ROBERT E. LEE H.S. CHORAL PROGRAM Student/Parent Handbook Robert E. Lee High School 1400 Jackson-Keller San Antonio, TX 78213 Choir Office: 210-356-0876
Robert E. Lee High School Choral Program 1400 Jackson Keller San Antonio, TX 78213 Dear Lee Choir Students & Parents: Welcome to another school year and to our new students, welcome to the Lee Choir family. This handbook is designed to give you an overview of the choir program, outline policies and procedures, and serve as reference throughout the school should you have any questions or concerns. The purpose of this handbook is to outline the policies, requirements, and expectations so that each student may be a responsible and properly informed chorus member. Please review the handbook and return the signed acknowledgement page to the choral office. The rest of the handbook should be retained for future reference. I m requesting that students and parents read the entire handbook as students will be held accountable for its contents. Attached to the handbook is Choir Contract to be signed by both students and parents. Your signature indicates that you have read the handbook and agree to abide by its contents. The pursuit of excellence is encouraged in every aspect of the Choral Program. Continuation of this pursuit requires the dedication of students, parents, director, and administrators. This promises to be an exciting year. It will be a marvelous opportunity for us to grow personally as well as musically. We are very optimistic about the future of this outstanding program as we continue to grow. Looking forward to a great year! Jaclyn Rivera, Choir Director 210-356-0876 (office) jriver4@neisd.net
ENSEMBLES The placement of each student in a specific choir is based on a required audition and decided by Ms. Rivera. Placement will be based on musicianship, attitude, and eligibility. Bugle Call Choir (Men) is an all male ensemble for beginning & intermediate singers in grades 9-12. Open membership to all Lee HS students. Dixie Choir (Women) is an all female ensemble for intermediate & advanced singers in grades 9-12. Open membership to all Lee HS students; this ensemble is required to participate in UIL competitions. Rebel Choir (Men & Women) is the premier mixed ensemble for advanced singers. The mixed choir sings requires strong sight-reading skills and members are required to participate in UIL competitions. This ensemble rehearses after school and is created from members of both the Bugle Call Choir and Dixie Choir. This is not an open membership ensemble and it is created at the discretion of the director based on high musical ability and sight-reading skills. Non Varsity Women s Choir is an all female ensemble for beginning & intermediate singers in grades 9-12. Open membership to all Lee HS students. Show Choir is a mixed ensemble for advanced singes. The show choir repertoire primarily consists of Pop, Broadway and Contemporary music. This is an auditioned ensemble and rehearses after school. Barbershop Ensembles are student formed ensembles that sing in the barbershop style. This quartet of singers rehearses before school and after school. STUDENT-PARENT ORGANZIATION (SPO) Parents are encouraged to participate in the SPO. This group of parents supports the department through out the year in several capacities from fundraising to ushering at performances. Meetings are held throughout the year on a monthly basis. PARTICIPATION FEE Each choir student is required to pay a participation fee of $50.00. Included in the fee are uniform rental fees, black music binder, pencil and a choir t-shirt. This fee is due by Friday, September 30, 2016. Deadline may be extended on case-by-case bases. Other items that are not included throughout the year include: UIL Solo & Ensemble fees, Field Trip fees, Banquet tickets ELIGIBILITY Students must maintain academic eligibility according to state UIL guidelines. If a student consistently fails and remains ineligible, they may be removed from the program. The Lee HS Choral Program holds the highest standard for its membership and expects students to excel on stage and in the classroom.
