FEDude

Once again, Kavanaugh dissapoints.

Hopefully a few. I can remember a time I wanted to become a band director, just like any kid that's way too into band. More or less lost that fire since then. I believe Stevens writes their shows in house, and they're very well written at that. I believe Mr. Sandoval (O'Connor's former director) would also write O'Connor's drill himself. I don't know how involved he was the last couple seasons in the process or how involved he currently is. They've got a long record of 1s at UIL. I always want them to keep that. The more involved with a show's production band directors are, the better the band seems to do.

I still think Hebron was robbed. That sax solo is one of the few times I actually enjoyed the sound of the saxophone. Oddly enough, I don't see too much argument from very high scoring bands. I think that's partially because the directors have an iron grip on their kids' virtual identities and expect them to be spotless during their 4 years. Mid-tiers don't have those rules as often I've noticed. A band confessions twitter page from 2014 comes to mind that devolved into Harlingen and O'Connor students spouting insults at each other. Both groups did well come Area time, but it's impossible to deny the animosity between the two. Most Northside directors have adopted social media standards because of those twitter pages. Anyway, does anyone have thoughts about Brett Kavanaugh? I feel like I occasionally have to bring him up so the title doesn't seem misleading. Lol.

Northside actually has vastly different demographics within itself. O'Connor and Brandeis have larger white populations while Stevens, Jay, and especially Holmes have very heavy lower income Hispanic populations. The rest of the schools are a mix with a strong lean toward Hispanic. The rather affluent Alamo Ranch area has been feeding in to Taft but the debt problem that went unchecked by the previous director did cause a few problems the first few years. It's sad, but it's hard to deny the influence of money in band quality. Austin area schools simply don't have the same demographics as SA schools. I said I like Area H as it is and that's because it's pushing Northside to be better (and maybe produce a band like Marshall was with Dr. Mikulka). It's just hard to see bands like L.D. Bell and Haltom considered bubble bands in their respective areas. By the way, I think another band, Harlan, is joining the area. I don't expect them to make finals, but hopefully this means 5 bands can advance. I think SWISD build another school as well.

You're right about the fact that you can't learn in examples and you have to grasp it more abstractly to truly understand it. I recently tutored my ex in trigonometry and very basic linear algebra. We weren't on great terms to begin with, so me making her deeply understand the concepts didn't sit well. Pretty often, I'd be the only person from band in my math/science classes. Everyone else had dropped band so they'd "have more time for school." Honestly it just annoyed me because we often lost our best players that way. By the way, woodlands '13 was the show I saw win nationals my freshman year. At the time I don't think I understood just how good that show was. Still one of the best designed and emotional shows ever with a band that performed the heck out of it. I remember this message board raving about it, and I wanted to join in too, but I knew it'd probably be best if I waited until I graduated to actually discuss anything. Looking back, that was the right choice as students and parents in the mid-tier of BOA (25th-50th at BOA SA) are quite passionate about their bands (good thing too, it's just a little dangerous as it can often degenerate into meaningless argument).

It's very hard to judge O'Connor this early on. In 2014 I swore they wouldn't even come close, but in O'Connor fashion they peaked very nicely. But if it really doesn't seem like there's finalist potential in the show I can understand that. Hopefully they can get back on their feet soon. Very weird to think, this will be the first time since 2005 where a senior class from Northside never marched in UIL state competition. It's good for the state as a whole, and every "high-caliber" band from area H has a spot. My only concern is other areas leave out potential state finalists (area and others continue to dish out relatively uncompetitive bands. I get that drawing the boundaries based on what bands would get to state isn't right either. There's just got to be some happy medium somewhere.

It might've just been the style of class. She would give very easy examples in lecture and assign the hardest problems for homework. Thankfully I mostly just study kinematics and Newton's laws. Can't imagine going into electricity and magnetism. I noticed at my school at least that there was an inverse relationship in STEM abilities and band involvement. When I became pit section leader, I did my best to help that, but one person can only do so much. By the way, I think my school went after yours at state prelims 2014. We didn't expect to do very well, but hearing y'all up close is inspiring and I was very happy when y'all comfortably made finals.

Ew physics! I have 1 more physics class left and then I'm done. In my last one I took, the teacher kept showing us music videos. We saw the Ok Go This too shall pass Rube Goldberg machine video like 4 times in class. My favorite one time from that class was when I had to build a bridge and I finished super early, but then I dropped it and broke it pretty bad. My partner wasn't too happy. We still did decently on it. Also the final made me cry as I took it, and we were allotted 3 hours, so I took 2 hours 57 minutes. It was just so hard. Walking out I couldn't even eat I was so sad. Found out 4 weeks later (yes my proff took that long to put it in) I got a great grade and and an A in the class. So yeah, not a fan of physics.

