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Webster community mailbag

5 Mar

This is a rather botanical-themed mailbag today, featuring sunflowers, trees and a carnivorous plant that wants to take over the world.

First, something bright and happy. The North Bee wants to flood the community with sunflowers, or sunyashniki, the national flower of Ukraine.

Amy Stringer from The North Bee writes,

For the month of March, 100% of proceeds from the sale of a Beeswax Sunflower Ornament will be donated to ROC Maidan so they can get the funds appropriated to where they are needed to help refugees and soldiers, offer humanitarian aid and help rebuild and recover from this devastation unfolding before our eyes (in Ukraine).

Amy is offering three different designs, the Full Sunflower, Monet Sunflowers, or the Dinner Plate Sunflower. “Whichever you choose,” she added, “I cannot wait to see them displayed everywhere! Come on friends, I’m ready to pour sunflowers all day!”

Click here for more information about this special event and ROC Maidan. The North Bee is located at 27 North Ave. in the Village of Webster.

Here’s a quick look at some of the fun the Webster Public Library has in store this month:

  • Bad Art Night, Friday March 25 from 6 to 7 p.m., for tweens and teens grades 4-12. The library will provide the supplies, you bring the creativity to make some crazy art. Click here to register.
  • Space, eclipses and all things in the sky, Tuesday March 29, 7 to 8 p.m. for all ages. Local space enthusiast Gaylon Arnold will talk about upcoming eclipses that will be viewable in our area, and other space events that might interest you during 2022 and beyond. Click here to register.
  • Family Friday Movie Night, April 1 at 6 p.m. Enjoy some snacks and get comfortable at the library while watching the movie Encanto! Bring pillows and blankets from home so you can get cozy to watch on our big projector screen. Click here to register.

This month’s make-and-take crafts are a leprechaun trap for the wee ones, origami star garland for teens and a decorated plant stake for adults. All crafts are available on a first-come-first-served basis while supplies last.

The Webster Public Library is located at 980 Ridge Rd., at the back of Webster Plaza.

Your next two Webster-based opportunities to donate blood and help save lives happen in just a few weeks.

There are all sorts of incentives this month to get you to make a donation.

Donate at any blood drive in Webster this March for a chance to win a $50 Wegmans gift card. PLUS, give blood or platelets in March and get a $10 e-gift card from Fanatics! PLUS, get a chance to score a trip to the 2022 MLB All-Star Game in Los Angeles.

This notice from the folks at the Friends of Webster Trails, who have embarked on a program to save the trees of Webster.

The forests of Webster are under attack. Insects and disease are going after the ash, hemlock, oak, and beech. As they die, they will be replaced by invasive and most times non-native trees unless we do something.  

The Friends of Webster Trails has established a group to come up a plan and set it in motion.  ReTree – Replanting Our Native Forest aims to do just that. Tree surveys have been completed of many of our trail areas telling us what trees are present and their number.  You may have already noticed efforts to clear invasive plants along the Blue Trail in the Whiting Road Nature Preserve. In fall, potted trees of appropriate species will be purchased and planted in this area.  In spring, we will be building a tree nursery to grow native trees from seeds for future planting.  

Stay tuned for more information about this initiative.

Tickets are on sale now for Webster Thomas High School’s spring musical, Little Shop of Horrors.

Little Shop of Horrors is a sci-fi horror musical with a 1960s pop/rock score by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. It tells the story of meek floral assistant Seymour Krelborn, who stumbles across a new breed of plant he names “Audrey II.” The egotistical, sweet talking R&B-singing carnivore promises unending fame and fortune to the down-and-out Krelborn as long as he keeps feeding it, BLOOD. Over time, though, Seymour discovers Audrey II’s out of this world origins and intent towards global domination.

Shows will be held Thursday, Friday and Saturday April 7, 8 and 9 at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday at 2 p.m. Reserve tickets are $12, or $10 for groups of ten or more. Click here to get yours.

