I hope everyone is doing well! Our staff has been working hard creating videos, doing zoom rehearsals, and checking in with students on various online platforms. I’m so proud of the work they have done to keep our students going with preparations for the marching band season, as well as the work the students have been doing to stay active. It’s an unusual summer, but I applaud everyone for being flexible and adapting to the challenges in front of us. We have a few updates (please read all):
- Due to State executive order, in-person activities are halted for the time being. We will NOT be able to hold an “in-person” Band Camp as scheduled (Week of July 20 or July 27). However, we will continue to hold virtual rehearsal options. Please stay tuned for more details, as rehearsal times might be adjusted based on the availability of our instructors.
- Due to this change, we are delaying the first payment of Marching Band to August 17 (district course fees will still proceed as normal)
- Our next Band Booster meeting has been rescheduled to Thursday July 23 at 7 pm.
- “In-person” school will be ONLINE starting August 3, and staying online until AT LEAST August 16. The plan is to resume in-person school on August 17, but the state government may extend the delay of in-person school and we may stay online for a while. My best guess is that students will follow their school schedules at home starting August 3 (i.e. – first hour at 7:25am, etc – get ready to wake up early again!).
- Dr. Mendivil and TUHSD will be doing a virtual forum next Tuesday, July 14 at 6 pm to answer questions from parents, teachers, and students. Please see your email or tempeunion.org for more information.
- The question has been asked if Tempe Union Online students will allowed to participate in extracurriculars such as marching band. We don’t have the answers yet but we are also asking these questions of our supervisors and will keep families in the loop.
- The district band directors are meeting with district/school admin next week to get a better picture of the weeks ahead. Any new details will be shared as soon as possible.
- Any brass and woodwind players that are having trouble submitting assignments on SmartMusic on a computer or tablet are encouraged to check out a free district-issued laptop when they become available. We will be using this application more during the school year (for actual grades) and everyone needs to have a device that supports it.
Please stay safe, limit your contact with others when possible, wear a mask outside of your home, stay home if you’re sick, and keep washing your hands! In Arizona, there have been 108,614 confirmed cases as of today, and 1,963 deaths. Arizona is now the #1 hotspot in the world in this global pandemic. Let’s all do our part to lower the COVID-19 case numbers NOW so we can return safely to school sooner. Our State Superintendent has also released a statement regarding schools safely reopening here: https://www.azed.gov/communications/2020/07/07/superintendent-hoffmans-response-to-the-white-house-summit-on-safely-reopening-americas-schools/