Odem Bands Schedule Week of 3/6/2017

I hope this message finds you well as we enter the final week before Spring Break! This week should be a light one for our students with performances. I do ask though that you please check with your students and their grades this week, as this is the three weeks point that will be the last chance for some to regain eligibility for contests. Students must be passing all classes by the end of this week if they failed to meet eligibility in the fourth six weeks. Thank you for your assistance with this!

Per established OEISD all 7th-12th Grade Band Students are assessed a $50 fee for the spring for band. This fee is waived if a parent/guardian works in the concession stand in the fall. We have many students who have not yet paid their spring fee. Please help us to collect those as soon as possible so we have the necessary funds to finish out this school year.

We will pass out the initial 2 tickets/high school student for the fundraiser hopefully by Wednesday of this week. Tickets pre-sale for $15/ticket. Students need to sell that at a minimum for us to have a successful fundraiser. I anticipate we will have an additional 80 pre-sale tickets available. If you know of additional tickets you need please let your student know to tell me when they are given the tickets. There will most likely be additional tickets available after that, but I want to be sure we don’t go over the capacity of our seating in the Cafetorium. Checks/Money Orders will be made out to Owl Band Boosters. I am going to try and arrange a day that a booster officer may collect cash from students for convenience there.

Additionally there are going to be items available for silent auction. If you know of a company willing to donate please have them contact myself or a booster officer. Students in each grade level are going to be asked to provide an item in their theme for their classes basket. The themes are:

Seniors (Class of 2017): Camping/Lakeside Basket (Cooler, Folding Chair, Smores ingredients, Frisbees, Flashlights, etc.)

Juniors (Class of 2018): Movie Night Basket (DVD/Blu-Ray Movies, Popcorn, Candy, etc)

Sophomores (Class of 2019): Game Night Basket (Board Games, Cards, Snacks/Candy, etc.)

Freshmen (Class of 2020): Baking/Cooking Basket (Baking Pans, Whisks, Mixes, Utensils, Ice Cream Scoops, Brownie Mixes, Gift Cards, etc.)

I will be asking the 7th/8th Graders to also pick a basket theme to contribute to this week as well. Please help us create these baskets by having each student bring one item that fits their classes theme. The boosters will then create the actual baskets for the auction. Thanks!

Training/practices towards the tryouts for the 2017-2018 OHS Colorguard began this past week. Per the girls preference we are meeting after school until 5pm each Tuesday and Thursday for now until Track season concludes. At that point we will probably add a day or two more into the schedule. Students should make sure to attend as many practices as they can, we will cut off membership later on if students have not yet attended. At this point though we can easily add more interested young ladies. Please note there is a fee for colorguard membership that must be paid prior to the summer. I am still working on establishing our summer plans so I may give a full cost. I should hopefully have that available by the end of spring break.

We began leadership training this past week with students meeting during lunch on Mondays and Thursdays. This week drum major candidates should make arrangements to meet after school on Wednesday to begin conducting/command practice. We should be done by 4:30pm this week.

The drumline has been requested to perform at a Rally at the State Capitol on Wednesday, March 15th. Transportation will be provided as well as meals to the members of the drumline. We tentatively need to students at the Band Hall at 7am that morning and should return by 7 or 8pm. I will work to lock that itinerary down as soon as I can this week. All students are eligible for the eligibility purposes due to the length of the break. Please contact me about any additional questions you may have. This should be a great experience for our students to participate in.

Monday: Lunchtime Leadership Meeting

Open until 4pm for Instrument Pickup

Tuesday: Guard Practice until 5pm (Other students welcome to practice in side rooms)

Booster Meeting at 7pm

Wednesday: Drum Major Practice until 4:30pm, Open for all practice until 4:45pm.

Thursday: Lunchtime Leadership Meeting

Guard Practice until 5pm (Other students welcome to practice in side rooms)

Friday: Band Hall Open until 4pm for instrument pickup.