Dear Poppy Music Families,
I wanted to take a moment welcome everyone back for DW Poppy Music’s 2020/21 season. I would also like to welcome Mr. Jered Steeves, our new choir director!
School in 2020/21 will certainly look different due to CoVID-19 and though we know it will look a bit different in the band and choir rooms this year at Poppy, we’re happy to say that when we are in face-to-face instruction with kids, we are also able to run choir and band! We will be doing so by adding a number of safety protocols we will be sharing in the coming weeks, based on research undertaken internationally, collated in the “Guidance for Music Classes in British Columbia During Covid-19”. The largest of these studies is the “International Coalition of Performing Arts Aerosol Study” led by Dr. Shelly Miller (University of Colorado Boulder) and Dr. Jelena Srebric (University of Maryland) which I’ve linked. I will be sharing other research in the coming weeks, but please know that while we are excited to return to making music together, our priority is to do so safely and if new research dictates, we will make changes as we go to protect the kids. SAFETY is our first priority.
While the quarterly timetable will create some interesting new opportunities for Band 8, 9 and 10 which I’m very excited about, our off-timetable music schedule will be running basically as has in past years, allowing us to maintain some of our traditions while we also create new ones. We are waiting to confirm our early-morning start times, but the kids (and parents!) will be able to sleep in later this year!
DRAFT OFF-TIMETABLE 2020/21 SCHEDULE
- Senior Jazz and Junior Choir – Monday & Thursday before school
- Junior Jazz and Senior Choir – Tuesday & Friday before school
- Senior Wind Ensemble – Wednesday before school and Monday & Friday* at lunch
- Vocal Jazz – Tuesday & Thursday* after school
*Due to the new hybrid senior schedule, these rehearsals will be confirmed with the students
We will share more music program details as we have them confirmed, but know that Jered and I are excited to see the kids and find a bit of normalcy in making music together in a safe way in September!
Mark