No student may participate in any contest or paid concert outside the classroom for nine weeks upon receiving one failing grade during the previous grading period. Students can regain their eligibility if they are passing ALL of their classes when three week and six week progress reports are issued. If a student is ineligible for a choral event, they must complete an alternate assignment to replace the performance grade. SUPPLIES Students must have a pencil (no pen) at every rehearsal. Music is provided for each student. Lost music and/or folders will be charged to the student with a replacement fee, including shipping/handling costs. Payment for lost music must be made in cash. UNIFORMS Ladies will wear the provided formal dress with skin-tone hose and black closed-toe dress shoes. Heels should not be excessively high and dresses should be hemmed at 1 inch from the floor while wearing the shoes to be worn for concerts. DO NOT cut fabric in any manner or use any bonding agent when altering dresses. Hair must be pulled away from the face. Jewelry: The only jewelry to be worn for a performance are one (1) dime sized stud earring PER EAR and single strand pearl necklaces. No dangle earrings, earrings larger than the size of a dime, personal necklaces, watches or bracelets should be worn while in concert uniform. Gentlemen will wear the provided black tuxedo pants and jacket. In addition, they will be responsible for purchasing their own white, wing tip collar, pleated tuxedo shirt, black cumberbunt & bowtie, black socks, and black dress shoes. Both ladies and gentlemen should refrain from wearing strong perfumes and colognes when standing on the rises for performances. PLEASE NOTE Uniforms are the property of NEISD. A required NEISD Uniform Usage Fee of $10 is included in the choir participation fee. A fine will be assessed to each student for any damage or loss of uniform. Loss fee is $60.00 for dresses, $120.00 for tuxedos jackets and $50.00 for tuxedo pants. GRADING POLICY Participation and Preparedness: 50% Students are expected to be in their seats on time with the appropriate materials before the bell rings. Participation in all classroom activities is expected each day. Students are prohibited to use their phones during class and this includes texting. If a student needs to communicate with their parent/guardian they must wait until the bell rings or a passing period to text home. Texting in class is not allowed, even if a student is texting a parent. Pre-assessment is the Pre-UIL concert and the final assessment is the UIL concert
Performances: 30% Students will prepare music and participate in all required school performances. Any behavior problems (including gum chewing, talking in the audience, talking on stage, use of electronic devices, etc.) will affect your grade. Be punctual and in proper uniform for all dress rehearsals and performances. Being tardy to a performance, incomplete uniform, inappropriate hem length, missing accessories, inappropriate shoes, etc. will affect your grade. Students are required to stay the entire duration of the rehearsal arriving late or leaving early (without prior approval) will hurt a student s grade. An excused absence from a concert will be graded according to the make-up assignment given. An unexcused absence from a concert will be given a zero with no opportunity for make-up work. A work schedule conflict or lack of transportation is viewed as an unexcused absence. Assignments, Written Work, Tests: 15% Students will be evaluated in groups and/or solo performance with a numerical grade being awarded for each graded exercise. Assignments/written work may consist of ear training notation, sight-reading exercises, theory exercises, vocabulary, essays, and quizzes and tests over material covered in class. Binder Evaluations: 5% Every student is required to maintain a black choir binder which should contain all music currently being rehearsed in class, handouts from the teacher, all assignments that have been graded and returned, sight-reading exercises, calendars, and anything else distributed in class. If a student s binder is not in their designated slot for grading, the student will receive a zero. SECTIONALS AND EXTRA REHEARSALS All students are expected to participate in additional sectionals that may occur before or after school. The day and exact start and end times will be determined and announced in advance. All school and classroom rules will apply during these rehearsals. There will be no excuses for missing these rehearsals except those approved in advance by the director. If there is a conflict with another school activity you must inform the director as early as possible, in writing, so that the conflict may be addressed. Understand that a dress rehearsal for a performance will take precedence over a practice or meeting for another organization. CHOIR COUNCIL OFFICERS Elections for Choir Council Officer are held at the beginning of the school year. All students are eligible and encouraged to apply to a leadership position. Ms. Rivera has the final say on the most suitable candidates for office based on an interview, grades, attitude