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Twitter and Instagram (@missyblog)

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Community Arts Day is back!

3 Mar
Decorative art.

As sure as sighting a robin is a sign of spring, I know that April is just around the corner when I start getting emails about Community Arts Day. And this year, that news is more exciting than ever, as it will be the first in-person Community Arts Day in three years. Because, well, you know…..

This year’s event will take place on Saturday, April 9 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Webster Schroeder High School, 875 Ridge Rd. This very family-friendly festival showcases Webster CSD students’ creative talents and involves the entire community in a day to celebrate the arts. It was created as a collaborative effort to raise money to encourage and enhance fine arts programs throughout the district.

Dozens of activities are planned throughout the day, including art displays, carnival games, sweet treats sale, plant sale, crafts, community group exhibits and more. Musical groups and demonstrators (karate, gymnastics, etc.) perform free all day, and you can even grab lunch and snacks. PLUS, this year there’s going to be an opportunity for ALL students to exhibit art at Community Arts Day (stay tuned for details about that).

Volunteers are always welcome and very much needed. Each of the 11 schools in the district contributes volunteers to the CAD committee to run the events, make baked goods, and make the day a great event for the entire community. Organizers are also looking for sponsors, and there are plenty of opportunities for exhibitors, performers and vendors.

To find out more about all of these opportunities, click here.  You can also follow the Community Arts Day Facebook page to keep up on the latest.  

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Twitter and Instagram (@missyblog)

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Spreading love this Valentine’s Day

13 Feb

For Valentine’s Day, a few short stories about how our young people are helping spread love throughout the community.

Cards for Maplewood residents

Last Monday night, Girl Scout Troop 60344 turned their bi-weekly meeting into a Valentine’s card-making party. The occasion arose from an invitation last fall from Mary Ann O’Mara and Pat Miller, who contacted the troop to offer their card-making “services.” Co-leader Linda Meyers said she “jumped at the opportunity.” Scheduling the event in conjunction with Valentine’s Day seemed ideal.

So, armed with bundles of already-prepped materials, Mary Ann and Pat joined the meeting and helped the Scouts prepare 28 beautiful cards, then sent each girl home with a treat bag of heart cookies from Sweet Jude’s.

By the way, Mary Ann and Pat would love to offer their card-making “services” to other groups as well. Email me if you’re interested and I’ll get you in touch.

Klem North students making Valentine’s Day crafts

The Klem North PTSA has always got some fun event up their sleeves.

Earlier this month, the PTSA purchased Valentine’s-themed crafts for teachers to have their students make. Students completed the crafts in early February and they were delivered to The Maplewood nursing home, Baywinde Senior Living Community, and the first responders at North East Quadrant Life Support in time for Valentine’s Day.

Here are some photos from those craft sessions:

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Twitter and Instagram (@missyblog)

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Webster Schroeder kicks off spring musical season

1 Feb

Live musicals are back!

Webster Schroeder High School is kicking off the spring musical season with an in-person performance of A Chorus Line, which will be presented in four shows the weekend of Feb. 10.

The high-stepping, Tony Award-winning musical is described on the Webster Schroeder Musicals website as “a stunning concept musical capturing the spirit and tension of a Broadway chorus audition” which explores “the inner lives and poignant ambitions of professional Broadway performers.”

The show features tunes we all recognize, including “What I Did for Love,” “One,” “I Can Do That,” “At the Ballet,” “The Music and the Mirror,” and “I Hope I Get It.”

“A Chorus Line” will be presented in four shows, Thursday and Friday Feb. 10 and 11 at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday Feb. 12 at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m., in the Webster Schroeder auditorium, 875 Ridge Rd.

Reserved-seating tickets are $13, and are available now at websterschroedermusicals.com.

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Twitter and Instagram (@missyblog)

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Thank you, Webster PTSA!

