I remember the song made famous by Fred Astaire ‘ Dancing Cheek-to-Cheek’, and I dare say that we won’t be doing that, for a while, but I am returning to teaching in my two schools ‘Face-To-Face’ from the 19th of April.
This comes with the requirement to stick a long cotton bud down my throat, until I wretch, and then stick it up my nose as far as I can, then plunging it into a tube and waiting 30 minutes for a negative result. Not the best thing for a singer to do!!
It means, however, that I can start to head back towards some form of normality.
I have had one dose of the AZ vaccine, with no side effects. Am I worried about these, so called newly identified side-effects? No, frankly. I am more worried about contracting Covid in school. I am happy to have been able to get at least one shot before I go back in.
However, both my schools have done their utmost to put safety first and I do feel fairly safe going back in.
I feel I have bonded with my students whilst teaching online. It seemed that we were all going through this together and that they appreciated me trying my best to keep things going for them – recording songs and accompaniments, scanning music, re-organising lessons when the internet decided not to ‘play ball’ and just trying to keep their enjoyment of music alive and progressing.
I managed to coach a number of students through online exams, including two Grade 8’s, and I am so proud of all my students who undertook this process. Not easy when it’s new to everyone, including the exam boards!
So what will the new term bring?
Hope.
That’s all we can wish for.
Watch this space.
Susan Coates 