Just wondering if anyone here is a math person. Unfortunately, I was the only math guy in my band and sometimes did homework in exchange for food. Looking back, I know realize I had a monopoly and could've taken advantage of the market. Anyway, I'd love to talk about funny experiences in math class. This one time, I was applying the law of cosines (A^2=B^2+C^2+2BCCosa) on a test, but I forgot to multiply the last term by two every time I used it. Later that night, I realized my mistake and just cried from then until I fell asleep. Looking back, I seriously overreacted, and I even looked up online how to accept failure of eHow. I don't overreact anymore and I've never messed up on law of cosines again. Another time, I promised my teacher I'd join the UIL math team, but I forgot to go to a single meeting. On one of the tests, I did fairly well, but she wrote on it asking how UIL math was going. It was very embarrassing. My favorite time was my junior year, my math class was talking lightly and the substitute came in yelling at the top of her lungs to get everyone to be quiet. I couldn't stop laughing about it and I started thinking about it during a test and erupted in laughter. Or if you just want to talk about the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation and other political events, that's cool too.

I loved the TAKS! Well not taking it, but it was relatively easy to score very highly. The STAAR on the other hand I could never quite get the scores I wanted, even coming within a few points of failing the biology one. It's cool though. Finished my Bio 100 course and I never need learn anything about the human body ever again.

Stan by Eminem. Would have to be in a show about obsession though and mashed up with another piece.

Waco is such a gorgeous town with the worst luck in catastrophic events. I can see why Johnson doesn't want to make the very long trip. Recently did it myself and barely stayed awake. Odd question: but in 1997 Churchill won this regional. I've been trying to find the name of their opener with the vague hint that it's Shostakovich. Anyone know the piece?

I forgot, have something to do or someone to be with when it gets too tough. Those two years were also when I started dating my first girlfriend and honestly she's the only reason I stayed sane. We would eat lunch together, do homework together, and talk about things that weren't band or school. The person to do this for you can be a best friend, or it can be a recreational activity. Just something that isn't band or school. This isn't something to get your anger out, or someone to vent to 24/7, but it's a nice way to escape and just enjoy something or the company of someone.

I was in a pretty similar spot my junior and senior year. This might seem like the worst advice ever, but: 1.Band is not life and your school work needs to be number 1 no matter what. That being said, if you're doing everything right, you'll have plenty of time to practice. 2. Right after rehearsal, eat, then study. If your schedule is genuinely that intense, cut video games and tv. Doing homework should come before being on your phone (you'll get more sleep that way too) 3. Be aware there will be a few nights where you don't get much sleep. I always set a hard bedtime of midnight. I would also wake up at 5 to finish any homework (you probably don't need to be THAT drastic) 4. In high school, turning in everything on time will guarantee you an A (unless your quality of work is just that bad). In college it will guarantee you a C, but be happy you're not there yet 5. You're from NEISD, and I know their AP curve creates a very competitive environment higher than any NISD school. Don't let it get to you too much, whether your GPA very high or not as high as you'd like. 6. Realize you will never study on the bus to or from a competition. Do your homework before or after competitions. 7. Realize early on that life is unfair and teachers don't owe you extensions. The plus side to all of this is that taking high school that seriously has made college relatively easy, plus I entered with 117 credits, which made my parents' wallets very happy.

I'm fully aware of the problems Taft had that year. Just saying that being that close but falling barely short does hurt. Anyway, hopefully 4 bands may advance this year as well. I predict the same 4 from 2016, but hopefully there is a shakeup. From there, Brandeis will be very strong as will Stevens. Didn't see Brandeis signed up for BOA SA which makes me sad as I love seeing Northside. Having grown up in Northside, I can only really speak for this district. I assume directing a band that big may present a serious challenge for the new O'Connor directors, but Dr. Mikulka wouldn't have hired a team that's not up to it. If OC is on the same trajectory as every state year, they will peak very nicely around area. I got a glimpse of Taft's show and though their sound at the moment isn't to die for, the show design is a definite step up and hopefully they can work with it. Warren wasn't too off from finals last time around by the way. Starting in 2014, Warrens been at a serious upward trajectory. I used to get jealous when other schools did better than mine, but not being too into "the game" anymore has allowed me to get very excited when any San Antonio schools succeed, but especially NISD.

Hopefully what happened to Taft in 2016 won't happen again: Tying with Del Rio but being pushed to 11th due to Judge's preference. Crushed my soul. I will say, I blame that on the show exposing the woodwinds, trumpets, and drumline when those sections weren't exactly "shining" that year. Last year is seems like they corrected those design flaws or at least improved the sections and it can only get better.

Their percussion did fairly well at PASIC in 2015. I remember hearing them at 4th and actually being quite surprised they got that good. I believe their color guard beat Reagan on one occasion my senior year, so that's what I'm basing that on. Their band as a whole does have quite a bit of improving to do however. If you get a chance to see Warren's (or even Brandeis's) percussion by themselves, I say take it.

Well I'll watch out for them in the short time I'll be in town. As always, I send love to all Northside schools, especially Taft. Realistically, Brandeis will rank higher than all Northside schools just based on how well they clean up and how highly their percussion performs. I hope Taft's percussion section can recover. The class under mine only had 2 percussionists, then the percussion director changed, then half the section went to Harlan. I haven't really followed them for the last year, but the directors are good and they'll be ready for area. Earl Warren high school is another one to look out for. Their percussion and color guard are among the best in the state.

Just wondering, why is Del Rio being ranked so highly? I remember they've improved greatly starting my senior year, but that high? Also, very sad for O'Connor. A director change is never much fun for any party involved. Hopefully they grow to love this new director as much they loved Mr. Sandoval.