Band students are always encouraged to seek opportunities to further expand their musical experiences. The Olathe Youth Symphony is an excellent local organization that is open to our band students who would like the chance to play in a full orchestra setting. Auditions take place each spring. Please see the flyer below and visit with your director for more information!

Voting for the 2022/2023 Blue Valley West Band Boosters board will be held on Monday, April 11, 2022. On this date we will offer an opportunity to vote in person or electronically. Details will be provided as the date approaches.

We have at least one nominee for every position except SPECIAL EVENTS. The persons in this role coordinates 6-9 special events during the course of the school year. These vary from very small (popsicle drop!) to more involved (end of year banquet). If you're interested in running for this role, please let any current member of the board know!

Congratulations to all on a successful West Area Band Festival! It was great to see our current and future Jaguar Band members performing together! Thank you to all who volunteered to help with the Bake Sale which raised over $1400! 

Good luck to our BVW Winterguard as they finish their season at the MCCGA Championships this coming weekend! And finally thank you to all who auditioned for a position in the 2022 Leadership Team. There is a lot of positive energy as we begin our plans for next fall! Leadership roster will be posted early this week. All 2022 Leadership Team members will have a meeting during Jag A on Friday in the band room.

Senior Spotlights: Seniors & Senior parents - please read this important information HERE.

BVW Percussion Festival: Coming this Friday! See additional communication from Mr. Westcott regarding performance times and helper tasks.

Blue Valley District Band Festivals: Wednesday, April 6 - Wind Ensemble; Thursday, April 7 - Symphonic Band. All 5 Blue Valley High Schools come together at Blue Valley Southwest to perform their Spring Festival music for each other. Students need to meet at BV West at 6:15 AM (A CHANGE!) on their respective morning to take the bus to BVSW. We will return at the end of 1st Block on Wednesday; and during AM AST on Thursday. Symphonic Band students will be excused from their 2nd hour class. Students should dress nicely, but do not need to wear concert black.

Solo and Ensemble Festival: Schedule will be posted this week.

KSHSAA State Large Group Festival: Coming up on Wednesday, April 13. This is a during the day performance for Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band. Full Concert Black attire!

This Week
Tuesday, March 29
Winter Guard Rehearsal 6-9 PM

Thursday, March 31
Winter Guard Rehearsal 6-9 PM

Friday, April 1
2022 Leadership Team Meeting during Jag A

BVW Percussion Festival

Winter Guard to MCCGA Championships

Saturday, April 2
MCCGA Winter Guard Championships - Springfield, MO

Next Week
Tuesday, April 5
Winter Guard Rehearsal 6-9 PM - Season Wrap-up

Wednesday, April 6
​BV District Top Band Festival @ BVSW - report 6:15 AM

Thursday, April 7
BV District 2nd Band Festival @ BVSW - report 6:15 AM

Friday, April 8
Pep Assembly

Saturday, April 9
KSHSAA Regional Solo & Ensemble Festival @ Olathe South

Two Weeks
Monday, April 11
Booster Board Meeting - 6:00 PM in the band room (Time Change)

Wednesday, April 13
​KSHSAA State Large Group Festival - Wind Ensemble & Symphonic Band - schedule TBA

Looking Ahead
BVW Concert Band Festival - Thursday, April 21 during the day - Concert Band Performs

Seniors and Senior Parents: Each year we recognize our seniors in several different ways. We need some help collecting information from each of you to share in our Banquet and Spring Concert programs as well as on social media where we will highlight each one of our outstanding senior band members.

Please take a moment to fill out the following form:

SENIOR INFO FORM

The deadline to submit Information Is Monday, April 4.

The Blue Valley West Band Boosters are actively recruiting volunteers to serve on the board for the 2022/2023 band season. We have a couple critical positions still open and need volunteers to fill these roles! The two most critical spots still open are:

FUNDRAISING CHAIR: This person will coordinate all fundraising activity, most of which will go toward the London trip. We have several tried-and-true fundraisers and local contacts. New ideas are welcome, but the person in this role would certainly not need to reinvent the wheel.

SPECIAL EVENTS CHAIR: This person coordinates 6-9 special events during the course of the school year. These vary from very small (popsicle drop!) to more involved (end of year banquet).

Please reach out to any current board member for more information about these roles, or other ways to get involved.

The current slate of nominations is:
President - Amy Jensen
Vice President - Amanda Bohling
Treasurer- Christa Tuck
Secretary - Jan Wisdom
Operations - Derald Herinckx
Color Guard - Jennifer Townsend
Food/Travel - Jen Wall
Fundraising - OPEN
Special Events - OPEN
London Trip Liaison - Mandy Stone

Voting will be held in April 2022.
Mandy

We are still in need of volunteers to make baked goods for Wednesday's West Area Band Fest Bake Sale. This is the final fundraiser of the year for our band and deliciously fun. Students can sign up to make creations in the Musicians' section. Parents can donate baked goods or volunteer time at the sale table. Sign up here: www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d4da9ae29a4fd0-west

We hope that everyone has had an enjoyable Spring Break and wishing for safe travels for all who are coming home in the next couple of days! When we return to class this coming week, we begin our "sprint" to the end of the year. We are exceptionally thankful that we are returning to a much more typical 4th quarter experience than we've had for the past two years, It is extremely important to also remember that most of our traditional performances, festivals, and other events haven't happened since 2019. This means for much of  BVW Band Family, many aspects of our schedule will seem unfamiliar. Please make sure to review the UPDATE each week and check the Calendar regularly. 

