The changing and eventual falling of the autumn leaves can mark many October traditions. There is Halloween candy, the World Series and football. But one of our favorite traditions is watching our local high school marching bands compete in the Indiana State School Music Association State Marching Band Finals.
We dare you to find high school students who put in more work at their extra-curricular activity than marching band members. Marching band is often a discipline that begins in elementary school. In the summers band members practice many hours a day learning their shows. Once school begins, they still work many hours a day perfecting their shows.
On Saturday, four local marching bands will compete in the state finals at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Northridge will perform at 10:13 a.m. and Concord at 11:05 a.m. in the Class B competition. Fairfield will perform at 2:49 p.m. in Class C. Goshen will compete at 9:24 p.m. in Class A.
This newspaper would like to wish each of these four marching bands the very best of luck on Saturday. Then, again, luck has little to do with it at this point. Each show and performance is a showcase of precision, timing and creativity. By now these bands have made their own luck with countless hours of practice and dedication. Each of these band members is an example to all of us of what it means to serve the whole.
We also encourage anyone who has the time and means to attend the state finals in Indianapolis to do so. You will likely be blown away at the swiftness of the choreography and the sharpness of the sound.
While we wish we could have four first-place finishes by our schools, we know we won’t. We also know all four bands are already winners in our book.
Opinion
Our bands are winners
- Opinion
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13 turnarounds we can admire
Before trustees of Goshen Community Schools met this past Monday night, a reception was held to honor 13 deserving students. They weren’t valedictorians or salutatorians. They weren’t class presidents or all-state student-athletes.
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Recognition as bicycle-friendly city appreciated
Goshen is in the second year of its four-year designation by the League of American Bicyclists as a bike-friendly community. We congratulate city planners and bicycle advocates for this continuing recognition.
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A message that all children need to hear
Gayla Konanz is giving girls the message they need to hear — fitness begins early in life and is the foundation that self-esteem and confidence are built on.
Konanz is a fitness advocate for children and works through the Girls on the Run program. The Goshen News told readers in the May 2 edition how Konanz is working with girls at Bristol Elementary School and is encouraging them to get fit and stay fit. -
We’re No. 12, and No. 1,268! Way to go GHS
This has become a popular space for singing the praises of our local school corporations in recent years. That’s because we believe in the quality work and effort our educators and students are putting forth on a daily basis in and out of the classroom.
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Bill Bloss was a superb servant
Bill Bloss, a man who was always willing to step up and help his hometown of Goshen, died Wednesday. We know that everyone who had met Mr. Bloss and got to know him, will miss him plenty.
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Voters and candidates deserve a 'thank you'
In light of Tuesday’s primary election, we’d like to take a moment and thank two groups of people.
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A portrait of success this past Friday
Goshen’s First Fridays has garnered its fair share of headlines since March when the City Council began considering ordinance amendments geared toward youth attending the monthly festival.
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Time not always on public’s side
One candidate was asked whether or not he was a socialist. Others discussed funding priorities, and even braved the tricky topic of where Goshen’s “south link road” should or shouldn’t go.
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Good news in local education
Public schools — especially diverse urban districts — often get a bad rap by those who choose to look through the narrow telescope of standardized test scores. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Standardized tests are a wonderful tool for educators, but not the end-all, be-all of gauging achievement and effectiveness.
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Gang 'talk' is what we need
Business owners see the evidence on their store fronts. Teachers see it sitting in their classrooms. Police officers see it in their daily reports. Graffiti. Clothing. Violence. While the term “gang” can conjure images of crusty inner-city slums, it is not a term that is lost any longer here in Elkhart County.
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