25 Jan

Do you remember the village’s super fun White Christmas celebration back on December 4? Hopefully you and your family were able to make it down to Gazebo Park that afternoon to take part in a winter wonderland of crafts, music, stories, Christmas cookies and visits with Santa Claus.

The activities were awesome, but what really made the event extra special were the lights and decorations which turned the park into a real North Pole wonderland. And that transformation can be largely credited to the efforts of the Webster Central PTSA (WCPTSA).

On very short notice, the PTSA gathered an army of volunteers — about 75 parents, students, staff members and administrators — who started showing up early Saturday morning to spend the next many hours hanging lights, stringing garland, setting up cookie and hot chocolate tables, arranging materials for Santa’s Toy Shop, and much more. And that doesn’t even count the hours spent before the event actually building and painting many of the decorations.

By the time the festivities officially began, visitors could enter the park through a light tunnel, walk down Candy Cane Lane to see Santa, then along Peppermint Lane to decorate a Christmas cookie, make a craft at the Toy Shop, and warm up with some hot cocoa. Even more volunteers arrived to help out during the afternoon.

At the recent meeting of the Webster Business Improvement District (BID), the organization which ran the event, the BID showed their appreciation by presenting the PTSA with a check for $650, proceeds from the White Christmas Parade of Lights.

The whole experience was a tremendous example of how the One Webster community can come together to create something wonderful. And according to WCPTSA president Jaime Richey, that is exactly what the organization wants to achieve.

“In the last few years the schools have been able to do very little fundraising, especially in-person events,” Richey said. “One of our goals is to create a One Webster feel, to bring our community and schools together. This is the first event where we were able to do that, collaborating with our community, bring our schools together.”

After all, she added, “Our school is our community and our community is our schools.”

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Twitter and Instagram (@missyblog)

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There are fairies among us!

4 Jan

Bet you didn’t know … the field behind State Rd. Elementary School is home to more than two dozen fairies.  

It’s true! They live in 26 miniature fairy houses installed along a more than 3/4-mile path that begins near the school’s back door and stretches all along the wooded area that rings the rear of the property. And to be clear, we THINK fairies live in the houses, because no one’s ever seen them. But lots of folks — families and students — still walk the path regularly in hopes of catching a glimpse of the secretive sprites.

The idea to make the fairy trail came from State Rd. kindergarten teacher Jacquie Smith, who for the last eight years has created a very magical “Fairy Day” for her students. It’s part of an entire fairytale unit, and Smith finds ways to work in science, literacy, mathematics, art, even music. Then on one very special day, she transforms her kindergarten classroom into a magical wonderland, complete with twinkly lights, fairy jars, fairy dust, fairy music, fairy wands and fairy stories.

Smith would also take her students to Tinker Nature Park every year to hike the park’s fairy trail and complete a scavenger hunt. It was a highlight for students and parents alike, so when the park’s staff decided to remove the houses in March 2019, everyone was upset.  

That’s when Smith came up with the idea to make their own fairy trail, using the alphabet trail that already existed behind the school. The trail already had 26 lettered posts; all they needed were fairy houses. 

With full support from the administration, Smith got to work. First, an amazing parent, Brian Roode, built 26 creative and whimsical fairy houses. Then on one extra special day, during the lunch hours, every student in the school had a chance to help decorate the houses by painting them or adding decorations. 

The houses were installed on the posts in June 2019, and Smith organized a ribbon-cutting ceremony to open the new fairy trail. It was a big deal. Former WCSD Superintendent Carm Gumina even donned a pair of fairy wings for the event. Still, Smith wasn’t sure anyone aside from the other kindergarten classes would come.    

“I offered it to the whole school as an optional activity,” she said. “I didn’t want to throw too much more on their plate at the end of the year.” So she was rather surprised when, at the appointed time, every single class came out to watch the ceremony.

It was “the most overwhelming thing,” she remembered.

