I hope this message finds everyone well and rested from your Holiday Break! We have 3.5 weeks left until the Winter Break next, with a lot of events between now and then for the Odem Bands! 

First up is this week’s All-Region Auditions. There were supposed to be some changes going into last year, but due to COVID we didn’t see them occur. That means that beginning this year we are hosting the Junior High Woodwind and Brass auditions on Thursday, and then the HS Auditions and JH Percussion on Saturday. This was due to an expectation of a large increase in participants when we gained 5 5A school Districts into 4A with the last realignment. Especially with this new format, I ask that you pay close attention to the information below if your student is in the OJH Symphonic Winds or chose to audition in the Odem JH Concert Band. I will break down the information by day here for both audition days.

Note: For both HS and JH Band students we MUST HAVE this form signed and completed by Wednesday!

Thursday (12/2) – Odem JH Woodwind and Brass

Students will report to the Odem JH Band Hall immediately after school. They will board the bus and depart for West Oso HS. We are set to begin checking students in at 4:30pm, and hopefully begin auditions by 5:30pm. We will be feeding students pizza at the audition site for dinner. This is the first time we have hosted auditions like this, so we are guestimating that students will complete the auditions about 9pm. We hope to have students back to the Odem JH Band Hall for pickup no later than 10pm this evening. Mr. Williams will post on Facebook and have students send messages to parents when they leave from West Oso. 

Students on this day must wear their Odem JH Band Shirt and we recommend jeans or other pants due to students sitting in the hallways that can be chilly. 

Please contact him about specific questions on other information for this day. (Please note that for Odem JH Symphonic Winds members this is a mandatory event! For all students we have already paid a $9 entry fee and need them to make sure they are there!)

Saturday (12/4) – Odem HS Students and Odem JH Percussion

Both Odem HS and Odem JH students need to be at the Odem HS Band Hall (enter through front of school) at 6:45am on Saturday to depart for Alice HS. Students will begin check-in at 8:30am, and auditions should begin around 9:30am for students. Again this year is going to be a slightly different format for our students in that we will run the 1A-3A Band students in a first round of the contest, and then the 4A students will follow them. If you wish to pick up your student when they have found out results you may sign them out. 

JH Percussion auditions are being run in a triple panel room with the 1C students of our classification starting first. We should complete them about the same time as the HS students. As soon as we have completed all of our students auditions and Mr. Williams is available to leave we will send them back with him so they aren’t stuck there untilthe end of the contest. I believe they should return to Odem around 2:30pm or 3pm. We will have them reach out to parents when they leave Alice. 

Odem JH Percussion students need to wear their Odem JH Band shirts this morning. Odem HS students should wear their show shirt or another Odem Band shirt. Jeans, warm-up pants, etc. are encouraged as sitting in the hallways can get chilly. 

There should be a concession stand available for students to purchase snacks/lunch on this day.

One other large item is that Alice ISD is still mandating masks within their school buildings. Students will need to comply with their mandate when they are not warming up, auditioning, or eating/drinking per the TMEA Audition Rules we agree to follow. Please contact me if you have questions in regards to this. 

All-Region Band Clinic/Concert (12/10-12/11)

For those students who are selected for a band we will host the All-Region Clinic/Concert the following weekend in Kingsville. On Friday we will leave school at the end of the school day, and return around 10pm for students to be picked up at the Odem Band Halls. (JH and HS will return to their respective halls that night) On Saturday students will need to be at their Band Halls by 7:30am. The JH Bands will begin their performances at 1pm that Saturday (2pm and 2:30pm for our classification), and the HS Bands in our Classification will begin at 4pm and 4:30pm. We will provide more specifics about the itinerary on that day.

For HS students who are registered for the ACT they are able to still get a ride back over to Kingsville after their test completes and show their ACT test ticket to their band organizer to be allowed to perform that day still. This is a pretty normal conflict that we do work around. 

For all students who make the bands I strongly encourage parents to come watch them perform, pick up a souvenir T-shirt/plaque, and take them out to celebrate afterwards! 

Upcoming Winter Concert Information

We are also quickly going to be coming up on our Winter Concerts! Please note that Thursday, December 9^th(Next week) is the HS Band Winter Concert, and Tuesday, December 14^th is the Odem JH Bands Winter Concert. Both concerts will take place in the Odem HS Cafetorium. 

Concert Attire for Students:

Odem JH:

Ladies: Black Blouse and Black Slacks with black shoes.

Gentlemen: White Button-Down Shirt, Black Slacks, Black Dress Shoes, Black Socks, Black Belt, and a tie (Preferably navy blue)

Odem HS:

Black Blouse/Button Down Shirt, Black Slacks, and Black shoes.

Please note that every student MUST attend their Winter Concert performance. It is a major grade for both the six weeks and part of their Semester Exams/Projects!

2022 Orlando Trip

A second trip payment should have been made this past month. If you haven’t turned that in please do so! We can still add students to the trip, but it is going to be a closing deadline here soon. I have asked the company to reopen the window for making a trip account per some parent requests. It is open through the end of this week. If you have not created your students account that has to happen before then! (Even if you are not making payments directly to them!) https://www.toursandtravelpaytrip.com/Reservation/TripReservation/247 and create a ‘New Reservation’ if you have not already done so.  

The Group Code is: OHSB and the password it asks for is: 2022 

You may make one reservation for multiple kids, or chaperone/kid, there. The Tour Company wants to track forms and other payment information there. You may make online payments directly to them for a surcharge, or even mail payments directly to them (they do not charge a fee if you mail it directly).  

This Week’s Schedule:

Day:	Event:	Time:
Monday:	Band Hall Open for Region/Solo and Ensemble	3:40pm-4:00pm
Tuesday:	Band Hall Open for Region/Solo and Ensemble	3:30pm-5:30pm
Wednesday:	Band Hall Open for Region/Solo and Ensemble	3:40pm-4:30pm
Thursday:	All-Region JH Woodwind and Brass Auditions (West Oso HS) 3:50pm – Students depart Odem JH Band Hall 4:30pm – Students Check-In at West Oso HS 5:30pm – Auditions Begin ~9pm – Auditions Conclude ~10pm – Students Return to Band Hall for Pickup
Friday:	Band Hall Closes at 4pm
Saturday:	HS Region Auditions and JH Percussion (Alice HS) 6:45am – Students Report to Odem HS Band Hall (JH Percussion too) 8:00am – Arrive at Alice HS 8:30am – Students Begin to Check-In 9:30am – Auditions Begin ~2:00pm – Students depart Alice HS  ~3pm – Arrive at Odem Band Hall

 

Upcoming Events:

Day:	Event:	Time:
December 2nd	Junior High All-Region Auditions for All Except Percussion	4pm-Done
December 4th	HS All-Region and JH All-Region Percussion Auditions	7am-4pm
December 9th	HS Winter Concert	6:30pm
December 10th/11th	All-Region Clinic/Concert(Mandatory for Students Selected for All-Region Bands
December 13th	Odem JH Beginning Band After School Dress Rehearsal – Odem HS Cafetorium	3:45pm-5pm
December 14th	JH Winter Concert	6:30pm

Thank you for your help and support of these amazing students! Please contact us if you have any questions!