fccps- 4th grade beginning band
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Anonymous
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Is anyone else as disgusted as I am that they are apparently letting one teacher decide that they only want to teach virtually??????? beginning band is virtual???????
The only explanation given 'its my choice, and its 100% safe.' We get a note from the principal saying laptops don't even need to come home- but then band takes place virtually, which means they need the laptops? and need to be able to quickly put them away in order to make it to the bus??? Can kids in extended day even do this now??? This seems incredibly poorly thought out. |
Anonymous
| No. Principal has his/her reasons. probably a personnel matter that cannot be revealed. Get over yourself. |
Anonymous
| First world problems. |
Anonymous
| Do they not have a smartboard in the classroom that they can use so the kids don't have to use their laptops? |
Anonymous
Principal is not the one who made the announcement. It was the teacher. |
Anonymous
| My kids are not in FCCPS but how is this possible? Band is not during the school day? Is it after school? |
Anonymous
It’s before school. |
Anonymous
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FCCPS parent here. That does stink. Who is the 4th grade band teacher? Is it the same guy it was last year?
Mine was in 4th grade last year and so it was virtual all the way through. It actually wasn't that bad. It did help that my son's older brother plays the same instrument so could do a little hands-on helping. You could consider finding a high schooler who plays the same instrument to see if he/she would consider volunteering for an in-person session once a week with your student, or pay them. (volunteering would look great on someone's college resume). Band Boosters could help with this. Here's their website. http://www.bandboostersfcc.org (Again, yes, this does stink -- but I've learned that in the time of Covid, complaining about how sucky something is doesn't help - just figure out how to make the best of things) |
Anonymous
That does stink. So if they want to play an instrument, it’s not even during the school day and now it’s virtual. Thanks for clarifying for those of us somewhere else. |
Anonymous
Honestly, I’m just not going to let my kid do it. I know how they (don’t) learn via a laptop. We have an iep and virtual learning just wasn’t feasible. My dc was an early return to school last year. I know this isn’t going to work for us. I’m just really frustrated, this makes band completely inaccessible for us. |
Anonymous
I hear you. We're also in 4th in FCCPS. My DC was really excited for band, but we're not doing virtual band. That takes all the fun of it for him, and means that I'm trying to force him to log-on to band while also getting siblings ready for school and parents ready for work. I read that 5th grade band IS live and in person, so this wasn't a decision by FCCPS/OSES to make all activities virtual. 
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Anonymous
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I would highly encourage those of you who are skipping 4th grade band because it's virtual to reach out to the Band Boosters and Mary Jo West (band teacher) at the high school. There is a big concern about the drop off in band participation (largely due to the way the kids have to choose between band and other electives in 7th grade) and the fact they can't find an in-person teacher for 4th grade band is only going to make things worse.
Who is the 4th grade band teacher? |
Anonymous
Mark Sawasky I think he was new last year? Having band all virtual last year made sense- having band all virtual this year is just putting adult anxiety on the backs of children. Thanks for the people to reach out to- I will, their appears to be a serious lack of ownership and accountability for this decision. |