HHS Band weekly newsletter september 12-16, 2022

We start off every newsletter with...

Things We Like

Standing ovation for Pat and Cate Berg! Fixtures on the sidelines for the HHS Band - daughter Piper is Senior Percussion Captain. Great kids come from great parents! The Bergs are two of the best! Volunteer like the Bergs by contacting Audrey Beumer - [email protected]

Schedule for the Week

Monday -  Off
Tuesday -  Marching rehearsal 4-6 pm.  Color Guard sectional 6-7.  
Wednesday - Marching Percussion Sectional 4 - 5:30
Thursday - Game vs. Bob Jones High School at Madison City Stadium (see schedule below)
Friday -  Off
Saturday - Competition at Hendersonville (see schedule below)

Gameday Information

Schedule
During classes - B Day load!  We will load during your band class.

3:40 - School ends.  EAT DINNER.  You can bring food, have it delivered by 4:00 pm, or run out and get something.  
5:00 pm - Everyone meet back in the band room.  Your uniform should be on!

5:15 pm - Depart for Madison City Stadium (211 Celtic Dr.  Madison, Al - this is not at Bob Jones HS).  We will travel to the game in uniform on school buses.
5:45 - 6:30 pm  Unload trucks, warm up
6:40 pm - Marching in
7:00 pm - Game Starts
~9:30 pm - Game ends. 
10:15 pm - Depart Madison City Stadium (
10:45 pm - Back at HHS.   Please don't park on Billie Watkins St.

What to wear
For both our game and competition this week, we are wearing your black marching pants (bibbers), black socks, black shoes, and BLACK HHS Band shirt that you were given at the beginning of the year.  Wear athletic shorts under your bibbers.   

Color Guard uniform - TBA.  Check with Mrs. Connell. - your uniform may come in this week!  You will either wear your current uniform you've been wearing of the new uniform if it comes in!

Other information

For dinner, you can bring food to school, have it delivered by 4:00 pm or go and get food and come back!  Everyone must be back by 5:00 pm.

Bring your water bottle!

For the safety of our students and equipment, only band students, teachers, and chaperones should be in the band seating area.  

You are responsible for making sure your instrument gets put in the correct spot to be loaded on the truck or getting your instrument to the game.   Instructions will be given in class.

 Marching Competition #1 - Saturday, September 17th at Hendersonville

Schedule
9:00 - 10:30 am rehearsal at HHS
10:30 - 11:00 am Pack and load trucks
11:00 am - 1:00 pm  Lunch on your own
1:00 pm - Back in the bandroom
1:30 pm - Depart for Hendersonville on charter buses.
4:00 pm - Arrive.  Watch bands / eat dinner at concessions / change into uniform. Unload trucks.  Bring $$$$
6:15 pm - Everyone must be in uniform and ready to go.
6:30 pm - Warm up Site B
7:00 pm - Move to stadium
7:10 pm - Gate
7:15 pm - Performance (last band to perform)
Immediately after - critique in the band room (approx. 7:45 - 8:15 pm)
8:30 pm - Awards ceremony (since we are last to perform we won't change out of uniforms until AFTER awards)
9:30 pm - Load and change clothes
10:00 pm - Depart
12:15 am - Arrive back at Huntsville High School.  Please don't park on Billie Watkins St.

What to wear:
For both our game and competition this week, we are wearing your black marching pants (bibbers), black socks, black shoes, and BLACK HHS Band shirt that you were given at the beginning of the year.   

Color Guard uniform - TBA.  Check with Mrs. Connell. - your uniform may come in this week!  You will either wear your current uniform you've been wearing of the new uniform if it comes in!

What you need to bring:

1.  Money for dinner at the Hendersonville concessions.
2. Water bottle to stay hydrated!
3. You are welcome to bring snacks on the bus especially for after the competition.  All drinks must have a screw on top.  Clean up after yourself!
4. Everything related to your performance including uniform, equipment/instrument, and accessories.
5. Check the weather.  If you need a jacket/sweatshirt on the bus or in the evening, bring it!

Other information
Lunch is on your own from 11-1.  You are welcome to leave and get food, bring a sack lunch, or have food delivered.  All students need to be back in the bandroom by 1:00 pm

You will have time to change in and out of uniform at the competition, so we will not travel in uniform.  Guard instructions may differ. 

In the case of severe weather, there is a plan to do a stand-still performance in the gym.  

Information for Parents 
We love having family and friends cheer us on at the competitions!  Please join us for all our competitions! 

General Etiquette at Competitions 

• Even though we are competing, be good supporters of all bands there.  Only say positive things!