West Area Festival: This coming Wednesday, March 23 in the BVW Main Gym starting at 7 PM. BVW Band members need to be seated and ready to play at 6:20 PM in Concert Black. This even features all band students in the west area from grades 6 - 12. We are hosting our annual Bake Sale - please consider making something to share! 

Leadership Auditions will take place on Friday, March 25 immediately after school. Candidates should double check instructions for their audition.

BVW Percussion Festival: An annual event we host each year on the last Friday in March (this year April 1.) Various percussion ensembles from around the area perform for a clinician. This involves all our percussion students - please look for additional information from Mr. Westcott.

MCCGA Championships: Our Winter Guard Season comes to a close on April 2 in Springfield, Missouri. Winter Guard is running on a high note having placed 2nd in class at their most recent competition. Look for details for our weekend trip this coming week.

Blue Valley District Band Festivals: Wednesday, April 6 - Wind Ensemble; Thursday, April 7 - Symphonic Band. All 5 Blue Valley High Schools come together at Blue Valley Southwest to perform their Spring Festival music for each other. Students need to meet at BV West at 6:45 AM on their respective morning to take the bus to BVSW. We will return at the end of 1st Block on Wednesday; and during AM AST on Thursday. Symphonic Band students will be excused from their 2nd hour class. Students should dress nicely, but do not need to wear concert black.

Solo and Ensemble Festival: All students who registered will perform on Saturday, April 9 at Olathe South High School. We are expected to provide assistance in running the festival (well over 1000 entries from all Blue Valley, Olathe, Shawnee Mission Band, Orchestra, and Choir Programs.) Please look for parent volunteer information this week in your email. 

KSHSAA State Large Group Festival: Our state level music event. Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band perform for a panel of judges and receive a clinic following their performance. Performances take place at Blue Valley Southwest during the school day. This is a concert black attire event.

As always If you have questions about any of our upcoming events please let us know! We look forward to showcasing the hard work of our students in the coming weeks and enjoying the opportunity to again make music togehter!

This Week
Tuesday, March 22
Final Leadership Audition Clinic - volunteers to play national anthem requested! 7:30 AM.

Winter Guard Rehearsal 6-9 PM

Wednesday, March 23
West Area Festival, 7:00 PM - West Main Gym

Thursday, March 24
Winter Guard Rehearsal 6-9 PM

Friday, March 25
Leadership Team Auditions - begin at 3:15 PM

Next Week
Tuesday, March 29
Winter Guard Rehearsal 6-9 PM

Thursday, March 31
Winter Guard Rehearsal 6-9 PM

Friday, April 1
BVW Percussion Festival

Winter Guard to MCCGA Championships

Saturday, April 2
MCCGA Winter Guard Championships - Springfield, MO

Two Weeks
Tuesday, April 5
Winter Guard Rehearsal 6-9 PM - Season Wrap-up

Wednesday, April 6
​BV District Top Band Festival @ BVSW - report 6:45 AM

Thursday, April 7
BV District 2nd Band Festival @ BVSW - report 6:45 AM

Friday, April 8
Pep Assembly

Saturday, April 9
KSHSAA Regional Solo & Ensemble Festival @ Olathe South

Looking Ahead
KSHSAA State Large Group Festival - April 13

This update will cover the next two weeks since Spring Break is just around the corner. Congratulations to all on a successful Spring Concert last week. It was a great opportunity to showcase the progress of each ensemble and take an important step forward in our preparations for our upcoming festivals in April. Also congratulations to Winter Guard and Jazz Ensemble on their terrific competition performances this past weekend!

Pep Assembly: The Pep Assembly from Friday has been rescheduled to Tuesday this week. Students are encouraged to wear Orange in support of the Olathe East Community instead of class colors.

West Area Festival: Our next performance is the annual West Area Festival which takes place on Wednesday, March 23, which Is the Wednesday we return from Spring Break. This even features all band students in the west area from grades 6 - 12 and is where we host our annual Bake Sale. The performance is in the Main Gym at West and begins at 7 PM.

Leadership Auditions will take place on Friday, March 25 immediately after school. Candidates should double check instructions for their audition.

Solo and Ensemble Festival: Any student wishing to participate In Solo and Ensemble Festival needs to complete our Information form before we leave for Spring Break. Regional Festival is Saturday, April 9. 

This Week
​Tuesday, March 8

Winter Guard Rehearsal 6-9 PM

JPG: 6-7:30 PM - Middle School Students

Thursday, March 10

Winter Guard Rehearsal 6-9 PM

Friday, March 11
Spring Break Begins!

Saturday, March 12
Winter Guard Competition at Blue Springs South HS

Next Week
SPRING BREAK!

Two Weeks
Tuesday, March 22

Winter Guard Rehearsal 6-9 PM

Wednesday, March 23

West Area Festival, 7:00 PM - West Main Gym

Thursday, March 24

Winter Guard Rehearsal 6-9 PM

Friday, March 25

Leadership Team Auditions - begin at 3:15 PM


Looking Ahead
After Spring Break:
BVW Percussion Fest - April 1
District Band Festivals - April 6 (SWE) & April 7 (SYM) During the school-day
Solo & Ensemble Festival - April 9

Planning has begun for our FINAL fundraiser of the 2022/2023 school year; the West Area Band Fest Bake Sale. This is generally an event our students look forward to, and quite delicious. This year, we've made some minor tweaks to raise more money and add a bit of competition. Check out the sign up link for more information, and claim a spot where you can help. 
www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d4da9ae29a4fd0-west