VVS High School Band Student/Parent Handbook

VVS High School Band Student/Parent Handbook 2015-2016 VVS High School Band 5275 State Rte. 31 Verona, NY 13478 www.vvscentralschools.org Forward Greetings both new high school band members and families as well as returning band members and families. I am Linda Cater, the director. This

booklet is designed as a guide for both parents and students to give specific details concerning all aspects of the band program. For further information, please call the VVS Music Office at 315-829-2520 ext.7418. If an issue is not immediately pressing, you may email me at lcarter@vvsschools.org. You may also check the website for updates throughout the school year and follow our twitter feed at @VVS High School Band. Band Organizations Band is a full year course with at least three concerts per year, marching commitments and NYSSMA Major Organization Festival (NYSSMA Majors.) The following descriptions are of groups associated with the VVS High School Band. Concert Band We have one concert band that meets daily. All students must attend a weekly lesson in addition to daily rehearsals. The grading practices are included in this packet. In class, we study a variety of band literature, have some sectional work, and receive more individualized attention during the weekly lesson. Students will receive 1 credit for their work. 1 Fall and Winter Pep Bands We offer a fall pep band for home football games and winter pep band for select home basketball games. Student participation is voluntary. Participation is simple. Sign up on the bulletin board based upon your availability, show up on game days for the rehearsals, pizza and the game. There is usually 1 rehearsal before the first game day to pass out music, etc. Then rehearsals are on game days. Attendance is not mandatory at every

game, but if you sign up for a game, you are expected to be there. We will expand our repertoire as the season goes on. (add more music.) If you have any questions, see Mrs. Carter. Also, check the website for dates! Jazz Band We offer a Jazz Ensemble that meets weekly after school for approximately one hour. Rehearsals usually begin sometime in October with at least one concert. In order to be a member, you must sign up and attend the majority of the rehearsals. You need to be prepared for rehearsal with music, reeds, valve oil, instruments and pencil. Mr. DeSalvatore conducts this ensemble. Pit Ensemble During musical season (January-beginning of March), a pit ensemble is created to provide the music for the show. This is an arduous task. Again, participation is voluntary, but you must attend rehearsals and practice a great deal outside of rehearsals. It is a time consuming task, with high rewards (thank you for the pies Mr. Boyd!) Ask any pit members from last year, and they can tell you!! This is a great opportunity to improve your skills and be a part of a fantastic production! 2 Marching Band Marching Band is a mandatory aspect of our band program. This is a part of our community connection. We have our biggest audience at these parades. We rehearse mainly during our regular band period. The drumline and color guard (if we have an advisor) have extra rehearsals after school. We may also have extra practices for the entire band as deemed necessary by the director. The VVS Marching Band traditionally performs for the Memorial Day Parades in Sherrill, Vernon and Verona. We also perform at the Verona Field days Parade. Small Ensembles

We try to offer a variety of small ensembles based upon student interest. In the past, there has been a flute ensemble, a clarinet quartet, a saxophone quartet, a brass ensemble, a Trash Can Band, ukulele club, and an African Drumming Group. If you are interested in creating something, talk to Mrs. Carter. Check the website and announcements for further details. Participation Expectations A yearly band calendar is enclosed for your use in planning your family schedule for the 2015-2016 school year. (All mandatory performances are in boldface.)band is a team endeavor. It is expected that all students are at every performance. If a family emergency occurs unexpectedly, PARENTS, please call the music office at 315-829-7418. Occasionally, there may be family functions (weddings, gradations, etc.) in which case I will try to be flexible and work with you on an individual basis. This must be discussed with me well in advance of the event, at least a month or more. 3 Student jobs are not excusable for band performances or extra rehearsals! Many students work and participate in our band program very successfully. Please give your employer advanced notice and clear all band dates. Most employers are flexible if they know of band commitments well in advance. I will gladly contact any employer if there is a problem. Rehearsal Expectations Band is unlike most of your other classes. There is one teacher for over 60 students. Therefore, it is imperative that you come to rehearsals on time and prepared. To be prepared means to have a pencil, your music, your instrument, reeds, valve oil, mutes, etc and to have practiced the music for that day. I will post a schedule daily which dictates the sections of the pieces we will be working on both that day and the next. Please be sure to have practiced each section on your own before that rehearsal. The group is only as good as the person who has practiced the least. Practice is your homework for band. You should practice a minimum of 30 minutes per day (or the equivalent thereof, ex. 1 hour today, no practice tomorrow.)