•  Do not get up and move around while a band is performing.  Wait until a band is done performing before finding a seat.  I realize that not everyone does this, but it's good manners to do so.
• These competitions are the largest fundraiser for most of these bands.  Please know that in advance regarding ticket prices and concessions.  We want to support them.  
• All students must stay for awards and sit with the band unless special permission is granted by a director in advance for special circumstances.   The awards ceremony is a very important part of the event.

Spectator Ticket Price:  $10; children under 5 are $5; non-walking infants are free.  Chaperones traveling with the band will receive passes.  

Parking - there is no spectator parking on campus, but ample parking very close by.  

Checking out students - If you would like to check your student out to ride home with you after awards is over, please do so at our buses.  They must check out with our chaperone coordinator, Mrs. Beumer or her designee. The stadium can be a very chaotic/crowded place after awards.   Please do not just "take your student" as we are accountable for every student at the event and can't leave until we know where every student is.   It can put us very behind schedule if we have to track down where students are.  This is for their safety.     

London Connection!

London information can be found in our google drive.  It now includes the power point from the meeting on September 6th.  Click here to access google drive

We are waiting to hear on the status of our September 29th visit from the Lord Mayor and the Parade director after the death of Queen Elizabeth II.   

The first payment of $200 is due by November 1, 2022.  Payments for family members should be clear as to your relation to a HHS band student especially if you have a different last name.  This will prevent confusion later on! Please indicate on the memo section of check or in a note when you turn it in.  If you are making multiple payments from 1 check, make sure you indicate who the payment is for.  You can pay via Venmo, email a check to our PO Box, or turn into the band box!

Monday, September 19th - HCMS vs. HJHS (HHS BAND PERFORMANCE

For the 2nd year in a row, we are performing at the HCMS vs. HJHS game on Monday night, September 19th at Milton Frank Stadium.  

The schedule is:
5:15 pm - 6:00 pm    Tailgate / Social with HHS, HCMS, and HJHS Band Students.  We will have 90 pizzas, water, desserts provided by HCMS!  HJHS is providing paper products.

6:30 pm - Game Starts - we are planning to perform stand tunes and give time for students to play with the middle school bands.  We will perform our halftime show at halftime.  

The game should end by 8:30 pm.  We will need to load trucks after the game.

Uniform for this game will be announced in next week's newsletter.  

Upcoming Events

September 19-23 - Homecoming week - see schedule below.
Thursday, September 29th - Official Invitation for London New Year's Day Parade from the Chairman of the London Mayor's Association and Former Lord Mayor of Westminster and the Executive Director of the London New Year's Day Parade.  9:00 am in the HHS Auditorium.

September 30th - Game @ Albertville

Homecoming Week - September 19-23
Our homecoming week schedule is always very busy and different than other weeks.  Please know this in advance and plan ahead.

Monday, September 19th - Performance at the HCMS vs. HJHS game at Milton Frank.  Game starts at 6:30 pm - more details to come.
Tuesday, September 20th - NO REHEARSAL!!!  Since we are performing on Monday, we are giving you Tuesday off.  
Wednesday, September 21st - Homecoming rehearsal 4:00 - 5:00 pm on the band field with homecoming court and ROTC.  
Thursday, September 22nd - NO REHEARSAL - Homecoming parade 6:00 pm.  Parade starts/ends at HHS.  
Friday, September 23rd -  Pep rally during school day and football game at Milton Frank.

Information repeated from previous newsletters:

New Uniform Update
Our new uniforms were scheduled to come in this week. Unfortunately, they are 3-4 weeks behind schedule.  We are working with the company to get them here as quickly as possible.

It looks like we will not be in full uniform for our first competition and homecoming week.  We are exploring options to make the best of this situation to make the students look as best we can!

Fall Break Game
We play Florence at Florence (Braly Stadium - UNA) during Fall break on Friday, October 7th.  We take a volunteer pep band to this game.  We don't perform halftime - only perform in the stands.  We ask that you plan to come if you are in town so that we can sound good.  

We will be sending out a form soon so we can plan for buses to the game.  Be thinking about what your Fall Break schedule might look like.  

Marching Competitions 2022
Our marching competitions are on the following days:

Saturday, September 17th in Hendersonville, TN
Saturday, October 15th in Muscle Shoals, Al
Saturday, October 22nd in Soddy Daisy, TN  (Do not sign up for the ACT on this date unless you plan to get your own ride to the competition)

These competitions are what we work all season towards. They are required. Please keep your calendar clear on these dates and plan for a full day event.  We take charter buses to these events.   We would love to have a great cheering section as well!

Marching Uniforms 

All shoes and bibbers (marching pants) that were ordered have arrived and were distributed.  Gloves will be distributed when the new uniform arrives.   If there are any issues, please contact our uniform committee at [email protected]