Dear Jaguar Band Families,

WOW! I cannot believe that we are starting the last week before Thanksgiving!! Where has the marching season gone?? This week's letter contains several new pieces of information as well as some reminders. There are many important items covered throughout! :)

First on the list is a HUGE thank you and congratulations to our Johnson Band Boosters!! They held a FANTASTIC “Jagtastic Auction” fundraiser! It was an awesome event that will benefit our band program, and we cannot say thank you enough to those who donated, those who organized and those who bid or purchased! It was #jagtastic! We are truly blessed to be supported so strongly!

Marching rehearsal!! So everyone is aware, we only have two marching rehearsals left for this year. Monday and Thursday are the last times we will have those regular season rehearsals. We will be adding the finishing touches to drill. Visual and our additional groups such as choir, dance and cheer will be attending as well. Last week was the worst attendance we have had all year long, and we must not let that continue. I know that there are many concerns over COVID and I understand that has impacted attendance. I want to share that there have only been two confirmed positive COVID cases in the Jag Band for the entire season, and there have been ZERO cases of spread within our band or any band students having contracted COVID due to a band related practice, performance or event. Our students and directors have done an incredible job of developing and maintaining policies, procedures and protocols to keep our kiddos safe! Now, back to attendance for this week. Attendance at practice this week is required, and since we no longer have future rehearsals for students to catch up what they missed, ANY STUDENT WHO IS ABSENT THIS WEEK WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO MARCH AT THE LAST TWO GAMES. The only exceptions will be any student who is involved in Johnson HS athletics or other campus program and has a game or performance during Monday or Thursdays practice. The other absences that are excused will be the same as an excused absence for the school day. This includes any student who is sick or is required to quarantine due to COVID exposure. If this is the case we must have written notification from a parent indicating the required quarantine or absence. Simply not showing up to practice with no communication is not the correct procedure.

Region Band recordings!! We now have confirmation for all auditioning students regardless of phase 1 or 2. The window to submit recordings for all auditioning students opens December 5 - 9. Students will receive a hyperlink that is tied to their individual entry to use when making and submitting their recording. Students may record from home on their personal equipment or they may record at school using JHS equipment. A signup for recording times using JHS equipment will be issued this week. Remember those students auditioning KNOW and have been registered, so please ask your student. If they say they do not know if they are auditioning, then rest assured they are NOT auditioning for region band. :)

Christmas Concert!!!!! Our Christmas Concert is going to be here before we know it, and it is important to know that we MUST have rehearsals outside of the normal school day to accommodate our percussionists (their class period is different from the winds) and our virtual students who are performing in person. We will do our best to follow the same Monday/Thursday schedule we have been using. Those dates and times will be issued this week before we leave for Thanksgiving!

Finally, we have two football games left where the band is performing: Friday, November 20th, and Friday, November 27th. We do not know what the post season holds or what the expectations will be for the band and the playoff football games. Where playoff games are concerned, we will NOT know if there is a game, the date of that game, where that game will be played or what time that game will start until we win the previous game. This is how playoffs work for the football team, cheer, dance and band; we need flexibility and understanding from everyone since schedules and dates will not be known until the Friday before the next game. As I said earlier, we do not know the expectations for attendance or performance at playoff games at this time. We will share that information once we know!

Let’s have a #jagtastic week and Go Jags!!!

Mr. Lucita

VOLUNTEERS

Check out volunteer opportunities on our website!

• If volunteers arrive during school hours, they will also be required to check-in at the school front office. The front office will verify that volunteers filled out the form.

Watch Live Varsity Games

The band will only perform at "home" games (and the Lehman "away" game). Fans can watch all home and away games at http://vypelive.com/web/team/view?id=6600. Please feel free to share!

The new hats and spirit gear are now available for order via our website.

We have a soft-style and trucker style hat available along with two new t-shirt designs and an ultra-comfortable long sleeve hoodie shirt. Items are in stock and will be filled on a first-come-first-served basis with additional items being ordered at regular intervals. Orders will be available for pick up at JHS on Mondays and this information will be communicated via email.

Visit the Johnson Band Website (www.johnsonbands.com) and click on the Calendar tab at the top for instructions.

https://www.charmsoffice.com/charms/calendarembed.asp?s=johnshhb