Band Camp 08' After Reflections

WEll,,thanks HS for summarsing what I wanted to say actually. Just wanted to let your know that this year, our camp was..how should I put it..more fun and more enjoyable?

I believe that this year, our camp was a enjoyable one for several reasons:

1. Drills and PT were minimal. Reflecting on the PT and drills part, we spent a total of less than 2 hours doing PT and drills. 1 hours each on Day 2 and Day 3, gosh.l..that was so much better. I think it also helped as we were able to focus better during practice on Day 2 and Day 3.

2. Food was good to a certain extent. yes, I agree that bread with kaya and magarine is not exactly the ideal stuff we would want to have for breakfast, but we just got to accept it right? Andrew, Avan and us were like discussing into the middle of the night till 2am regarding the breakfast issue, until we had no choice but to give you all bread and kaya for breakfast. Maybe we should let you know the reasons:
a. Our budget was not suited to provide a cooked, nice breakfast
b. Our time was running out. Which crazy food caterer opens in the middle of the night even if we wanted to order?
c. Our lunch and diiner for Day 1 and 2 is considered very sumptuous.
So I hope you can understand the reasoning behind it.


Writing to this point, I thought of something very important to say to the Secondary 1s. Sec 1s, regarding the Junior Band Examination, our selection basis was solely on the prepared piece: Golden Jubilee. To tell the truth, though we graded the Theory Test, Sight Reading and Scales, yet we did not take any of the 3 into account. We announced the results solely based on what Mr Glosz felt. He knew very clearly who had the potential, who could play, etc.

Therefore, please do not mistake us for the Exam being biased. IN the first place, Mr Glosz does not know any of you all. In fact, that night was the first time he ever knew that you were in the Sec 1 band. Mr Glosz will be discussing with the teachers to see if we can arrange another Exam for you guys. But the thing is, some of you are taking things too hard.

Especially when we break camp, the way some of you guys carried yourselves, we could clearly see that you were disappointed, some even depressed. We feel for you too, and will try to arrange a second round. But the thing is, do not get too discouraged. This is life...I am not trying to be some philosopher, but sometimes, you just gotta get over things.

Let us just take this as a stepping stone for us to further progress. This coming concert, play your best. As I have mentioned to you guys (Sec 1s) before, that comparing is no good, but lets face it, the 700+ audience WILL compare you with other Junior Bands. Whether they say "Cat High Junior Band are so great!" or "Cat High Junior Band has a long way to go" is all up to you.

Put the SYF issue aside for the time being. Let fate rest in its own hands and move on. If you face any difficulty and need to talk to someone, your SL or any Sec 3 will be always be there for you. Remember, we are one band, one sound, one brotherhood.

I do so miss the times of band camp...how I wish that we could frequently have band camps; bond us so closely together and help us grow together...

Ending off on a light note, band camp has been a fruitful one for one and for all, and we definitely have grown to become a more matured band. YAY! :)