It was another great weekend for the Newtown High School Marching Band & Guard.

The USBands New England States Championships were held at Veterans Memorial Stadium in New Britain on Saturday, October 29. The Marching Nighthawks performed its show, “The Circles All Around Us,” earning another first-place title. The score of 88.8, in Class 2 Open division, is the highest the band and guard have earned this season.

“Newtown should be incredibly proud of the 50 students in this year’s band and guard,” said Dianna Pategas, president of the NHS Band & Guard Parent organization. “These kids have an incredibly rigorous 14-week season, and this year’s group includes a number of seventh and eighth graders. Each member has dug deep to bring a new level of personal excellence, and the results can be seen every week in competition. I’m so proud of our students, and I cannot wait to see their performance at Nationals on November 5.”

On November 5, the band and guard will travel to MetLife Stadium for its final competition of the season. It will compete in a field of eight bands and guards from Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. In all the divisions, there will be over 40 schools competing at MetLife that day, with additional groups performing in exhibition. Once the Newtown students are finished competing, they will have the opportunity to watch several East Coast bands and guards perform.