marcusmom2

It was determined by prelim scores because of rain. Not sure of the final rankings except Marcus was first and swept all captions. I have the prelim rankings at home (I assume they were determining the finals order in reverse order of rank, but I'm not certain of that). I'll post that information later; just don't have it on me. Birdville hasn't posted scores, etc. yet.

Actually all of the LISD bands are very supportive of each other, particularly when it comes to competitions. These kids may be in different schools, but they live in the same community and see each other in other contexts. Marcus was really thrilled that Hebron placed 2nd (and not because it was one behind them). That was a huge accomplishment for the fine arts department in our district.

This made me laugh. We love us some Amanda Drinkwater!! She is an amazing woman.

Every contest has a different scoring system, and you just have to kind of go with the flow. I know we've had instances in the past where we actually took captions for music and visual and didn't place in the top three because of the GE score. It happens. In the end, you just have to be proud of the job you did and accept that the numbers didn't come out in your favor that time. Hey, Dans, we couldn't make the trip down to SA this week, but we had the contest live streaming on our son's tv and your live blog going on another laptop. (What did we do before all this technology?! ) Thank you so much for providing this great website and blog for those of us who aren't there for the live action. Love it. Watching all the bands was such a treat. What is so amazing is all these talented bands and hard-working kids converging in one place at one time! Amazing stuff.

Please be sure I wasn't scolding. I truly hope I didn't come off that way. I was simply explaining one reason that props can really be a positive for a band by explaining part of the Marcus philosophy. Thanks to all of you who have offered well wishes to Marcus. They same goes to all the bands. We always try to keep in the forefront the long hours and dedication ALL these great kids and their parents and their directors have put in to producing their best performance on contest day. Every band deserves kudos for their commitment to marching. Best of luck to all of the bands. I've been thoroughly enjoying watching all the creative ideas that have manifested themselves between those goal posts. Looking forward to the Area B contest on Saturday.

One reason for the props, extras, etc. for Marcus is a philosophy that all students in the band be able to take an active part in the show rather than just standing on the sidelines. This allows those freshman and even some older students, whose marching skills and playing skills aren't quite matured yet to actually be part of that competition show experience, and as a parent I can say I completely support that dedication to involving all the kids, not just the older or "better" students. Trust me, nowhere in the Marcus experience do students get the message, "You're not good enough." On the contrary: the message is that every student is deserving of an active role in the program. Parents are completely supportive of the inclusive philosophy that makes Marcus the positive and spirited organization that it is.