Policies

Tuition

• Tuition for lessons is due at the 1st lesson of September either by CHEQUE, MASTERCARD, VISA, and DEBIT, or CASH.
• When paying by credit card, please be sure to come in at the beginning of the month. I WILL NOT keep your number on file for automatic payments.
• When paying by cheque: ten post-dated cheques are required. (September through June.) Amount will be determined by the office and provided in the registration confirmation letter.
• The cheques shall be dated for the first or fifteenth day of each month from September through June inclusive. It is school policy that fees are payable in advance unless other arrangements are made with management.
• Cheques should be made payable to JAM.
• Should a cheque be returned from the bank for any reason, JAM will charge the payer $20.00.

Registration

An annual registration fee of $30.00 per individual or $60.00 per family is required at time of submission of registration form. A form without the fee fails to secure a lesson time. The registration fees are used for the following services:

• use of extensive printed music library
• photocopied materials
• administrative costs
• recital overhead

Summer Registration Form

2013-2014 Registration Form

Studio Courtesy

• Please enter the house quietly, wait in the waiting room, and make your way to the piano at your scheduled time. Do not interrupt the lesson underway in the piano studio.
• To maintain the service of provided magazines and books, please return materials to the rack or box.
• If you are using the keyboard and headphones while you wait, please turn the keyboard off and return the headphones to the spot inside the bench before coming for your lesson.
• Please wash your hands and use the hand sanitizer provided before approaching the piano.
• Do not chew gum or eat candy during your lesson.

Thank you for your support in making the studio run smoothly!

Group Activities

• There will be one recital. Participation is strongly recommended.
• A Christmas concert is presented at a seniors' home in December.
• Up to four group activities may occur during the year. These might include Technique Olympics, "JAM" exams, ensemble classes, and Master Classes. The individual lessons for that week will be replaced by these activities.
• Monday students have their regular lessons that week as well as the group event.

Missed Lessons

• Make-up lessons will ONLY BE GIVEN FOR SICKNESS! This notice must be provided in advance by the PARENT, NOT THE STUDENT. NOTICE GIVEN AT THE ONSET OF THE LESSON IS NOT SUFFICIENT TO REARRANGE LESSONS AND WILL NOT BE MADE UP. FAILURE TO PROVIDE NOTICE, RESULTS IN A FORFEITED LESSON.

• 2 makeup days are provided on the JAM calendar. It is your responsibility to make lesson arrangements for that day. School Pro-D days could potentially provide an alternate time. Again, you are required to contact me should a makeup lesson be needed.

• IF FAMILY VACATIONS ARE PLANNED FOR TIMES OTHER THAN THE SCHEDULED BREAKS, LESSONS WILL BE FORFEITED.

• If a student cannot attend the lesson for reasons other than sickness, the lesson is forfeited unless a "swap" with another student can be arranged.

• I have scheduled full teaching days and am unable to extend my schedule at other times.

• If I cannot attend a lesson and am unable to arrange an alternate time or substitute, I will refund the fee for that lesson.

Private Piano Lessons

In order to foster musical growth, I recommend 45 minute music lessons for students until the completion of grade 4; at which time the requirement is 60 minutes. Important components such as sight reading and ear training are often sacrificed in shorter lesson times. Children, ages 4 and 5, and beginners for year 1 & 2, may have 30 minute lessons although longer lessons are more beneficial.

Summer Lessons

• Students are not expected to continue lessons throughout the summer, however, 3 lessons available on a flexible basis are highly recommended. (Without practice or maintenance of some kind, students generally spend from September through November getting to the same position they were at in June.)
• Most courses of study will be offered.
• Theory courses: available during the summer in "crash" course structure. These are for preparation for the RCM theory exams which can be taken in August or December. If exams are planned for December, on going assignments need to be completed during the fall months with review classes organized for specific Saturdays.

Parents' Involvement

• I wish to work in conjunction with parents in educating their children. Unless specific arrangements are made, I request that parents only attend lessons on the 1st lesson of the month. This applies to private study lessons.
• To avoid unnecessary disruption, I request that younger siblings not attend the lessons.
• I appreciate and encourage communication from clients. All comments and concerns will be addressed.
• You are invited to discuss the progress of the student privately at regular intervals at a mutually convenient time. Please do not come at the end of your child's lesson when it is interrupting the next student's time. If you need to talk to me that day, please come at the start of your child's lesson.

General Information

• All students are required to have a well-maintained instrument.
• It is vital for the student to have a metronome.
• All students must have short fingernails, cut as short as possible, flush with the end of the finger. Students who arrive for their lessons with long fingernails will use lesson time to cut their nails.
• Students are expected to complete the year of study, but if withdrawal is necessary, one month's notice or one month's fee in lieu of notice is required in most circumstances. It is best that the termination of lessons be made under comfortable circumstances, so please use all possible discretion when such an event is unavoidable. To facilitate this transition, care must be taken to observe: respect, courtesy, and honesty.
• Reasonable practice is required for each student. A student not applying him or her self will be given a period of probation. If the situation has not improved after that time, and a thorough review has taken place, the student will be asked to find a new instructor. The parents will be contacted before the period of probation is set.
• Notification of exam application deadlines will be given well in advance and will be found on the "JAM" calendar. Students should make their application online by visiting www.rcmexaminations.org.
• Information regarding the group lessons will be on the website and will be sent home in a notice a month prior to the event if it is not specifically marked on the 2011/2012 "JAM" calendar.
• Student handbooks will be prepared for each student. All pertinent information, including the JAM calendar, policy, group lessons, technical requirements, and their weekly assignment pages will be included. This will be billed at my cost.
• JAM will purchase the music books required and invoice accordingly.
• Students doing RCM exams will pay a $5.00 deposit for each ear CD they borrow in preparation for their examination.

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