Tours: Six Year Plan 7-12
OKM Music - "The Six Year Plan"
We pace the band trips over a student’s 6 years (Grade 7-12) at OKM for best educational and budget outcomes.It has a foundation of excellence in skill building for musicianship, with meaningful performances and optional travel opportunities that drives our progress. All tours are optional and extra-curricular. They are first proposed to parents at our General Band Parents' Meetings, and they run subject to approval by the Board of Trustees. All tours are extra-curricular, and optional.
We value having every student who chooses to participate in the extra-curricular tours being able to come along, if they are willing to work at the fundraising, done through our Band Parents' Organization. Please consider volunteering to help the parent team. Every October the Band Parents meet and regroup.
Junior Bands (Grade 7-9) For the grade 7's and 8’s there are no major trips. We focus on skill development, local concerts, and the planning and fundraising can begin for future trips. The budgets for all tours for 6 years at OKM is known to all students, starting in Grade 7, so that advance planning and fundraising can assist every student who wants to go on our tours, raise their own funds. Every year, we propose a major tour for the Grade 9’s, at around the $4 - 500 range. This tour provides an excellent motivation and goal for our junior musicians to develop musicianship, and to get some experience with touring.
Senior Bands (Grades 10-12).
Since 1999, every third year, the OKM 10-12’s have an international tour. On the off years, we offer a small tour with a strong and motivational music connection, if it fits within the surrounding activities at OKM.
To make the Senior tours accessible - Students and Band Parents will have had 4-6 years of notice, to give lots of time to raise the funds. In OKM Senior Tours in 1999, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2009, and 2011, 2014, and 2017, we had students who were able to raise 100% of their funds through OKM Band Parent fundraising initiatives, With this advanced notice, together with the consistent and persistent commitments from students and band parents, these tours can be accessible for every student (where there's a will, there's a way)
We value having every student who chooses to participate in the extra-curricular tours being able to come along, if they are willing to work at the fundraising, done through our Band Parents' Organization. Please consider volunteering to help the parent team. Every October the Band Parents meet and regroup.
Junior Bands (Grade 7-9) For the grade 7's and 8’s there are no major trips. We focus on skill development, local concerts, and the planning and fundraising can begin for future trips. The budgets for all tours for 6 years at OKM is known to all students, starting in Grade 7, so that advance planning and fundraising can assist every student who wants to go on our tours, raise their own funds. Every year, we propose a major tour for the Grade 9’s, at around the $4 - 500 range. This tour provides an excellent motivation and goal for our junior musicians to develop musicianship, and to get some experience with touring.
Senior Bands (Grades 10-12).
Since 1999, every third year, the OKM 10-12’s have an international tour. On the off years, we offer a small tour with a strong and motivational music connection, if it fits within the surrounding activities at OKM.
To make the Senior tours accessible - Students and Band Parents will have had 4-6 years of notice, to give lots of time to raise the funds. In OKM Senior Tours in 1999, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2009, and 2011, 2014, and 2017, we had students who were able to raise 100% of their funds through OKM Band Parent fundraising initiatives, With this advanced notice, together with the consistent and persistent commitments from students and band parents, these tours can be accessible for every student (where there's a will, there's a way)
The planning process for all tours requires some flexibility, because there is a catch 22: our final itinerary and budgets cannot be 100% known until we know how many students will sign up for each tour. Therefore, all itinerary items and budgets are subject to changes according to the discretion of OKM teachers and administration.