Odem Bands Schedule and Summer Information – Week of 5/27/2019

With graduation completed, and school being out for most of our students, summer is fully here! We would like to say congratulations to all of our graduates!!!! We do have a few events coming up still that I want to be sure to have information out now on.

First, if your student did not take their personal instrument home from school last week we ask that they please come by and pick them up this week. Mr. Williams and I will have the band halls open at various times in the day and can let students in to get to them. We can still check out school instruments for the summer as well. We do need a parent signature for that form.

UIL State Solo and Ensemble Contest:

This coming Monday will be the UIL State Solo and Ensemble contest. We have 18 Odem HS students participating in the event that will be held at Hendrickson HS in Pflugerville (just North of Austin). We will be departing Sunday at noon to drive up there. Once we check-in we’ll go out for dinner, then to a movie, before returning to the hotel to get some rest. We’ll be departing the hotel around 7am to go to the contest site. Depending on results coming out we’ll hopefully depart for home around 1:30pm, and be back around 8pm. Students will have Dinner, Breakfast, and Lunch taken care of for them. We will need students to bring money for the movie Sunday, snacks, and food on the way home.

Our Brass Choir that is advancing will practice at 2:30pm on Wednesday and Friday. It is imperative that those students attend those rehearsals in order to have a great performance on Monday! If any other ensembles/students wish to rehearse the HS Band Hall is open Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday 8am-11:30am, and 12:30pm-2:30pm. Please contact us if we need to make other arrangements. Our accompanist for two of the solos will be meeting us at the band hall at 5pm on Thursday, so that time could be available for rehearsals as well!

Students should bring nice clothes for their performances to make a good impression. I recommend ensembles coordinate their efforts to look uniform and professional. All clothes as always should meet school dress code for lengths of skirts, sleeves, etc.

Like with all UIL events the Texas State Solo and Ensemble Contest is Free and open to the public! It is absolutely allowable for you to come see your students performance. Please keep in mind that audio/video recording is strictly prohibited in the room, and may result in consequences including disqualification of the students.

Our students performance times are as follows:

Spirit of OHS Percussion Rehearsals:

The next week we will be having two sectionals for our percussionists for next year just to make sure we are set and ready for our camp later in July. We need to have students there for these if at all possible so that we can get a good foundation set for this coming advancing year!

Wednesday, June 5th and Thursday, June 6th:

10am-Noon: Front Ensemble
1pm-3pm: Battery Percussion

Their full percussion camp will take place 17th-19th with our guest clinician. It’s imperative that we have our students as prepared for those dates as possible so we can be ahead of the game as we start the season!

Color Guard/Drum Major Camp:

Color Guard and Drum Major Camp is going to be June 16th-20th at Texas A&M University Commerce. Students will need to be at the Band Hall by 6:30am that morning to depart soon after. On the 20th there is a demonstration that finishes the camp around noon and I hope to return to the Band Hall by 8pm that evening. Students meals while at camp are covered, but snack money/souvenir money there and meals to and from will need to be covered by the students. Students need to take their own bedding, towels, etc. to this camp as it’s at a college campus. I believe beds will most likely be extra long twins from past experiences.

I caught most of the members to give them forms before classes ended, but if a student did not get a packet they must fill out these forms prior to coming that morning on the 16th. If you wish to deliver them to me early I’ll be at the Band Hall most of the days leading up to the camp.

What to Bring (https://www.tamuc.edu/academics/colleges/humanitiesSocialSciencesArts/departments/music/summerCamps/leadershipdrummajorandcolorguardcamp/studentInformation.aspx)

Release Forms (3 of them) (https://www.tamuc.edu/academics/colleges/humanitiesSocialSciencesArts/departments/music/summerCamps/leadershipdrummajorandcolorguardcamp/medicalRelease.aspx)

Any students with medications will need to turn them initially into myself and we will turn them over to the camp that day of check-in.

Marching Band Physicals:

UIL has mandated that Marching Band Students now receive physicals prior to participation in outdoor activities. The new policy takes effect August 1st when all students must have one completed on the same biannual basis as Athletics. You can find the UIL’s Physical form here http://www.uiltexas.org/files/athletics/forms/PrePhysFormRvsd1-19.pdf 

Students only need to complete one physical if they are in Athletics and Band, it is not necessary to complete a separate one. We would like these turned in as soon as possible to keep from having a massive crunch at the end.

Summer Band Schedule:

You may find this year’s Summer Band Schedule here: http://www.odembands.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2019-Summer-Band-Schedule-4-25-2019.pdf  Please note that students must attend Summer Band to have a spot on the field. It is imperative that we have every student at every rehearsal for us to be successful and have a good chance at achieving our goal of returning the UIL State Marching Contest!

2019-2020 Odem Bands Calendar:

You may find the 2019-2020 Odem Bands Calendar here: http://www.odembands.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/2019-2020-Odem-Bands-Calendar-Version-1.pdf these dates are firm dates that we do not see changing. The fall schedule is set in stone at this time. Please Note: Odem HS students should choose dates other than October for ACT/SAT tests. There are tests this summer and others in December that they should plan to take those tests as we have major marching competitions on the dates of those tests through October.

Thank you all for making this year a great one for the Odem Bands. Good luck to our graduated seniors and we hope everyone enjoys their summer vacations!