First rehearsals for ALL Marching Band Members is Thursday, July 23rd and Friday, July 24th 10am to 12pm in the Band Room.
What to Bring
Bring your instrument, water, good athletic shoes (no slides, flip flops or sandals).
Then we travel to Camp Shadow Pines in Heber, Arizona for Band Camp. Leaving Monday, July 27th at 9am, meet at 8am in the band room.
Some important items to bring so you can make sure you have them before we travel:
Sleeping Bag, sheet, pillow (or 2), towel, washcloth, soap or shower gel, toiletries including toothbrush and deodorant, shower shoes/plastic flip flops, two pairs of athletic shoes (just in case it rains and a pair gets soaked) hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, chap-stick, and a large water bottle (sturdy, 64oz+, for ice and water). Camp is not a hotel, there is no place to attain the above items if you don't have them at camp. However, rooms in the dorms are bunkbeds, and there are many bathrooms throughout camp, showers are good, and all water at camp is fresh water from a well.
Camp Dining
Meals are made in the cafeteria at camp. Workers come up just to cook for us! Every meal is all you can eat and there are many items to choose from. Breakfast is usually a bread/pastry of some sort, 4 different kinds of cereal, oatmeal, fruit (melons/bananas/apples/oranges), eggs, ham/sausage/or bacon, and juice, milk, lemonade, tea, or fruit punch. Water is always available.
At Lunch and Dinner there is always salad with good leafy greens, available to add: Cucumber, carrots, beets, sesame seeds, onions, tomatoes, and croutons. A main dish, sides, and a dessert.
Camp always has a gluten free option, but if there are any other dietary needs, please let Mrs. Mireau know and she will help with accommodations. We always have students with nut allergies etc... Don't be embarrassed to share this important information with Mrs. Mireau so that we can make sure that everyone has a great experience!
After Camp…
Some important performance dates:
Monday, August 10th
First day of school Assembly @ school at 7am, perform, then freshmen attend the rest of the assembly, 10th-12th graders leave campus for brunch with friends. Return later for classes.
Friday, August 14th
6pm Annual Ice Cream Social and Marching Band Concert for ALL family and friends!
Friday, September 4th
First home varsity football game. Games are 6pm call time, 7pm start, home after the game. We perform in the stands and on the field at halftime. This game, verse Saguaro HS, is one of the big games! *Picture at the top is from last year's first game with students from our feeder schools joining us. We do not wear uniforms until after Labor Day.
October 3rd
First Competition at Youngker HS, this is an AZMBA show (Arizona Marching Band Association). Our first one in two years. We don't usually compete in this circuit unless it works into our ABODA schedule.
October 9th - 11th
Las Vegas Competition Trip: We will be competing at Foothill HS in Las Vegas on October 10th. This is during Fall Break & The Varsity football game is on Thursday, October 8th for some reason, so we won't miss it! We should be able to go to a show in Vegas and we always go to the Garden Buffett at Southpoint Resort. This is a Bi-annual trip, but we perform at different high schools each time. We have performed at Silverado HS, Green Valley HS, Palo Verde HS, Basic HS, Las Vegas HS, Sierra Vista HS, and two years ago Desert Oasis HS. More information to come later.
October 24th
ABODA Invitational at Dobson HS. This is an Arizona Band and Orchestra Directors Association event. ABODA is the main overarching organization of all school band events in Arizona.
October 31st
ABODA State Qualifier at Goldwater HS. Our favorite marching band event! We have been to Goldwater's show more than any other event! Goldwater's director Mrs. Esparza's ensures us that awards will be at 6pm, or we may choose to leave before awards so that families can enjoy a Saturday Halloween. Otherwise, we should be back to Chaparral around 7:30pm.
November 7th
ABODA State Semi-Finals Competition at Tempe HS. We must score a 60 or better and be in the top 20 bands in our division to qualify. We do this every year!
November 21st
ABODA State Marching Band Championships at Glendale Community College. We must place in the top 8 bands in our division to compete.
All events will share their performance times a week to a few weeks ahead of time and then an itinerary will be made and sent out to families so plans for the day can be made. At this time, please reserve the whole day for us & we'll refine it later.
Thank you ALL and I look forward to seeing you next month! Enjoy your summer and I'll send more information and updates next week. Let me know if you need me for anything jmireau@susd.org.
