July 4th Summer Band Notes

Happy Fourth of July! I hope everyones summers are going well! I wanted to be sure to remind everyone of our upcoming Summer Band dates. Please note that students participation in dates are mandatory and failing to attend will most likely result in their becoming an alternate on the field. Please contact me as soon as possible if you see any conflicts. This is the same schedule I sent out in May with a few more details for guard camp and the leadership training day.

Drum Majors need to be at the Band Hall tomorrow (July 5th) at 4am. Please be certain to have completed the packet here prior to coming to the band hall: http://drummajor.org/docs/tx2016ltr.pdf . We will drive to Denton and check students in. Lunch is available for the Drum Majors there at the camp this year. The camp ends at about noon on Saturday, so we should arrive back in Odem sometime around 8pm I believe. Please bring the money for the textbook if a copy is not already owned or it was pre-paid.

We will have our annual Leadership Training Day on July 15th from 9am-2pm. Drum Majors, Section Leaders/Lieutenants, and Guard Captain/Lieutenants must attend this training so that we are certain everyone is on the same page for Summer Band. Lunch will be provided.

Guard camp will be from July 18th-20th. We will start at 9am on Monday and tentatively go until 5pm each day with a lunch break that students will be on their own for. This schedule is subject to change and may go in the evenings as well potentially. I am working with the group running the camp for us to set that schedule in stone this week. It is imperative that every member of the guard attend every rehearsal!

Additionally it is my hope that the guard will meet with their new instructor at that time. A bit over a week ago we did extend an offer for a general music teacher at the elementary. The new teacher has extensive experience in colorguard and I’m looking forward to bringing them onto staff to help out with colorguard outside of the school day! Due to pending board approval I will hold off on a formal introduction of her and her name to you at this time. I believe she will a great asset to our program!

Summer Band Camp for everyone will begin on July 25th. Please see the attached schedule for the times each group is expected to attend. Especially with the increased difficulty of our show music this year it is imperative that all students are at all rehearsals. I will send out more specific information for the camp as we grow closer to the date.

We had a great deal of success with our March-A-Thon last year so I want to keep the ball rolling with the event. (Though hopefully a drier event!) We will be holding the event on Friday, July 29th. This will be an important year for fundraising for new equipment, additional uniforms, and to some extent our 2018 trip. With the new school opening in the following school year we anticipate a lot of expenses in relation to the split. Please note I believe this will be an important fundraiser for us! Forms will be available at the Band Hall the week of the 18th in preparation for the event.

Thank you for giving me some of your valuable summertime to read this over! Have a Happy Fourth of July!