Denny Middle School principal Jeff Clark sent WSB pix of the new Denny-sponsored All-City Junior Marching Band in the recent Kiddies’ Parade, with an update letting us — and you — know there’s been a lot going on at his school this summer (vacation? what vacation?). And that dovetails with updates on two opportunities to get involved with both the new Denny/Sealth campus and with plans for the future of the Denny site once its replacement is built on that shared campus (where major work is under way now, as we reported last week) – and tomorrow’s the deadline to get in on one of those opportunities. Read on for all the details:

First: Tomorrow’s the last day to volunteer for an advisory committee that will consider zoning changes for the combined Denny/Sealth campus.

The notice says, “Changes to the zoning standards are being requested to allow: 1) less than required off street parking; and 2) greater than allowed height.” That requires hearings before a committee of 10 people described as follows:

1. Two (2) persons from the area within 600 feet of the combined sites of the present Denny or Sealth Schools including one resident and one property or business owner.
2. Two (2) representatives of the broader neighborhood.
3. One (1) representative-at-large.
4. Two (2) representatives of parents of students at the schools.
5. Two (2) non-voting representatives of the City of Seattle, from the Department of Neighborhoods and the Department of Design Construction and Land Use.
6. One (1) representative of the Seattle School District.

To volunteer for this committee, e-mail Thao Tran ASAP at thao.tran@seattle.gov.

One more group for which you can sign up: The “design team” that’s going to help figure out the future of the Denny site. Even though the school will not be open till sometime in 2011 (the district now says it’s hoping to complete the new Denny in early 2011, which raises the possibility the move could be made before fall 2011), the district expects to settle the site’s fate much sooner. The Westwood Neighborhood Council has put forth its vision for what the site could become (see it here), and expects to be closely involved in the process of determining the final plan, but more community involvement is vital too.

To sign up for the Design Team, use this online form from the district website, where the Denny/Sealth project page also is starting to show some topical updates.

Now, back to what’s happening at Denny right now – here’s that update from Denny principal Jeff Clark:

We have been running four exciting programs for our current and future students:

* The Denny Academic Summer School for students going into grades 6 through 9
* The Denny Community Learning Center Summer Camp
* The Denny Latino Summer Camp
* The Denny Jr. All-City Band Camp

One of the programs, the Junior All-City Band, had an especially exciting day (recently) as they marched in the Renton River Days Parade. This was the first major parade for this newly formed group.

The Junior All-City Band is an ensemble of elementary and middle school students mentored by students from the Seattle Schools All-City Marching Band. The band is sponsored by Denny Middle School and runs under the direction of Denny Music Director Marcus Pimpleton. Currently, the band includes students from Highland Park Elementary, Concord Elementary, Roxhill Elementary, Denny Middle School and Madison Middle School with high school coaches from Chief Sealth, West Seattle, and Roosevelt High Schools.

This isn’t the first time Denny and its staff/students have kept busy even when school’s not in session; during midwinter break earlier this year, we dropped by for this WSB report on academic and music programs that were in full swing. Meantime, to continue tracking the Denny/Sealth project and the Denny site’s future, watch this WSB archive (newest to oldest).