Homecoming, Pancakes, and Mattresses, Oh My!

Though Spirit of Woodlan did not have any competitions this past weekend, it was still a busy weekend for the band. On Friday afternoon, September 22nd, Woodlan celebrated its Homecoming game against Jay County. The Spirit of Woodlan participated in the Homecoming Parade down the streets of Woodburn and played the school song, “On Wisconsin” for the crowd. After the short parade, the students made their way back to the school after dinner. They quickly changed into uniforms and headed out to the field to catch all the Homecoming Festivities.

The weather was beautiful for the Homecoming game, and Spirit of Woodlan put on a really great show at half-time. They showed a huge improvement over the week before and really had some wow-moments. It was clear that they had been working hard at practices this past week, and their efforts really showed. The home crowd cheered loudly for them, and most were really happy with their performance. They did a great job!

On Saturday morning, September 23rd, the students gathered for practice at 8am. They worked hard at practice until it was time to head into the cafeteria for the Pancake and Sausage Breakfast. The Band Boosters held the breakfast for the first time in several years, as the band has gone to a competition on the same day as the mattress fundraiser for the past few years. We had a great turnout at the breakfast, and families had a nice time sharing that time together. The breakfast was delicious, and the students enjoyed the break. We are very grateful for the awesome community support that helped us raise over $1,700 for our season! The students returned to the practice field for the rest of the morning and got a lot of work in.

For the afternoon, the students worked the annual mattress fundraiser. They stood in their sections by the road to help advertise the mattress sale. Several of them dressed up in mattress costumes and they waved signs at the cars that passed by. During that time, they also practiced their music in sectionals. They found plenty of ways to have fun together.

What seems out of place here?

Coming up this weekend, we will head into the ISSMA section of the season and participate in the ISSMA Invitational at Homestead High School on Saturday, September 30th at 3:45pm. Over the next few weeks, you will see all kinds of new things added to the show, including new visuals, the closer/third part, and new props. The band has many tricks still up their sleeve, and this is when the shows get really exciting. As a reminder, there is no recording of any video permitted at any ISSMA event for the rest of the season. You are allowed to take as many pictures as you want, but no video-recording is allowed. This is also when these students need all the support they can get in the stands. It makes SUCH a huge difference to the kids to know they are supported and cheered on at these competitions. They really respond to the crowd cheering, clapping, and screaming for them. Please come out each weekend, sit with the Woodlan group as close to the 50 as they can get, and be prepared with your best cheering voices! We’re all hoping for a wonderful performance by these amazing kids. We sincerely hope to see you there!