Lesson Expectations Students will have a weekly lesson with Mrs. Carter or Mr. DeSalvatore. This lesson is similar to a weekly test in Math, English or Social Studies. This is our time to evaluate you on what you are learning. We spend most of the lesson times working out of a lesson materials or on a prescribed solo, but each lesson teacher will help you with band music, if you ask. We also stress scales and rudiments. Check the grading procedures for the specific details on the lesson grading. 4 Grading Procedures The band grade is comprised of several components. It includes the weekly instrumental lesson, the weekly band participation grade, concert performances and written work. Below describe each component. Instrumental Lessons: 55% of the grade -100 points per lesson. The weekly lesson will is comparable to a unit test. It is the only time that the student receives an individualized critique and suggestions for improvement. See lesson attendance procedures for information on how to make up lessons. New this year, all band students are allowed 1 no show per marking period without it negatively impacting their grades. An "A" (90-100) will be earned for: a. being on time and prepared for seating auditions; or b. demonstrating excellent preparedness of lesson materials, and scales/rudiments. Students will demonstrate usage of correct pitches, rhythms, meter signature and musicality aspects. As a result, the director will accept the majority of the lesson and will assign new material; or c. demonstrating significant progress and/or improvement with the lesson material. A "B" (80-89) will be earned when the student has demonstrated some effort on the material. Some aspects of rhythm, pitch, musicality, meter signatures, scales or rudiments are incorrectly performed. The student, though capable of handling the material, performs in a deficient manner due to lack of practice/effort. At least half of the lesson will be reassigned by the director as a result.

A "C" (70-79) will be earned for minimal effort/preparedness as demonstrated by the student. The majority of the lesson will be reassigned by the director. A "D" (65) will be earned if the student attends the lesson but cannot demonstrate any proficiency on the lesson material. An "F" (below 65) will be given for: a. continued patterns of no effort demonstrated. b. an unexcused lesson absence. 5 Lesson attendance procedures Student will have one week to make up a missed lesson due to school absence, forgetting a lesson or a classroom teacher not excusing the student from class. Students are limited to 2 make up lessons per marking period. Students are allowed 1 free excuse from a lesson. Students with perfect lesson attendance will have the lowest grade dropped prior to calculating the marking period grade. Instructors will post assignments for absent students, and students are expected to come to the next lesson prepared to fully participate. It is the student s responsibility to sign up for a make up lesson immediately. Under extenuating circumstances, a student may not be able to sign up for a make up lesson. A student will be allowed to record their lesson for teacher evaluation at the teacher s discretion. Band Rehearsal Grade: 30% of the grade-50 points per week The large ensemble director uses many performance criteria in determining the ensemble grade. Subtle evaluation differences would include: Tone: blending with others in the individual section and ensemble Intonation: playing in tune with others Technique: articulation (tonguing) as a group, key signature observance in multi-keyed sections Accuracy: with regard to notes and rhythms Interpretation: dynamics, style, tempo and expression, all within the group concept. Since all members of a large group are dependent upon one another for a successful performance, additional evaluation criteria include: Individual preparation of band literature outside of rehearsal Attitude, effort and cooperation with others exhibited in rehearsal Class preparedness relative to having instrument, music and pencil 6 Smart Music Assessments

We are very lucky to have a computer assisted software program called Smart Music to help you learn some of your band pieces and lesson materials. This program lets you practice with it, records you and in some cases provides immediate feedback as to the accuracy of notes and rhythms. You will have assignments for certain band pieces and some of your lesson materials. If it is an assignment for a band piece, it will be averaged into the band rehearsal grade, if the assignment is on lesson material, it will be averaged into the lesson grade. We have many computers in the music suite that have the software available. Additionally, you may purchase a subscription so that you can use it at home. Full Band Performances: 15% of the grade -100 points each Due to the nature of band, perfect attendance is expected at all performances. The whole ensemble relies on one another to be at the performances. The director provides performance dates at the beginning of the year. Additionally, the director will give a minimum of two weeks reminder of all mandatory performances. Additionally, the performances will be posted on the website and are listed in the school calendar. Please provide employers with your concert dates. Although a performance can not be made up we have created an alternate assignment for a missed mandatory performance. Absence from a mandatory performance: Any absence from a mandatory performance requires a note from a parent/guardian at least 2 weeks prior to the concert. In the case of student illness, a note the day upon the student s return is expected. The student will have one week from the date of the missed performance to complete the make up assignment. The student will schedule a time with the band director to perform all selections from the performance. The student is to perform as if it were an actual concert performance, utilizing proper posture, marching technique if applicable, etc. The band director will tape this performance to assist in actual grading. A rubric will be used to grade the actual performance. 7 The student will then write a critique of the performance that must be typed and 2 pages in length. Students should interview their peers to garner information. If a student does not complete this requirement, they will receive a zero for the concert portion of their grade. Written work/quizzes: There will be 3-4 written assignments or quizzes that may be worth up to 30 points each. Additional Performance Opportunities:

