Welcome
Ms. Katrina Whealdon
Director of Bands
Attendance Policy
If WE are to be successful, YOU must be there.
Every member is a "starter." There are no "benchwarmers!"
In any performing group, success depends on 100% cooperation of all members. Students and parents/guardians should be aware that attendance is an important and necessary part of participation in all of the music groups. In order for each rehearsal to be productive students must come prepared to each rehearsal. Specific absences will be dealt with according to the reason for absence. Please see the grading policy below for individual guidelines and consequences.
Discipline Policy
As young adults, students are expected to conduct themselves in an appropriate manner. Whether in class or out, at a performance or a practice, on the road or at home, in an official capacity or in a social setting, members of the ensemble must conduct themselves in a mature, responsible, courteous, respectful and professional manner. Anything done by a member of the Band reflects (positively or negatively) upon the entire Band organization, its leaders, and the school and community. Each student will be expected to take ownership for their actions and deal with the consequences whether they are negative or positive. Just as we strive for excellence in our musicianship and performance standards, we must also strive for excellence in our behavior and the manner in which we conduct ourselves.
Grading Policy
Lessons
The director’s position is one of guidance and assistance, but in order to facilitate this the students must come prepared to each lesson. Failure to complete the lessons will result in the loss of points for that particular lesson. It is the student’s responsibility to remember and attend their scheduled lesson time. Students will have specific material to be completed that will assist them in developing their skills. Lessons are 15 minutes in length one day per week.Each student will be allowed one excused make-up lesson per quarter. This may be used if a student is ill, attend an extra curricular trip or has simply forgotten a lesson. The remainder of missed lessons must be made up prior to the end of the quarter to receive credit. The procedure for make-up lesson is posted below and is also posted on my office door next to the schedule.A student may not have more than one lesson per day and no more than two per week. If the student is over 5 minutes late for their lesson they will need to reschedule that lesson for another time or use their one excused lesson.
Make-up Lesson Procedure
- Students must find an empty 15 minutes slot on the schedule.
- Students will then write their name, the date of the make-up lesson, and the time on a post-it note.
- Attach the post-it note to my office door near the schedule.
- Students must arrive on time for the make-up lesson to receive full points.
Required Performances
In order for students to receive a well-rounded education in music it is important that they are able to take part in all of the aspects. It is imperative that students are present for all of the performances. Any unexcused absence will result in the lowering of one letter grade. Excused absences must be discussed prior to the performance. If a student misses a performance due to an excused absence they must do the necessary make-up work prior to the end of the quarter.
Each student must wear the appropriate apparel for each concert.
Junior High Concert Attire: Everyone needs black shoes. For men: black pants, black socks and a white dress shirt. For women: White shirts with black pants or black skirtsthat reach below the knee when seated and black shoes.
Pep Band
As members of the junior high school band you are also members of the pep band. With the exception of the students that are participating in the sport the band is playing for, all band members are expected to be at pep band. Students are given the pep band schedule the first few weeks of school in order to coordinate work and personal schedules. Any absence from pep band must be discussed prior to the event in order for it to be excused. If it is not discussed beforehand the student will lose the points for that game. Students are encouraged to invite members of their family and communities to participate with them in the pep band. If a student brings an adult to play with the band they receive double credit for that game. Any absences must be discussed beforehand. Attendance will be taken and students will receive 5 points for each pep band performance. If the pep band needs to travel for a game and the student intends on not returning with the band Ms. Whealdon will need a note from a parent prior to leaving for the game. A parent may also check out their student at the end of the event. The parent must come to the band section of the crowd to check out their student. No phone calls will be accepted. If a student does not plan to ride to the event with the band Ms.Whealdon must have a note from the parent prior to the event. If she does not have a note and you do not ride with the band you do not play with the band. (which means no free entrance to the event)
Pep Band Attire: We need to show our school spirit! Please wear your pep band shirt or a black or orange top for each game.
Classroom Attendance
Success in a music program requires the participation and attendance of every member. Students must be present and prepared for each class period. Excused absences must be discussed prior to the absence in order for it to be excused. Such absences may include family activities (wedding, funeral, vacations), class trips and other school functions.
Daily Participation and Preparedness
The highest quality of rehearsals are achieved when each student comes prepared with all of their materials and with a mental readiness to learn. The students will be assessed on their preparation and participation on a daily basis by the following criteria…
- Student comes to class with music and instrument
- Student has pencil in folder
- Student brings any necessary accessories needed for a given work. (such as mutes, mallets, etc.)
