A Night to Honor the Seniors

This past week was yet another busy week for these hardworking band students. The weather has definitely been much chillier this week, and the students have had to layer up for their practices. On Tuesday night, they practiced in the drizzly cold weather. These students are incredibly dedicated young people, and march through the heat of the summer and into the very chilly fall nights. The yucky weather didn’t deter them from working hard this week. Regionals 2021 was not the best memory for most, as it was not the band’s best performance, and it caused a lot of stress before Semi-State last year. The students worked very hard at practice this week to make sure they put on an incredible performance at Regionals this year. Though Friday, October 14th was technically “fall break” for the students in the district, the members of the Spirit of Woodlan used that day to have a 4-hour practice ahead of Regionals on Saturday. They pushed through the blustery winds and gave it their all at practice on Friday.

The guard had to drape their flags to dry out after their drizzly practice on Tuesday.

This is what Friday of "Fall Break" looks like to the members of the Spirit of Woodlan - hard work and an opportunity to fine-tune their show.

Friday evening, the students gathered back at the school early to cheer on the senior members of the band and guard as they were recognized at Senior Night. This year, there are 8 seniors in the band: Kacie Bowers, Katie Chlebek, Emmalee Hoot, Aidan Kill, Olivia Lake, Riley Saalfrank, Rachel Sisson, and Maranda Winfrey. They were escorted onto the track with their parents before the Varsity Football game against Adams Central High School. These students have years of experience and dedication to the Spirit of Woodlan and are amazing leaders among the students!

The senior class of 2023: Emmalee Hoot, Rachel Sisson, Maranda Winfrey, Aidan Kill, Olivia Lake, Riley Saalfrank, Kacie Bowers, and Katie Chlebek

Kacie Bowers

Katie Chlebek

Emmalee Hoot

Aidan Kill

Olivia Lake

Riley Saalfrank

Rachel Sisson

Maranda Winfrey

The seniors and their parents

Katie, Emmalee, and Aidan

After Senior Night, the students performed their show in front of the home football crowd at halftime. They put on a wonderful performance, and added some new extras to their show. This week, they added visuals to Part 3, including new “Portal of Home” large T-flags that really wowed the crowd. In fact, when the guard members brought out the new flags, there was an audible gasp among the crowd that was incredibly exciting. The performance was really fantastic! The students quickly changed out of their uniforms and got their instruments and equipment ready to load the semi that night, as they would be departing Woodlan early on Saturday morning for their ISSMA Regionals performance. The collective gasp and cheers of the crowd helped fuel their enthusiasm and confidence for their show the following day.

Warming up before their performance at half-time.

The start of their performance as they enter the Portal of War

WOW!!! The Portal of Home flags wowed the crowd!

What a majestic end to their show!