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Band Camp
Band Camp
The student leaders and director have agreed that we need to add a longer Band Camp with a higher expectation of attendance. The goal of Band Camp is to prepare our entire halftime show, to begin to memorize our parade music, and to welcome each other back from summer break and have a great time together.
When scheduling Band Camp, I always try to avoid the Iowa State Fair and Football Camp. Depending on student feedback, sometimes I opt for a weekend after the start of school so that all kids are back from family summer vacations.
New this year - We will be using more student leadership! Most of the teaching at Band Camp will be done by student leaders.
Halftime Shows
Halftime Shows
We present halftime shows at every varsity home football game. In the Fall of '22, our show will be made up of popular music that students will have chosen. We hope to be able to put together a marching routine as well as a color guard routine to go along with this music during our Band Camp.
Students will be choosing the music we present in our halftime shows this year. If you'd like to browse possibilities, we do our shopping at www.jwpepper.com.
Parades
Parades
The Marching Rams participate in a couple of parades throughout the year. The first one of the school year is usually our Homecoming Parade. We combine all of the Band students from 7th through 12th grade and they play the school song as well as a drumline cadence to entertain our community.
Our second parade performance takes place at Carroll Band Day on the first weekend of October. This performance is part of a competition between Greene County and various other bands from 1A, 2A, and 3A schools in the area.
Our final parade performance is the Bell Tower Festival Parade, which takes place on the second Saturday of June each year. For this parade, we again combine our forces from 7th through 12th grade to "wow" our community with a powerful rendition of the school song, a drumline cadence, and perhaps a popular pep band song.
Competitive Field Marching
Competitive Field Marching
One of our long-term goals in the GCHS Band program is to build up our numbers and foster a competitive spirit in association with our field marching shows. Our kids are excellent musicians and they want to be recognized as exceptional through competition at IHSMA State Marching Band Contest and the North Central Marching Festival in Fort Dodge. This is another reason to attend and work hard at Band Camp, as that is the only time we will have access to a full-size practice field. Also, in order to ensure we have adequate rehearsal time on a full-size practice field, we may look into adding an evening rehearsal once per week during the Fall.
As I said, these are long-term goals, and I don't intend to force them upon our students right away. However, as we near the end of the 21-22 school year and set goals for 22-23, it will be important to remember that commitment comes before excellence.
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