Welcome to the blog for Andy Esserwein, Band Director for the Sprayberry High School Band Program. This blog will be updated often to keep all parents and students up to date on information about the Band of Gold. If you have any questions, or need to contact me, please email me at andy.esserwein@cobbk12.org.
November 19, 2007
Chicago Trip!
We leave tomorrow for our Chicago Trip! Please remember to be at school at 5:45 AM so we can leave on time. Make sure you pack for warm weather, and please don't forget any of your uniform or any of your equipment needed for your instrument!
Parents...I am attaching the trip information that I handed out at the meeting. If you need to access it again, just download it here!
Check this blog for possible updates during the trip! Also, don't forget to watch us on WGN television at 10:00 AM ET on Thanksgiving Morning!November 01, 2007
Thursday, November 1
This is a quick note to let everyone know that due to the homecoming festivities at halftime, we will be performing our full show tomorrow night at pre-game, beginning at approximately 7:05 - 7:10 PM. Please be there to cheer on our band!
October 29, 2007
Monday, October 29
I would like to start this post by saying congratulations to the Sprayberry "Band of Gold" for their outstanding performance at the 34th Annual Peach State Marching Competition in Rome, Georgia. The band performed at a very high level, and earned the following awards:
Superior Ratings in All Categories: Drum Major, Percussion, Colorguard, and Overall Band
Best in Class AAA in Percussion and Overall Band
Second Place in Class AAA in Drum Major
Fourth Place in Class AAA in Colorguard
Second Place OVERALL in Percussion
Third Place OVERALL in Overall Band (.07 points behind Gordon Lee)
However, even more than awards, the Staff and I were thrilled with the overall maturity and pride displayed by the band. From the second we stepped off the buses until the moment the show ended, the band demonstrated a professional attitude, and their performance was outstanding because of that attitude. We acted like champions, and thus performed like champions!
I am very pleased with the progress the band has made this season. Despite numerous changes to our normal rehearsal schedule due to weather, the band improved from week to week, and ended the competitive season on a very high note. Our hard work resulted in a fantastic show that has been enjoyed by many, many people. The awards are secondary; rather, it is the feeling of performing well and receiving the standing ovations that will stick with each of us. Thank you to all of the students for your hard work!
This week begins the "Post Competition" portion of our schedule. We still have many obligations, including football games, homecoming, senior night, and our performance in the McDonald's Thanksgiving Parade in Chicago, Illinois. We normally slow down during this time of year, however, this year we will need to keep rehearsing and performing at very high levels.
Included here is the post competitive rehearsal schedule that I handed out to the students last Thursday night. Students, please make sure that you are in attendance according to the schedule. Students who are attending the Chicago trip will need to be at all rehearsals. Those students who are not attending the trip will only need to be in attendance when Full Band is listed.
Here is the schedule in a PDF format...
One note for all parents and families not attending the Chicago trip...the parade will be broadcast nationally LIVE on WGN starting at 10:00 Eastern Time. Please tune in to see us perform!
This week is homecoming, which means we will have more performance opportunities than normal! This Friday will be busy...please see the attached preliminary schedule to see everything the band is doing this Friday night!
Friday, November 2
1st Period - Pep Rally - Band Performs
Immediately after school - Band reports to get dressed and prepared for Homecoming Parade
3:45 PM - Leave school to stage for parade
4:30 PM - Parade Begins
5:15 PM - Parade ends - students will eat during this time (please bring food)
7:30 PM - Football game begins vs. Kell
Halftime - Band performs for homecoming activities
We will determine exactly when the band will be performing our show in the next couple of days. I will post that information when it is available.
As always, thank you for your support of the Sprayberry Band!
October 22, 2007
Monday, October 22
As of 3:15 today, we have decided that due to weather conditions, we are going to alter our normal marching band rehearsal. Colorguard will still practice, most likely in the bandroom until 6:00, and winds and percussion are dismissed to go home.
Monday, October 22
First of all, THANK YOU to everyone who had any part in making The 24th Annual Southern Invitational a success. Once again, it was extremely well organized, and everyone who worked in any capacity represented our school and community so positively! I had numerous comments from band directors about the myriad of reasons that they attend SI, but most centered around how well their students are treated, and how well the contest is run. Thank you again for everything each of you did to make this event a success.
Also, thank you to the organizers and heads of the various areas who spent countless hours preparing for the event. Your effort and time was apparent, as the event ran so smoothly. Thanks so much!
This weekend, we will be traveling to our final competition of the year at Rome High School. We are excited about the opportunity to compete again, and look forward to performing a great show! Here is the tentative schedule for Saturday...
Meet at school for warmup: 10:30 AM
Load Truck: 11:45 AM
Eat Lunch (Bring your own): 12:00 PM
Leave for Rome HS: 1:15 PM
PERFORM: 5:15 PM
Dinner: TBA
Awards: 8:30 PM
Return Home: 11:00 PM
More specifics will be coming to you soon. Please make every effort to attend this competition and support our outstanding students!
We also play at Walton this Friday, but we do not have specifics at this time. I will let you know more during the week.
Thank you for all you do!
October 11, 2007
Thursday, October 11
Good Morning!