Two and a half years later, the State Rd. Elementary School Fairy Trail is still there, although a few of the posts need occasional repair due to wind and heavy rains. It’s still an enchanted place, especially for all the innocent new kindergarteners who walk through the school’s front doors every September.

“I love teaching kindergarten because of the magic in here,” Smith said. “They bring the magic into the classroom. They believe and it makes everything else go away.”

One story in particular is a perfect illustration.

“I had one student come in the day after they took their fairy gardens home, and he looked absolutely exhausted,” she said. “He said, ‘Mrs. Smith, I stayed up watching my fairy garden outside to see if there was a fairy.’ And he starts crying. ‘I tried to watch all night and the fairy never came.'”

“I asked him, Buddy, you know the magic of fairies. Did you ever see the tooth fairy? No? That’s because they only come when we’re away or asleep and they leave us hints of magic. So you need to go home and see if you find any hints of the magic.”

When the little boy returned to school the next day, he looked much more rested and cheerful. He reported that he’d found a small speckled stone by the fairy garden. He was convinced it was a hint of magic.

Like that little boy, we should all look for those hints of magic in our lives every day.

Here are photos of a few more of the fairy houses on the trail:

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Twitter and Instagram (@missyblog)

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Looking back at the year in blogs

31 Dec

As another challenging year comes to a close, I took a moment the other day to look back through all the blogs I wrote in 2021. It was a fun tour and I was a little surprised by the sheer number: 248. I really thought there’d be fewer than that, given that we were still dealing with the pandemic, schools were still ratcheting up from remote learning and many regularly-scheduled special events were scaled back or postponed entirely.

But it turns out I still had a lot to write about. For that matter, the largest percentage of those blogs were about special events that continued to be held despite COVID, or returned this year after being put on hold in 2020. They included Village events like the Trick-or-Treat Trail, White Christmas, the Family Games nights, Beer Walk, and the holiday summer parade. But several other Webster events also got my attention, including the St. Rita Fiesta, Waterfront Art Festival and the XRX Radio Club Field Day.

I wrote a lot about businesses, especially highlighting the new ones that opened this year despite the pandemic. And there were several of them: Whimsies, Crafty Christy’s Boutique, Village HandWorks, Cobblestone on Main, Polar Freeze, To the Core Pilates and Nourished. I wrote about the new owners at Diamond Collsion, yoga classes at Welch’s Greenhouses and anniversary parties at my two favorite pubs, Barry’s and Knucklehead. I lamented the passing of The Music Store, and explored a long-time village business, Village Mall Video, for the first time.

I spread positive news from our schools about the Webster Marching Band’s Autumn Fanfare and State Championship; the schools’ musicals and dramas, Plank North and Schlegel Elementary Schools’ Tour Around the Lakes; and the creative ways the PTSA found to help the Class of 2021 feel special.

I highlighted local organizations that create the fabric of our community (most of them several times), including the Chorus of the Genesee, Webster Museum, Webster Public Library, Friends of Webster Trails, Miracle Field, the Webster Theater Guild and Bella’s Bumbas.

Then there were all those blogs which I can only characterize as snippets from small-town life, the kinds of simple things and wonderful people that make living in Webster special.

I shared photos of many of our village’s beautiful gardens, charming village porches and Christmas decorations. I told stories about neighbors helping neighbors: the Curtice Park homeowner who hosted a COVID-friendly Easter scavenger hunt for kids; a porch concert on Park Ave.; and the kind person who’s created a wild animal sanctuary on the Hojack Trail. I especially liked giving shout-outs to kids doing great things, like the young artists who created a chalk garden on Baker Street, and the six-year old who sold lemonade on South Ave. to benefit St. Jude’s.

I’ve met many wonderful people through this blog, and shared many of their stories with you. Like “Webster’s Mrs. Claus,” Florence Kinney; Brandon Schafer, the “North Ave. Artist”; and the new director of the Webster Library, Adam Traub.

