By Lisa Carolin
Summer vacation didn’t stop a number of Beach Middle School band members from practicing their instruments together.
They performed a concert in the Beach cafeteria Aug. 16 that included “Revenge of the Dust Bunnies”, “”Escape from Krypton”, and “Batman: The Brave and Bold”.
The 64 sixth, seventh, and eighth-graders participated in a summer band camp run by Chelsea Community Education. The camp is not required to participate in band.
“This year, we moved the camp to mid-August, which ends up being the week before the Chelsea Fair,” said Katy Stecklac, director of bands at both Beach and South Meadows Elementary School, and Assistant Director of Bands at Chelsea High School. “During fair week, all the seventh and eighth-grade band members come together to march in the Chelsea Fair Kiddie Parade and the Chelsea Fair Parade.”
Her hope is that participating in camp will help students be better prepared for their performances for the fair.
“The camp is super hero themed this year, and the kids participate in games and competitions all week that go along with that theme,” said Steklac. “Special thanks to Andrew Thomson, adult/youth enrichment coordinator and Kris Hohnke, administrative assistant, for all their work behind the scenes making this a special week for our students.”
Abbey Herman, a teacher in Westland, worked with Stecklac as co-director. There were also ten high school students who helped out at the camp by coaching students.
