Joe Craig

Hello all, My name is Joe Craig, and I am the band director at Beechwood. Let me first start off by apologizing for any rules violations that occurred during the Cov. Cath. FB game last Friday. That was certainly not our intention. Our student section has a "Make Some Noise" sign that they flash when they want a lot of crowd noise. Several of the students asked if the band would make some noise as well when they flashed the sign. I wasn't sure if we were allowed to do so, but I thought that we would try it and if we weren't allowed an official would tell us so. At no point did any official tell us to stop, so I assumed it was ok to do so. Now that I'm aware of the rules in this regard, rest assured we will not do this again. My apologies to anyone offended by our actions, our intention was simply to be highly involved in a great game with a great rivalry between our two great schools. Now, to the several posts regarding the band's support of the Beechwood FB team and the like. For those who have posted stating these opinions, I'm truly sorry that you have these thoughts and opinions about our band program and our students. Since I feel that both positive and negative opinions of the band reflect upon my leadership, all I will say is that if you are truly part of the Beechwood family, let's get together and meet to talk about these issues. Call me, email me, set up a time to meet at school or after school. While we may not agree on everything, I would hope that we can agree that Beechwood is an awesome school with amazing students. Whether they be on the Football Field, the Band Field, or the Soccer Field, or even if they're not on the field, they are all Beechwood Students, and as such are not only worthy but demanding of our respect. As a 10 year member of the Beechwood faculty, I've grown to love this place very much, and since I teach most all of these kids at some point (i teach all the 5th and 6th graders at Beechwood each year) I can tell you with absolute certainty that while my job title is Band Director here at Beechwood, I love watching all of our students excel. And I know I'm not alone in this regard, I would say our teacher, coaches, and administration all feel the same way. Again, my door is always open. I love talking to parents/students here at Beechwood, and if you're interested I'd be more than happy to talk with you anytime. Sincerely, Joe Craig Director of Bands Beechwood High School