What a snowy winter we are having all of a sudden! The band students who have lessons on Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday have been most impacted by our recent snow days. Please read the following tips for what to do when there is a snow day on band lesson day:
SNOW DAYS/DELAYED OPENINGS:
SNOW DAY: If the Wilmington Public Schools are closed due to inclement weather on your lesson day, that lesson will be missed and cannot be made up. Students should continue to work on the assignment that they were given at the previous lesson.
Delayed opening: Band lessons will take place for those students whose lesson time is scheduled after the delayed start time plus twenty minutes. For example: IF school starts at 10:10 AM, any student who is scheduled to have a lesson at 10:30 or later WILL HAVE A LESSON. For those students whose lesson falls prior to the delayed start time, they will NOT have a lesson and should continue to work on the assignment from the previous week.
Clean Instruments = Happy Musicians (part II)
Instrument Cleaning: All of our band students have been taught how to clean out their instruments and mouthpieces. Band students have been instructed to clean out their instrument after every time they play it.
CLARINET, SAXOPHONE, TRUMPET and TROMBONE students have been instructed to clean out their mouthpieces with warm, soapy water and let them air dry overnight, once a week or immediately following an illness (Clarinetists must reapply cork grease following this). Following an illness, clarinet and sax students should discard the reed they were using prior to becoming sick and use a fresh one. FLUTISTS can clean off the embouchure plate/head joint with a cloth/paper towel that has been dampened with rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer (PLEASE DO NOT USE SILVER POLISH OR JEWELRY CLEANER). It is OK to use antibacterial hand wipes to clean off instrument keys and drum sticks. Band students are reminded not share their instrument with friends or family members to avoid sharing germs.
NEVER PUT MOUTHPIECES OR ANY PART OF AN INSTRUMENT IN A DISHWASHER!!!