Weekly Update (and BOA information): 9/10-9/16

Good evening everyone! I hope that you enjoyed your Sunday. First, I wanted to congratulate the students on a great first competitive performance of the season. The staff are very excited to see their progress! Please see our weekly information as well as some information regarding the BOA Regional which is less than 2 weeks away.

1. Monday-Colorguard Rehearsal from 6pm-9pm
2. Tuesday-Winds and Percussion rehearsal from 6pm-9pm
3. Thursday-Full Ensemble rehearsal from 6pm-9pm. At the conclusion of this rehearsal, the truck will need loaded for Friday night’s football game. 
4. Friday-Football game at Indiana. This game is farther than most, so report time will be no later than 4:15. Busses will depart from the auditorium parking lot at 4:30pm. Report time back to Mars is anticipated between 10:30-11pm. 
5. Saturday-Rehearsal @MHS from 10am-3pm. Originally, rehearsal was scheduled from 9am-3pm, however, due to the longer evening with the football game being in Indiana the night prior, we will begin an hour later. Truck unload will need to occur at 9am.
6. Bands of America Regional-As we are about two weeks out from the Bands of America Regional we wanted to provide everyone with as much information as possible. Please see all of the information below.
   1. Schedule-Attached is the itinerary for the BOA Regional, as well as the officialy Bands of America prelims/daily schedule. We will be traveling this day with coach busses.
   2. Meals-both lunch and dinner will be provided for that day from the students payment for the regional.
      1. Penn Station-One meal will be Penn Station Subs(options are a sub or a salad). All students, chaperones, and staff attending must fill this form out no later than Wednesday 9/13/23. To access the form, please click HERE!
      2. Pizza-The other meal being offered to students this day is pizza. 
      3. If students would like to purchase additional food while they are there, they may. However, this venue is cashless. One way we have learned to help this situation is by using Visa giftcards. This helps in the event of cashless venues. 
   3. Souvenirs-There will be souvenir booths available at the event. Again, this is believed to be cashless as well. 
   4. Miscellaneous-The following are some miscellaneous items regarding the regional
      1. The venue we will be at enforces a clear bag policy. Students can still bring their backpacks on the bus with them, but they unfortunately will not be able to bring them inside the stadium. Please plan accordingly.
      2. Weather in Ohio this time of year, much like Western PA, is hit and miss. As we come up on the event, please be checking the weather for Obetz, Ohio to plan accordingly. 
      3. Students are permitted to bring their own water bottles/snacks for the bus ride to and from the regional.
      4. Once out of uniform for the day, students will be permitted to wear ‘street clothes.’ However, we are asking that students wear their show shirt while in the stadium. Typically, they wear their show shirt at Friday’s football game. However, we will have them wear something different at the football game the night prior so that their show shirts are clean for Saturday. They will still wear their compression shirts under their uniform during performances.
      5. If you are planning on attending as a spectator, please know that the box office is also cashless. 
      6. If you cannot attend this event in person, but would still like to watch please ready! All 2023 Bands of America Championships will be livestreamed on BOALIVE.TV, powered by BOX5 Media. Viewers can choose pay-per-view to watch one event or a subscription for the best value to watch the entire BOA season. . 

There may be more information regarding Bands of America, but in the meantime, if you have any questions regarding this week, or Bands of America, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Have a great week!

-Mr. Soose