West band parents and students,

These are indeed unprecedented times with no roadmap to follow.  What is the right thing to do?  Some people are afraid to leave their homes and some don’t understand why all the fuss.  Please know that all I want is for all of our students to be safe and be able to make great music together.

With that in mind, and after some emails from students and parents, our desire to know that we are doing everything possible to promote learning AND safety, Mr. Hupe & I have decided to cancel band camp.

There are no competitions for the marching band this year.  We don’t know what our role will be at football games, if we get to have them.  We know that the infection rate is still climbing in Johnson County.  We know of students and administrators from West who are dealing with Covid-19 in their homes.  

One of the mantras for the students I teach is to always think about your actions BEFORE you say or do something – “If in doubt – don’t.”  I’ve had doubts about what the right thing to do regarding camp for weeks now, but kept hoping that the infection rate would get better.  It hasn’t, so Mr. Hupe and I do not want to worry about any of our students getting ill because of something that we did.  Camp at this time was not a critical step in the students’ musical development, therefore, we decided to cancel those activities and just wait for school to begin.

Let me say again, PLEASE always wear a mask in public. Please do not go to parties or sleepovers. Please stay six feet away from people, wash your hands frequently anything else you can do to remain safe.  Mr Hupe and I care about you, and want to see each of you in the coming weeks with a healthy smile on your faces!

Dr. Bill Thomas, SM West Bands