Odem Bands Schedule – Week of 6/9/2025
I hope this message finds you well as we’re beginning our 2nd full week of the summer break here! We had a hectic end of the year for the bands, and we appreciate all of the students who attended graduation to support our graduating seniors! That Monday, we took students to State Solo and Ensemble and were pleased to have a record eight students medal on solos! Benjamin Castañeda, Eva Garcia, Julissa Huerta, and Elena Molina all earned GOLD medals at State, and we had Vince Barrera, JJ Gomez, Angelica Soto, and Shawn Williams all earn Silver Medals!
Additionally, for the first time ever in school history, we had Benjamin Castañeda named as an Outstanding Performer! This is seen as the championship award for the instrument, and he is considered the most outstanding 3A Trumpet Performer in the state this year! Monday night at the School Board Meeting, we will be presenting these students and their accomplishments to the school board at 6:30 pm.
On that topic, we have one other accomplishment to pass on to you all. This week the Region Level hearing was held for the ATSSB Outstanding Performance Series Competition. Our region has become one of the most competitive in the state, but our Odem HS Wind Ensemble recording of ‘Wolves of Alaska’ took 2ndPlace, and advanced to the Area Level to be held sometime in the next week or so. We congratulate the members of that ensemble for their outstanding performance! Their ‘Appalachian Journey’ recording was just a couple of places from advancing as well!
Our band booster meeting is scheduled for Tuesday at 6:30 pm this week. We will be holding an election for the one position we had not filled at our previous meeting. If you are interested in serving as an officer for the boosters, please attend this meeting!
We will likely request assistance in the band hall from our leadership team members on Tuesday or Wednesday this week. Thursday, the Band Hall will be closed to students due to our hosting the Area Outstanding Performance Series Hearing for the Northern Area.
Since we won’t have a chance before next week, I’m putting in information about Guard and Drum Major Camps. First, there was a miscommunication on dates for the guard camp. It is the 16th-18th, not the dates given initially! Drum Major Camp is the 15th– 19th. Please see the section below for those camps if you have a student in either unit!
Speaking of Guard, I would like to announce that Mrs. Bianca Romero will be joining our staff as our Color Guard Sponsor this year! She’ll be attending camp with the girls, and we look forward to having her join us! We appreciate her stepping in to help us fill the role!
Drum Major Camp
Drum Majors need to be at the Band Hall by 6:30am on Sunday. There is a schedule and information on what to bring here: https://www.sfasu.edu/docs/music/band-camp-registration-day-dm-corps.pdf Students should bring some money for meals to and from camp. There is a performance at 12 pm to conclude camp on Thursday, the 19th. If you wish to pick up a student and attend that please let me know. Please note that students must bring their own bedding and towels! As this is the first time we are attending this camp I highly encourage students to triple check they have everything on this list!
Based on the schedule we’ll probably grab lunch after checkout around 1 pm, and should be home around 7:00 pm.
Guard Camp
A reminder that the guard camp dates were incorrect. Next Monday, June 16th, we need guard members to be at the high school by 5:00 a.m. that morning! Students will need to bring bedding (XL Twin), towels, water jugs/bottles, appropriate clothing for working out, and some spending money for the way there and back. Their camp wraps up at 4:30 pm on Wednesday, and after a quick dinner stop, we anticipate they should return to the school around 9 pm or 9:30 pm that night. Their full schedule is located here: https://tinyurl.com/bdh47evu. We also have to have these medical forms filled out and turned into Mrs. Romero when students arrive Monday morning: https://madance.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/NEW_Camp-Medical-and-Photo-Form-1.pdf. I will have some printed off in the band hall this week if someone needs to pick up one to complete as well.
We may receive some additional information about this camp this week; I’ll share it with them via their Remind group when I receive it. Parents, if you wish to join the Guard Remind, its code on Remind is @25owlguard . (Via app, or a text to 81010 will get you onto there)
2026 Florida Trip
For all trip participants for 2026, please ensure you have registered on the Bob Rogers Travel site. Current 8th-11th-grade band students are eligible to travel on this trip, and we can still add students.
If you missed the meeting, you may find a copy of the packet here: https://tinyurl.com/msrnkua6 . Registration is still open on their site: https://bobrogerstravel.grcoll.co/v2/go/odem26
Payment options and forms are handled through their website. I encourage students to attend this trip; it will be a fantastic experience for them, and it is only really possible for most of them as a group like this!
This Week’s Schedule
| Day: | Event: |
| Monday: | Band Hall Open 8am-3:00pm Odem-Edroy ISD Board Meeting – State Medalist Presentation |
| Tuesday: | Band Hall Open 8am-5:00pm Owl Band Booster Meeting (Officer Elections) 6:30 pm |
| Wednesday: | Band Hall Open 8am-3:00pm |
| Thursday: | Band Hall Closed to Host Area OPS |
| Friday: | Band Hall Closed |
| Sunday: | Drum Major Camp Departure: Students at Band Hall by 6:30 am |
| Monday: | Guard Camp Departure: Students at School by 5am! |
Upcoming Events:
| Day: | Event: | Time: |
| June 15-19: | Drum Major Camp at Stephen F Austin University | |
| June 16-18: | Guard Camp at Blinn College in Brenham | |
| July 16-18: | Leadership Training (Section Leaders and Drum Majors) | |
| July 19: | DCI San Antonio Trip | |
| July 21st: | Summer Rehearsals start for everyone |
Thank you for your help and support of these amazing students! Please contact us if you have any questions!