2019 Spirit of OHS Summer Band
I hope this finds everyone well and having a restful summer break! We are fixing to get our Summer Rehearsals started to prepare for our advancing year show ‘Still There.’ We will be starting up our Leadership, Percussion/Drumline, and Color Guard Unit rehearsals this coming week. All students will return on Monday, the 22nd for sectionals in the morning, afternoon ensemble rehearsal, and marching fundamentals in the evening. It is imperative that our students attend all rehearsals through the summer for us to be prepared for our competitions this fall. Students who do not attend summer band camp will not be given spots on the field, and may be denied membership in the class when school begins per director discretion. You may find an updated calendar here(http://www.odembands.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/2019-Summer-Band-Schedule-Updated-7-13-2019.pdf). (Note the only thing that has changed are rehearsal times on the 23rd and Locations of rehearsals have been added)
The next day, Tuesday, the 23rd, all students will need to be at the Band Hall in the morning for a clinic that we are doing jointly with the Orange Grove HS Band at Owl Stadium with a representative from ‘Marching Health.’ We used their program last year to help condition students to the rigors of marching band and are looking forward to bringing them in to better train our students how to take care of themselves through the season! We need all students to be there that morning on time by 8am to be ready for our guests.
For all students as we prepare for the season to start in the next week and half we encourage them to be sure they are outside for a decent amount of time each day. If a student can at least take a walk in the late morning/evening around 6pm it will help make sure they are acclimated to the temperatures. Many of our students have been involved in summer workouts for athletics and will be well prepared, but we have in the past had some students who have been in the A/C throughout the summer, with minimal activity, that have had a rough time at the start of our season. It would be beneficial for all students to follow this plan from Marching Health in the next week.
One other reminder before we get into the schedule, please remember all students must have a physical on file for this school year for marching band. This may be a joint physical that counts for athletics too, but we must have a physical on file for every student before August 1st! You may find the form here if you need to print one off to take to your physician: http://www.uiltexas.org/files/athletics/forms/PrePhysFormRvsd1-19.pdf
Leadership Training:
Monday from 9am-4pm we will begin our preparations for band camp with our Leadership Team members. (I will provide lunch on Monday for the students) We will prepare for the start of the season and it’s imperative those students attend. Our leadership team this year is made up of Drum Majors, Abby Tovar, Ethan Sanchez, and Isabella Duncan, Section leaders Angelyna Beltran (Flutes), Shiana Montoya (Clarinets), Samarra Medina (Saxophones), Landon Garza (Trumpets), Jennifer Garcia (Trumpets), Martin Doria (Mellophones), Eliana Villarreal (Low Brass), Matthew Hernandez (Percussion), Terra McClellen (Percussion), and Miranda Martinez (Guard Captain). Lieutenants Gabby Vega (Flutes) and Alexandria Paiz (Guard).
Leadership students should come with appropriate marching attire (tennis shoes) and water bottles both of these days.
Tuesday for Leadership is going to be a day for those students to receive CPR/First Aid Training. We would also like to invite any of our senior band members who haven’t received CPR training to come on that day to get their requirement out of the way for graduation. Again we will start this day at 9am and will continue until finished. Students will have a lunch break at 12 that day on their own.
For students to receive a card from Red Cross certifying them they will need to pay a fee. Last I knew it was $25, but Coach Ray who is going to be our instructor that day, will let me know by Monday the current cost. It will not be a requirement that students have the card for our purposes, but that would most likely aid students in the future if they did have them.
Drumline/Percussion Camp:
We will have our guest clinician in to work with the Drum Line Wednesday-Friday next week, and our front ensemble will work with Mr. Williams and Mr. Villarreal on those days as well. It is mandatory that Drum Line and Front Ensemble members attend these days/times for us to be well prepared for our season! Students will work from 9am-noon, and 1pm-4pm on those three days. We need to have every student who is a member of the Drum Line or the Front Ensemble present for all of those rehearsals.
Color Guard Camp:
Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday the guard members will need to meet at the OJH Band Hall to work on learning the routine for our show. Students should come in appropriate attire and ready with water bottles by 9am Wednesday. They will have an hour from noon until one for lunch as well. It is imperative that students are at all of these days so that we can have intensive practices on their routine.
Fall Band Fees:
I will send out more about this in the coming weeks, but we will need the first of our Fall Band Fees turned in by August 6th this year so that we have time to order shirts/shoes/supplies for the students. That fee is $45 for all students. Freshmen/students who need shoes have a second fee of $40 which will be due by August 24th. (Freshman/students who need shoes may pay the full $85 at once if they wish)
Color Guard Members will need to pay their second fee of $200 by August 8th. They will need to pay an additional $40 if they wish to have the guard bags.
March-A-Thon:
On Friday, August 2nd we will host our 5th Annual March-A-Thon fundraiser. We will pass out donation forms to students during band camp, but if you wish to get a head start on them and print them out yourself you may find them here: http://www.odembands.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/2019-March-A-Thon-Packet.pdf Our goal is that students each raise $50 per student during this event. We will be offering incentives to the sections with the most participation and the most money raised this year. For the event we seek donations and sponsorships for students, as well as will stop to play at houses along the route for residents there. Please contact us if you have any questions there!
We look forward to having all of our students back and beginning to work to again travel the long road to return to the UIL State Marching Contest!