Bravo to the marching band for yesterday’s performance.  I am so proud of everyone involved.  Students you worked so hard up to the very end!   You never gave up. We made forward progress from the beginning to end of the season. 

Everyone pulled their weight and encouraged each other.  You were giving of yourselves to make the group better.  Giving of your time in the mornings and Tuesday evenings, even having extra rehearsals on your own.   Parents bringing water, ordering and serving food, towing the trailers, loading and unloading the equipment, fitting and repairing uniforms, cheering the band on in the stands, encouraging practice and improvement, arriving early and staying late, taking students to extra practices, working pre-season to prepare props, taping flags, working concession the stand, setting up and moving props (for other bands even this past weekend!), and almost all of this done with positive attitudes and smiles.  I love this band!  This is an amazing group of young people and parents!

What’s Next?

What’s next you ask.   Well here goes…

This week we meet at “normal” school time – 7:40a for the marching band.  

Monday ODD block  – will be a well-deserved day off.  We’ll look at the recaps and talk about our performance and what we saw from other bands.  We will also begin to look to the future for show ideas as well as drum majors.  

Tuesday – Even Block – Freshman Band – we will begin the Fight Song playing test and will take the post test for the written counting.

Wednesday – ALL Day – Marching band will run the show on the turf during class in preparation for the Glow Show on Thursday evening.

London Dignitary Reception, 7:00p SMW Cafeteria – EVERYONE – please come meet our friends from “across the pond.”  This is for parents and students.  We have the Deputy Superintendent of schools, Principal Revelle, and Mayor Skoog from Overland Park confirmed in attendance.  We will also have various local news media to cover the official presentation of the invitation to participate in the London New Years Day Parade 2026 to our drum majors.  This would be a great time to bring your signed Statement of Understanding and initial deposit if you haven’t already.

Thursday – Home Football game, Senior Band and Color Guard recognition and Glow show.  Call time to load the trailer and change into uniform is 5:00p. We will NOT be providing dinner on this night.  We will present pregame like normal at 6:45p.  Senior band and color guard members will walk across the field in uniform at half-time to be recognized. Parents, please dress nicely as we will capture pictures for you.  After the presentation of the seniors, band members will be dismissed to change into your clothes for the post game presentation of our show under the gentle glow of glowsticks.  After the show we have to pick up all the trash, load the trailer and then we’re officially done with marching season for 2024!

Friday – Odd Block – breathe….

Band Notes will now slow to about every other week for the rest of the year since things slow down considerably.

A Look Ahead

Looking ahead, we will begin basketball pep band rehearsals.  This group is open to ANY band member.  We will rehearse Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings (that we have school) beginning Wednesday, October 30 through November 22 from 7:00a to 7:30a in the band room.   This is a fun group that plays for the varsity girls and boys basketball games.  Students earn points toward their “Letter.”  Any band student – freshman through senior – may letter each year of participation in band.  You should use the Band Letter Form to record your ‘points’ (PDF) towards earning your Letter and Varsity Numbers Students will be assigned to a band (black or gold) so that nobody has to attend ALL of the home basketball games.  Students may attend all if they wish.  We’ll talk more about it in rehearsals.

Please begin thinking about concert dress for the concert bands.  

Concert Band Attire (All Concert Bands)

Black formal dress: Tux coats for men will be provided. They are the property of SM West and will be kept in the uniform room. They are hung in numerical order with your name in a window of the bag. They must be placed back in order on the tux coat rack when the concert is completed. The following items are the student’s responsibility to purchase.

Men – Black dress pants, black dress shoes and socks, black long-sleeved dress shirt.

Women – All black: Long black dress or long black skirt with a black top, or black dress pants with a black top. Black dress shoes are also to be worn. This is to be FORMAL dress, revealing clothing, casual pants, and flip-flops are among the unacceptable items.

Ladies in all bands: Our goal is to achieve a conservative, uniform, and formal appearance for our concerts. The audience’s attention should be drawn to our ensembles, not to individuals. In this spirit, please avoid strapless tops, straps, and low necklines. If the dress has straps, a sweater or shrug must be worn. The dress should have sleeves.  All skirts and dresses should be mid-calf or longer.

When you sit in a chair, the dress should cover your knees. No flip-flops.

I LOVE our band students and parents!   You all are amazing people to spend time with.