Return to School During The Pandemic, and other news

Seisun

Firstly, I will be hosting a Celtic / Irish Trad session until it's too cold to play outside.  It will be Thursdays at 7pm.  We'll socially distance, wear masks and have fun!  Meet at my house, bring music stands if you're going to read music (and a light for when it gets dark), and folding chairs.  Granby does have an ordinance against groups of 10 or more, so we'll need to keep it small for now.  Contact me if you have any questions!

This update relates to School starting in Granby on Tuesday among other things.  Since Richard will be attending "remote learning" at the school until a hybrid/phased approach in December, I will be monitoring him and providing him with the support and feedback he usually gets at school.  He enters 5th grade this year, and although his IEP is still active, because of the remote learning challenge, his teachers obviously can't "take him out of the class" as they would if he were physically there.  Autism is a challenge, especially for parents, and doubly so because I am self-employed.  This means that if I don't work, I don't get paid.  That's fairly obvious.  As mentioned in other updates, more than 3/4 of my income has disappeared during the pandemic due to wedding and other event contracts cancellation, as well as retail sales (since nobody can actually come into my studio because of the pandemic), and in person sales (at concerts that aren't happening).  

All of my colleagues and musician friends are facing the same challenges as I am, and are finding creative ways to maintain their incomes.  Online paid concerts, masterclasses via Zoom or YouTube Live are the most commonplace.

Tuesday is the first day of classes.  The plan, according to an email I just received from his teachers, is to meet everybody in one place via Zoom at 8:35 a.m. The teachers plan on scheduling classes much the same as they did last year, however there obviously will be some changes, for example, they will use Google Classroom to sort assignments and collect feedback from students.  This year they are also loaning Chromebooks to all of the students, pre-installed with software and links needed by the staff.

I am excited for him, and nervous.  It's my nature to be nervous about new things.  This seems to be an increasing experience for me.  Is it age-related?  I'm not that old, 58 hardly seems to be old enough for these challenges.  Is it related to something else? I don't know.  I try to keep anxiety in check with exercise, sleep and a good diet.  I will do my best.

Regarding the studio, I am offering various products through the website for sale to students and locals (pickup only at this time).  Violins, mandolins, strings, bows and accessories are all available to look at on my website www.sweetmusicstudio.net.  As always, contact me if you have questions, want to hear what an instrument sounds like, or anything else.

School "ends" at 2:30, and I expect Richard to have some kind of assignment, or "homework" each day.  That may not be the case as much more will be accomplished on the spot during the 'school day'.  I will see how it goes and amend my availability accordingly.  As it stands, I'm planning a 4pm-7pm schedule for now.  Please check my Calendar for openings before contacting me about lessons!