Odem Bands Schedule – Week of 8/25/2025
Welcome to the week where everything really begins to start up for us with the bands! Our first football game will be this Friday in Ben-Bolt. Students will need to be back at the HS Band Hall by 5 pm to depart for the game. We should return around 10:45 pm, depending on how late the game runs. We will have students text when we leave, and ask that parents please ensure rides are there for students when we return! For this week, students will be wearing their band show shirts and shorts, which we will pass out before then. (I discussed this with the students, but the company sent the wrong shorts to us. They will be sending an additional set of the corrected shorts in the next couple of weeks, though at no charge to us. We’ll use these until we receive the correct ones.)
One other note for HS students this week is that we will be switching to our regular practice schedule. That means Mondays and Thursdays 6:30 pm-8:30 pm, and Wednesdays 4 pm-5:30 pm. From experience, we know that Monday is conflict-free, and we should have all of our students. On Wednesdays, we expect students participating in Volleyball, Football, etc., to be at that sports practice. It’s excused for them to miss our practice, as we fully expect them to live up to their other obligations there. On Thursdays, we should only be missing JV football players. Every student must come to every rehearsal as we progress through the season. Please help us ensure students’ attendance! We also have a rehearsal planned for this coming Monday, on Labor Day, which is a mandatory rehearsal. We will rehearse from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm.
One final note for HS Band members. We have added a Saturday practice on 9/20 to our schedule. This is for us to bring in a specialist to help with properly leveling and setting up our audio system for the show. We’ll need students at the stadium from 9 am – 11 am, as our current plan is to run the show and get everything dialed in before competitions begin the following weekend. We hope we are giving plenty of notice to avoid conflicts, but if there is a known conflict or concern, please contact Mr. Rash as soon as possible. Thanks!
This week, we are also hoping to get started playing with our sixth graders on their instruments. If students ordered through our band drive, those instruments should be arriving this week. For any parents who didn’t order through that, please have instruments at the band hall by Wednesday. If there is a financial concern that is preventing you from purchasing an instrument, please get in touch with Mr. Williams. As a core philosophy, we will never let money be the reason a student is not in band. We’ll accommodate them in other ways if you contact us, and we may also have some other suggestions/resources available.
Reminder that all Band Fees for both HS and 7th/8th Graders should be paid at this time. Fees for Freshmen (or anyone who needs shoes) are $135, and Upperclassmen (who don’t need shoes) are $90. Each student is provided with their water jug, flip folder/lyres, band shirt, band shorts, and a few other small items with this fee. Fees should be paid to OEISD via check or money order only.
Junior High Band Fees of $30 per student for 7th and 8th graders are now due as well.
If you need additional time, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us to make arrangements. Guard fees are handled separately, and they do not need to pay this fee.
Finally, you should also have received a ‘welcome’ email from Presto last week. This is the system that we track our band fees, communicate with, and manage other aspects of our program. If you log in via that link, you can update your email addresses and contact info. It will also show your students’ current balances on fees.
2026 Florida Trip
We can still add students to the Florida Trip this week! Incoming 9th-12th-grade band students, or JH Front ensemble members, 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: | Marching Band Rehearsal: 6:30 pm-8:30 pm |
| Tuesday: | No Rehearsal |
| Wednesday: | Marching Band Rehearsal: 4:00pm – 5:30 pm |
| Thursday: | Marching Band Rehearsal |
| Friday: | Odem vs. Ben Bolt at Ben Bolt5:00 pm: Students at HS Band Hall5:30 pm: Depart 6:30 pm: Arrive at Ben Bolt High School 7:30 pm: Game Begins ~9:45 pm: Game Ends/Depart ~10:45 pm: Arrive in Odem |
Upcoming Events:
| Day: | Event: | Time: |
| Friday: | Odem vs Ben Bolt (Ben Bolt) | |
| September 1st: | Afternoon/Evening Marching Rehearsal (We do rehearse on Labor Day!) | |
| September 5th: | Odem vs. Falfurrias (Owl Stadium) | |
| September 12th: | Odem vs. Aransas Pass (Aransas Pass) | |
| September 13th: | All-Region Jazz Auditions | |
| September 19th: | Odem vs. Skidmore-Tynan (Owl Stadium) | |
| September 20th: | Marching Band Saturday Rehearsal | 9 am-11 am |
| September 26th: | Odem vs. Hebbronville (Hebbronville) | |
| September 27th: | 4th Annual Owl Marching Invitational | ~1:30 pm-11 pm |
| September 29th: | Staff Development Day Extended Rehearsal | |
| October 3rd: | Odem vs. Taft (Owl Stadium) | |
| October 4th: | US Bands Davenport Competition | Full Day |
Full Fall 2025 Calendar: https://tinyurl.com/25SpiritOHSFall
Thank you for your help and support of these amazing students! Please contact us if you have any questions!