KAMSACK — The KCI Senior Band is gearing up for an exciting journey to Mount Rushmore this fall, after rescheduling their annual year-end trip due to unforeseen school sanctions.
The trip, which was originally set for June, will now take place from Sept. 23 to 28. The band, composed of students from grades 9 to 12, will make a stop at the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota, for workshops with university students and professors before heading to various historical sites along the way.
“We had to get creative with our year-end plans,” said KCI's long-time band director Darren Kitsch, during an interview with the Kamsack Times on Music Education Day. “Although we couldn’t play all the music we learned last year, we managed to hold a concert during awards day, which was a great in-person experience.”
The Mount Rushmore trip, a major highlight of the year, will include educational stops that tie into other curriculum areas such as Indigenous Studies and Wildlife Management, allowing students to engage with more than just music.
In addition to the Mount Rushmore trip, KCI had to cancel its junior and beginner band trip to Moose Jaw in the spring due to scheduling conflicts, but Kitsch anticipates a return for the Moose Jaw Festival in May 2024.
Expanding music education at KCI
At KCI, music education is a priority for all students in grades five and six, with band becoming an optional subject for students in grades seven through twelve. The school provides all the necessary instruments, thanks to ongoing support from the school division.
“We want to make it accessible for every student,” Kitsch said. “We’ve been lucky to receive enough support to offer instruments for everyone, which makes it easier for families and helps build a stronger band program.”
“Well, I've been in Kamsack teaching a band for music for...Well, this is my twenty-first year. The band has evolved over the years. In its numbers just because of the student school population. But as a band program we get to do a lot of very interesting and exciting opportunities such as honor bands, clinics and festivals. So I try and do more than just a Christmas concert and a spring concert. And then I get a few students here and there that excel and they want to do more. I've even taken some students to Yorkton for the adult band program out of Yorkton. So we play in the adult band in Yorkton with myself, my son, and a couple of other students from KCI.”
Looking ahead to future projects
Beyond the Mount Rushmore trip and the Moose Jaw Festival, KCI’s band has set its sights on another major trip in 2026. To offset the cost of these trips, the band participates in various fundraisers throughout the year.
Another notable program returning to KCI this year is the Fish in Schools program, supported by the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation’s Kamsack branch. The program, which provides students with hands-on learning experiences.
“I plan on bringing back the Fish in Schools program. So we'll be running that again this year and I've actually purchased another aquarium so just to have some more fish, other kinds of tropical fish in the school as well. But we’re looking to have classrooms participate in any way they can with a curriculum guide that's been developed by the Schedule Wildlife Federation. And it meets outcomes from all of their subject areas, English and social studies for writing, and obviously the science side of it as well. We will have that available and those resources available for teachers to use and have the fish there for them when they want to come and check it out and see what we're doing.” they said.