The following opportunities are other opportunities for performance that help you improve as a musician. Jazz ensemble Small ensemble including brass ensemble, flute choir, trash can band, etc. Pep band NYSSMA Solo/Ensemble Festival MCMEA All County band, orchestra or jazz band. NYSSMA Area All-State band or orchestra NYSSMA Conference All State/All Eastern/NYSBDA Honor Band Practice:. The best statement is that you need to practice as long as it takes to perfect your weekly lesson assignment and your band music. A general guideline is you should practice a minimum of 30 minutes/5 days per week. 8 Seating and Challenges Seating auditions will be held in late May or early June for the next year. A student may move up from that seat through our challenge process. Only the student directly ahead may be challenged. The procedure is as follows: The student (Challenger) notifies the student ahead (Challengee) that he is challenging. The Challenger then tells the lesson teacher. That teacher will provide challenge music. The challenge will occur one week from the date the challenge music is given. If the Challenger or Challengee does not perform the challenge, he will move down a seat from where he is currently sitting. Challenges will not be allowed with in two weeks of a scheduled performance. Challenges DO NOT take the place of the regularly scheduled lesson. Music Suite Privileges

Music students are welcome to use the music suite to practice, before or after school or during study halls. In order to sign out of a study hall, you must have a MUSIC SUITE PRIVELEGE Card. If you do sign out of a study hall, you must practice for half the time you will be in the music suite. You must also follow all rules as posted in the music suite. The music suite is a large area and needs to be kept tidy. If you see things out of place, take the initiative and put it back in order. Non-music students are not allowed in the Music Suite during study halls or lunch. This is a music student privilege, so please help up enforce it. School Instruments VVS provides all the large instruments including double reeds, low woodwinds and low brass and percussion. These are very expensive instruments that cost, in many cases well over $1,000. Many districts have a fee for this, we do not. However, it is the student s responsibility to maintain the instrument that was assigned to them. Any damage that is incurred is the responsibility of the student. 9 Band Uniforms The VVS Band has a dress code for our performances. Band members wear a white tuxedo shirt with a red bow tie, black dress pants (no jeans and they must be SOLID black), black dress shoes and socks. All these items are to be purchased by the first concert. I will have a day for tux shirt fittings and will provide further information. If there are financial hardships, please contact me. There are many used tux shirts that are available. Students, please make sure that your uniform is clean and ironed. In the past, many students have not taken care of their uniforms. This shows a lack of respect for our group. Please take pride in what we do! Band Trips We will take several performance trips throughout the year. Examples include concert performances in the elementary schools and NYSSMA Major Organization Festival. These trips are of no cost to the students. Every few years, we take an overnight trip to a band competition. The trips are a lot of fun and educational. The last trip we took was to Sandusky, Ohio. We stopped at the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame and the Cleveland Zoo. We performed on Saturday Morning and spent the remainder of the day at Cedar Point. Trips of this nature are funded completely by the band members. We offer several fundraising opportunities that raise a great deal of money. Fundraising

We raise money for our band trips as described above. The two fundraisers that we do annually are the pie and cookie dough fundraiser and one to be named. All profits from the fundraising are kept individual band accounts as follows: 1. Profits gained from individual fund raising projects are placed in the band activity account in the student s name. 2. A student may transfer funds to a sibling only after their entire trip is paid. 10 3. If a band student drops from the program or moves, all fundraising money in that account is reverted to the general account, since the money was raised in the name of the band. 4. If you have more money fundraised above the trip costs, you will receive that amount, up to $100 in spending money. 5. Fundraised money is carried through a student s career in the band program. Band Officers Band officers are elected in September. The offices include: president, vice president, treasurer, and secretary. I will chose librarians and set up crew members. All positions are critical to helping the band program run smoothly. All officers must maintain a B Average in lessons. Additionally, it is expected that officers attend a monthly meeting, time yet to be determined. Officers duties are to be performed on free time, not during band class. If elected or selected, please take your job seriously! Music Boosters We are very lucky to have a very active Music Booster Organization that supports the many wonderful things that we offer. Without all of the hard work and dedication of these parents, our music programs would not be as successful as it is. There are many ways in which your parents, grandparents, anyone you know can become involved. Please contact the music office for further information on how you can become involved. We need your support!

11 In Closing There is a great deal of information in this packet that will help you through your career in our VVS Band Program. Please do not be intimidated by it all. If there is a problem or concern, please do not hesitate to contact me. I can not fix a potential problem if I don t know about it. My contact number at school is 315-829-2520 ext.7418 and my email is lcarter@vvsschools.org. Thank you and I look forward to making music with your student! 12