We've Been Absent...

...and apologies for not keeping this up to date. Just to recap things a bit.

We appreciate all the letters to the school board as well as those of you who attended (and continue to attend) school board meetings. We had both good news and bad news for the music programs. Please consult the individual music teachers for details.

The Disneyland 2009 trip was a success!

The students had a wonderful time and the weather was perfect. Both, the workshop and concert were enjoyed by many.

Again a HUGE thank you to BP and James Gassman, for their $500 donation to the Music Boosters. Their continued support by honoring us with this scholarship is greatly appreciated.

This year, both middle and high school bands marched in the Farmers' Day parade.



We also got to hear the sultry sounds of the choir as they came through on their own float.

We are excited to have started the 2009/2010 school year and look forward to keeping you up-to-date on our happenings. If you are a member of Facebook, we have a group over there to continue to get the word out OF OUR ACTIVITIES.

A CALL TO ACTION!!!!

ATTENTION PARENTS,

BAND AND CHOIR STUDENTS

OF ALL SCHOOLS WITHIN THE DISTRICT

As we all know and hear constantly, times are tough. Everyone has to cut back. On Friday, April 17th acting superintendent, Rick Thompson released his Recommended Budget Savings for 2009-10 School year to the school board and public. You can find this in it's entirety at this link.
http://lynden.wa.schoolwebpages.com/education/sctemp/6cfa64084597b4b3ae5d9c9d162551b1/1240346624/Budget_Savings_Plan.pdf

As you could have guessed, music is one of the many organizations that are being hit. We didn't expect to be hit THIS hard. Mr. Thompson is recommending to the School Board the following:

• Eliminate middle and high school choral music program
  Potential savings of $ 40,000 Reduction of teacher hours by .500
• Reduce elementary music specialist .2 at each building (from total of 3.0 to 2.4 FTE)
  Potential savings of $43,200 Reduction of teacher hours by 0.600

What Can YOU do?

We (parents and students) let our Lynden District School Board, who ultimately make the final decision, know how we feel about this recommendation.

• Attend the Public hearing scheduled for this Thursday, April 23rd 7:00 pm held in the Lynden High School Library
• Speak at the Public Hearing
• Write letters to the school board and superintendent to be placed in board packets for review.
• Lynden School District
• Atten: School Board
• 1203 Bradley Rd.
• Lynden, WA 98264

Rick Thompson - Acting Superintendent thompsonr@lynden.wednet.edu

School Board members:

Teresa Camfield - camquads@comcast.net

Steve Hortegas - steveh@molesfs.com

Larry Korthuis - klkorthuis@aol.com

John Krieg - kriegj@lynden.wednet.edu

Todd Lingbloom - tlingbloom@aol.com

We, as Music Booster members can only do so much. Some of our members will be present at the public hearing and others will write letters. The rest needs to come from YOU ~ elementary school parents, middle and high school choir parents. You MUST speak out. If your students are so inclined, please have them add their voice (either by speaking at the public hearing or letter) to the school board. It would be a great testimony to them of the importance of keeping the music program intacted despite budget cuts.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact the Music Boosters at lyndenmusicboosters@hotmail.com or your child's music teacher.

GoodSearch.com

http://www.goodsearch.com/

What if we could raise money for our favorite charities and schools by doing something we do every day — searching the Internet? Would you make the effort?

GoodSearch is a search engine which donates 50-percent of its revenue to the charities and schools designated by its users. It's a simple and compelling concept. You use GoodSearch exactly as you would any other search engine. Because it's powered by Yahoo!, you get proven search results. The money GoodSearch donates to your cause comes from its advertisers — the users and the organizations do not spend a dime!

How does it work?

1. On the GoodSearch homepage, choose from thousands of organizations or add your favorite cause to our list. We hope you will choose The Lynden Music Boosters
   
2. Search the Internet just like you normally would — the site is powered by Yahoo!, so you'll get high-quality search results.
   
3. Fifty percent of the revenue generated from advertisers is shared with the charity, school or nonprofit organization of your choosing.

It's that easy!!!! And to make it even easier, here is a direct link for your searches to credit the Music Boosters.

http://www.goodsearch.com/?charityid=884854

If you have anymore questions, feel free to seach the FAQ http://www.goodsearch.com/About.aspx#faq18

Thank you for your continued support!!

