Dear DGN Band Students and Families:
After reviewing guidance from the Illinois Department of Health, and considering current COVID-19 trends in the United States, we do not foresee a scenario in which group travel of any kind would be deemed prudent or safe as early as December. Current guidance from the Illinois State Board of Education includes instructions for school districts to cancel "field trips," even at the local level. The viability of NCAA athletic competitions this fall is still very much in question, as are events like the Outback Bowl where the DGN Band was invited to perform on New Year's Day, 2021.
For these reasons, and with student and staff safety our number one priority, we have made the difficult decision to suspend DGN Band tour planning for the 2020-21 academic year, and cancel our scheduled tour. We suspect this news will not come as a surprise to our band families, but the reality is very disappointing, nonetheless.
Our faculty believes that there are wonderful, enriching, and authentic music experiences that can only be experienced through the lens of educational travel. For that reason, DGN music ensembles have toured with frequency for the past three decades, and we look forward to the day we can safely resume this important part of the programming and educational experience we endeavor to share with our students.
Our faculty will strive to plan special and unique performance opportunities for our students, to the greatest extent possible, during these unprecedented times. We are very mindful of the fact that the students in our program choose to be invested in the arts because they appreciate the opportunity to make music with their peers and express themselves in a collaborative environment. We will continue to do all we can to offer students musical opportunities in a safe environment.
Eyes with Pride,
Jessen T. Smith and Brayer Teague
Timely communication is always important, but never more than present day. We hope you will find our electronic communication resources a convenient way to stay-in-touch with future schedules and announcements. Please continue to check our website (dgnbands.blogspot.com), and make sure band members and parents/guardians are subscribed to our Text Alert system. (Subscription details follow.)
Timely communication is always important, but never more than present day. We hope you will find our electronic communication resources a convenient way to stay-in-touch with future schedules and announcements. Please continue to check our website (dgnbands.blogspot.com), and make sure band members and parents/guardians are subscribed to our Text Alert system. (Subscription details follow.)
Text Alerts
We have a text system in place – via the Remind101 platform – and ask all band families that utilize text messaging to subscribe.
There are three different ways to sign up:
1. Sign up for text notifications by texting @dgnbands to 81010.
2. Go to www.remind.com/join/@dgnbands
and follow the directions.
3. Download the Remind app from the App Store or Google Play, sign up for an account with your email address, and enter @dgnbands when prompted.