Finally, I shared some personal stories, and wrote others just for fun (like the recent one about the hit-and-run at the Irondequoit Rec Center).

I got a proclamation for outstanding community service from the Town of Webster in August, and displayed many of my blog photos at the Webster Public Library. I shared both of those accomplishments with you all. I introduced a new website, Afterthoughts, and a few enhancements to my Webster on the Web site, links to local services and a village directory.

And finally, there were the mysteries you worked through with me: Who lost that GoPro in the lake? Who WAS James Carnavale? Who was that man who painted the Holt Rd. sign?

Whew.

I know a lot of you are still reading this blog, three or more page scrolls down from where it began. I know that because you are the folks who’ve been with me all year.

You’re the reason I write this blog. Because even though I enjoy doing this, it would get pretty old if I thought my words weren’t making a difference.

So thank you all for being faithful readers. I wish you all a very happy, healthy and successful 2022, and I look forward to continuing to spread good news from our hometown.

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Twitter and Instagram (@missyblog)

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Webster community mailbag

9 Dec

Some of these “mailbag” items today didn’t actually come through the mail. I found out about them by scrolling through webpages or just saw them when I was out and about in the village.

Take this donation opportunity, for example, which I especially want to point out to patrons of Barry’s Old School Irish. A couple of regular patrons thre are very involved with the Father Laurence Tracy Advocacy Center on North Clinton Ave., a non-profit organization dedicated to providing advocacy services for the residents of the North Clinton neighborhood.

The box propped up on the windowsill in Barry’s musicians’ corner (“Kenny’s Corner,” for those of you REALLY regular customers). Patrons are invited to donate warm socks, hats, gloves, mittens and handwarmers for distribution to those the Father Tracy Center serves.

I’m told that last year the donation box was set up at Mama Lor’s, and it was overflowing. Let’s show them how our Barry’s Family and Webster Village community can do that as well.

Barry’s — and the box — are located at 2 West Main St.

Do you know a great teacher who deserves to get some extra special recognition? How about nominating him or her for an Oak Tree Award?

Co-Sponsored by the Webster Teachers’ Association and the Webster Central PTSA, the Oak Tree Award recognition program is an annual award designed to recognize teacher excellence in Webster CSD schools by honoring an educator from the elementary and the secondary levels. 

Any Webster resident or district employee, current or former student, parent, teacher, or administrative colleague may nominate a teacher for the Elementary or Secondary Teacher of the Year Oak Tree Award. Educators include: UPK-12 teachers, special educators, literacy specialists, school counselors, librarians/media specialists, school psychologists, school social workers, speech and language teachers, occupational therapists, and physical therapists. 

Award nominees must meet the following criteria:

  • Currently teaching in a full-time position in Webster Central School
  • Have a minimum of 5 years teaching experience in Webster Central Schools
  • Plan to continue to teach the next school year in, or retire from Webster Central Schools
  • Be a member of both the Webster Central PTSA and the Webster Teachers’ Association

Nominations are due by February 1, 2022. Click here For more information and a link to the nomination form.  

Webster’s next two blood donation opportunities are coming up next week.

On Tuesday Dec. 14, St. Martin’s Lutheran Church will sponsor a drive at the church, 813 Bay Rd., from 1 to 6 p.m.

Then the next day, Wednesday Dec. 15, a drive will be held at the Webster Firemen’s Building, 172 Sanford St. (at the south end of Firemen’s Field) from 1 to 7 p.m.

The Red Cross has a great promotion going on right now, too. Donate at either one of these drives and get a $10 Amazon gift card emailed to you. Click here to make an appointment.

A few notes from the musical guys of the Chorus of the Genesee. They’ll be performing at Eastview Mall in front of J C. Penney’s on Tuesday Dec. 14 at 6 p.m. This would be a fun time to get some Christmas shopping done.

I can’t make it to that, but I will definitely be taking part in the Chorus’ annual Soup and Caroling Night on Tuesday Dec. 21, beginning at 7 p.m.

