Buzz. So, last night I had another first in my son's first year of high school—my first PTSA meeting. I learned a lot about the inner workings of the school:
- Enrollment is up a bit (2,180) from pre-opening projections so the principal is working to add teachers to bring class sizes down a couple of areas.
- School is off a good start. Teachers are teaching. Students are cracking books. Including mine. That wasn't on the agenda last night. I just wanted to mention that.
- Homecoming dance tickets will be on sale soon. Homecoming festivities includes a parade with class floats and the marching band of course, a pre-game bonfire where the school's garage bands perform, a talent show and, shred on dude, a Guitar Hero contest.
- The school has six National Merit Scholar semi-finalists
- A blizzard of fundraising activities are underway—restaurant discount coupons, pizza dough, cookie dough, ink cartridges, lanyards. I remember selling some kind of miracle household cleaner when I was in band. I would have rather toted around restaurant coupons and lanyards than gallon jugs (What's that you are playing? Oh, right, the world's tiniest violin).
- Volunteers are needed to staff the concession stand, which in turn raises a good chunk of change for various booster groups.
- A myriad of sports are underway: football, field hockey, volley ball, cross country, etc.
- The All Night Grad party committee has begun planning for the last great ritual of high school next June.
- The fall play will be You Can't Take it With You (Hold on a second. I remember that from high school. I auditioned for a small role, didn't get it and ended up helping out with props. Love those wacky Sycamores. Note to me. Put November 8 on the calendar)
- The spring play will be "Kiss Me Kate" another fun play. Boy, I am liking high school.
- Now a report from the PTSA band liaison. I perk up and start taking notes.
- The fall band marching program will based on the Russian Revolution of 1917 and include music from Dmitri Shostakovich , which debut at the first home game tomorrow night. I have seen the band practicing off and on when I picked up my son from football practice and I am looking forward to watching the full program for the first time.
Other band news included the fact that the longtime band director and his assistant are both retiring after this year and the band will perform at competitions in New York, Towson, Maryland, and at the Naval Academy stadium in Annapolis, Maryland.
The meeting continued with reports from other committees Junior ROTC, Membership and newsletter, but I will leave those to your imagination. There was one final report that resonated with me, though.
Our school district and our school in particular may be faced with some boundary changes next year, always a wrenching process for all involved as populations shift. One plan would have two elementary schools, including the one my son attended, switched to another high school pyramid.
I thought it was interesting that the band liaison mentioned taking an informal poll and learning about if those two school shifts to the other school, the band would lose about a third of its members. There will be plenty of town hall meetings and lots of testimony to come before decisions are make and the PTSA will work to get their side of the story out there.
Before I leave you for the week, I'd like to share a story my fellow blogger SR found. It is a neat story about how marching bands in New Orleans are rebounding post-Hurricane Katrina. Just a reminder of how important music programs are to the school and to the community as a whole. But you knew that.
Til Next Thursday
RF
