Hello RDYO Families, 

We are very excited to let you know that we have secured the details for opening our Richmond Delta Youth Orchestra 50th season. We hope your return to school has been smooth, and that you are ready for Orchestra rehearsals to resume this Saturday, September 19th. While obviously things will “look” different we know that this will be a remarkable season of music making in very unique circumstances. We are thrilled to have the amazing conductors, management staff and you – our musicians and families – to make this happen.  

As you know from previous emails we will be using a hybrid- remote and in-person – model to ensure safety and allow for families to determine their level of participation and comfort.ALL details are in the registration information you will receive from Nadia Petriw – PLEASE READ THESE CAREFULLY. This HYBRID model has been developed to allow us flexibility should recommendations and guidelines change in the Lower Mainland. We know our musicians want to be together and to this end our Orchestra Manager, Nadia, has gone to great lengths to secure a fantastic location in South Arm United Church that will rent us spaces and is meeting all of the provincial health requirements. The in-person rehearsal schedule will be confirmed before September 26th as we continue to receive registrations and update our ensemble numbers. 

The graphic below shows how RDYO has made changes as required by the Provincial Health Office and British Columbia Centre for Disease Control to ensure your child’s safety while allowing for the best possible in-person rehearsal experiences. 

The explanation for each step is immediately below. Our updated safety plan will be sent out in the coming days after board approval. 

(from the COVID-19 Public Health Guidance for K-12 School Settings Document)

The RDYO Plan is informed by the above Provincial Health structure

All Public Health Orders are to be followed at all times

  1. Environmental Measures
    • South Arm United Church has been secured as our first in-person rehearsal location. They have a series of guidelines we must follow when in their space including hand sanitizing, following markings on the floor to guide physical distancing, and regular disinfecting practices.
    • Traffic flow in the buildings with separate one-way entrances and exits
    • Room capacities are determined to encourage physical distancing at all times
    • Regular cleaning and disinfecting with appropriate products. 
    • Cleaning rules with janitorial staff in place for the rooms we use
  2. Administrative (organization) measures
    • Division rehearsals will be scheduled with participants being limited to maximum 15 at a time (including the conductor and parent volunteer)
    • Rehearsals are scheduled to allow for cleaning and ventilation of the space between groups
    • Players will be generally grouped with the same students each week
    • Players will not arrive early for rehearsals, remain afterwards or socialize outside of the rehearsal time and space
  3. Personal measures
    • Anyone with symptoms of cold/flu/COVID is to stay home
      • Online symptom/health check prior to EVERY in-person rehearsal
      • Temperature check at entrance
    • Physical distancing at ALL times of 2 meters
    • Hand hygiene as indicated in the online plan
    • Upon entry, as necessary throughout the rehearsal
      • Individual musicians set up their own chair and stand
      • NO sharing of any materials
  4. Personal Protective Equipment (the least effective measure of health safety)
    • All participants in rehearsal will wear a mask
    • Conductors and administrators will have plexiglass barriers

These items will be highlighted in our safety plan which will be sent out in a document to all families in the coming days. We are preparing for another great year, and I have a couple other specific items to share with you before the season begins.

AGM – September 26th at 10:00am

Our AGM has been delayed until September 26th at 10am so that we have adequate time to prepare our plans and information. Please consider attending to share in the discussion with our board of directors. If you are unable to attend the meeting, notes and information will be posted to the myRDYO website (www.rdyo.ca/myrdyo

First Rehearsal

Our first rehearsal is this Saturday, September 19th. Please check the list below to confirm your rehearsal time. Zoom links will be sent by email. Please email admin@rdyo.ca if you have not received your zoom link.  

DivisionTime

Symphony Orchestra 
10:00am – 11:00am 

Senior Strings 
9:30am – 10:30pm 

Intermediate Strings 
11:00am – 12:00pm 

Junior Strings 
1:00pm – 2:00pm 

Senior Winds 
1:30pm – 2:30pm 

Junior Winds 
12:30pm – 1:30pm 

Chamber Ensemble
11:15pm – 12:15pm

Volunteers

  • We are still looking for volunteers for Division Manager for each ensemble.
  • As a Division Manager, your responsibilities may include: email correspondence between conductors and students, managing parent volunteers in your division, supervising online Zoom rehearsals, setting up chairs, chaperoning students, and assisting in disinfecting chairs after rehearsals. 
  • These division manager tasks will be part of the available volunteer tasks for this year. Participating in these duties for part of the year will satisfy your volunteer requirement.
  • Please let me know if you are able to fill this role, as our ensembles cannot run smoothly without it. 
  • We are also looking for a librarian volunteer to assist in managing the library located at Brighouse United Church. Please let me know if this interests you and I can send you additional details. 

We, Your RDYO Board of Directors are looking forward to seeing all of you at our ZOOM Annual General Meeting at 10:00am on September 26th. We have a few positions on the executive to fill and really hope you will consider putting your name forward to assist us in a year that will generate unique memories that will last a lifetime.

Warmly,

Sarah Xie

President (on behalf of the RDYO Board)

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