Hello GEB,
It’s Contest Season! Please see below for details this week (10/02/17-10/07/17). There is ALOT information in this email; please read through it all.
The eligibility report was released on Friday and 201/203 (99%) of you PASSED your non-exempt classes; I am SO proud of you! Thank you for taking care of business in the classroom!
Regular Rehearsals Continue
Remember to bring your dot book, pencil and have all of the music memorized.
I wanted to remind you of some rehearsal exceptions (that has been on the calendar since April):
Friday, October 6th: Rehearsal from 9:00am – 12:00pm. There is no school on this day but there is a rehearsal with a clinician/Eaglettes in the morning and a game in the evening. Game Meal Plan will be provided just a little earlier than usual (3:45pm). After loading instruments, students will have a break from 12:30pm – 3:45pm. Lunch will be on their own.
Monday, October 9th: No Rehearsal
Friday Morning Rehearsal/Drill Team Information
As a reminder on game days, we will rehearse in the STADIUM. ALL woodwinds, brass and drumline students must bring their flip folder stuffed with this week’s drill team tune (Bang Bang); we will pass it out in classes this week. Anyone who forgets his/her flip folder and drill team tune at this rehearsal will automatically fail inspection for the week, so make sure you remember! Again, this rehearsal will be from 9:00am – 12:00pm.
RHS vs Jesuit (AWAY) 10/06/17
The third AWAY football game of the year is coming up this Friday night! As always, full details can be found on the Official Band Calendar at www.richardsonband.org.
Dinner will be served in the Eagles Nest for those who signed up for the meal plan at 3:45pm. Please note that this is only for those who signed up for the Football Game meal plan.
Game Details
Drill Team Tune: Bang Bang
Dinner Served: 3:45 PM (Eagles Nest – Canes)
Inspection: 5:15 PM
Tailgate: 6:30 PM
Kickoff: 7:30 PM
Postell Stadium
12345 Inwood Rd.
Dallas, TX 75244
FULL UNIFORM: GEB Compression Shirt, GEB black athletic shorts, LONG black socks and marching shoes.
Guard – Ask Ms. Maldonado
A student will fail inspection if he/she:
? shows up late
? wears the wrong attire
? is missing uniform items
? is missing instrument (and parts of instrument)
? has a unclean and not fully functioning working instrument
? is missing a lyre/flip folder
? is lacking a filled water bottle (water only)
? wears make-up/nail polish
? wears jewelry (religious affiliation allowed)
? has an unnatural hair color (blue, green, etc.)
? has the incorrect “show hair”
? is not clean-shaven (boys)
? talks
After the game, everyone will hang their uniform correctly and turn in their shoes.
Parents – we will need MANY volunteers for the football game. Mrs. Forssell will be sending out information so be on the look out and sign-up!
Marching Contest – A Beginner’s Guide
There are two types main types of marching contests that we will attend this year. “Invitational” and “UIL” contests.
For Invitational Contests:
1) We do not find out performance times until about two weeks before the contests.
2) Usually there are 20+ marching bands entered into each contest. Each one of these bands performs in the preliminary round, which starts early in the morning and goes until about 5:30pm. As stated above, we will be scheduled a preliminary performance time about two weeks in advance.
3) There are 5-7 judges in prelims who rank each of the bands based upon the scores they earn in each of their captions (or categories such as marching, music, percussion, guard, general effect). The top 10 bands from prelims will perform again in finals that evening. Bands will either perform in random or ranked order in finals (10th place performs first, 9th place performs second, etc). This means that should we make finals (which is a BIG deal in itself), we will not know our finals performance time until at least 6pm that day.
4) Each of the 10 finalist bands perform in the evening, usually starting around 7pm. After all the finalists perform, the judges tabulate the finals scores and the final contest ranks are announced. Scoring starts all over again in finals and typically, many of the judges switch captions (or the categories in which they are judging) in finals. This makes the finals round almost like a whole new contest.
5) All of this makes contest day a pretty long day. You should plan for our non-UIL contest (Little Elm/Desoto) to take all day.
For Region UIL Contests:
1) We will find out our performance time about two weeks in advance. This contest happens during the school day and the kids will miss classes in order to attend.
2) Each band only performs once at the Region UIL contest. There are no prelims or finals.
3) Three judges will each give the band a rating on a scale of 1 to 5.
– 1 (Superior)? – 2 (Excellent)? – 3 (Good)? – 4 (Fair)? – 5 (Poor)
4) As opposed to the Invitational style contest where bands are competing against each other, at UIL, bands are not ranked against each other. Rather, the bands are each evaluated independently and given a rating based upon the UIL standards.
5) The band is given an overall rating based on the combination of the three judges scores. For example, if a band gets a 1, 1, 2… that band’s overall rating would be a 1 (called a 1st Division or “Superior” rating).
