Welcome back from Spring Break! The Spring Lull is over, and we’re about to hit the busy parts of the year as we sprint towards the finish at the end! Before I go on to this week’s announcements, I do want to give a shoutout to Odem HS trombonist Breanna Palmer on earning a State Silver Medal in Powerlifting this past week! Congrats to her!!!

This week will be free of events, but right at the beginning of next week on Monday, March 25^th we will have the Odem JH Pre-UIL Concert at 6:30pm in the Cafetorium with the Odem JH Concert Band and Symphonic Winds performances. The HS concert with the Odem HS Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble will be on Tuesday, March 26^th at 6:30pm. Both events are mandatory for members of those ensembles! Students need to wear their concert black attire for the performances, I have listed that below for reference. I would recommend having students try on their clothes today just to make sure they haven’t had a growth spurt since the Winter Concert!

This week is our final week of the MoneyDolly fundraiser the HS Band is running. This has been a strong fundraiser for us, and we’re almost to the finish line of our $5k goal of profit that we have been aiming for! Please take a moment this week to try and expand circles a bit more, and send some more messages out! Thank you to everyone who has donated or purchased discount cards! 

Students should have completed these steps, but instructions may be found here: https://launch.moneydolly.com/fundraiser/100998 Parents and others who join as helpers are a big help from what we’ve seen! (Join Code is 27MV-KUNA) Your student can add you as a helper once you join the app, just scan the QR code in their app and it’ll connect you.

Lastly we are preparing for Windi and Jazzi, on May 4^th. We have assigned students theme items to bring by section. We ask that every member of the group please bring one item around $10 in value that fits in the theme to make silent auction baskets. If you would please help us make sure we have received these items by next Tuesday when we have our Pre-UIL Concert with the HS! Windi and Jazzi traditionally is a great fundraiser for us, and these baskets are a big part of that!

Flutes/Oboe: Baking Basket (Baking Sheets, Cake mixes, cookbooks, cookie cutters, etc.)
Clarinets/Bassoon: Spa Basket (Candles, Bath soaps, etc.)
Bass Cl/Saxes/F Horn: Outdoor BBQ (BBQ Cooking Utensils, Aprons, Sauces, Grill accessories, etc.)
Trombones/Euphoniums/Tubas: Coffee Lovers (Bags of Coffee, Coffee Cups, Flavorings, etc.)
Junior High Students: Gardening Basket (Seeds, Gardening tools, Gloves, etc.)

Finally, Spring Band fees should be turned in by this time for 7^th-12^th Grade students. Please turn those in as soon as possible! Fees are $25/Student payable via Check or Money Order. They help to offset many of the costs in the spring with clinicians, supplies, music, etc. Please make payment out to OEISD, Memo: Band. Please contact us if you have any questions!

This Week’s Schedule:

Day:	Event:
Monday:	Band Hall Closed
Tuesday:	Band Hall Closed
Wednesday:	Band Hall Closed
Thursday:	Band Hall Open 6:00pm-8:00pm Cleveland Rehearsal
Friday:	Band Hall Closed

Upcoming Events:

Day:	Event:	Time:
March 25th	Odem JH Pre-UIL Contest Concert	6:30pm
March 26th	Odem HS Pre-UIL Contest Concert	6:30pm
April 4th-5th	UIL Concert and Sight-Reading	TBA
April 26th	11th Annual South Coast Jazz Festival
May 4th	Windi and Jazzi Fundraiser
May 10th	American Classics Festival: Odem HS Wind Ensemble and Odem JH Symphonic Winds at Del Mar College	2pm/3pm
May 13th	Odem JH Symphonic Winds and HS Spring Concert
May 14th	Odem JH Beginning Band and Concert Band Spring Concert
May 24th	Graduation
May 26th-27th	UIL State Solo and Ensemble
June 3rd	Cleveland Send-Off Performance
June 4th-8th	Cleveland Trip

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