Hi Everyone,
We hope you are doing well!
First, you should have received the PCSD Return to Marching Band guidelines through your email. It is very important thatyou review this document if you have not already done so. It will answer many of the questions you have about Band Camp.
Second, we would like to inform you of some of the changes we are making in order to facilitate a successful band camp this year.
SCHEDULE: We are modifying our calendar and our schedule for band camp in the following ways:
July 13th – July 17th: All percussionists and colorguard members report for camp. No wind players (flutes, clarinets, saxophones, trumpets, mellophones, trombones, euphoniums, tubas) will report for camp this week (this is different than what we have done in the past). Colorguard members should arrive NO EARLIER than 8:00 AM and percussionists should arrive NO EARLIER than 8:15 AM to ensure a successful and efficient check in process. All student drop-off will occur in the bus loop outside of the band room.
Our colorguard will report from 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM Monday through Friday and our Percussionists will report from 8:15 AM – 5:15 PM Monday through Friday. We are staggering the arrival and departure times to provide time for in-car temperature checks and to encourage social distancing.
July 20th – July 24th: All percussionists, colorguard members, and wind players will report for camp. Wind players should arrive at 7:45 AM, Colorguard Members should arrive at 8:00 AM, and Percussionists should arrive at 8:15 AM. Again, all student drop-off will occur in the bus loop outside of the band room.
Wind Players – Monday through Friday from 7:45 AM – 4:45 PM.
Colorguard Members – Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Percussionists – Monday through Friday from 8:15 AM – 5:15 PM
DAILY STUDENT CHECK IN PROCESS: Students should remain in their cars as they pull into the bus loop. Staff members will approach the cars to take temperatures and ask questions related to Covid-19 exposure. Once this process is completed, students may exit their cars and staff members will direct them to the appropriate rehearsal areas. Students must bring lunch with them daily, their SPHS Band Water cooler filled with water, and enough water to last them throughout the day. (We will have SPHS Band Water Coolers available for our new members on the first day of camp, so they will need to bring EXTRA water on their first day.) PER the PCSD, students will not be allowed to refill their water bottles on campus utilizing water fountains, although they can utilize individual water bottles for refills (which we have on hand.)
STUDENT PICK UP: Per the PCSD, students are not allowed to “hang out” on campus after rehearsal. Students must have rides and depart immediately after rehearsal. Parents – we will ensure that rehearsal stops on time during band camp – please make sure that your students are picked up on time.
REHEARSAL LOCATIONS: As you have already read in the document provided by the PCSD, our wind players cannot play their instruments inside the building. The good news is that this does not impact our percussionists or color guard at all – they are still allowed to play inside the building. That being said, this does present some challenges for us. Generally at band camp, we do all of our “Marching Technique” outside in the mornings and then come inside in the afternoons for music rehearsal. This year we are going to flip that schedule. Wind sectionals will occur outside in the mornings, and marching fundamentals will happen inside the building (utilizing the gyms in the building) in the afternoons. More information on sectional locations for our wind players will come digitally before they report on the 20th.
LUNCH / EQUIPMENT STORAGE: Students will be assigned classrooms throughout the building to utilize for lunch every day and for equipment / case storage throughout the day. We do highly encourage, whenever feasible, that students arrive and depart with their instruments daily. We are fully aware that in some cases (sousaphones, percussionists, etc.) this will not be possible.
STUDENT LEADERSHIP: We will plan to have a student leadership meeting on Friday, July 17th, from 8:30 AM – 12:00 PM.
I think we all know that EVERYTHING is going to look different this year, but ultimately our mission is always to provide students with an outstanding music education while ensuring student safety. We look forward to being able to work with our students again soon! Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us with any questions you may have.
Thank you!
