Clarification on how band is working this school year:
Families were presented with two options for school this year; virtual or face to face. The virtual option is being taught via an online system and while it will be supervised and supplemented by OV teachers, these are not the same teachers that are teaching the face to face classes. Since I (Mr. Merchant) am the only band director for the district, I will be teaching the face to face classes and there is not a virtual option for band. All virtual students will be welcomed back to band when they return to face to face, even if it is not until next year!
Both middle school and high school students may choose to take band face to face, and then take their other classes virtually. I have students in all three levels doing this now. The tough part about this choice is that the school can not help with transportation.
For kids who can come face to face, band looks a little different:
High School Band meets first period. These kids all get to be in the same band, but only will meet the first and third nine weeks. So we have band August-October, and then January-March. More information will be listed on the Marching Band page soon.
High School Jazz Band is running year round after school.
7th and 8th Grade Bands have been divided in half. Half of the kids have band now, the other half will have band starting in January. There are two reasons for this: 1. Longer class periods mean kids get a year's worth of time in a semester. 2. Splitting the kids in half allow for greater social distancing and safety. When the kids are not in band they will get other encore classes that they would not get if they stayed in band all year.
6th Grade Band has unfortunately been skipped for the year. The new schedule simply has no room for everything so instead of 6th graders choosing between band or choir they are instead all getting a 9 week music class. This class will prepare them to choose band or choir in 7th grade.
While none of these options are as ideal as what we consider "normal," I am very grateful to the administration of Orchard View for continuing to support the band program in a tough time when other schools are making huge cuts.
More information will be posted on the individual pages for each level as this first week of school goes on. Any questions can be emailed to me at bryan.merchant@orchardview.org
Both middle school and high school students may choose to take band face to face, and then take their other classes virtually. I have students in all three levels doing this now. The tough part about this choice is that the school can not help with transportation.
For kids who can come face to face, band looks a little different:
High School Band meets first period. These kids all get to be in the same band, but only will meet the first and third nine weeks. So we have band August-October, and then January-March. More information will be listed on the Marching Band page soon.
High School Jazz Band is running year round after school.
7th and 8th Grade Bands have been divided in half. Half of the kids have band now, the other half will have band starting in January. There are two reasons for this: 1. Longer class periods mean kids get a year's worth of time in a semester. 2. Splitting the kids in half allow for greater social distancing and safety. When the kids are not in band they will get other encore classes that they would not get if they stayed in band all year.
6th Grade Band has unfortunately been skipped for the year. The new schedule simply has no room for everything so instead of 6th graders choosing between band or choir they are instead all getting a 9 week music class. This class will prepare them to choose band or choir in 7th grade.
While none of these options are as ideal as what we consider "normal," I am very grateful to the administration of Orchard View for continuing to support the band program in a tough time when other schools are making huge cuts.
More information will be posted on the individual pages for each level as this first week of school goes on. Any questions can be emailed to me at bryan.merchant@orchardview.org
