It’s only the end of the second week of school, and our marching band students have already performed almost a dozen times! We have a really enthusiastic and talented group of students this year, and we are all very proud of what they have accomplished. We have a couple of events coming up that might be a little confusing, so here are some details.
We are playing our first away game on Friday evening against Hampton. Report time is at 4:30, so students need to bring something to eat for dinner. We will not be stopping for a meal, and students will not be permitted to eat at the game, except for a very small snack that we will provide. Please make sure they have something to eat with them when they report at 4:30. We will be home fairly late, as none of our away games are nearby.
On Saturday, we have our first band festival at Hempfield. We will practice beginning at 2 PM, and dinner will begin at 4 PM. Please make dinner arrangements ahead of time for 4 PM. Students are not permitted to leave the school grounds for dinner. They will be permitted to leave the stands during the festival at some point to visit the concession stand, based on the time of our performance. Here is the tentative schedule for the Hempfield festival:
7:00 – National Anthem
Alma Mater
Hempfield Middle Schools
Hempfield Alumni Band
7:15 – Jeannette
7:30 – Derry Area
7:45 – Greensburg-Salem
8:00 – Mt. Pleasant
8:15 – Yough
8:30 – Steel City Ambassadors
I-N-T-E-R-M-I-S-S-I-O-N
9:00 – South Allegheny
9:15 – Belle Vernon
9:30 – Latrobe
9:45 – Franklin Regional
10:00 – Seton Hill University
Final Basket Prizes and 50/50 DRAWING
10:15 – Hempfield
If you have never gone to a band festival before, you should really make a point to go to the Hempfield festival. It’s only a few minutes away from school and it’s a really great time! Imagine halftime — for 2 hours. Everybody is there to see someone perform, so it’s a really nice environment for our kids.
Homecoming is next Friday, and some things will be different that evening. We will begin our parade at 6:15, and it is also ALUMNI NIGHT! If you or someone you know is a GS band graduate, they are welcome to join us at the Middle School at 6 PM wearing a GS shirt/hoodie/jacket. If they need equipment, please have them contact Mrs. West ASAP. The alumni will march to Offutt with us and perform at pregame. We will not be performing our normal halftime show because of homecoming, but we will put on a special performance of our entire festival program after the game.
The Yough band festival is Saturday, September 21, and it is a very similar format to the Hempfield festival. Practice and dinner will be the same as during the Hempfield festival. Here is the line-up:
6:00 — Clairton City HS
6:15 — Valley HS
6:30 — Jeannette HS
6:45 — Derry Area HS
7:00 — Belle Vernon Area HS
7:15 — St. Vincent College
** 7:30 – 8:00 — Intermission **
8:00 — Greensburg Salem HS
8:15 — Riverview HS
8:30 — Franklin Regional HS
8:45 — Hempfield Area HS
9:00 — Yough HS
9:15 — Edinboro University of PA
Wow, that looks like a really fun evening of music!! Everyone should really try and get out to see our wonderful students perform at one (or both!) of these festivals. It costs a few dollars per person, and all proceeds benefit the host band.
As always, keep your eye on the calendar page for updates. If anybody has questions about the events that are coming up in the next couple of weeks, please email Mrs. West.