and leadership qualities. Each chorus will elect a chorus representative who will speak on behalf of their chorus whenever choir council meets. Officers and representatives are expected to attend all choir functions throughout the year. SECTION LEADERS Section leaders will be appointed by Ms. Rivera based on leadership, musicianship, attitude, and eligibility. VOICE LESSONS Private voice lessons are offered at Lee H.S. The district/director approves voice teachers for individual lessons that take place on the Lee campus before school, after school, or during a portion of the student s choir class. Payment and scheduling are done on an individual basis with the voice teacher. All payments are strictly handled through your voice teacher (Ms. Rivera is not responsible for collecting any payments). Students are highly encouraged to take private voice lessons. It is a fact that students who study privately are extremely successful in competitive events and are leaders within the choir due to their advanced skills. BEHAVIOR EXPECTATIONS Students in the Lee HS Choral Department will abide by all NEISD rules governing student behavior as outlined in the NEISD Student Handbook and the NEISD Fine Arts Code of Conduct. Failure to comply with these rules will result in disciplinary action in accordance with district policies. As a representative of the Lee Choral Department, students must understand that their behavior must be exemplary. If choir students have unexcused absences from any class at Lee H.S., or receive disciplinary action as a result of breaking school rules, they may be removed from ensembles. Students who behave in ways that are destructive to the choir s goals of teamwork and cooperation may be removed from the ensemble. Students will be expected to practice proper rehearsal behavior each day and accept correction in a mature manner, and accepting consequences for repeated violation of class rules as per the Lee H.S. Discipline Plan REHEARSAL ETIQUETTE No food, gum, or drinks in the classroom except for clear water bottles Be in your seat seats on time with the appropriate materials (black binder and pencil) when the bell rings or you will be counted tardy Do not use your cell phone for calls or texting during class, this includes texting your parents during class. Please wait for a passing period to make any important phone calls or text. Use hand signs when singing on solfege If you are too ill to sing please sit out from the rehearsal but still take notes. CONCERT ETIQUETTE
We appreciate your friends and family s support of our performances. We must ask for your cooperation in creating a proper concert atmosphere for the performances. Following is a list of behaviors for your information and consideration. Each guideline below addresses common mistakes choir and audience members make when attending a formal concert. All students and audience members should remain seated during the entire concert. Leaving early is a sign of disrespect and a distraction to the performers and to the audience members around you. Late arrivals should remain outside the lobby doors until you hear applause. No one should enter and take seats while an ensemble is performing. All children should remain seated next to parents during the entire performance. A child who becomes restless or noisy during a performance should be removed immediately. Children should not be allowed to play in the isles, on or around the stage area at any time. Yelling or whistling is not an appropriate response at a choral performance. Strong sustained applause or bravo/brava is the best response to a job well done. There should be no talking of any kind during a performance. Please turn off/set to vibrate all cell phones or other electronic devices and refrain from texting during a performance. Please refrain from taking flash photos during the performance, as it is a danger and a distraction to performers and audience members alike. A great deal of work and practice goes into the preparation of each concert. Each student and each piece of music presented in concert deserves your attention and your active listening. Help us make each concert a truly special event with your participation in the concert guidelines above. TRAVEL GUIDELINES Activities away from Lee H.S. require particular student responsibility. All rules outlined in the NEISD Student/Parent Handbook will be followed at all times. In addition to applicable laws, policies, and rules, the following choir rules are in effect for such activities. Failure to comply with any of the following rules may subject a member to appropriate disciplinary action. When traveling with the Lee H.S. Choir, each member must: Immediately notify a director or chaperone of illness or injury. Refrain from disruptive behavior. Be courteous to chaperones, directors, and fellow choir students. Stay with the group at all times, unless instructed otherwise by a director. When visiting another school for an audition, concert, or contest, you must be on your best behavior at all times. Unnecessary expressions of school spirit, rudeness, or badmouthing of other schools will not be tolerated. We will behave as adults and professionals at all times. Remember, you are representing Robert E. Lee High School.
Robert E. Lee Choral Program Student/Parent Acknowledgement Page Signing this acknowledgment page indicates that both student and parent have reviewed and agreed to the conditions listed in the 2016-17 Choral Department Handbook. Please return this signature page to Ms. Rivera. The rest of the handbook is for you to retain for future reference. Student Name: Student Signature: Student Email: Parent/Guardian Name: Parent/Guardian Signature: Parent /Guardian Email: Home Phone #: Cell Phone #: =============================================================== Robert E. Lee Choral Program Student Release Form The Vols Voice Newsletter During the school year, opportunities arise to provide positive information and publicity about the Lee Choral Program. Permission is needed in order to include your child s image or interview in our monthly newsletter The Vols Voice. This newsletter is emailed out to our students, parents, administrators and the community and is designed to celebrate our accomplishments while keeping us informed of the wonderful things going on in our department. It also provides our students and parents with important details about future performances, competitions, fundraisers etc. Please sign this form and return it to Ms. Rivera where is will be kept of file for future reference. SCHOOL(S): Robert E. Lee, ISA, STEM, NESA Student Name: Date: HAS MY PERMISSION DOES NOT HAS MY PERMISSION Parent/Guardian Signature: