7th & 8th Grade Bands 

pull off a “first-ever” at their Spring Concert!

By: J. Ryan O’Shea 

It’s once again concert season here at Jockey Hollow. Every December and May students in band, strings and chorus get ready to showcase their talents on songs they have worked so hard on for about five months. 

At the concerts, which have been happening since the school opened in 1998, there are very rarely “firsts”.  Sure there are new songs performed but never in the history of this school has something happened that did in fact happen at the concert on Wednesday, May 8th, 2024. The 7th Graders opened the concert with a three-song performance. The songs being “Prehistoric Suite”, “Cool Cat Shuffle”, and “Edge of Extinction”. The Jazz Band, or Jockey Jammers came on next with four songs that were performed very well, as usual. But one that really stuck out was an amazing rendition of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”. Finally, it was the 8th graders' turn. I myself am in the 8th grade band. We performed four songs: “Distant Thunder of the Sacred Forest”, “Theme of JURASSIC PARK”, “Chant and Tribal Dance”, and “Rock Solid”. It was a bit of a weird feeling performing for the last time on the Jockey Hollow stage. I have spoken to a lot of the members of the 8th grade band and most of us agreed that this concert was the best in our middle school band careers. 

It was what closed the show that had never occurred before. After “Rock Solid” had concluded, there were a few brief minutes where the two bands had to reset. The 7th and 8th grade wind-instrument players joined together on or in front of the stage. Meanwhile, the percussion emerged with symbols, snare drums and bass drums for the marching band. Band director, Mr. Bilotta, stood on a table in the back of the auditorium so all 92 band members could see him. With three blows of his whistle and a command, the percussion started their marching cadence. After going through that twice, the song “Spirit of America” was played. Never before have two bands in different grades played together at a concert (excluding parades and graduations). The marching band aspect has never been part of a traditional concert either. It was truly a great feeling inside the JH auditorium that night. 

If you want to see this song performed once again by our 7th and 8th grade bands, make sure to go and watch the 2024 Monroe Memorial Day Parade on Sunday, May 26th. Parade step-off is by Soup Thyme on Route 111 (Monroe TNPK) at 2:00 PM. The route marches up 111 from Soup Thyme, past the plaza that holds Big Y and Lia’s Pizza, up the hill and past the roundabout. And finally, after marching past St. Jude and Edith Wheeler Memorial Library, the parade ends at the town green.

So there you have it. The 2023-24 7th and 8th grade bands pulled off a first at their spring concert. A history making moment for Jockey Hollow Middle School. I would like to send a quick thank you to our band teacher/director Mr. Bilotta for coming up with this idea and conducting, and controlling, all 92 students for one song,  both during rehearsal and the concert itself. I hope to see you on Sunday, May 26th as we march by for the Monroe Memorial Day Parade. Thank you for reading!

New Ride at Six Flags New England!

By Lorenzo Lucas

Attention all dinosaur lovers! Six Flags has just announced a new ride coming to Six Flags New England for spring 2023! The new attraction will be opening Memorial Day Weekend, and May 26th for season pass holders and members. This new ride is called Dino Off Road Adventure, and will be for dino fans of all ages. This new attraction is located in Kidzopolis, as a retheme and modernization of the former Wild Wheelz ride. The off road adventure will feature life sized animatronic dinosaurs, and will include a photo spot for social media. After riding, you can enjoy a specialty dino treat! 

Last time I went to Six Flags New England, the old Wild Wheelz ride was falling into disrepair, so this new attraction will give some love to the old 1962 Arrow Dynamics safari tour ride. Happy dino thrills!