For those of you not familiar with this event, here’s what I wrote about my experience a few years ago:

The Chorus has been hosting this evening of caroling for at least 24 years. There were also a whole lot more people at this event. I counted about 60 men, women, children and dogs. I was told that it was more than double what the Chorus usually draws. It helped, I think, that the weather was pretty pleasant.

Everyone gathered at the Harmony House, enjoying coffee and cookies, sheets of music and Santa hats were handed out, and when 7 p.m. rolled around, everyone filed out into the street.

The first stop, as it has been every year, was Webster Eyecare Associates, which is pretty much across the street from the Harmony House. The folks there have come to expect this annual visit by the Chorus carolers, and this year — for the first time — had donut holes and hot chocolate for the chilly singers.

I’m really looking forward to this, as I always do. I can’t say that I did a great job singing last time, but no one could hear me because the Chorus’ beautiful voices pretty much took center stage. But I did have some delicious soup and the company was grand.

This is the kind of thing that really makes our village special, and I encourage everyone to come out and enjoy.

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Twitter and Instagram (@missyblog)

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Webster Marching Band honored

2 Dec

Four weeks ago, the Webster Marching Band did something the district’s band hadn’t accomplished in more than 30 years. On Oct. 31 at the Carrier Dome, the Pride of Webster blew away the competition and took home the title of State Champion of the Large School 2 Division. (Click here to read the blog I wrote about that.)

On Wednesday Dec. 1, the band was honored for that outstanding achievement with both an official proclamation from the New York State Assembly, and citations from the New York State Senate.

The ceremony, held in the Schroeder High School auditorium, was short but meaningful for the more than 100 band members, parents and staff who attended.

After a welcome message from Webster CSD Superintendent Brian Neenan, the band’s student and staff members were invited to the podium to accept personal congratulations from Supt. Neenan and Sen. Pam Helming, who presented each with a citation following the ceremony.

In her remarks, Sen. Helming recalled her own experience playing an instrument in high school, and remined everyone that among all the extracurriculars students can choose in school, “Band is one of the longest seasons there is. “You start in the spring…then parade season in the summer, then the fall, those intense competitions. It’s a long, long season.”

Next, Iris Bieri, chief of staff for NYS Assemblymember Jen Lunsford, came to the podium to present an official proclamation (which you can read at the end of this blog). She reiterated Sen. Helming’s remarks about the kind of commitment it takes to be a marching band member, saying,

It’s a tremendous feat and I think you should be proud it’s been so long. But on top of it you won at a time of extreme difficulty in our community, our state, our country, our world. You persevered through a global pandemic. You were dedicated, you worked together, you practiced day in and day out and you overcame the odds at a particularly challenging time. So I wanted to acknowledge that not only were you the first team in Webster to win in over 30 years, but in a particularly challenging time as well. 

Finally, Webster Marching Band Director Jerbrel Bowens approached the microphone, to a standing ovation. He, too, remembered his high school days, when he was a band member for Webster Schroeder.

He said,

I remember sitting in this exact room, in those exact seats which feels like forever ago, 2011, and I had the same dream that all of you had as a marching band member, and that is to win our class. I think there’s been many students sitting in these seats in this same room with that same dream, and you should feel extremely proud of yourself for accomplishing something that 30 years of students and staff have always wanted to achieve.

It’s bigger than you think it is. 

Bowens also put in a plug for his staff members and the parent booster organization which has supported the band 24/7.  

I asked him why he thought this year was different from his first year as director in 2019. What was it that launched the band into first place in 2021?

He thought that, having to take 2020 off due to COVID, he had the time to design a program tailored specifically for this year’s students. But I suspect there was something less tangible in the mix, judging from a comment he made to Supt. Neenan back in October.

“It was after the Autumn Fanfare,” Neenan said. “Jerbrel and I were talking and Jerbrel said to me, ‘I have a good feeling about this group.'” He was so right.

