Dear Mighty Hawk Band Community,
Good Afternoon, and Happy Sunday! First, I want to congratulate all of our students on performing their best run of the show on Saturday in Finals, earning them a placement of 6th in easily the toughest Area in the state of Texas. The band placed 7th overall in Prelims, and moved up considerably to be tied in 5th place based on overall score with Midlothian. The UIL tie breaker rule gave Midlothian the edge at 5th, however both bands had the exact same score. Based on Birdville's alignment history in UIL competition, Birdville would absolutely have advanced to State Marching Contest had their not been the recent realignment of UIL boundaries with the additional competitors. Unfortunately, this happens sometimes where there becomes weak Areas that advance average bands and strong Areas that could advance 8 or 9 State-worthy bands, but are only allowed to advance four like ours. Quite simply, we are in the toughest Area of Texas for 5A bands.
At this point, I could write a book of all the praise the band has received recently but I'll save you the time and boil it down and share just two examples with you that really stand out to me. In the judge's tapes this weekend, one judge remarked about watching the performance at BOA Midland and judging the performance at UIL Area and what an incredible transformation the show had taken, how the students have absolutely grown as performers, and truly enjoying the show they put on the field. Similarly, another judge was in awe of the props, effects, and clear behind the scenes work from the parents. The entire first minute of the judging tape was him marveling over the temple, the scene that was set, and the vibe created at the beginning. It was a GREAT listen! The second example I'll share with you is really a melting pot of many different comments. The Mighty Hawk Band student's excellent culture, outlook, character, and persona of positivity and genuine happiness has been identified and expressed to us by such a variety of individuals. We've received messages, comments, and shout outs from BHS Faculty, BHS Coaches, BHS Administrators, former BHS Cluster Band Staff, MHB Parents/Families, MHB Alums, Faculty from other BISD schools, Directors from competing schools outside of the district, and oddly enough in this small world...even from my fiance's Principal whose daughter is in the LD Bell band and was hanging out with some Birdville Band students at Birdville Marching Festival. It has been TRULY incredible and heart warming to watch these kiddos socially unite to mentally endure and ultimately thrive in a Finals performance I will never forget in my teaching career. As I told the students in the band hall after Finals announcements...
Be sad that you don't get another chance to perform the show you worked so hard on at the State Marching Contest, but don't you dare be sad about your preparation or your performance because you absolutely kicked butt out there and you're all little monsters. We can all stand to learn a little something from these students who took a really unfavorable set of conditions and found a way to thrive not just in performance, but perhaps more importantly in regards to creating a really positive student culture and identity for themselves that has helped them to truly come together. It was so heart warming to listen to the Seniors address the other students in the band after Finals announcements, and to see the amount of love, smiles, and genuine happiness after group dismissal that washed over the initial sadness of not being able to advance. The band staff is truly so proud of these Mighty Hawk Band students, and so honored to be able to work with these students each day.
I would like to express an overwhelming amount of gratitude to our parents. No words will truly capture how thankful we are for your involvement. Your incredible support, hard work toward the cause, sacrifice of time, energy, money, and the list goes on has been so intensely appreciated by all. From myself, the staff, the students, and also the judges who were blown away by the props and attention to detail all the way up to our final run of the show, thank you so much for all you have done and continue to do to make this one of the best band communities in the State of Texas!
Hang in there, almost done! As we transition, continue to cherish and treasure the amazing accomplishments of the school year, whether that be the incredible musicianship, the stunning visual display, the social excitement, or the unbelievable display of mental strength these students showed throughout the season. To each of you...YOU are awesome! And now, Schedule and Announcements...
Schedule for the Week
Monday - Nothing! Get some rest!