Miami-Dade's high school marching bands make a joyful noise
And that was interesting,” says a laughing Andrea Villegas, lead drum major for the John A. Ferguson Senior High’s Mighty Falcon Band. The football team liked it, but it’s still weird listening to a marching band playing Lady Gaga.”Weird, perhaps, but don’t knock the sweet sounds of success.
Several South Florida high school marching bands are racking up honors in statewide competitions with their high-stepping blends of old and new. Some students use marching band as a platform to attend college. Many of the bands feature at not only high school football games and pep rallies, but at popular community parades like the Junior Orange Bowl.
The Robert Morgan Educational Center’s Wind Symphony Band in Southwest Miami-Dade, though not a traditional marching band, has also earned distinction as one of the area’s finest young bands. The Wind Symphony, for instance, was chosen to play a 9-11 memorial show before the Miami-Dade County School Board on Sept. 9.
“They’ve been practicing and fell in love with it,” says Robert Morgan band director Eugene Timmons who guides 150 members of the magnet school’s jazz and classical bands. “We want the best out of our kids and they give their best.”
This, despite budget cuts that make extracurricular fundraising efforts as important as finding the right note and tempo to play.
“In this area, we have a lot of kids in unfortunate living conditions. We try to implement the fact that going to college is a way to get out of the community,” says Miami Northwestern Senior band director Chad A. Norton. One means by which teens can transition to college is through scholarships and that’s one way in which marching band can play a part.
“FAMU is one of the best music organizations in America. A lot of kids want to go up there and be around people they know. I really want the community to start understanding how important our music program is, especially in the inner-city,” Norton says.
Orange County Schools Florida - News
State Senator Gary Siplin handed out belts Monday morning at several Orange County schools. News 13 caught up with him and several supporters as they handed out dozens of belts to kids at three high schools. “It's about education.
Classes began Monday in Lake, Orange, Osceola and Volusia counties. Seminole and some private schools started last week or earlier. In Orange County alone, more than 180000 students, from pre-kindergarten to high school seniors, started classes.
The Wind Symphony, for instance, was chosen to play a 9-11 memorial show before the Miami-Dade County School Board on Sept. 9. “They've been practicing America the Beautiful and fell in love with it,” says Robert Morgan band director Eugene Timmons who
The school was brought to Orange County after locals Carrie and Thomas Mizera started looking for educational opportunities for their son three years ago. They visited the Florida campus after agreeing that building strong language and math skills
Families in Central Florida are back in the morning routine now that school is in session. But breakfast is not part of that routine for every family. At many Orange County schools, like Jackson Middle, students fuel up before hitting the books thanks
Governor Rick Scott Gets To Work At Orange County Public School
8/26/2011 Orlando, Fla. – Continuing his promise to resurrect the tradition of workdays, Governor Scott spent his 2nd ‘Let’s Get to Work’ Day at Audubon Park Elementary School in Orlando today.
Mirroring the jobs he performed as a young man, Governor Scott worked with Audubon Park’s cafeteria crew just like he did as a middle school student when he worked in his school’s kitchen during lunch in exchange for eating the hot meal he helped prepare and serve to fellow students.
Governor Scott’s workday began at 7:30 this morning working alongside kitchen manager Marsha Herrin. Governor Scott helped prepare and serve breakfast to more than 100 students and assisted with clean up. He also worked with the five-person cafeteria crew to prepare for lunch. This afternoon, after the lunch period and clean up, Governor Scott will join First Lady Ann Scott to visit students in the classroom.
“Ensuring our students get the nutrition they need to learn and achieve in the classroom is critically important,” said Governor Scott. “I was fortunate to have the opportunity to earn nutritious meals by working in the cafeteria when my family was struggling, and I am honored to be here today doing this important work alongside Marsha Herrin and her great team. I am committed to making sure every student has a chance for a great education and every parent has the chance to get a job and feed their family.”
While Governor Scott was working in the cafeteria, the First Lady visited a technology focused third-grade classroom that utilizes laptops for learning instead of pencils and papers. She observed this unique environment and let the third graders show her how they learn. Later, she visited a second-grade reading class, where she read two books to students and encouraged year-round reading as a foundation for learning.
“I learned so much from the young students at Audubon Park Elementary School today. Third-grade students taught me how learning online can be fun and paperless and second graders impressed me with their reading,” Mrs. Scott said. “I have been visiting children across the state this summer and throughout the school year. Whether it is online or in print, I encourage every child in Florida to keep reading, keep writing, and keep learning.
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Ford County: Stories
The best-selling author returns to Ford County, Mississippi--the setting of his immensely popular first novel, A Time to Kill--in a surprising collection of ...Florida
Introduces the geography, history, environment, economy, and culture of the Sunshine State.The rise of the creative class, and how it's transforming work, leisure, community and everyday life
Argues that the social changes of the past few decades have occurred by choice rather than involuntarily, citing the rise of a new creative social class that ...Florida, A Guide to the Southernmost State
Contemporary Scene A CROSS the wide strip of its upper area, from the Atlantic to within / \ a short distance of the Mississippi border, Florida is at once ...Orange, Seeing Orange All Around Us
Introduces some common objects that are orange in color including carrots, pumpkins, and basketballs.Day-by-day Information Directory
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