MSMS Band Back to School Info and Protocols

Good evening MSMS Band! It’s been a long time since we were last together in March and a lot has happened since then. I hope that all of you and your families are in good health and that you are enjoying the summer!

We will soon be going to back to school. I trust by now that many of you have seen the Muscle Shoals City Schools Reopening Plan. Muscle Shoals Middle School has their own specific plan, as well. If you have not read over them, I encourage you to visit the Muscle Shoals City Schools website: www.mscs.k12.al.us

For many students, school is something they look forward to each day. As parents, we also know that a routine for young people is vital to their development both academically and socially. The band directors have been able to start the process of a “new normal” with the high school band students these past few weeks. The mood has been wonderful and the energy and enthusiasm is something that we have missed since we let out of school back in the spring. Getting the kids back together has been fantastic!

That being said, this was something that was not done flippantly. Many hours of planning went into our own “return to school” for the band kids. We have adhered to the recommendations set forth by the CDC, the Alabama Dept. of Public Health, and Muscle Shoals City Schools. We were excited to have the opportunity to bring the kids back to campus, but we were also very cautious in our approach.

The same will be true for your middle school students. I know MANY of them are looking forward to being back in school, and particularly, band class.

Parents, we know that you have some hard decisions to make concerning sending your child to school or enrolling in the virtual school option. I wanted to let you know of some things that we hope to be able to put in place to promote the safety of your child while they are in band class at MSMS. This info will hopefully give you some guidance so you can make the best decision for your child. This is something that is extremely important to the directors. Please know that many hours of discussion went into this planning.

  1. Masks Each director will be wearing a mask during each class. We are also working on obtaining special masks for all of our band students. These masks are liken to “Gaiter Masks” which go around your neck and come up and cover your mouth and nose. They are made of a dri-fit material that help to wick moisture. These, in my opinion, are one of the most comfortable masks to wear, especially for a long period of time. These would be specific masks to band as they will have a horizontal slit in them for the students to be able to play their instruments.  The University of Colorado at Boulder recently conducted a study or wind instruments and aerosols.  This study actually proved instrumental playing is safer and spreads less aerosols thank speaking in class.  If schools require masks, we can play through a mask as this particular study recommends. The above mentioned “Gaiter Masks” would work well.
  2. Sanitation Before and after each class, the directors will sanitize each piece of equipment used by your student; i.e. chairs, stands, floors, doors, door handles, pens, pencils, etc. Hand sanitizer will be readily available for your children to use, and we will encourage them to use it as they enter the room as well as when they exit.
  3. Bell Covers Last week, some preliminary info came out from several universities concerning aerosols and wind instrument playing. It was shown that having a bell cover reduced the flow of air/aerosols that came out of the instrument. Certain materials can be used without hindering the students ability to play the instrument. This info is relatively new to us but we would like to incorporate these bell covers into our every day use. Once we have more info on these covers, we will pass it on to you.
  4. Distancing When students enter the bandroom, they may notice that the chair/stand setup will be slightly different than they remember. We are allowing as much space as we can between students. 6 feet is the recommendation, as most of us know. However, our bandroom is not large enough to space large groups apart at 6 feet. I have been in communication with our administrators concerning this issue. They are diligently working through possible scenarios/locations on campus that may suit our needs. Please note, I have not been guaranteed anything yet. The administrators and I speak almost every day. They are working on the issue of spacing for us. The good thing we have going for us is that we have 3 directors. We DO have two other rooms we can put kids into to help with the spacing in the bandroom: the percussion room as well as another classroom right inside the main school building. We are by far the largest classes on campus with the exception of PE. As challenging as this is, it’s wonderful that we have so many kids in band!

If your child chooses the virtual school option, they can still come to the school and participate in band class! We are a performing group and those groups are still able to come and meet on campus. This was stated in the MSMS Reopening plan put together by Mrs. Ritter and Mr. Goodwin (our new principal) I would HIGHLY encourage your child to come to the band class if able. The unknown about the virtual school option would be if your child had to meet online during a certain time for a particular academic class. At this time, we don’t know what the virtual school schedule looks like.

I do realize that some of you may feel the virtual option would be best for you child. I also understand why there needs to be this option. The health and safety of each student as well as parents and other adults cannot be understated. These times are unprecedented and call for unprecedented understanding and flexibility from everyone involved.

I look forward to the start of school, as do Mrs. Hood and Mr. Waters. This is a special year, especially for Mr. Waters and myself as our daughters will be starting band in the 6th grade. We plan on sending our children to school. I am confident the faculty and staff at MSMS will do everything in its power and go above and beyond to ensure the safety of our children.

I hope that I was able to answer some of your questions and concerns. We know these are challenging times and we wanted you, at least from a band point of view, to be informed as much as possible.

Please reach out to any of us if you have any more questions or concerns. We are here for you.

Hope to Seay many of you soon! GO BAND!

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