Summer Activities

July Pre-Camp Trainings

• • • • Wednesday, July 16: Leadership Training from 1–4 pm

      • Friday, July 18:  Leadership Training from 1–4 pm

Home Camp

• • • • Monday, July 21–Friday, July 25

      • 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM Monday-Thursday, Friday 8am-3pm.

      • During this part of the summer, we will learn fundamentals of marching, musical performance, and begin preparing our halftime & competition show for performance. We will also start the work of building our show's musical and visual impact, as well as develop camaraderie, teamwork, and friendship that will carry us through the rest of the work for our season.

Away Camp at Alta Mons in Shawsville, VA

• • • • Monday, July 28–Friday, August 1st

      • Away Camp is an incredible experience for our students, and the part of our season where we grow the most as an ensemble. Throughout the week, students will stay in cabins, eat together, and work on our performance materials for the year. We also spend time getting to know each other, having movie nights, skit nights, and other activities. Away Camp is challenging, but we make immense progress together, forge bonds as a group, and make memories that last a lifetime!

      • We need at least EIGHT parent volunteers to commit to traveling with us for Away Camp or we will have to cancel our plans and hold these camp days at LHS. Volunteers will assist with student supervision, keeping students hydrated, meal prep and service, and other jobs necessary for a successful camp. Contact Mr. Gentry ASAP if you'd like to travel with us.

Transition Week

• • • • August 5, 6, 7, 8, 

        • TBD August 12th

      • 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM daily

      • This week of rehearsals allows us to continue the concentrated time of Band Camp, while transitioning to shorter sessions to get us ready for our regular after-school rehearsals. 

      • Note: These dates may change based on the Teacher Workweek schedule. Expect an updated calendar in the coming months.

Regular Season

Rehearsals

• • • • Every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 4:00 PM – 6:15 PM

        • • Starting August 14 and ending on October 29

      • Eighth grade students will ride a bus up from LMS for rehearsal and for performances.

Performances

• • • • This season will include a football scrimmages, home football games, regional marching band competitions, parades, our annual Band-A-Rama Fundraiser Concert(TBD), and other school and community performances that may come up. 

      • Some events and locations have yet to be determined. Please hold these dates for the Marching Minutemen, and more information will be shared later in the summer.

      • Two ways to access the calendar: here on MinutemenMusic.org and printable.

Bedford Christmas Parade 

• We have three rehearsals (TBD) specifically for the Bedford Christmas Parade, November 21st, December 4th, and December 5th. 

• The parade itself is December 6th (TBD, 2024 date)

• Commitment to the Marching Minutemen includes commitment to parade rehearsals. Students starting new activities for the winter season need to talk to coaches about honoring this prior commitment so that we can have a strong performance for our parade audience. Many members of our community only ever see and hear us at the Christmas parade!

ATTENDANCE EXPECTATIONS

• Schedules can get busy and very difficult to traverse. The staff and I are not here to remove any aspect of your educational experience. I am a firm believer in a well-rounded education, especially when it comes to the Fine Arts. However, when it comes to marching band, it is a big time commitment, but it is designed this way for a reason. It takes a lot of work, commitment, dedication, and hard work to create/learn a halftime show, march in a parade, learn stand tunes, etc., and this is why being at rehearsal is extremely important. It is unfair to your peers and staff to consistently miss rehearsals or be late and still get to do all the activities the band participates in.

• The rehearsal and performance schedule is set well in advance, allowing students to plan other activities and obligations around the established schedule.  The Directors should be notified IN ADVANCE if a student is going to be absent from a rehearsal or performance.  Absences from band performances/rehearsals are unexcused unless due to 

(a) viable personal illness (parent request), 

(b) death in the family, 

(c) an emergency, 

(d)special permission of the Director(s) obtained in advance by the parent/guardian. 

 Students must exhibit consistent responsibility in these areas.

• A rehearsal/performance absence form is located on the band website, ATTENDANCE FORM  , and must be completed for each missed rehearsal/performance.  The form should be submitted a minimum of 3 days prior to the missed event for known issues (doctor, dentist, orthodontist appointments, trips, etc.).  For all other missed events, forms must be submitted by the day following the student’s return to school.  Forms not submitted during the allotted time will be considered an unexcused absence.  This form must be completed online.

WORK IS NEVER CONSIDERED AN EXCUSED ABSENCE.  YOU HAVE A CALENDAR OF EVENTS, USE IT.

• Students who have an unexcused absence from an after-school rehearsal will not be allowed to march in the following performance, but are expected to still attend the performance.

Example: A student has an unexcused absence from a Tuesday marching band rehearsal.  The student will perform in the stands at the following game, but will not perform during the halftime performance.