The final day and the kids were still working hard! The entire morning they were marching and finalizing the opener......WOW! Awesome job, kids! Parents, you will be very impressed with what you see at our
kick-off supper on
August 15th. Mark your calendars!
Around 10:45 a.m., Mr. Harrell sent the kids inside to clean up the band room and put their instruments away. That's when we put out 5 coolers full of water balloons around the field. When Mr. Harrell called the kids back out, he had them line up in a basics block to have a "drill down" (so they thought) and then Mr. Harrell instructed the kids to look his direction as he hurled the first water balloon up in the air at them! The looks on their faces were priceless! There they stood in formation, with water balloons flying and then it was game on! They scattered to the coolers and began bombarding each other with water balloons. (See photos below... click on photo to enlarge)
After a few minutes of clean-up, Mr. Harrell gathered the band as he, Mr. Newton, Zack Shields (Drum Major) and Jordan Berry (Band President) said a few final words. Jordan also said a prayer for the band and the upcoming season.
Thank you to all who made this year's Band Camp a huge success.
Kids, thank you for your positive attitudes and your hard work.
Mr. Harrell, thank you for your leadership and constant encouragement to the kids.
Mr. Newton, we couldn't have made it through the week without you.
Miss Phillips, your endurance and leadership of our color guard has been fantastic. Way to go for your first year!
Kellen Matthews and
Chad Horton, thank you for working with the percussion.
Judy Rittenour,
Elizabeth Staten, and
Gary Kirksey, thank you for keeping the drinks flowing and the cool-down tent blowing! (Elizabeth, thanks for helping with the balloons too! We loved the ones with the leaks, didn't we?!)
Parents, thank you for entrusting your kids with us this week and for your support of the ACA Band Program.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:Band Rehearsal, Tuesday, August 1st from 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. We will also be distributing uniforms that day by calling in one section at a time for fitting. Shoes will need to be purchased that day too.
$25 for shoes needs to PAID on TUESDAY. Checks should be made out to James Thompson. (If you have shoes from last year and they still fit and are in good shape, then you don't need to purchase new ones.)
Band Rehearsal and Photo on Friday, August 4th. Be at the school at 8:00 a.m. in half uniform (carrying jacket). Band Photo is at 9:00 a.m. and then you will be dismissed to go process (Student Processing Day) and then lunch on your own.
Rehearsal will begin promptly at 1:00 p.m. and will dismiss at 5:00 p.m.If you have any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to post them here, or email
Tracey or Gary Kirksey at
acabands@yahoo.comHave a great weekend!
As a fundraising effort, the ACA Color Guard is now selling custom ACA Scrapbook Kits! 
I would like to give a huge "Thank You" to all of the parents of the ACA band students for raising well-manored, bright young people. Your children are a direct reflection of the commitment you have made to teaching them. Job WELL DONE!
Just a special note of "thanks" to Judy Rittenour, Elizabeth Staten and Gary Kirksey for their tireless efforts! You can find them early in the morning mixing up Powerade, refilling coolers, setting up the cool-down tent with the mist fans, and you'll see them all throughout the day making sure the kids have enough to drink, and then you'll still see them into the early evening cleaning it all up to get ready for another day of doing it all over again!
Our 3rd day of band camp...what a hard day of work! The kids came ready to march...and march they did! Drill pages and flip charts flying as they hammered out more sets! We have been so fortunate to have Chris Newton, a good friend of Ed's, who is also a marching instructor from Mobile, to assist with our camp. Chris said, "These kids are amazing! You push them and push them and they keep coming back for more!" Isn't that awesome? We are so proud of you kids and all that you have accomplished so far this week. There's still alot to learn, so keep up your momentum and positive attitudes and be ready for another full day of hard work tomorrow! (See pictures below...)
The kids did an awesome job today at their first day of band camp! The sun was conveniently tucked behind a cloud most of the morning, which gave some relief from the heat and they were able to stay out on the field until lunchtime. The drink breaks were short, but frequent (thank you Judy Rittenour, Elizabeth Staten and Gary Kirksey!) and the kids were working hard at learning those sets. By the end of the day, several pages of drill were set! Awesome job kids! We are so proud of you and your hard work and positive attitudes! Check out the pictures below...
We have just added two links about the DCI Show at Troy this Tuesday, July 25th. Check the links (right column) for ticket information and show line-up. Reminder: camp will dismiss at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday!!!
