Hello Band Families,
Firstly, let me start by saying that I hope everyone is still safe and healthy during this time. This has been a stressful time for us all and I'm sure such a high level of uncertainty has not been easy on anyone. With there being so much information coming at you, I thought it better to use this page in a FAQ style format to make navigation easier to digest. As always please feel free to contact me or any director by email. We can also accept your call or text at (704) 729-4509.
Again we realize that this has been a hard time for all of our Pirate families and that this uncertainty has caused a lot of stress and various emotions. If there is anything we as directors can do for you or if you just need help making sense of everything going on with all these updates coming from multiple sources. We are here for you and We are still PR even during a Pandemic.
- Mr. Ross
Firstly, let me start by saying that I hope everyone is still safe and healthy during this time. This has been a stressful time for us all and I'm sure such a high level of uncertainty has not been easy on anyone. With there being so much information coming at you, I thought it better to use this page in a FAQ style format to make navigation easier to digest. As always please feel free to contact me or any director by email. We can also accept your call or text at (704) 729-4509.
Again we realize that this has been a hard time for all of our Pirate families and that this uncertainty has caused a lot of stress and various emotions. If there is anything we as directors can do for you or if you just need help making sense of everything going on with all these updates coming from multiple sources. We are here for you and We are still PR even during a Pandemic.
- Mr. Ross
Will there Be Marching Band This Year?
Short answer is yes!
The longer, more nuanced answer is that things will look very different than how it has looked in the past. Due to the Covid Pandemic and the limited availability of time resources the Band of Union County have made the hard but necessary decision to forgo competitive aspirations for this season. Current state Covid regulation only allows student groups to rehearse for 90 minutes once a day in small groups. These groups must remain the same through the entirety of summer in order to keep cross contamination of groups at a minimum. These restrictions are in best interest to keep to keep our students safe, but they also make learning a traditional competitive show difficult. Fall transportation at this time is still uncertain, so we have no new information about future travel.
We are still the biggest advocates for the members of the Band of Pirates and are looking forward to giving each of our students a rewarding and meaningful experience this year with a more community based focus. As always this is a fluid situation as we hope that we can have more positive outcomes by the end of the season!
The longer, more nuanced answer is that things will look very different than how it has looked in the past. Due to the Covid Pandemic and the limited availability of time resources the Band of Union County have made the hard but necessary decision to forgo competitive aspirations for this season. Current state Covid regulation only allows student groups to rehearse for 90 minutes once a day in small groups. These groups must remain the same through the entirety of summer in order to keep cross contamination of groups at a minimum. These restrictions are in best interest to keep to keep our students safe, but they also make learning a traditional competitive show difficult. Fall transportation at this time is still uncertain, so we have no new information about future travel.
We are still the biggest advocates for the members of the Band of Pirates and are looking forward to giving each of our students a rewarding and meaningful experience this year with a more community based focus. As always this is a fluid situation as we hope that we can have more positive outcomes by the end of the season!
Will There Be Band Camp?
Yes!
If we can make music safely, we will. Band camp for ALL MEMBERS will occur on August 3, 4, and 5.
The entire rehearsal window will take place from 5:45 - 8:00 PM and adhere to the following schedule
5:45-6:25 PM: Student Check in and safety check (student must stay in their cars)
6:25 PM: Students move to predetermined small group rehearsal locations
6:30 PM: Rehearsal Begins
8:00 PM: Students are dismissed.
All other information will be given after Families fill out their Band Camp Survey which can be found below:
Band Camp Survey - Click Here
*You can be enrolled in the class, but still feel uncomfortable with camp attendance. That is ok and your choice to make.
It is equally possible to want to choose Plan D and still want to attend band camp. That is also your choice to make.
If we can make music safely, we will. Band camp for ALL MEMBERS will occur on August 3, 4, and 5.
The entire rehearsal window will take place from 5:45 - 8:00 PM and adhere to the following schedule
5:45-6:25 PM: Student Check in and safety check (student must stay in their cars)
6:25 PM: Students move to predetermined small group rehearsal locations
6:30 PM: Rehearsal Begins
8:00 PM: Students are dismissed.
All other information will be given after Families fill out their Band Camp Survey which can be found below:
Band Camp Survey - Click Here
*You can be enrolled in the class, but still feel uncomfortable with camp attendance. That is ok and your choice to make.
It is equally possible to want to choose Plan D and still want to attend band camp. That is also your choice to make.
How Much are Fees this year?
This is still a fluid question for us. We know that fees this year will be significantly lower than they have been in previous years. Any fee assessed will cover camp staff and Band of Pirates "Fall Uniform" as well as personal items the directors deem helpful in keeping individual students safe such as masks designed for instrumentalist or personal instrument sterilization equipment. PRBB treasurers will be contacting all families soon to clarify what families are being asked to contribute.
What are we doing to keep our students safe?
Safety is important to us! We have a strict set of guidelines created by UCPS that must be followed in order to insure the health of our band members.
- All Students will be required to fill out an initial screening form before returning or entering rehearsal for the 1st time.
- Daily Screenings before entering rehearsal for the first time.
- Daily temperature checks before entering rehearsal
- Rehearsal groups are limited to 25 persons (Including instructors) on a single practice field and can last no longer than 90 minutes.
- All PRHS band students are required to maintain a social distance of 15 feet in order to mitigate the dangers of airborne water droplets or aerosols.
- After the first rehearsal students must take all instruments home and bring them each day so as to not enter the building or the enclosed storage space.
- No sharing of instruments, mouthpieces, or sticks.
- Students must bring their own water and hydration system to practice.
- All persons must wear a mask when not playing at all times including students and instructors/directors.
Do We have any volunteer needs?
This is also fluid. We are working with our administration to understand what kind of help we can have during the camp period.
Sewing: Moms and Dads that sew WE NEED YOUR HELP with making simple bell covers for all our brass players!
Props: We need our props from grow to til tall disassembled to create more storage space in our trailers. In case we have to move equipement into the trailers during our attempts to outfit our classroom for social distancing.
We do know that we will not be able to have you on campus at all if you have not updated or filled out a volunteer form and been approved by the county. They can be found here:
https://www.ucps.k12.nc.us/Page/5863
Sewing: Moms and Dads that sew WE NEED YOUR HELP with making simple bell covers for all our brass players!
Props: We need our props from grow to til tall disassembled to create more storage space in our trailers. In case we have to move equipement into the trailers during our attempts to outfit our classroom for social distancing.
We do know that we will not be able to have you on campus at all if you have not updated or filled out a volunteer form and been approved by the county. They can be found here:
https://www.ucps.k12.nc.us/Page/5863
What will the fall season/class look like
This is an ever evolving question that will take sometime and training from our superiors to answer. We are committed to giving our students a good experience, but are also equally committed to your safety. School officials have already started to work the details to maintain both for our students in the fall.