1) Rehearsal/Mass Dates/Times: Weekly rehearsals will be held on their usual day/time of THURSDAYS from 4:45 - 5:45 pm. *Rehearsals begin THIS upcoming Thursday, September 24th, 2020.* Mass participation will begin on Sunday, October 18th @ 10:00am. Each small choir will be set up on a rotating basis and will ONLY occur on CCD Sundays. (Please review your CCD calendar for these dates and/or view our music ministry calendar here) We will schedule 3-4 children (1st grade - 5th grade) at a time to sing at the 10am family mass, whether the mass is indoors or outdoors. This schedule will be generated and distributed once we see how many participants we have.
2) Rehearsal Arrival: On rehearsal Thursdays, participants are to walk to the main doors of the church, masked, while they wait for Mary, the Director of Music, to check their temperature, via a contact-free thermometer, provided by OLQP Church. (These thermometers are also used for in-person mass attendance, as well as for in-person Religious Education participation.) We ask to wait in your car and see that your child enters the church, meaning they've been cleared to enter. If they have an elevated temperature or signs of ANY ILLNESS, they will be sent back to their vehicles in hopes they will be well enough to participate the following week. It's important that everyone arrive on time, as I will not be able to come back out to scan foreheads once rehearsals have begun. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation in these matters. (It also might be more prudent that if your child feeling unwell that you err on the side of caution and have them remain home to rest and get well!)
3) Rehearsal Space: Once the children are inside, they are welcome to use hand sanitizer if they so choose. They will then be arranged in their designated and thoroughly spaced seating arrangements. Then, rehearsals will be run like they normally would. As often as we are able to, I will ask the children to remove their masks. This will be permitted and deemed safe, as I intend on having the children spaced out beyond the general recommendation of 6 feet. I will have a better idea as to HOW much space there is once I know how many children are participating. But I believe it would be easy to say that spacing could be 12 feet between each child without issue. This will enable the children to sing freely, unmasked. We will be keeping the windows open and fans on for as long as we possibly can to ensure proper ventilation, so it's imperative that your child be dressed appropriately.
4) Rehearsal Dismissal: I ask that one parent/guardian come to the side entrance of the church at a time for dismissal, NOT the front doors. I will then dismiss each participant, one at a time, to help keep everyone spaced and ensure everyone's safety in going home with their designated guardian.
5) Music/Materials Needed: We are unable to use our hymnals at this time, as to avoid many hands touching the same thing. Again, the recurring theme is all about lessening the spread of germs. With this said, I will have packets prepared for the children initially, but they will then need to bring their own packet back and forth to rehearsals, as well as masses. It is advised that they each bring their own pencil for notes and markings as well, as they will not be provided at this time. I might occasionally email a PDF of music that will need to be printed and added to your packet, but I will do my best in general to keep this to a minimum.
6) Sign Up Sheet: PLEASE FILL OUT THIS FORM IF YOU WISH FOR YOUR CHILD TO PARTICIPATE! The form may be found here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfqz0R2t_7k4J5vuAek_wwirVcOr78TJAPzu0i48THvzH_D-w/viewform?gxids=7628