News

Weekly Newsletter - october 18, 2026

Sent 10/18/2026, 1:45 PM.

What a weekend!  Another great Zia outing - the kids did an amazing job.  THANKS SO MUCH to all the parents that came out to help - chaperoning, hydrating, pit crewing, cooking/serving food, setting up our home base - we can't do any of this without our amazing parents, so again, thanks.  

Special thanks to our food/fun chair, Anayeli Olivas for putting together 2 amazing meals for our students and volunteers.  Feeding 200 people, twice, in a parking lot is no small feat, and the food/fun team absolutely nailed it!

We have a VERY busy week ahead, with MPA, a football game, and our trip to NAU, so make sure you read through everything, including attached itineraries, so we can navigate it smoothly together.

Let's get into this week...

What's in this newsletter?

Here's what I have for you all this week:

• Zia Patches - In case you want to order patches from Zia, we have the link

• Volunteer Opportunities - MPA and our next two football games have signups available.

• And a word from Mr. Sayre - always make time to read through this section

This week in band...

Monday 10/19

• 3:45 PM - 4:45 PM - Woodwind/Brass Sectionals

Tuesday 10/20

• 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM - Tuesday Afternoon Rehearsal

Wednesday 10/21

• Marching MPA - Wilson Stadium - Report Time: 4:45 PM.  Performance is at 8:20 PM.  Here is the full itinerary.

Thursday 10/22

• 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM - Percussion Class

Friday 10/23

• 7:00 PM - Football Game vs. Centennial (Home) - Wilson Stadium - Report Time: 4:45 PM in the band room.  We'll be leaving early to rest up for NAU.

Saturday/Sunday 10/24-25

• NAU Trip - Report Time: 6:00 AM (5:45 AM if you are loading trucks) in the band room.  Planning to return Sunday around noon.  Here is the full itinerary.

Now on to the details...

Zia Patches

If you were unable or forgot to get patches for the Zia event yesterday, you can order them directly and have them shipped to your home.  You can order regular and/or finalist patches using the link below:

https://ziaeventtees.com/products/zia-fiesta-patches 

Volunteer Opportunities

Currently available signups:

• APS Marching MPA, Wednesday, 10/21

• APS Marching MPA, Wednesday, 10/21 - Help us run this event.  Signup using this Signup Genius link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0948A8A72BAAFDC07-66592890-apsmarching#/ 

• Football Game, Friday, 10/23

• Football Game, Friday 10/30 (Halloween Game)

Remember, if you want to volunteer at any time this year, please get your background clearance started now so you are ready to go.  It's easy - all the details are on the How To Volunteer page.

Go Eagles!

JD

a word from Mr. Sayre...

Hello Eagles!

Congratulations on a fantastic day at the Zia Marching Band Fiesta! We scored better on the rubric than ever before and placed 6th overall in both preliminary competition and finals. This was a particularly challenging and competitive year at Zia and the other bands were all fantastic so count yourselves as lucky to be in such great company at Zia. Congratulations to all of the other outstanding bands that performed yesterday, too. There is so much great work happening here and throughout the state. Thank you for your hard work and great performances!

A big thank-you to our amazing crew of volunteers and parents for making yesterday run smoothly. Anayeli Olivas, thank you for all the awesome food! Clint Hobart and the prop crew, thank you for getting everything where it needed to be. Paul Espey, band director at Highland High School, thank you for letting us borrow the Highland Band truck. We appreciate all of you!

We have another busy week ahead, with performances at the APS Marching Performance Assessment on Wednesday, the football game against Centennial on Friday, and NAU Band Day on Saturday.

This Week at a Glance

• Monday: Social Committee quick meeting after school; woodwind and brass sectionals focusing on visuals and All-State etudes

• Tuesday: Full Band Rehearsal, 4–6 PM

• Wednesday: Marching MPA - call time: 4:45 PM

• Thursday: Percussion Class, 4–6 PM

• Friday: Football Game vs. Centennial - call time 4:45 PM

• Saturday: NAU Band Day - call time 5:45 AM for equipment crew and 6:00 AM for all other band members

All-State Auditions and Zero Hour Placement Tests

It looks like we will have a TON of students auditioning for Jazz and Concert All-State, which is great! All woodwind, brass, and percussion players need to prepare the audition material for the Zero Hour band placement test. Plan on having all the required material ready for your placement test.

If you are auditioning for All-State, you should be working toward playing through all of your etudes at this point. Use the practice tracks Mr. Sayre created in Google Classroom to help you prepare.

DO NOT WAIT TO PREPARE THIS MATERIAL! The sooner you learn it, the better prepared you will be for your audition or placement test. Give yourself time to work through the challenging parts rather than trying to learn everything at the last minute.

APS Marching Performance Assessment - Wednesday

Here is the Marching MPA itinerary.

Call time is the same as a normal football game: 4:45 PM. Mr. Snowden will get the band ready and organized for loading the buses. I have asked a group of seniors to help us set up for the event, and I have a project for the Social Committee to help make the event welcoming for all the bands attending Marching MPA.

Football Game vs. Centennial - Friday

Call time is 4:45 PM. This is a normal football game, so come ready to perform!

Depending on when we can get the band truck back from Highland (they need it for their game), we will either load the truck Friday night or, more likely, Saturday morning before we leave for NAU. We will communicate any necessary changes.

NAU Band Day — Flagstaff, Saturday and Sunday

The equipment and percussion crew will report at 5:45 AM on Saturday. All other band members should report at 6:00 AM.

We will conduct bag checks in the band room while holding a general meeting in the PAC. Please review the NAU Band Day itinerary before Saturday.

Hotel room assignments and bus assignments have been posted. Make sure you know where you need to be and who you are rooming with. Most importantly, set multiple alarms! It is going to be an early morning, and we have a full day ahead of us.

Coming Up: Halloween Game — October 30

We will play against Volcano Vista on October 30. Sections should start planning something fun for your section! We will perform pregame and then have a chance to enjoy the Halloween festivities afterward.

Busy week ahead! Let's get this bread.

Go Eagles!

Mr. Sayre