Here's a letter from Miss Tham to the band:

Dear Band,

Today your teachers and I made the painful decision to cancel the band camp, which was to take place in the next few days.

This decision was made to protect you from the rapidly growing local transmission of the H1N1 flu virus. Some Singaporeans caught the virus when they attended large gatherings such as church camps or parties and perhaps one person there already had the virus. It is in such situations that the probability of contracting the virus is high because you have sustained contact with other people. Those who performed at SYF this year might remember the band gradually falling sick with flu just a week before Judging Day. What did we do? We cancelled band practice for that day and told all of you to go home and rest. It was also a measure on our part to stop the virus from spreading.

We understand the deep disappointment within many (some?) of you because the annual June camp is meant to fulfill three main objectives: to allow the juniors a better sense of what being in the Coral Concert Band is like, to prepare our repertoire for our performances in the second half of the year and of course, the new band committee will get to show what they are made of during this camp.

We apologise unreservedly to the organizing committee because we are sure they have put in a lot of effort, brain work and leg work for this camp. We are sorry that we would not be able to see you show what you are capable of in the next few days. We are sorry that we have had to let go of a chance for the band to bond. We are also sorry that we have had to take away precious practice time from you. We also apologise to Mr Wong for he has prepared a lot for this camp. When school re-opens, we’ll discuss how we can incorporate some of the camp materials into our practices. All of your effort is definitely not wasted.

Your section leaders will (would have) contacted you about the cancellation of the camp. If your parents have any questions, please ask Ming Xuan for my number and get them to call me, please. Tomorrow, you are also to take your instruments home to practise. Ming Xuan will provide you with a time in line with either Ms Chan or Ms Shariffa’s schedule. Please note you have to PRACTISE for a substantial number of hours and not let your instrument lay in one corner of your room for the remainder of the holidays. We trust you to do the right thing.

We hope you will understand our reasons behind this decision.

In the meantime, stay safe and practise good hygiene!

Miss Tham