By Caroline Foley ’21
For a little over two months, BHS has had nearly no cases, and in-person classes have been working well. Now, although COVID-19 cases are rising, the high school’s band will be moving to indoor, in-person lessons.
The BHS band has been entirely remote, even after the hybrid schedule was introduced.
Now, the state has allowed for in-person rehearsals to begin. November 16th was the first The band will continue to follow the cohort schedule, with the band being split up in thirds, with one-third practicing in person, and the other students joining remotely with Google Meet.
Rehearsals take place in the auditorium so there is enough space to social distance during the class, and seating charts make sure students are a minimum of 10 ft. apart. Students wear special masks in order to play into their instruments, and covers are put over the bells of the instruments so sound can be heard but the breath students blow out can’t escape through the instrument.
While the state is allowing these in-person rehearsals to begin, not all students were as excited to switch to this model. One student who was worried about heading to in-person rehearsals said they did feel better after seeing that most students were seated about 12 ft. apart, which is more than the minimum.
They said, however, that they didn’t see why they were moving to a riskier model when COVID cases are around the same numbers as they were in March and April during lockdown. This student also showed frustration in the administration’s encouragement of this in-person model.
“I’m mad at the administration for putting words in our mouths and saying we should be okay with band in person if we’re going to other classes in person,” they said. “They are not on the same level.”
For now, the band is meeting in-person, and no change in this model, or the regular hybrid model, have been proposed for this winter. The school continues to see almost no cases, and everyone has done a good job cooperating with the COVID guidelines, so hopefully it stays that way.
Photo: BHS Band performing their winter concert virtually in June 2020
