Chaperone Guidelines

Thank you for your interest in chaperoning our band!  Chaperones travel with the band to make sure that our students are safe. We accompany them to football games, marching contests and exhibitions.  We try to accommodate chaperones who want to ride the same bus as their child; however there are times when we have too many parents wanting to ride the same bus. Be flexible and have fun! J                                                                                                                                  

Students sign up for their buses at the start of the school year. They’ll have two different bus number assignments, one for school buses (football games), and one for charter buses (competitions outside the Houston area). The Guard will always be on their own bus so they can change and apply makeup on the way to an event.  We do not let the students switch buses after they make their selections.

Students can be VERY loud on the way to an event. This is okay, as long as they stay seated and the bus driver can operate the bus safely. Different bus drivers have different standards of discipline on their particular bus and will often dictate what is acceptable on their bus. The band students, for the most part, are very respectful and know what behavior is expected of them. If you have any problems, please find Brad or Michele and we’ll talk to a band director if necessary.

C.D. players and MP3 players are popular and many students have headphones on for at least some of the trip.  On long bus trips (charter buses) the students can bring videos (PG and PG-13 only) and they’re usually quiet as they watch the movie.

Travel Procedures:

·         When you arrive, you’ll receive attendance sheets for your assigned bus. You need to take attendance twice – once before we depart TWHS, and again before we leave the venue to return to TWHS.  All students MUST be accounted for.  If a student rides home from a game with their parents, they must give you a WRITTEN note (turn this in to us when we get back to TWHS). A student may only ride with their own parents unless prior arrangements have been made and Mr. J has received a NOTARIZED LETTER from the parents.

·         Please bring snacks &/or drinks to hand out to the students for the ride back to school. Just remember these will be on a hot bus while at our event, so don’t bring anything that might melt.

·         It is very important that the students clean up after themselves. There are trash bags on each bus; it’s a good idea to pass the bags back several times to keep the buses clean 

·         No instruments played on the buses. No hands or limbs outside the bus windows—ever. Nothing is thrown out of the bus windows. Students know that they are representing TWHS and are usually well behaved. They are an amazing group of students! J

·         The students must stay seated until we approach the football stadium.  When we are nearing the stadium, they’re allowed to stand up and get dressed into their uniforms. They must be fully dressed before they exit the bus, so it is important that they start dressing before the buses park at an event. They will get their gauntlets and plaques when they get off the bus. You may be needed to hand these out. They will be collected before the students get back on the bus.

·         Check the bus before the students are allowed to get off. Remind the students to pick up their hats, gloves and shoes before they depart the bus. We find countless single gloves, socks and shoes after games. You cannot emphasize this enough with the students. Always tell them to check and double check for their hatboxes, two shoes, two socks and two gloves.

We’ll send reminder emails to chaperones on the week you are signed up. If you cannot chaperone that week, try to give us as much advance notice as possible. We always try to have two chaperones on each bus so we’ll need to find replacements.  Let us know if you have any questions or concerns. We look forward to seeing you during marching season!

Brad and Michele Rector

281-645-6849 (home)  713-775-9219 (Brad’s mobile)
membership @twhsband.com