PantherBone

Frisco ISD is Region 24 along with Plano ISD, Prosper, and Little Elm. McKinney ISD, Wylie ISD, Allen, Lovejoy, and Princeton are Region 25 (the more notable schools in the region).

I personally recommend 5A Area B.

Thank you! We will definitely need it! We're starting to realize at Princeton how tough 5A is, asn no one from PHS advanced to All-Region Phase 2 (including me, who got a I on a solo at State S&E). In other news, Princeton High School just experienced its third power outage this semester!

I moved to Princeton last year in the hopes of going to State, but that was before I knew we were about to move up. I just want to go to State!

You don't think Princeton is a lock?

Princeton currently has an enrollment in the 1200-1300 range (heard as high as 1500 but don't know how reliable that figure is). As a Princeton kid and seeing some of the bands around us, I would say we are a lock for area finals and we will be fighting with The Colony for the last State spot. I think this year was a "wake up" call for the band seeing as we placed 6th at Golden Triangle (the only contest we went to this year besides SOF and UIL) and no one from Princeton made All-Region Phase 2 in our first year in TMEA, so maybe everyone realizes that even more work is necessary to compete in 5A.

I don't see a Frisco sweep happening. I think Wakeland and Lone Star are locks, with Lebanon Trail having really good chances and The Colony and Princeton fighting for the last State spot. I don't think Frisco ISD has four state-level bands, especially being in the same area as The Colony and Princeton.

I didn't include Canton on my original list as I consider Canton to be in East Texas.

If Princeton went, we would be in Class 2A.

I play trombone, was one chair out of Area last year in ATSSB Region 24/25, and then didn't even make Phase 2 at TMEA Region 25 because we moved up to 5A.

The directors at Princeton have been discussing making a trip to Grand Nats for a while, but I'm doubtful we will go in 2019 as we are going to DC in the spring and 2019 is a 5A state year.

Why not give appreciation to smaller bands? They work as hard as the big 6As! And with the recent threads about the best bands in cities, let's talk about the best Non-6A Bands in D/FW! My lists (divided by conference but otherwise in no particular order): Conference 5A: Frisco Wakeland Frisco Lone Star Frisco Lebanon Trail Princeton Royse City Forney Azle The Colony Conference 4A: Argyle Springtown Melissa Anna Farmersville Conference 3A: Whitesboro Howe Van Alstyne What other bands should I add to these lists?

Or the new McKinney ISD stadium. I marched there for the UIL Region 25 Marching Contest, and that stadium has some great acoustics!

Noah, Princeton HS, Trombone, Class of 2020

I go to Princeton, which has an enrollment around 1200 (I've heard as high as 1500, but I don't know how reliable that figure is) and my mom thinks that is still too big. She went to school in the late 80s at Quitman (small town in East TX) and she says Princeton is too big because the teachers don' know the kids, as in know a lot about their life, what they are going through, involved in the community, etc., not just names to faces and a few fun facts. I went to Texarkana Pleasant Grove my freshman year (2016) which has an enrollment around 700, and my mom says that was better but not good enough. I think what it is is that my mom's opinion influenced my own opinion

I feel like the state should have a limit on how big high schools can be. I feel like being in a big school actually hurts a student's education, as students can feel lost in the crowd and the teachers have less one-on-one interaction with students who need that time. I have a theory that bigger schools lead to more school shootings, as teachers and other students have less interaction time with students who are headed down that path and don't recognize the signs that that student is about to do that and can't get the student the help he/she needs.

Considering the insane growth of the town, Princeton ISD will be building a new high school in the next 5-10 years. Nothing announced yet. From reading the "board notes" PISD sends out after every board meeting, PISD wants to go the Frisco route keeping their high schools in 5A. Next year PISD will be opening their 5th elementary school and second junior high.

I wanted to create a separate thread for Area B discussion. For those who don't know, here are some of the more notable bands in Area B (in ABC order): Frisco Centennial Frisco Lebanon Trail Frisco Lone Star Frisco Wakeland McKinney North Princeton (where I go!) The Colony Yeah... Area B Finals looks to be insane, and with 23 bands in Area B (Regions 2, 24, and 25), there are a max of 4 state spots. This might be THE Area to watch next year. Thoughts?

Here is a link to Princeton's show at Region this year.

Another thing is that graduation this spring will hurt us. For example, we marched 32 guard this year, ELEVEN of whom are seniors. This spring won't be as bad as next spring (c/o 2020) where we will lose a LOT more people to graduation (myself included). We are going to be a young band these next few years, and that will hurt our chances at going to State, ESPECIALLY in the war zone that is 5A Area B. I've never been to State (I was at Pleasant Grove in 2016) and I'm really hoping for a State run next year, even though the chances of us going are very slim.

I go to Princeton and we are all pretty nervous about next year. I thought we did pretty good this year, especially with the rain. Personally, I think we are guaranteed Area finals next year, but it will be an intense fight for those four state spots. So many deserving bands, so few spots. Who knows? Next year is our band's 50th anniversary, and with it being a state year, we might be planning something big. All I know is that the next year's 5A Area B Finals is going to be insane.

With the 2018 marching season almost over, why not start looking forward to the 2019 season? Predictions, anyone? Personally, I go to a 5A school (Princeton), and considering we just moved up and we are in Area B, I don't think we will go to the State marching contest.

Yet another reason to move GNats south or west: to recognize the great band programs all across the country, not just Indiana. Going to GNats in Indy is expensive, so moving GNats around the country makes it more accessible to more bands and would allow more bands to be recognized on the national level for their achievements. I also think smaller bands should be recognized on the national level and not just the big bands, but that is a discussion for another time.

I go to Princeton and since we moved up, we are now in 5A Area B, and I was wondering how "balanced" y'all think that area is. (As in, how hard is it compared to the rest of the state?)

Princeton is currently 2-6 (1-4, 7-5A D2). I guess that is what happens in your first year in a higher conference. We beat 6A South Garland 45-6 and district opponent Frisco Memorial 55-0, but we have been terrible at all other games.