- Students refrain from talking unless between pieces. (Talking stops once the conductor steps on the podium)
- Students play only when appropriate (i.e. not while the director or another student is talking)
All of these criteria must be met on a daily basis in order for students to receive daily participation points. If a student fails to meet any of the criteria listed above they will deducted one point per criteria.
Grading Scale
Lessons…… 25 points each
Pep Band……….. 5 points per game
Performances ...... 100 points per performance
Rehearsals………… 5 daily points per rehearsal
Extra projects/activities…….variable points
Rental of School Owned Instruments
Once you have completed the appropriate rental form, you hold complete responsibility for the care and maintenance of the instrument. There will be no charges for renting an instrument unless damages were caused by negligence.
Calendar of Events
Pep Band Schedule
Football Home Games:
September 9th, 2011
September 30th, 2011 (Homecoming)
October 7th, 2011
October 19th, 2011
Volleyball Home Games:
September 13th, 2011
September 29th, 2011 (Homecoming)
October 6th, 2011
October 11th, 2011
*Basketball Schedule will be distributed to students in early December.
Concert Schedule
Holiday Concert
Fall Recital Concert
Spring Concert
Fine Arts Night
Pops Concert
IMPORTANT!!!!! Parents and students …….
Why Band?
Life Skills
Music contributes to the training and development of critical life skills. To say that life skills only consist of textual knowledge we are misleading our students. “In daily life we do not choose to think now in facts and later in feelings. We use both, inextricably combined, in order to comprehend. One without the other would be unthinkable.” (Klester, 11A)
Arts Education aids students in skills needed in the workplace: flexibility, the ability to solve problems and communicate; the ability to learn new skills, to be creative and innovative, and to strive for excellence.
-Joseph M. Calahan, Band Band Directors of Corporate Communications, Xerox. Corporation
Secondary students who participated in band or orchestra reported the lowest lifetime and current use of all substances (alcohol, tobacco, illicit drugs). – Texas Commission on Drug and Alcohol Abuse Report. Reported in Houston Chronicle, January 1998
Intellectual
By playing an instrument students learn kinesthetically through the physical movement connected to the changing pitches. They are using over 90% of their brains by being forced to focus on various features of music simultaneously. Both the left and the right brain are engaged in the process of making music. Students learn various research techniques are they discover the lives and deaths of composers. This can be applied to many different content areas within what is established as the core curriculum. This in turn can assist the students in excelling in these other subjects by reinforcing what is being conveyed there.
Critical Assessment
Music is one of the key areas where an individual can develop a consistency between intellectual and emotional understanding. Here is the chance to bridge the cognitive and affective data of life, which many feel is the recipe of genius. Music offers one the chance to conceptualize, not just respond. In other words, we can create formulas instead of just solutions, and we can be pro-active rather than re-active. We can open the mind and avoid tunnel vision - and in doing so, come up with discerning opinions which develop quality character.
“Academic work is really about certain types of deductive reasoning, and especially some forms of verbal and mathematical reasoning. Developing these abilities is an essential part of education. But if intelligence were limited to academic ability most of human culture would never have happened. There’d be no practical technology, business, music, art, literature, architecture, love, friendship or anything else. These are big ideas to leave out of our common-sense view of intelligence and educational achievement.” Sir Ken Robinson, Senior Advisor, Education Policy, Getty Foundation, in an Arts and Minds: Conversations about the Arts interview; Education Commission of the States, April 2005 How Creativity, Education and the Arts Shape a Modern Economy;
Commitment
It is almost impossible to be "partially committed" to music. One may quit on a test, refuse to turn in an assignment, or just not be aware of what is going on in a lecture class, but the participation level in music requires a focus of attention unlike most subjects in school. Music causes one to learn persistence and the value of "not giving up," even when there is the temptation to throw in the towel. Many have pointed to "stay power" as one of the greatest personal attributes in our society. Welcome to one of the key benefits of the study of music. Excerpts from "The Value of Music" by Tim Lautzenhaiser, Attitude Concepts for Today.
“That is why I teach music! Not because I expect you to major in music. Not because I expect you to play or sing all your life. Not so you can relax and have fun. But so you will be human, so you will recognize beauty, so you will be sensitive, so you will be closer to an infinite beyond this world, so you will have something to cling to, so you will have more love, more compassion, more gentleness, more good….in short more life” (Attitude concepts for today)
*Once you have read and understand the preceding policies and procedures please sign and date this form and return it to the director of bands. By signing this form you are accepting the guidelines and policies that are attributed to the band program.
Parent or Guardian
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Printed NameSignatureDate
Student
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Printed NameSignatureDate