I’m excited to teach for SCHS once again! I love Sunnyside Christian School and I love band and am committed to doing whatever I can to encourage a love for music in each student. Even though I will be teaching via Skype, I promise to promote musical growth in each student. I have chosen music that is challenging for the students as well as enjoyable. Because this is a unique way of teaching band, there will be twists and turns in the course of the year, I ask that you be gracious with everyone as we are constantly figuring out the best way to uphold the integrity of the music program at SCHS.
I ask that your student’s instrument be in excellent playing condition as I will not be able to fix it if it breaks. I have spoken with our Ted Brown rep and he knows the situation and will stop by if I request it. He can look at the instrument and try to fix it or take it in to get fixed, but that means missed rehearsal time as your student waits to get his/her instrument fixed.
Student's grades will be determined as follows:
For students still needing to fulfill the music credits:
Practice Time:
Practice time is an essential element of this class. One of my main goals is to help each student improve in skill and ability. Improvement will only come if the concepts taught in class are practiced outside of class as well as during class. Playing an instrument can be compared to reading. Reading is a very long process of gradual learning that can only be conquered through practice and effort.
I am committed to helping your student learn, but you and your student must also be committed to learning. I am requiring that each student who still needs to fulfill their music requirement practice 60 minutes a week. This will be a weekly grade. I will not accept a sheet at the end of the marking period for 400 minutes to cover the whole marking period. It is a weekly grade and therefore, must be turned in every week. Practice sheets will be due on Thursdays. There will be a very clearly marked basket in the band room for completed practice sheets to be placed in.
Daily Participation:
This class is largely built around what we accomplish in class. Students must be prepared for class. Each student must keep a pencil in his/her folder or case so that signals can be marked into the music. Students should be familiar with the music so that we can rehearse as a band rather than spend time working on what should be covered during individual practice.
Each day we meet, students will begin the class with 5 participation points. Because I am not able to actually be in the classroom with the students, each student must be actively concentrating on listening to me and paying attention to the music. If a student is messing around or talking out of turn, I will start detracting points. (There will be times when I need to specifically work with one person or one section, during those times the other students may speak quietly with others sitting nearby.) On days where I do a pencil check, students who don’t have a pencil readily available, will lose 1 point.
Playing Tests:
In order to best help each student improve, I must hear each student individually. I will notify the class in advance about what I will be testing so that the material may be practiced outside of class. A grade for each test will be given based on accuracy and improvement.
I have a couple of different options for you to use to get playing tests to me. The Google Photos app allows files to be shared among users. If you as a parent prefer to use that method, I will create a folder that you can simply drop the video into and share it with me. Google photos can be used by both Android and Apple smart phones. Another method would be through the Facebook messaging app. Videos can simply be uploaded to my messaging app via a smart phone or computer. The third method (and the one we found worked best this past year) will be through actual Skype calls. If you do not have a smart phone, I will work with you to come up with a time where we can either Skype from school or your home to watch the playing test. Most often, students would perform the test for me during 8th period.
Performances:
Performances are the essence of this class. Concert attendance is mandatory. We are a performance based class. Included in this part of the grade will be each student’s knowledge of their music as well as their attire. Our uniform is a black shirt, preferably button-up, and black pants or skirt. We will only be having two concerts this year, one in December and one in May. I will let you know as soon as we have dates set.
Again, I am looking forward to this year ahead!
In Christ,
Nicky DeBoer
I ask that your student’s instrument be in excellent playing condition as I will not be able to fix it if it breaks. I have spoken with our Ted Brown rep and he knows the situation and will stop by if I request it. He can look at the instrument and try to fix it or take it in to get fixed, but that means missed rehearsal time as your student waits to get his/her instrument fixed.
Student's grades will be determined as follows:
For students still needing to fulfill the music credits:
- 25% Weekly Practice Time
- 30% Daily Participation
- 20% Playing Tests
- 25% Concert Attendance
- 30% Daily Participation
- 45% Playing Tests
- 25% Concert Attendance
Practice Time:
Practice time is an essential element of this class. One of my main goals is to help each student improve in skill and ability. Improvement will only come if the concepts taught in class are practiced outside of class as well as during class. Playing an instrument can be compared to reading. Reading is a very long process of gradual learning that can only be conquered through practice and effort.
I am committed to helping your student learn, but you and your student must also be committed to learning. I am requiring that each student who still needs to fulfill their music requirement practice 60 minutes a week. This will be a weekly grade. I will not accept a sheet at the end of the marking period for 400 minutes to cover the whole marking period. It is a weekly grade and therefore, must be turned in every week. Practice sheets will be due on Thursdays. There will be a very clearly marked basket in the band room for completed practice sheets to be placed in.
Daily Participation:
This class is largely built around what we accomplish in class. Students must be prepared for class. Each student must keep a pencil in his/her folder or case so that signals can be marked into the music. Students should be familiar with the music so that we can rehearse as a band rather than spend time working on what should be covered during individual practice.
Each day we meet, students will begin the class with 5 participation points. Because I am not able to actually be in the classroom with the students, each student must be actively concentrating on listening to me and paying attention to the music. If a student is messing around or talking out of turn, I will start detracting points. (There will be times when I need to specifically work with one person or one section, during those times the other students may speak quietly with others sitting nearby.) On days where I do a pencil check, students who don’t have a pencil readily available, will lose 1 point.
Playing Tests:
In order to best help each student improve, I must hear each student individually. I will notify the class in advance about what I will be testing so that the material may be practiced outside of class. A grade for each test will be given based on accuracy and improvement.
I have a couple of different options for you to use to get playing tests to me. The Google Photos app allows files to be shared among users. If you as a parent prefer to use that method, I will create a folder that you can simply drop the video into and share it with me. Google photos can be used by both Android and Apple smart phones. Another method would be through the Facebook messaging app. Videos can simply be uploaded to my messaging app via a smart phone or computer. The third method (and the one we found worked best this past year) will be through actual Skype calls. If you do not have a smart phone, I will work with you to come up with a time where we can either Skype from school or your home to watch the playing test. Most often, students would perform the test for me during 8th period.
Performances:
Performances are the essence of this class. Concert attendance is mandatory. We are a performance based class. Included in this part of the grade will be each student’s knowledge of their music as well as their attire. Our uniform is a black shirt, preferably button-up, and black pants or skirt. We will only be having two concerts this year, one in December and one in May. I will let you know as soon as we have dates set.
Again, I am looking forward to this year ahead!
In Christ,
Nicky DeBoer
