I think the key if you have an April contest date is to not just focus on UIL 5 days a week. When I was the JH varsity director I would always have 3 or 4 spring concert pieces that I would dabble on once a week on Fridays usually. We'd run the program and record it, then work on something like Krakatoa, Zooveniers, Hercules vs. the Hydra, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Wizard of Oz, etc. For the kids that caught on quickly on the UIL music it gave them something to work on beyond it, and let us be better prepared for the spring concert.

Generally with my HS band we have a day of full-band or I hit a spring piece with my wind ensemble if we do a full week of not combining. (I'm in a small 3A, our kids do everything, so in the spring there are almost always days where the Wind Ensemble or the second band are hit with so many absences it just makes more sense to combine groups that day)

The other thing is I think a lot of times the idea of being sick of them is a reflection on us too. Find new things and tricks to add to the pieces. More dynamics, be pickier about tuning a particular chord, style in certain places, etc.