Washington high schoolers hold band practice in personal tents (PHOTOS)

While smaller class sizes and physical distancing in Washington high schools may not surprise you, the way that several courses have had to adapt may.

Take band class, for example.

One year ago, students at Wenatchee and Eastmont high schools were playing their blaring instruments aloud, jamming out with one another. Now, with COVID-19 and new mask requirements, students are forced to play their instruments together while remaining isolated.

How, you ask? Well, through personal tents.

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The high school band students must now zip open their personal tents and walk in with their masks, instruments, sheet music, and stands.

Once inside the tents, they then zip shut their enclosures, remove their masks, and get practicing.

Here’s what the tent enclosures look like:

This high school band practice in Washington is making me lose it pic.twitter.com/P6jZRu4bqF

— Joshua Potash (@JoshuaPotash) February 25, 2021

The images were taken by Don Seabrook of The Wenatchee World and shared in an article that interviewed several school personnel. Overall, the school staff believes that in-person learning brings back a sense of normalcy, even if they do have to do things differently.

“We are recharged. We feel like we’re educators again. It has been spectacular,” Eastmont Principal Lance Noell said to The Wenatchee World.

“It is amazing the level of energy in the building, having adults interacting with kids but also the conversations of adults to adults,” said Wenatchee Principal Eric Anderson. “You get kids back in the building, you get a lot of smiles even with masks on. You can tell people are happy.”