T O D AY AT B E M E N T
And the Band Played On The pandemic didn’t silence Bement’s band students. During the fall term, to comply with CDC guidelines, students rehearsed outdoors under a large tent, standing on dots spray-painted on the grass, while others rehearsed on the athletic fields. In the winter, students were allowed to play instruments indoors, at 10 feet apart. Band Director Megan Mahoney used the band room and the Barn, and some grades rotated between in-person rehearsals and asynchronous online work. As the weather warmed, students returned to rehearsing outdoors. “While it was challenging at times to practice outside, especially when the wind blew our music across the athletic field, I think the students had fun with the new environment and were just happy to play their instruments,” Ms. Mahoney recounted. “At times there were distractions: bees that wouldn’t leave us alone, wind, people walking by, and sometimes even squirrels distracted students. Still, we managed to prepare quality music and continue to improve on our instruments.” To uphold Bement’s COVID-19 cohorting requirements, Ms. Mahoney met with each upper school grade separately, rotating by term, which allowed for new leaders to emerge. “Because the groups were so small, this called on students to step up and play with confidence, as there were usually only one or two players on a part,” she noted.
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Students had fun with the new environment and were just happy to play their instruments.”
MAIN STREET
Student-Published Magazine Bement’s first student-led Magazine Club published its inaugural edition of Main Street magazine in the spring of 2019. Distributed once per term to students, faculty, alumni, and parents, each issue reports on campus news, performances, athletics, student work, and global issues, and it offers students a forum where they can express their opinions. During the pandemic this year, students adapted to producing the magazine remotely. They held Zoom meetings to discuss editorial ideas, and they used a platform called Canva to design the magazine, which allowed all participants to view and participate in the design process.
TO VIEW ISSUES OF MAIN STREET MAGAZINE, GO TO ISSUU.COM/BEMENTMAGAZINE.
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B E M E N T. O R G
Evelyn Lee ’21, the outgoing editor-in-chief of Main Street, said it was particularly important to keep publishing the magazine during the pandemic. Evelyn felt that restrictions during the pandemic limited students’ abilities to express themselves. She said, “This club allows students to show a sense of their personalities, and to highlight issues that are important to them.” For Evelyn personally, she saw the magazine as a place to write about social justice issues. “I was able to write about Black Lives Matter, which is something I really wanted to share with the community.”
