New Page 2

Campus Beauty: Shelby Mathis
Miss Senior: Kimmie Hagan
Miss Junior: Lauren Smith
Miss Sophomore: Becca Cass
Miss Freshman: Megan Holloway

Solo & Ensemble MPA

   On Friday, February 12, 2010, forty-three MHS Band students participated in the Florida Bandmasters Association's annual District II Solo and Ensemble Music Performance Assessment (MPA), which was held at the Baptist College of Florida and Graceville High School. These 43 students performed in 25 separate combinations, including instrumental and auxiliary solos, a brass trio, the Dance Line (10 members), the Color Guard/Flag Line (7 members), and two separate percussion ensembles (one with 9 members, one with 10 members). Many students performed several times, in various combinations of solos and larger ensembles.
     All performances were scored by sanctioned adjudicators, who gave the students both written and oral comments, and issued scores, ranging from a top score of Superior [(I), to Excellent (II), Good (III), Fair (IV), and Poor (V). All MHS students earned scores of either Superior (I) or Excellent (II).
     All of the Auxiliary (Dance and Flag) members earned a score of Superior, and are eligible to advance to the State MPA, which subjects the performances to a higher level of grading. An additional factor in the instrumental performances is the difficulty rating of the music being performed--level 1 being the easiest, and level 7 being the hardest. Each instrumentalist playing music rated at level 5 or higher, and earning a score of Superior, is also eligible to advance to the State MPA, as well. The State MPA for north Florida will be held in early April.
     Counting multiple performances by some students, a total of 49 Superior (I) medals were earned, with 10 students also earning a rating of Excellent (II). Below, each student is listed alphabetically, within each solo or ensemble grouping. This is followed by the music level in brackets, followed by their earned score, either I or II:

INSTRUMENTAL SOLOS--
Travis Bontrager-Tympani solo [6] I; Alto Saxophone solo [6] I
Hannah Colbert-Flute solo [4] I
Justin Curry-Baritone Saxophone solo [4] I
Jeffery Edenfield-Tuba solo [5] II
Trey Holmes-Trombone solo [5] II
Virginia McDaniel-Flute solo [7] II
Katelyn Miller-Alto Saxophone solo [5] I
Zack Perkins-Piano solo [5] II
Ryan Pilcher-Alto Saxophone solo [5] I

Sharon Price-Clarinet solo (5) I
Samantha Rudd-Flute solo [4] II
Lindsey Starling-Clarinet solo (4) I; Alto Saxophone solo [5] I
Megan Troutman-Flute solo [4] II
Lori Tucker-Alto Saxophone solo [4] I
Anthony Wood-Alto Saxophone solo [5] II

INSTRUMENTAL ENSEMBLES--
Brass Trio--Josh Emanuel, Trey Holmes, Duante' Smith- [4] II
Percussion Ensemble/9--Stevie Blanchette, Travis Bontrager, Jeffrey Gardner, Chris Gilmore, Lizzie Mathis, Jamie McCoy, Carrius Moore, James Morrison, David White- [4] I
Percussion Ensemble/10--Stevie Blanchette, Jeffrey Gardner, Chris Glimore, Will Glover, Lizzie Mathis, Jamie McCoy, Carrius Moore, James Morrison, Chris Rogers, David White- [4] I

AUXILIARIES--
Flag Solos
Ashley Raines- I
Alanna Clayton- I
Samantha Barnes- I

Indoor Guard/Flag Line--Sharnesia Baker, Samantha Barnes (Co-Captain), Kelsey Baxley, Alanna Clayton, Ashley Combs, Rachel Huckaby, Kathryn Huffman, Ashley Raines (Co-Captain)- I

Dance Line- Whitney Basford, Kayley Bryan, Rachel Callahan, Hollie Daniels, Brynne Markham (Captain), Victoria Mock, Kelsey Olive, Lauren Smith, Kassi Starrine, Ashton Stephens- I

FCCLA Competitive Events - District Level
Marianna High School Winners:

Congratulations to the MHS Academic Bowl Team
on their 1st Place win in the Jackson County Academic Bowl Competition.

