The Colonia High School Marching Patriots have been a staple at CHS since its dedication in 1967. However, how has their 2024 season set itself apart from previous years?
Pre–Season and Training
The Marching Patriots’ pre–season began on August 19th 2024 with band camp, a two week period at the end of the summer in which band members practice their music and learn their show on the field. Band camp this year took place Monday through Friday from 1:00 PM to 8:00 PM, in which students learned the 2024 Marching Patriots program Spin. The program included three movements: movement one, ‘Propulsion,’ movement two, ‘Resonance,’ and movement three, ‘Terminal Velocity.’ By the end of band camp, members learned all of movements one and two, which they would go on to perform at competitions over the next two weeks. Students fully learned the show and were ready to perform at competitions by week three.
When asked about pre–season, Colonia High School Senior and marching band drum major Roxanne Rotusniak shared her thoughts, stating ‘I think it’s satisfying to see how we started out with nothing, and over a period of two weeks we were able to develop individually and as a team. We were ready by our first game and I’m glad we gave it our all and did our best.’
The First Competition at Hightstown High School
The Colonia High School Marching Patriots participated in their first competition at Hightstown High School in Hightstown, New Jersey on October 5, 2024. The competition went smoothly in accordance with current progress on the show, and both students and staff were satisfied with their performance. At the awards ceremony, CHS ended up taking home silver in Group II A, with a score of 77.100.
‘I definitely think that we grew from our first competition,’ stated Rotusniak. ‘After everyone’s critiques from the judges, everyone applied it to their marching and technique. I think that helped us in getting such a high score toward the end of the season.’
The Competition at North Brunswick Township High School
The second competition performed by the Marching Patriots took place at North Brunswick Township High School on October 12, 2024. The competition went very smoothly in the beginning, however, a musical tear, in which two sections of the band played two different sections of the written piece, became present toward the end of the first movement. The band made a quick recovery afterward, playing the rest of the show according to plan. At the awards ceremony, CHS ended up taking home silver again in Group II A. With a score of 78.100, they were one full point higher than the Hightstown competition.
‘I think that no matter how much you practice – stuff will always happen,’ stated Rotusniak. ‘Despite the tear, we got back on track and did not let it hinder the rest of our show.’ When asked about scoring, Rotusniak continued by saying, ‘ I think that not having the mistake would have had us score better, but we were able to recover. I think that taught us a greater lesson than winning would have.’
The Final Competition at Hillsborough High School
Colonia High School’s last competition took place at Hillsborough High School on October 19, 2024. After weeks of practicing and perfecting various marching techniques, students felt confident in their ability to perform on the field. The show went exactly as planned, and the students were extremely pleased with their performance. At awards, CHS ended up taking home silver in Group II A, with a score of 84.300. This made it the highest score the Marching Patriots had earned in six years.
‘It was a bittersweet moment,’ recounts Rotusniak. ‘Knowing it was the last time performing, but knowing our last time was so great.’ Reflecting on her time as drum major for the Marching Patriots, Rotusniak stated, ‘Being able to be a drum major for such a great set of musicians and people made me not only so proud to be a part of this band – but being able to lead them made me so happy that we were able to break our record while knowing it was done with pride.’
