Conservatory Lesson Procedures for Students Playing
Band & String Instruments
General Information
Most instrumentalists receive weekly private lessons at our school; however, several students may receive instruction in pairs on a weekly basis. Upon occasion, a group of three or four students will be combined into a lesson for a particular day, a special reason, unusual circumstance, etc. Occasionally there will be a time Mr. Rappoldt will not be able to give every conservatory student a lesson during the week. This usually happens because of a holiday, snow days or when Mr. Rappoldt is attending a convention or festival.
Lesson times for middle and high school students rotate throughout the school day so that the student does not miss the same regularly scheduled class period every week. This rotating scheduled is prepared by Mr. Rappoldt and is emailed to teachers and families several weeks in advance. Lessons usually occur on the same day each week.
Lesson times for elementary students are more stationary. At the beginning of the school year or as new students begin instruction, the elementary staff reviews the time schedule Mr. Rappoldt has given them in order to decide what it is the best time for a particular student to have a lesson. As the school year progresses, any proposed change in this schedule (by a parent, teacher, or Mr. Rappoldt) is submitted by Mr. Rappoldt to the appropriate elementary teacher(s) for approval. Changes in the stationary schedule
occur due to holidays, vacations, conferences, band festivals, field trips, illness, etc. The approved elementary schedule is then emailed to teachers and families several weeks in advance.
Make-up lessons for students who are absent from school or who have forgotten their books or instrument are scheduled with the approval of both the family and the regular classroom teacher. Virtually all music lessons are held in the middle school music room. Changes in venue are initiated by Mr. Rappoldt and approved by Mrs. Urbano. Any such change is noted on the weekly schedule.
Since the program began in 2010, all teachers have been very cooperative and have allowed students to attend their weekly lesson. However, a teacher may occasionally feel that a student should not be excused at the scheduled time due to a test, special event or activity, project, field trip, etc. When this happens, the teacher contacts Mr. Rappoldt several days in advance (if possible) so that an alternative may be worked out by switching the time with other students that day or scheduling the lesson during one of the available make-up times. Any changes are approved by the teachers and families involved in the time change. (FYI: it is not uncommon for teachers to allow the music student to come to the lesson when a test is scheduled because the teacher allows the student to take the test later that same school day or the following day.)
As the school year progresses, teachers, parents, guardians and/or students may request that a particular class period or time slot be avoided because a particular student is struggling in a particular subject. When this happens, a schedule change is proposed by Mr. Rappoldt and approved in advance by the faculty members involved.
Elementary Conservatory Students
Parents and guardians of elementary instrumentalists are to remind their child(ren) when a lesson has been scheduled for the week. Elementary teachers have received a copy of the schedule as well, so students may also check with their teacher concerning the day and time of their lesson. Lessons usually occur on the same day and time each week.
The student will remain in class until Mr. Rappoldt appears to escort the child from the elementary building (or another location) to the middle school music room. Mr. Rappoldt will also escort the student back to his/her regular classroom or to another part of the CCS complex. It is the student’s responsibility to make-up any work missed or covered in the subject that was missed.
Most lessons for elementary students last approximately 30 minutes. Lessons may be scheduled for a shorter or longer length of time depending on the age of the student, the ability of the student to focus, etc. If an elementary student is paired with another student, the lesson may be extended to approximately 45 minutes provided this has been approved by the regular classroom teacher.
Middle and High School Conservatory Students
Parents and guardians of middle and high school instrumentalists are to remind their child(ren) when a lesson has been scheduled for the week. Lessons usually occur on the same day each week. Students may check with Mr. Rappoldt (particularly during homeroom) if they forget when the lesson has been scheduled. Lesson times are not announced during homeroom.
Like all students, the music conservatory student who is going to have a lesson will report to his/her regularly scheduled class at the beginning of the period before attending his/her music lesson. He/she will ask permission to leave the regular classroom.
Before the student leaves, the teacher should inform the music student what he/she will be missing and give any homework or assignment to him/her before he/she leaves. Some teachers, however, choose to give the missed work or assignment to a friend of the music student who is going to the lesson. If this does not happen, it is the student’s responsibility to talk to the teacher as soon as possible about what was missed in class.
It is the student’s ultimate responsibility to discover what was covered in the regular class and to make-up that work as soon as possible. The music student who was not present in the regularly scheduled class period should turn any make-up or missed work within a day or two after missing the regular class, or on the date that the work is due or on the date agreed to by the regular classroom teacher and student. Should a student not understand a particular assignment, it is the student’s responsibility to ask the teacher for clarification before turning in the assignment. The student may not use the excuse that he/she did not know what was going on because of attending a music lesson.
Lessons for middle and high school students last for one class period (approximately 40 to 45 minutes in length depending on the schedule of the day). The period of the lesson rotates throughout the eight period day so that the same regularly scheduled class in not missed each time.