Little Elm Classic on the Lake Marching Contest 10/07/17
Our first contest of the season is on, October 7th at Little Elm Marching Contest. Below is ALL the information you’ll need for the day:
Schedule
9:00am: Call Time
9:15am: Rehearsal at Eagle Stadium
11:00am: Rehearsal ends, load trucks
11:15am: Lunch!
12:15pm: Change into uniform
12:45pm: Inspection
1:05pm: Depart for Little Elm
2:00pm: Arrive at Little Elm/Check In
3:30pm: Warm-up
4:15pm: Prelims Performance
5:30pm: Finals announced
The Little Elm Classic on the Lake Marching Contest is a Prelims/Finals format contest. There will be 23 bands at this event. If we advance to finals, we will not know what time we perform until 5:30pm or so. Dinner will be provided to all of the students.
7:30pm: Finals Begin
10:15pm: Final Results
11:30pm: Expected ETA at RHS. Brief meeting then dismissal.
*should we not make finals, we may be returning sooner. A message through TWTTER will be sent out when we are on our way home.
Parent Info
If you are a parent who is not chaperoning/helping on the field, we NEED you in the stands supporting the band. The location of the contest is:
LEISD Athletic Complex
1151 East Eldorado Parkway
Little Elm, Texas 75068
Here’s how this works: when the band enters the field and the announcer calls our name, we need a fleet of parents in the stands cheering and going NUTS for the kids. This is all part of the competition! It sends a message to the judges that… “hey, you really need to pay attention to this band!” While we have many parents already traveling with the band as volunteers, they will be down on the field helping with equipment. Come out and see what your kids have been toiling away for because trust me, the football games have just been a preview of the contest show.
Parking is free. Admission to the contest is $10.00 for spectators and free for 3 and under. For our volunteers, Little Elm only provides us with a set number of volunteer passes. This means that you should be prepared to pay the $10.00 entry fee just in case we don’t have enough to cover everyone. While I know that can be frustrating, keep in mind that this is a very important fundraiser for the LEHS Band.
Student Info
You are going to need to bring a good number of items with you on Saturday. Pay careful attention as we’ll have several different “outfits” for the day.
When you arrive in the morning, you’ll need to be wearing:
• Compression Shirt (you may wear your Arabian Nights shirt on top)
• GEB Black Athletic shorts
• Long black socks (MUST HAVE)
You’ll need to bring a duffle bag/back pack. Inside your duffle/backpack, you’ll need our “stands uniform” which will be:
• Arabian Nights Show Shirt
• Shorts/jeans (school appropriate) and sweater (in case it gets cold)
• Tennis shoes
You’ll come at 9:00am, drop your items off in the locker room, grab your instrument and head to the stadium. You should be in the block by 9:15am. Section leaders arrive at 8:45am to tape the field.
After rehearsal concludes at 11:00am, you will begin to load up the trucks (props, percussion, low reeds/low brass, etc.). Lunch will be served starting at 11:15am. Once you have eaten, you will head to the uniform room and put on your full uniform. You should be changing into full uniform no later than 12:15pm. Inspection is at 12:45pm – At inspection, we’ll be dressed in and will have:
• Compression Shirt/GEB Black Shorts (under uniform)
• Long black socks (under uniform)
• Full Contest Uniform (including gloves)
• Marching Shoes
• Instrument in case (for winds that did not place on truck)
• Duffle bag/backpack (with your stands uniform inside: jeans/shorts that are school appropriate, Arabian Nights shirt, sweater and tennis shoes)
At 1:05pm, we’ll load buses and head to Little Elm. Upon our arrival, you’ll get all the instructions you’ll need.
After our prelims performance, we will hear if we will be advancing to finals. Everyone will receive dinner via the contest meal plan between prelims and finals OR after finals. You may want to bring additional money for souvenirs and/or concession stand goodies.
This will be a long day so make sure you’re resting up throughout the week! The good news is that there is NO SCHOOL OR REHEARSAL on Monday, October 9th.
*students who are academically ineligible may not (by state law) be anywhere near the band during the contest. This includes but not limited to: traveling, sitting or eating (contest meals) with the band. Failure to abide by this rule could result is loss of UIL status for the entire program.
Upcoming Contests
Wed, October 11: PSAT (there is morning rehearsal)
Fri, October 13: Pep Rally, UT Rehearsal, OU Pre-Game, JH Night
Sat, October 14: Desoto Classic Invitational Marching Contest (Prelims/Finals)
Tue, October 17: RHS vs Berkner Volleyball Performance
Frid, October 20: RHS vs LH
Wed, October 25: Region 3 UIL Marching Contest (evening performance)
Thank you,
Mr. Marquez