The holidays are a time of celebration and good cheer. But for students whose families struggle with food insecurity, this time of year can be especially difficult. For the past three years the CHS Band Program has partnered with Cleveland High School social worker, Kate Allen, to gather donations for the CHS Mobile Food Pantry to ensure that every student has access to nutritious food to carry them through this challenging time of year.

We encourage every family who will be attending the winter concert to bring donations of non-perishable canned and boxed food items to the winter concert to donate to this vital program. Teen-friendly items such as peanut butter, canned soup, boxed mac ‘n’ cheese and the like are particularly requested. Food collection barrels will be at the entrances of the auditorium for your donations.

Please note that donations of food and gift cards that can be redeemed for socks and warm clothing (of particular need during the winter months) are accepted throughout the school year. For information about how you can help out with this incredibly important program please contact Kate Allen at kallen1@pps.net.

Please note that Mr. Riler is in Seattle for the WIBC conference and will not be available for parent-teacher conferences today, Monday November 25. He will be available for conferences on Tuesday early morning 8:00–10:00 am, afternoon, and evening until 8:00 pm Please plan on meeting with him during these times on Tuesday. Thank you for your understanding.

I would like to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to all of our band families. I am very grateful for all of the support I receive from all of you. It is a joy to work with your children every day, as they continue to amaze me and make me so proud be their band director. Your support of your students, and my vision for them, has helped me transform this program into what it is, and what it will continue to become.

Musically Yours,
Gary Riler

The CHS Jazz Ensemble will be traveling to our two feeder schools to share our programs with the middle school students at Hosford and Sellwood. Please see our docs and forms page for the itinerary, parent letter, and permission slip.

Please note that Mr. Riler will not be available for parent-teacher conferences on Monday November 25 nor the morning of Tuesday, November 26. Please plan on meeting with him during the afternoon or evening on Tuesday. Between WIBC in Seattle and his own parental responsibilities to attend conferences, his schedule is very tight. Thank you for understanding.

The winter concert and bake sale is fast approaching. This is one of our most popular events of the year, and for good reasons. The desserts are irresistible and 100% of the proceeds go to support the band program. We hope you will join us in making this our most festive (and delicious) winter concert yet!

Please go to our BAKE SALE SIGN UP or contact Heidi Guite at nguite@aol.com directly to volunteer to bring goodies and/or to help set up, work the tables during intermission, help clean up afterwards, or for any questions and/or help signing up.

(Please note: Signup.com will ask you to enter your email address in order to send you an automated confirmation and event reminders, but does not require you to open an account. SignUp.com does not share your email address with anyone.)

We are pleased to report that 18 of the 72 musicians in this year’s All-City Honor Band will be representing CHS! Please mark your calendars: rehearsals take place January 31 and February 1 with a concert the evening of February 1 at 7 pm.

We hope you will come out and support our proud musicians on February 1st. Both rehearsals and concert will take place in the Franklin High School Auditorium, 5404 SE Woodward St., Portland, OR 97206.

There is still time to get the new band merch by Winter Break! Order online here »

This is not a fundraiser. If cost is an issue for your family, financial aid is available. Please contact Mr. Riler or our Treasurer Stacey Lovett salovett75@gmail.com to request financial aid.

Questions? Please contact our Merch Co-Chairs Linh Vu linh_t_vu@yahoo.com or Megan Thatcher mthatch37@yahoo.com

The Winter Concert is scheduled for December 10th and will be here before we know it! This is our biggest event of the semester and we have a lot of activities planned.

In addition to performances from our amazing bands, we will again have our very popular bake sale! Additionally, we are partnering with Cleveland High School social worker, Kate Allen, again this year to gather donations for the CHS Mini Food Pantry. This essential program offers nutritious food for CHS students in need, who are invited to fill one backpack from the pantry every Friday afternoon to help them through the weekend.

Please bring non-perishable canned and boxed food items to the winter concert to donate to this important program. Teen-friendly items such as peanut butter, canned soup, boxed mac ‘n’ cheese and the like are particularly requested. Collection barrels will be at the entrances of the auditorium for food donations. Please note that the Mini Food Pantry accepts food donations all school year long. If you’d like to make additional donations during the school year, please contact Kate Allen at kallen1@pps.net

Bake sale sign-ups will begin soon!

Consider asking friends and family to sponsor your trip! Find our sample sponsorship letter here https://www.clevelandbandspdx.com/band-trips/.