December happenings

We are gearing up for a very busy December around here with our Winter concert and several restaurant nights.

On Tuesday, Dec. 4, we have a great fundraiser with IHOP (9565 S. University Blvd., Highlands Ranch) for not one but two times that day. The fundraiser will start at 6:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. so students can go during access, and it will continue later that same day from 4:30 - 9:30 p.m. Be sure to mention you are there with HRHS Orchestras, and IHOP will donate 20% of the proceeds from sales during those times to our Orchestra program.

Be sure to stop by IHOP on your way to our Booster meeting! It's that same night (Dec. 4) at 6:30 p.m. in the Orchestra room at HRHS. We try to keep these meetings to about an hour, but you will get a lot of information about what's coming up in the Orchestra program. If you have questions about the program, schedules, basically anything, come to our meeting so you can get the scoop.

On Monday, Dec. 10, we are having a restaurant night at MOD Pizza (3622 E. Highlands Ranch Parkway) from 4 - 8 p.m. Stop by and enjoy dinner after work or shopping! Help yourself with dinner while you help the Orchestra program. This is such a crazy month; why not make dinner easy? You don't need a flyer for this event, just let them know you are supporting HRHS Orchestras. This is valid on dine in, carry out, and phone orders only!

Our Winter concert is Wednesday, Dec. 12 at 7 p.m. in the HRHS Auditorium. Again, in lieu of concessions at this concert, we will be having another Dairy Queen restaurant night from 5 to 9:30 p.m. We hope you'll join us before and/or after the concert to celebrate what is sure to be a successful performance. Bring the flyer with you to help us earn 20% of sales from this event!

The next week finals begin, and before you know it, the kids will be out for winter break. We want to thank you all for making our fundraising efforts successful to ensure we can continue providing our kids with the best Orchestra program possible.

Amazon Smile

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are approaching quickly! Did you know you can support HRHS Orchestras by shopping on Amazon? Yes, and it's so easy!

Just click on the link below, log in, and select us (Hrhs Orchestra Boosters) to help raise money for the Orchestra general fund while you do all of your normal (and holiday!) shopping on Amazon. Be sure to bookmark Amazon through Smile and open through that link. It's a win-win all the way around! We appreciate all you do to help us support this wonderful organization. Happy shopping!

Scrips cards available

I'm not sure if anyone else has noticed, but apparently the year is speeding by quickly, and the holidays are almost upon us! Yikes!  In order to help you with that, we are once again offering our Scrips mail order gift cards.  The form to use to order these cards has been emailed to families.  The deadline to order these cards is Nov. 30.  They will be delivered within a week, so approximately Dec. 7th. 

Scrips cards are physical gift cards that can be purchased as gifts or for your own use.  Various retailers and restaurants team up with Scrips to offer non-profit organizations a rebate on gift cards purchased to their stores.  Each business offers a different rebate amount, which is credited to our Orchestra program at the time of purchase.  We generally put in an order for these cards around the holidays and near the end of the school year, as people prepare for graduations and weddings throughout the summer months.

Again, Scrips forms must be turned into Mrs. Jonas by Nov. 30! We hope you'll take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to help our Orchestra program, as well as maybe take a few items off your to-do list.  If you have any questions about Scrips cards or the ordering process, please feel free to contact Lisa Birdwell.

King Soopers/Safeway cards

Are you all using your King Soopers and Safeway gift cards? As long as there is some amount of cash on the card (they come pre-loaded with $2.50), they don't expire. As we prepare for the holidays, there may be a lot of extra baking and cooking in your future. We would really appreciate it if you would support your Orchestra program when you are stocking your pantry shelves.

In addition, with the new self-scanning systems in use at King Soopers, you will notice in the bottom corner that there is a running total of your bill. This makes it even easier to know how much to load onto your gift card. You can still re-load your gift in the self-checkout lanes. You simply need to let the employee taking care of those lanes know that you want to load your gift card before you check out. They are happy to help, and it runs pretty smooth. Another option would be to load your gift card before you begin shopping.

If you have extra money on your card, this is a great way to send family members and guests to the store to pick up last-minute items without them having to pay themselves and is much safer than sending a credit card with them.

Either way, your King Soopers and Safeway cards can be a simple (and very effective) way to support the hard work Mrs. Jonas and all of our students are doing. If you have any questions about King Soopers or Safeway cards, please feel free to contact Lisa Birdwell. As always, thank you for your support!!

Butter Braid delivery

Butter Braids will be delivered this Wednesday, Nov. 14 at noon. Pick up will be 1-4 p.m. near the student entrance of HRHS. If your student will be taking their order home by car or bus, please consider bringing a bag for them to carry their packages. If at all possible, a freezer bag would be best.

Butter Braids will be delivered in small cardboard boxes to keep them cold. The company says there is a 4 1/2 hour window from the time of delivery before they need to be returned to the freezer. Please take this into account as you plan your deliveries. We will not be able to keep any Butter Braids at the school after the allotted pick up time.

We thank you all so much for your family's hard work to make this fundraiser a success. Enjoy your Butter Braids!

Booster meeting 11/5

Reminder: Our booster meeting is this Monday, Nov. 5 at 6:30 p.m. in the Orchestra room.  This will be "open house" style with snacks so please come check us out! I promise we won't make you volunteer for anything the first time! We really just want parents to be involved and share their ideas and concerns for our Orchestras.  I know I felt like I never got good information out of my daughter her first year of Orchestra.  I hope you get most of what you need from our emails and your student, but if you ever wonder more about what's going on, please feel free to come join us!  We hope to see some new (as well as familiar) faces this coming Monday!