La Ronge teacher set to release Christmas song written during coronavirus quarantine

Dara Schindelka, a singer/songwriter in La Ronge, has announced the release of a new song which was written during quarantine after she tested positive for the coronavirus last month.

“There’s a lot of worry, a lot of stress and what I do when I am stressed is I write music,” she said. “This Christmas we can either find the positive or we can find the negative and, especially this time of year when we can hold on to something good, I think it makes everyone in a better frame of mind.”

Schindelka was quarantined in October after contracting the virus at her workplace. She’s an arts education teacher at Pre-Cam Community School and she said even though she took precautions like wearing a mask, teaching outside and social distancing, she still tested positive.

“That meant I was quarantined and isolated at home away from my boys and away from everybody for two weeks,” Schindelka said. “I found that mentally quite taxing and worrisome because, first off, you’re worried with contact tracing that inadvertently giving the virus to someone else, and also just worried that maybe someone will be picking it up within those two weeks even if they tested negative.”

The song she wrote in collaboration with fellow professional musicians is called The COVID Christmas and will be available on all major streaming platforms Friday. Others involved in the creation of the song are her brother Joey Schindelka, along with musicians Kristopher Craig and Ben Rose.

Schindelka explained the song is lighthearted, fun and not meant to downplay a serious health issue. She said she wants it to bring people some happiness during the holiday season after a tough year dealing with the effects of the coronavirus.

“It’s just a real fun take on this year’s Christmas and this year’s holiday and this year’s season of celebrating,” Schindelka said. “I’m really proud of it and I’m really excited for it.”

Schindelka mentioned radio stations have already committed to playing the song in Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States.