See's Candies Fundraiser going on NOW!!

Now until November 21st you can place your order with any high school band/choir student or middle school choir student. The profits from this 7th annual fundraiser will go to the individual student Disneyland travel accounts or to choir trips and uniforms.

I realize the picture does not show you the prices so I will list the items from left to right starting from the top left. The prices that you pay through this fundraiser are the EXACT same price as you would pay at the kiosk at Bellis Fair Mall.

Holiday Fancy 1 lb. $17.50
Christmas Memories Tin 1 lb. $18.90
Truffles 8 oz. $8.60 * 1 lb. $17.20
Assorted Chocolates 1 lb. $15.00 * 2 lb. $30.00
Milk Chocolates 1 lb. $15.00
Dark Chocolates 1 lb. $15.00
Soft Centers 1 lb. $15.00
Nuts & Chews 1 lb. $15.00 * 2 lb. $30.00
Toffee-ettes 1 lb. $15.00
Peanut Brittle 1 lb. 8 oz. $14.00
See's Awesome Bars
*Peanut Brittle Bar 8 oz. $7.80
*Nut & Chew Bar 12 oz. $7.80
*Walnut Square bar 12 oz. $7.80
Gourmet Lollypops (Assorted) 1 lb. 5 oz. $14.00
Gift Certificates $15.00
Mini Holiday Fancy 4 oz. $5.00
Milk Chocolate Foil Balls 5 oz. $5.00
Snowman Box 4 oz. $5.00
Peanut Brittle 5 oz. $5.00

Delivery is scheduled for December 15th or sooner!
Thank you for being a part of our most successful fundraisers!

Our iPod winners

Thank you again to our students that collected names for the Safeway eScrip iPod drawing. The winners have been choosen and they should be presented with their 8GB iPod Nano by Mr. Herrick & Mr. Nelson.

CONGRATUATIONS

Kody Adams - LMS

and

Bo Steele - LHS

ENJOY!!

eScrip Online Mall

Hopefully you have noticed this

on the side bar and are wondering "What's this all about?" Well! Let me fill you in. The online mall is a GREAT way for you to have eScrip donate to the Lynden Music Boosters while you do your normal, everyday online shopping. There are over 1,000 merchants and the percentage they donate varies but as we have learned from the Safeway eScrip program, every little bit helps and adds up.

The ONLY catch is that you need to start your shopping one of three ways.
1. Start here: http://www.shopping.escrip.com/ and sign up as a registered supporter
2. Click on the link on the sidebar and click the "shop now" button
3. Click on the link on the sidebar and click on the "Download AutoEARN" button. The program that this downloaded on the computer automatically knows when you shop at eScrip merchants.

Now, no worries about any spam or virus' being put on your computer. eScrip is a reliable and safe site.

You shop from the same websites you know and trust and pay exactly the same price.

The specific items you buy are not recorded in any way, just the total you spent from each merchant to calculate the earning to be donated.

With the holidays coming up be sure to visit the

Online Mall first

whenever you shop so we can earn every time!

FAQ

Q. Why am I asked to write my check to the Lynden Music Boosters?

A. The Lynden Music Boosters has been helping the HS & MS band and choir teachers since September 2000. We are a non-profit, tax-exempt 501c(3) organization. We were re-created at first as a way to help Mr. Herrick make timely payments for travel trips (Disneyland, Silverwood, Wenatchee, etc.). Going through ASB took 4 - 6 weeks. When planning travel arrangements, that was too long to get a check out. We have expanded our scope of assistance in the purchasing of t-shirts, uniforms, purchasing fundraiser products, in addition to processing student travel deposits.

So you can imagine our surprise when we receive something like this

and this

in the mail. In our 8 years of processing checks, this is a rare event. And we thank you. We've noticed an increase in the past year of this occurring more and more. We understand times are tough but if you know that you will be closing your checking account please send cash or a cashier's check. If it is because of financial difficulties, please feel free to discuss any financial payment problems with your students' music teacher privately. They are kept confidential.

Thank you for your continued support of the Lynden Music Boosters and most of all, for supporting your student.