The second example is DCHS. Their school year ended on Wed. May 27. Thurs. May 28th was the first day of Mini camp. Mini camp, for those of you that don't know is just a slightly shorter version of Bandcamp. In this case it was 9 AM to 5 PM Thurs.-Sat. There may be 2 mini camps and then some of the sections have their own mini camps.
Bandcamp proper will be in July. It is a week long and consists of 3 days that are 9 AM to 9 PM and 2 days that are 9 AM to 5 PM. No cabins or canoes at this bandcamp. Still all the sunburns, bugbites and dehydration of bandcamp, but they spend most of their time on the practice 'field' (known by all other students as the parking lot).
Immediately following bandcamp the Mon. night and Wed. night practices start. Every Mon. and Wed. 5 PM to 9 PM, again mostly on the practice field. Soon after, practices start every Sat. 9 AM to 5 PM. And this is all before school has started!
Once the fall schedule has started you have band classes on top of all of these other classes. The student leadership will hold their own practices at home as well throughout the summer and fall.
These Band kids put 216 hours of practice in before their first competition. This doesn't include class time, only scheduled practices outside of the school day schedule.
Why am I telling you this?
The first part of this story talked about my band background at WYHS, how much I enjoyed the marching experience. I would encourage any student to try it for at least one year. There is no other feeling in the world that comes close to the feeling you get the first time that you step onto your home football field, under the lights, to the cheers of the crowd, knowing its for you. Its amazing!
Every performance is a rush! Its fun! Its thrilling!
Band students choose to put in practice time. They work hard to perfect drill and perform music flawlessly. They take pride in every second of their time on the field marching in front of a crowd. They are the first ones to be down on themselves if they make a mistake during a show.
Yes they enjoy the rush, the thrill, the fun!
Yes they are exhausted from July to November!
No they don't get to see their friends or family often in the Fall!
No they would never choose something other than BAND!
Bandcamp proper will be in July. It is a week long and consists of 3 days that are 9 AM to 9 PM and 2 days that are 9 AM to 5 PM. No cabins or canoes at this bandcamp. Still all the sunburns, bugbites and dehydration of bandcamp, but they spend most of their time on the practice 'field' (known by all other students as the parking lot).
Immediately following bandcamp the Mon. night and Wed. night practices start. Every Mon. and Wed. 5 PM to 9 PM, again mostly on the practice field. Soon after, practices start every Sat. 9 AM to 5 PM. And this is all before school has started!
Once the fall schedule has started you have band classes on top of all of these other classes. The student leadership will hold their own practices at home as well throughout the summer and fall.
These Band kids put 216 hours of practice in before their first competition. This doesn't include class time, only scheduled practices outside of the school day schedule.
Why am I telling you this?
The first part of this story talked about my band background at WYHS, how much I enjoyed the marching experience. I would encourage any student to try it for at least one year. There is no other feeling in the world that comes close to the feeling you get the first time that you step onto your home football field, under the lights, to the cheers of the crowd, knowing its for you. Its amazing!
Every performance is a rush! Its fun! Its thrilling!
Band students choose to put in practice time. They work hard to perfect drill and perform music flawlessly. They take pride in every second of their time on the field marching in front of a crowd. They are the first ones to be down on themselves if they make a mistake during a show.
Yes they enjoy the rush, the thrill, the fun!
Yes they are exhausted from July to November!
No they don't get to see their friends or family often in the Fall!
No they would never choose something other than BAND!