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Another high school football season is underway across the corridor. While many spectators flock to Kingston Stadium each Thursday and Friday night to watch the football teams, there are others who come to see a different kind of team take the field - the marching band. Just like the football players, these “players” have also been working hard in the summer heat to learn their music and formations for the upcoming season. Hours of practice and dedication go into perfecting every step and note for their performances.
The bands play an integral part in the football games each week. They help to kick off the games with the playing of the national anthem. They also help to fuel team spirit and energize the crowd with the school fight song and pep band pieces throughout the game. But, they are probably most known for their mesmerizing halftime shows that combine music, choreography, and visual effects.
Jefferson’s Band of Blue welcomed two new band directors this year, Carl Rowles and Matthew Nicholson. They are both excited about the opportunity to work with the band. Jefferson’s halftime show is themed “Blackbird Set Free,” featuring songs from the Beatles, Bach, Sia, and Stravinsky.
Kennedy’s halftime show also features a Beatles song. Their show, titled “All the Lonely People - A Symphony for Eleanor,” features the songs “Eleanor Rigby,” “Come Together,” “I Hear a Symphony,” and “To Build a Home.” The Kennedy Marching Band is directed by Lesley Fleer and Stephanie Williamson. "This is such a unique show as it pushes the boundaries of the more traditional marching band performance. We are thrilled about the work our students are doing," shared Director Williamson.
The Warrior Marching Band at Washington, led by Joel Nagel and Jared Wacker, is performing a show called “The Story in Our Stars,” featuring music selections from Mozart, Stephen Sondheim, and Rossano Galante. The directors shared, "The Washington Band has been hard at work getting ready to perform. They had two weeks of band camp before school. They are making great progress in the first month of the season and are looking forward to a great year!"
In addition to their regular performances at home football games, the bands also travel to perform in several marching band competitions throughout the fall. You can catch them performing locally this year at the Linn-Mar Marching Band Festival on September 23rd, and the Five Seasons Marching Competition held at Kingston Stadium on September 30th.
But marching band is more than just music. It can teach students valuable life skills like teamwork, leadership, hard work, time management, confidence, etc. So, as you hear the lively tunes of your high school marching band echoing through the bleachers at the next football game, remember to celebrate these talented students for their hard work and what they have accomplished.
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September 5th kicked off the first day of preschool for CRCSD’s youngest learners. The district’s preschool program is offered to area four-year-olds and select three-year-olds at several buildings across the city. The program helps the children become independent, self-confident learners while laying the foundation for school success. “We have had an amazing first week with our preschoolers. Their energy is contagious, and we are excited to begin a new school year learning and growing together,” commented Monica Frey, Principal at Truman Early Learning Center. Truman Early Learning Center offers a full-day preschool, while eight other schools offer half-day sessions. If you would like to learn more about CRCSD’s preschool program, click here.
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Washington Thespians Back in Action
Washington High School students will take center stage this weekend for their first play of the school year. The young thespians are presenting the powerful and thought-provoking play, “The Laramie Project.” The production explores the impact of hate and the importance of acceptance. You can catch the show tonight and tomorrow at 7:30 pm at Washington High School. For more information and tickets, click here. The school's next planned theatre production will be “Mean Girls,” which is scheduled for early November.
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Virtual Backpack
Cedar Rapids Community School District is happy to offer our students and families Virtual Backpack. Virtual Backpack is our paperless approach to distributing non-district information throughout the school year. It is a great way to stay up-to-date on the latest community activities, events, camps, volunteer opportunities, and more. The website allows you to search for upcoming events by your student’s school or through themed categories. We would like to invite all local organizations to submit their event information for the website by clicking here. All submissions are screened by the district before being posted.
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School Improvement Advisory Committee Seeking Members
Do you want to be a part of something big at CRCSD and make a difference in the lives of our students? We are seeking enthusiastic volunteers to join the School Improvement Advisory Committee (SIAC) for the 2023-24 school year. To learn more about SIAC, click here.
We are looking for students, families, community members, and district staff to join us as we tackle our next challenge - College and Career Readiness! This year, the purpose of the committee is to provide input and feedback on our plan to ensure every learner has a plan, pathway, and passion when they graduate from CRCSD. Our goal is to ensure every CRCSD graduate leaves with college credit and/or industry certification by May 2027. Key areas of focus will be:
- Vision, Mission, and Design - Create aligned K-12 vision, mission, and design for career pathways.
- Career pathways - Define 4-6 high-skill, high-wage, high-demand career pathways that meet the demands of the Cedar Rapids metro area labor market.
- Key skills and success indicators - Define the success indicators for our Profile of a Graduate.
- Programming and support continuum - Design K-12 programming to prepare students to be ready to pursue their passion area.
- Marketing and branding - Review marketing and branding materials for our pathways programming.
This is an incredible opportunity to be a part of the team that helps guide CRCSD towards success. If you are interested in making a difference and becoming a member of the School Improvement Advisory Committee and can commit to the meeting dates below, click here. For questions, please contact Adam Zimmermann, CRCSD Executive Director of Innovation.
SIAC meetings will be held on the following dates:
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Glance Around The District | |
It was a morning full of obstacles, hole-in-ones, and birdies for Metro High School students. They visited the Mini Pines Miniature Golf Course last Friday as part of their “Friday Wellness In The Community” program. The course’s signs were also manufactured by students in the Metro STEAM Academy! | |
Wednesday, 1st graders at Cedar River Academy harvested tomatoes from the school’s raised gardens, which they had planted last spring as kindergarteners. They learned how the tomato starts as a yellow flower on the vine and ends up as a red fruit. | |
Garfield students in Mrs. Bessman’s class are doing observations on the growth of mealworms. Some of the students were even brave enough to hold them! | |
Some of the student leaders at Johnson STEAM Academy helped to pick up litter around the playground. | |
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Non-Discrimination Policy
It is the policy of the Cedar Rapids Community School District not to discriminate in educational programs and/or activities on the basis of race, creed, color, gender, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, gender identity, socioeconomic status, national origin, religion, disability, age (except for permitting/prohibiting students to engage in certain activities) or genetic information and in employment opportunities on the basis of age, race, creed, color, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, religion, disability or genetic information. There is a grievance procedure for processing complaints of discrimination. If you have questions or a grievance related to this policy, please contact Darius Ballard, Chief of Human Resources, Educational Leadership and Support Center, 2500 Edgewood Rd NW, Cedar Rapids, IA, (319) 558-2000.
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