The trophy and proclamation will be displayed somewhere in the district. The proclamation can be hung permanently, but the trophy has to be shared; each year’s winning school can keep it only until the following year’s competition. Unless they win it again, of course.

And they will.

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Twitter and Instagram (@missyblog)

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Below is the text of the proclamation:

It read….

Whereas in 1983 band director Paul Magin created the Webster Marching Band, which only participated in parades in its early years; and

Whereas the band is made up of seventh through twelfth grade students, all of whom come from the four secondary buildings in the Webster Central School District; and

Whereas the band competed in its first NYSFBC competition in 1985 and has participated annually ever since; and 

Whereas the band has also participated in several national championships, where it has been a finalist amongst some of the top bands in the country; and 

Whereas in 2011 the band members were named grand champions of the Outback Bowl in Tampa, Florida, and

Whereas in 2021, for the first time in 31 years, the Webster Marching Band brought home the NYSFBC championship plaque as well as their division’s Governor’s Cup; and now, therefore, be it

Proclaimed that I, Assemblymember Jen Lunsford, do hereby honor the Webster Marching Band for their strong work ethic and well-earned victory in the 2021 NYSCFB competition. 

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Webster Marching Band is #1 in the state!

2 Nov

This is why they’re called “The Pride of Webster.”

On Saturday, our very own Webster Marching Band blew away the competition at this year’s state championships, held at the Carrier Dome, earning the title of State Champion of the Large School 2 Division. It’s the first time the band has held the title in more than 30 years.

The band competed against eight other schools in their LS2 division, who attended from all over the state. At the end of the day, only 11 points separated the nine schools. But Webster stood alone at the top, with 90.8 points, a full 1.7 points ahead of second-place West Seneca. 

It was a very satisfying end to a VERY long day for the band members and their parent helpers.  

“Championship day is a FULL day,” wrote Band Director Jerbrel Owens. “We start early in the morning with a hearty breakfast and we then take the long drive to Syracuse. We are on a tight schedule so the students need to move quickly, warm-up, and move again until it’s our time to enter the Carrier Dome.” 

Bowens, himself a Webster grad and former Marching Band member, wrote the winning program, called “Unbroken.” 

Writing it was very fun, but most importantly it was written specifically for our students, which makes them successful as well as challenges them a bit. I believe that this is where the success began. We also work closely with a drill writer who wrote the drill just for our students which made it even more successful. We as staff gave them a “vehicle” and the students drove away with it and won!

I am honored to have written this show for them. 

Bowens’ long history with the band made it easier for him to create the perfect program for this year’s musicians and performers.

I marched in this program from 2009 to 2011, and I came back in 2016 to teach the drumline. This year was different. The same kids that were 6th graders when I came back were the student leaders this year, who I believe led their sections to success. All of the students understood the goal, agreed on that goal and achieved that goal.

This is all on the students. When the time starts at each show, it isn’t the staff anymore, it’s all on the kids. They deserve all of the applause for their actions as a TEAM. 

The Webster Marching Band, now in its 36th season, is made up of 66 student musicians and performers drawn from all four Webster secondary schools: Spry Middle School, Willink Middle School, Webster Schroeder High School, and Webster Thomas High School. Each band season begins with extensive training in the spring, followed by the summer parade season, and finally an eight-week competitive season. The band participated in six competitions this year, and not only did the Pride of Webster win every single one of them (also an historical achievement), they improved their score every week. Breaking the 90 barrier was a fitting end to an outstanding season.

After the performance, the band’s seniors and drum major assembled on the field with the other bands to hear the scores and receive their award. They were welcomed home on Halloween evening with a Webster police and fire department escort to celebrate their championship.

Congratulations to the all of the Webster Marching Band musicians and performers. Your hard work payed off big time. You truly do make Webster proud.

For more coverage of this great accomplishment, check out this video from Channel 8 WROC-TV.

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