Tomorrow night we will be traveling to Lassiter High School for our football game. After much discussion with Mr. Watkins, the Lassiter Band Director, we have decided that our band will be performing pre-game. Cobb County Schools have a policy that visiting bands get 10 minutes at halftime...however, since our show is 9 minutes long, and it takes several minutes to get equipment on and off the field, we will perform pre-game to allow us the opportunity to do our entire show. As much as I would like to do half-time, the need to get a full run of our show takes precedent. We will perform between 7:05 and 7:10, so please come out and support our band and football team!
The general schedule for the evening is as follows:
4:00 - All equipment to the truck
5:10 - Report to Bandroom
5:40 - Load Buses
6:00 - Arrive at Lassiter
7:05 - Perform
10:15 - Return to Sprayberry
Please remember that we will be competing at McEachern HS on Saturday. The schedule I posted in my last blog entry is accurate and represents the final schedule. Please remember to bring a lunch to eat between the time rehearsal ends and we leave for the competition. NO STUDENT SHOULD LEAVE CAMPUS AT THIS TIME! In addition, we will eat at the concession stand following our performance, so please bring money to eat. I have included a PDF of the menu and prices below so you may plan!
Also, please watch the weather! It is supposed to be cold in the evenings, so please plan accordingly! Students are allowed to bring jackets, gloves, etc. to keep warm once our performance is over!
Thanks for all you do!
October 04, 2007
Thursday, October 4
We have received the tentative schedule for our first marching competition next Saturday, October 13th. We will be marching in the McEachern Marching Invitational, and will perform at 5:45 PM. We invite all family and friends to attend and cheer on the Sprayberry "Band of Gold"!
Attached below is the tentative schedule for next Saturday. This is subject to change slightly if any changes are made to the competition schedule by the contest organizers. A final handout will be distributed as soon as we receive the final schedule.
October 02, 2007
Tuesday, October 2
CONGRATULATIONS!
Congratulations to the marching band for an outstanding performance last night at the Cobb County Exhibition! Mr. Ellis and I were very pleased with your performance. You played and marched confidently, and represented our school and community extremely well! Thank you for all of your hard work...it does pay off! While we still have a great deal of hard work ahead to finish and clean our show, we are proud of what you have accomplished and look forward to the rest of the season.
Parents - THANK YOU VERY MUCH to all of you who assisted last night in feeding, chaperoning, transporting equipment, or assisting in any way with our show last night. We could not have done it without you! Also, thank you to everyone who traveled to McEachern to watch the performance. Having your support means alot to the students, and we appreciate your cheers and applause!
We will hold our normal rehearsals for the rest of the week. However, we have no football game this weekend! Enjoy your time away!
September 28, 2007
Friday, September 28
IMPORTANT CHANGE!!!
We found out yesterday afternoon that we will be performing pre-game tonight, starting at approximately 7:05.
The schedule will all be the same, with the exception that students should be in the bandroom this afternoon at 4:25, and dressed at 4:45 so we can leave a little bit earlier.
We hope to see you there!
MINI CAMP INFORMATION - Please remember that we will be holding our minicamp tomorrow. All students should be on the field ready to start at 10:00 AM. Each student should bring their own lunch. Dinner will be provided by the booster club.
We will be done at 8:30 PM!
September 25, 2007
Tuesday, September 25
This is a busy week for the Sprayberry High School "Band of Gold". We have many important events in the next 7 days, and I will discuss each one briefly below. I will post more information about each as it becomes available.
- Please don't forget that it is VERY IMPORTANT that all students attend EVERY rehearsal. We have not had a rehearsal where every student was in attendance in several weeks. I understand that we have a very busy schedule, and that students have homework and other obligations, but if we want to be successful, we must have every student at each rehearsal. Remember, rehearsal is where we learn to work as a group. If one person is missing, we either have to take future rehearsal time to catch him/her up, or we have to hope that that person will be able to learn the material that was missed. Either way it slows down the progress of the group. Parents, please help us by ensuring that your student is at every rehearsal!
- Friday night we will be playing at Chattahoochee High School. We have recently found out that this is Chattahoochee's homecoming, so our performance opportunities will be limited. At this point, we will be performing after the game. As I find out more, I will post information in this blog. The basic schedule for Friday Night is as follows:
- 4:00 All equipment at the truck
- 4:40 In bandroom to get dressed
- 5:15 Buses leave
- 7:30 Game Begins
- 10:00 Possible BOG performance
- 11:15 Approximate return time
Directions to the game are included at the bottom of this post!
- Saturday is our mini-camp. We will begin at 10:00 AM sharp, and continue until 8:30 PM. This is an important day, because we will try to learn as much of the closer as we possibly can, and we will prepare for our exhibition performance. It is imperative that every student be in attendance for the entirety of the mini camp! More details will be coming soon...
- On Monday night (October 1st), we will be performing at the Cobb County Exhibition at McEachern High School. This is an event geared to allow the bands in Cobb County/Marietta City Schools see each other in a friendly, non-competitive environment. We will perform our show for the other bands in attendance, and will receive taped comments from a panel of adjudicators that we will use to help refine our show. I am attaching below the general schedule for the evening. This will be a late night for the students, so please encourage your child to get any homework done for Tuesday during the weekend. We will not return to Sprayberry until late (around 10:30 PM), so it is imperative that they get a jump on any homework/projects/studying they can.
Directions to McEachern are included below.
Directions to Chattahoochee High School from Sprayberry (via Mapquest)
Directions to McEachern High School from Sprayberry (via Mapquest)
As always, thank you very much for your continued support of the Sprayberry High School Band!
