On Sept. 22, the CCS Marching Band participated in three marching competitions; placing in all of them. But what really happens behind the scenes to get us there? 

Waking up at 5 a.m. for a call time of 6 a.m., the band started to prepare for the 18-hour day ahead.  

Tensions were high as we started our morning warmups. The lights weren't working; it was early, and the stress of what was to come hadn't even settled in yet. 

We hit the field doing stretches and music reps, and once we did a full run of the show going back and forth between the correct places, the whole band knew we were going to be okay. 

After collecting our breakfast and boarding the bus, the band was off to Fredericksburg. 

Once we got off the bus to prepare for our first competition, we were immediately on a timer; setting up, warming up, preparing to walk out. 

When hitting the field, millions of thoughts race through people's minds. 

 “Usually, I would be worried about myself performing and how I was performing, but this time I found myself thinking more about all the new marchers and everyone else in band,” said Lexi Buenaventura, a CCS trumpet player and brass section leader.  

"Before every performance, I would say a short prayer for peace and focus for the whole band," Buenaventura said. "After that, a wave of comfort would just wash over me. I wasn't only thinking about how I could perform better, I was thinking about how I could help everyone around me feel confident and focused too." 

For band members, getting to the first set isn't hard; it’s the parts after that are more challenging. Believing that you won't forget what comes next, making sure you time everything just right, every detail matters. The only thing students focus on is counting in their head and making sure that they can play their feature right each time. 

“Make it look easy,” band director Gaspar Garcia tells his students. 

We did, and the long hours paid off. We placed first, and we were relieved and confident heading into our next competition in Manor.  

With each competition, we got increasingly comfortable. We won second place in our division and advanced to finals. 

“There was definitely a lot of good things that happened. . . I felt like the visuals were executed more precise than last competition; it got better,” said clarinet player Jordan Garza. 

After preforming for the last time at 9:15 p.m. we got results: third place overall in open classification. Yes, the students were kind of upset we didn't get first, but looking back at where we started and how much we got done from August to now, that's the greatest achievement you can ever get. 

“It's only going up from here. . .Everyone must do their best, try their best,” said snare player Gage Vasquez.  

And one final encouragement from our senior drum major Derek Mercado in response to how band life changed him since he joined: 

“Don't give up. Stay committed. The more you do that, the more you’ll learn, the more you’ll grow, and that’ll lead you on paths and roads that’ll help others and help you, and you’ll be able to achieve a lot.” 

Another year, another new and fun animal to learn about! Today’s animal is the Pacific Walrus, scientifically known as Odobenus divergens! Let’s slide on into some fun facts about these chunky guys!

• Pacific Walruses are known to weigh up to 4,000 pounds! Because of their huge size, they have thick insulation that grows to 6 inches thick, which accounts for about 1/3 of their total body weight.
• Pacific Walrus’ canine tusks do not stop growing. Like goats’ horns, pacific walrus’ tusks continuously grow and are their main way of fighting!
• These guys have about 400 to 700 highly sensitive whiskers on their faces that are called vibrissae. This allows them to find clams deep in the freezing ocean!
• Male pacific walruses are known to sing a complex underwater song that contains knocking, whistling and bells that can last for about a couple of hours and maybe even a few days!
• During the days of December to March, male walruses (also called bulls) compete for a harem of females (or cows). They use their tusks to brutally take down their opponents and lift themselves up as high as possible to intimidate younger or smaller males who challenge them!

That’s all that’s left for these powerful creatures! Hopefully, you’ve learned something new about these strange yet strong animals.