On Friday and Saturday, January 29 & 30, Marianna High School hosted rehearsals and the performances of the 2010 Florida Bandmasters Association District 2 Small Schools Honor Bands. Special congratulations go to the 35 MHS students who participated and performed Saturday night.
MHS students in the Junior High School (grades 7-9) Honor Band: Jeffery Gardner, Delmar Jones, Jamie McCoy, Irene Muniz, Zachary Perkins, Kristina Roman, Draylon Toombs, Megan Trotman, Lori Tucker, and Abi White.
MHS students in the Senior High School (grades 10-12) Honor Band: Shelby Basford, Travis Bontrager, Justin Curry, Jeffery Edenfield, Joshua Emanuel, Chris Gilmore, Christin Ham, Deanna Harrison, Trey Holmes, Michael King, Levi Kirkland, Meaghan McClendon, Virginia McDaniel, Mallory Mock, Victoria Mock, Carrius Moore, Ryan Pilcher, Sharon Price, Chris Rogers, Samantha Rudd, Duante' Smith, Lindsey Starling, Kassi Starrine, Julia Tanner, Lauren Vila, and Christin Wiggins.

Marianna FFA recently competed in the Chipola River Soil and Water Conservation District Land Judging Contest. Teams were required to judge 3 land sites for their maximum agricultural use base on interpreting soil conditions and various conditions at each site. Team members also judged one land site for maximum use as a homesite. Marianna FFA had the 1st and 3rd place high placing teams. Zac Davis and Dylan Jackson were recognized as 1st and 3rd high individuals.

37 FCCLA members attended the Annual District Meeting held in Blountstown on Nov 18th. Gavin Hall was elected District 1 Chairperson and the Marianna Chapter won First Place in the Roll Call Poster competition. ON the way back to school students enjoyed lunch together at Sonny's and a stop by the Citizen's Lodge for pictures and a short business meeting. The Marianna FCCLA Chapter has grown from 40 members last year to 57 this school year.

MHS Marching Band Gets Superior Rating

As the sun streamed into their eyes Thursday afternoon, Marianna High School marching band members began to notice their parents standing on the side of the practice field.
The young musicians didn’t know why their parents were there, and neither did many of their parents.
In their confusion, the band played on, practicing routines they’d performed just days ago at the Florida Bandmasters Association competition.
Their performance at the FBA event, to their extreme disappointment, earned them a rating of “Excellent.”
They’d been longing for a “Superior” rating, which the MHS band had not received in several years.
Many of the musicians went home from the competition in tears, frustrated by the outcome of a performance for which they practiced their hearts out.
“Practice like you perform,” MHS band director Craig Bean shouted into a megaphone at Thursday’s practice.
What the musicians would soon learn was that their performance was, in fact, “superior.”
Jamie Birdwell, band director at Mosely High School and chairman for Florida Bandmasters Association District 12, approached the band as parents gathered closer.
“I am here to apologize to you,” Birdwell told the curious crowd, squinting into the sun that poured over Birdwell’s shoulders. “At district last week I made a mistake. You made a Superior.”
Screams of joy drowned out all other sounds, as the students absorbed their good news. Some kids cried, some shouted and others hugged each other.
Birdwell explained that he accidentally left out a score when averaging scores to together, the difference when he checked it a third time brought the band from a excellent rating to a superior.
“Whatta you gotta have? Pride!” the band shouted together.
“I’m so happy,” said Jody Roy, a trumpet player grade 10. “I tried my hardest this year and it paid off.”
For seniors in the band, it was a milestone moment.
“There’s energy going all through my body right now,” said band captain and tuba player Caleb Lovely. “We’ve broken that six-year curse of getting overall excellents.”
Ethan Noblin, a senior who play baritone, said the news made him at peace.
“I’m so glad. We did it. I’m not gonna lie, I was mad at the judges, but now it’s all good ... I could really die happy right now. There’s been a lot of tears shed. I literally bawled my eyes out when we didn’t get a superior Saturday. When that score dropped it felt like a ton of bricks had landed on me. Now I feel the opposite,” said Noblin.
Birdwell hung around after the announcement, apologizing to those who introduced themselves. But no one seemed to mind the mistake.
Virginia McDaniel, a junior, said the roller coaster of emotions turned out to be a good thing.
“At FBA we all got off that field crying. We became so much closer and more of a family after that. To find out like this, it just brought us together more than we’ve ever been,” said McDaniel.