. Participate in the annual auction (our biggest fundraiser to date) by securing donations of items to be sold at the auction, by obtaining monetary donations or corporate sponsorships, by selling raffle tickets, and by working the event.
5. Donate items for the annual Mighty Mustang Market (garage sale).  This event is held in the spring.

Are scholarships available?

 Absolutely!  Scholarships are available to help our students receive individual lessons and towards spring trip fees.  It is important that both you and your child have demonstrated a willingness to help with fundraisers and/or band events in order to be considered for these scholarships. You may view/print/download a Private Lesson Financial Aid Application by clicking here.  There are no scholarships or financial aid available for registration or operations fees.

Contact the PABC Scholarships Director for more information.

What spring trips do the bands take?
Every fourth year the band takes a big trip to an out-of-state performance.  Past trips have been to New York, San Diego, Orlando, and Washington, D.C. The trip usually costs about $1500 per student. 

For the other years, the bands travel to competitions within Texas. In "small trip" years the fee has not exceeded $450

How do I know who is on the PABC Board?
Click here to view the current list of Board members.  It contains a wealth of band information. You can find the names and contact numbers for all current board members on this page.

What band competitions are coming up during school year, and what time commitments can we expect for them?
To get the dates and times for competitions, visit the website at Calendar - Contests or click here.

Marching Competitions
The first marching competition is usually held in October. It is judged in a preliminary/finals format  which means that each band first performs in a preliminary round, then the bands that are judged the best proceed on to a final performance.  The band will meet at school well before the preliminary round to allow for preparation and travel.  The directors will announce the meet time as soon as possible.  Since we are sure to make it into the finals performance (being the superb band that we are), the band will probably not be returning to school until late in the evening.

The UIL Region Marching Contest is normally in mid-October and is held at Mesquite Memorial Stadium.  This is a region-level performance consisting of a single performance.  Again, the specific meet times for this event will be announced by the directors.

The Area Marching Contest is held every two years for 4A schools and is held at Mesquite Memorial Stadium.  4A schools compete in odd number years. Bands  proceed to this competition if they make a first division during the UIL Region Marching Contest in October. 

Two or three bands from each area are chosen to compete in the State Marching Contest.  The last 4A State Marching Contest was held in San Antonio in 2005. This competition is a preliminary/finals format again.  A band's performance at the Area Marching Contest determines if it will proceed to the State contest during a 4A competition year.

Auditions and Contests For Individuals and Small Groups
Phase I Region Band auditions are held in December.  All members of Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band must audition; auditions are optional, but recommended, for Concert Band students.  Band members with exceptional performances will advance to Phase II of the auditions, to be held after school during December.  Band members who are actually chosen for Region Band can expect rehearsals on the Friday evening and Saturday morning and afternoon of the Region Band weekend.  The concert by the Region Band will then be held on that Saturday evening.

Auditions for Area Band are scheduled in January.  The best performers will advance to State Band.

The Chamber Music Festival is normally scheduled for a Saturday in February.

Concert Band Competitions
The UIL Contest is in April. This contest will take place during the day, with Wind Ensemble also possibly performing during the evening.  All concert bands participate in this event.

All members of the concert bands have an opportunity to travel with the bands to an out of town contest/performance. This trip usually occurs in April. There is an additional cost to the students to go on this trip - so students are not required, but all are encouraged to attend. For more information on spring band trips see the PHS Band Trips

All other band commitments are listed in the summer newsletter that is sent to all band members from the PABC and will be reconfirmed by the band directors as the events approach.  Important dates/times and directions to all away events can also be found on our web site in the Band Life section.

How are any schedule changes communicated to the band members?
The directors work very hard to repeatedly communicate any changes to all members during drill practices, band classes, and other rehearsals.  Schedule changes will only be communicated by the directors themselves to the students and will be distributed to Band Parents via emails.  Feel free to call the Directors at Pearce if you have any schedule questions.

What is the Meyerson Concert?
The original Meyerson Concert came about as a result of a generous donation by several band parents.  Subsequent ticket sales have enabled us to continue this tradition each year.  A portion of the ticket sales is also awarded as a scholarship to a graduating senior who plans to major in music.

The concert will take place in the evening some time during the spring.  All bands will perform.  Band parents can purchase tickets for a reasonable price. 

What is the year-end Band Banquet?
The Band Banquet is the finale to another exciting year. It is a dinner/dance where we celebrate the graduation of our seniors and wish them well as they head off to new adventures. Dates are not necessary for this event and the dress code is Semi-formal. The evening typically includes a dinner, slide show of the year's activities (including a senior tribute), presentation of awards, introduction of next year's band officers and drum majors, and the announcement of the winners of the PABC Meyerson Scholarship and the Sara Betz Scholar Award. Parents are invited and encouraged to attend the dinner and presentation portion of the evening.

After dinner, a dance is held for the kids.

How can I help????
By now you've figured out how active band life can be. The PABC board helps the band directors support all of the activities of the band!  There are always numerous ways for band parents to become involved. In addition to serving on the PABC Board, we always need parents to help with transporting and setting up the band gear at football games.  You too can be one of the MMB's "Movers & Shakers". Parents are also needed to chaperone football games and contests.

We'll need assistance with this year's annual MMB March-a-Thon! Join us for an exciting day of fun and community spirit!

We always need lots of help preparing for the auction, our largest fundraiser to date.  We need help securing items for sale at the auction, selling raffle tickets, setting up the day of the auction, and more.

We need volunteers to help with the Pearce tailgate party that we sponsor; our special "Jr High Night" orientation at a home football game; and for the Band Banquet.

We also need volunteers to help organize this year's Meyerson concert.

Getting involved with the band activities is a great way to meet new folks and to support your kid in band.  Interested?  Contact this year's PABC board.  Come and join us!