Sacred Heart music students sidestep the pandemic

(Photos courtesy of Academy of the Sacred Heart, New Orleans)

To keep her middle school students “COVID-safe” during this unprecedented school year, Academy of the Sacred Heart music teacher Jodi McWilliams came up with a clever plan: In lieu of choral music, her seventh graders would study music by playing the ukulele, while fifth and sixth graders would play the hand bells.


Students are telling McWilliams that their transition to their new instruments has been “easy and fun,” with many saying they have enjoyed learning a new instrument and how to read and perform musical pieces on it. McWilliams, who teaches music to grades 1-7, rounds out her classes with lessons on famous composers and the various styles of music and musical performance.

Because of COVID-19 concerns, McWilliams’ Lower School students are not using any instruments this school year. Those younger students are devoting class time to the study of music history and music theory.

“We are using a lot of art with our history lessons, too,” McWilliams said. “I (also) incorporate Seesaw, a computer program that is perfect for small theory assignments.”