By Akira Sumpter and Alexander Riddick 

The Patterson High School band participated in their yearly class adjudication on Tuesday, March 10th. Adjudications are like the AP exams for music students and their director.

There were many new students participating in band activities this year with about 70% just starting their musical journey. Even with most band members being new musicians, the band still got superior rankings from the four judges who adjudicated them. This is nothing new to the band director Ms. Williams. She has dedicated her time and energy into making sure her students get the best experience possible.

The students later went to Dave & Busters to celebrate, some for their first ever adjudication and some for their last. This was a well deserved reward for our beginning band students for their hard work and excellence in the practice room.

Here are a few reflections from some of our past and current 12th grade band members, as they get ready to say goodbye to Patterson and its music program:

“This is all thanks to our school’s very own Ms. Williams, one of the kindest, most honest people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and learning from since my sophomore year. Thank you for being more than a teacher.”

-Akira Sumpter

“Ms. Williams is a great teacher who really cares about her students. She keeps it real and is great at teaching music. I was very blessed to be in her class and I’m very grateful for everything she taught me with or without words.”

-Alexander Riddick 

“Even though we can be knuckleheads at times, Ms. Williams still pushes for us to be better and never once has put us down.” 

-Jared Portillo