A few teachers, students, parents and local musicians are eager to start in-person lessons and rehearsals. Spreading the Music’s formal stance as of June 1, 2020, is to continue to quarantine and provide online lessons until New Orleans has officially reached Phase II. Online lessons achieve maximum social distancing; no fear of pesky respiratory droplets and we can still learn tons of music together.


But 12 weeks is a really long time! 

So here are the steps you need to take in the event you and your teacher would like to start in-person lessons or you would like to rehearse. Please note, this decision is made directly between you and your teacher. Masks and temperature checks will be provided to each teacher. We will also provide required contact tracing forms, soap, and disinfectant available to all upon entering.


TO HAVE IN-PERSON LESSONS OR A REHEARSAL YOU MUST

STEP ONE:

Fill out the “The Spreading the Music Coronavirus Screening Questionaire”  BEFORE EACH LESSON. This must be done  BEFORE ENTERING THE BUILDING to all individuals who step inside of Spreading the Music regardless if you are the one having the lesson. It only takes 1 minute and is our contact tracing shield of armor.  You can  find follow this link here:
 
 
There will also be an easy QR Code that you can scan right in the front of the school. You can also text “Send me a Link” to 504-509-5393 and we will send it directly to your phone.
 
STEP TWO:

Wear a mask. It is required to wear a mask when entering the building and leaving the building. This applies to all teachers, parents, and students. It shows, by example, that we are standing together and doing our part to protect ourselves and others.


STEP THREE:

Use hand sanitizer or wash your hands immediately upon entering.  We will have a medical-grade hand sanitizer provided in the front of the school and wonderful smelling soap in the bathroom. What a perfect place to practice singing “Happy Birthday”!


STEP FOUR:

Have your lesson! At this point, we are happily reunited, and it feels so good! It is recommended to have the entire lesson with a mask, though it can be removed depending on the comfort level of both the teacher, student, and parent.


That’s it!

Here are some other suggestions:

  1. Do not congregate in the waiting room! Treat it like our hotspot. Even though it’s disinfected daily, having more than 3 or 4 people may increase our risk. To combat this, when you enter the school, wash your hands immediately and head straight to your lesson.
  2. Drop your child off! “Contact-less child retrieval” (what a term) is ideal. As long as parent and teacher lock eyes, ensure the child is safe with excellent communication and all parties make it into the school safely without unnecessary touching, that is one less body to worry about.
  3. Keep the entrance to the school (the one without the passcode) and the practice room doors OPEN to avoid touching handles. If you are the only lesson at the school at the time, keep the doors open and play as loud as you want! If not, have the teacher be the one in control if the room stays open or closed. It will keep our touching to a minimum.
  4. Do not come to your lesson if you are sick are may think that you are becoming sick! Please let your teacher know immediately if you think you are exhibiting any symptoms. We will happily provide an online-lesson in its place.
  5. Continue with Online-Lesson if you are able. It’s tough being away for so long though waiting for at least Phase II is still recommended.
Other precautions Spreading the Music is taking:
  1. We are spacing out lessons there are no more than two lessons at one time at Spreading the Music. It’s been pretty empty without you! So we can now slowly schedule students back into our school in a safe matter.
  2. We are providing masks and temperature readings to all of our teachers.
  3. We offer FaceTime, Skype, Zoom, and Google Meet Lessons!
  4. We are cleaning and disinfecting the school daily.
That’s all for now! We are taking on new students so if you have any friends or family looking for something to do, send them our way. Please sign up for our Spreading the Music Newsletter. You can find it at www.spreadingthemusic.com/get-started. We’ll be sending updates more frequently as we continue to reopen. If you have any questions or concerns, respond directly to this email or give us a call at 504-509-5393.
 
Thank you to all of you on the frontlines fighting this virus and continuing our downward trend. Thank you for keeping our music school strong and supporting local New Orleans education! And of course, thank you for Spreading the Music with us!