Grading Scale:
A student's grade will be calculated on the following percentages:
45% Participation
25% Playing Tests
20% Concert Attendance
10% Written Tests/Quizzes/Assignments
Participation
Band is a team. When one person does not participate, the whole group suffers. It is essential that ALL students participate EVERY day. Each band day will be one daily grade. Each student earns a 100 by walking through the door.
If you do not have your instrument, you must bring a note from a parent explaining why you don’t have it. (The excuses are subject to Mrs. Evans' approval. For example, “She didn’t feel like bringing it” is not an acceptable excuse.) If the reason is excused, your daily grade will be exempted, meaning it will not count for or against you. IF YOU ARE TOO SICK TO PLAY IN BAND YOU ARE TOO SICK TO BE IN SCHOOL.
If you do not have your instrument or a note with an excused reason, you will be given an alternate assignment. Please bring a pencil. You will earn a 70 for the day if you complete the assignment. If you do not work during class, you will receive a 0 for the day. If you have a note with an excused reason, you will also be given an alternate assignment to work on. Please bring a pencil!
When you come into class, do not waste time. Get what you need, sit down, and get ready to play. We have a great deal to accomplish each day! You will lose points from your daily grade if you are continually not ready to begin playing on time. I will give you enough time at the end of each class to pack up. Please do not pack up before I tell you. Important announcements are made for everyone at the end of class and you will need to hear them!
Please do not talk during class unless you raise your hand and are called on. Music is something you have to hear, and talking can be very distracting to everyone in the class. If I have to continually remind you to be quiet, you will lose points off of your daily grade.
Playing Test Policy
Fort the 2012-2013 school year, we will have bi-weekly (twice a month) playing tests in lieu of practice charts. These will occur on Wednesday of the week unless it must be changed because of the weekly schedule. These will be announced at least a week in advance and may be on a line from the method book, a passage from a piece of sheet music, or something else provided by Mrs. Evans. A rubric will be used to grade each student. Grades will be available for students by the next class.
Mrs. Evans reserves the right to start requiring practice charts based on poor performance on playing tests.
We will have at least two concerts this year. One will be in December and one will be in May. I will announce the dates within the first two weeks of school, and attendance is MANDATORY. There can NO EXCEPTIONS to this. I know that middle school students have many commitments. I give as much notice about these dates as possible so arrangements can be made to attend.
Winter Concert: December 18, 2012 Spring Concert: May 16, 2013
8th graders only will be attending MPA (Music Performance Assessment) during the school day on either Tuesday, March 19 or Wednesday, March 20. Exact details will be given as soon as I have them.
If any other concerts/performances are added, notice will be made as soon as possible.
Concerts will count as 20% of a students overall grade. Each concert will count as one grade of 100, and will be broken down as follows:
- 25% - attendance
- 25% - being on time
- 25% - staying until the end of the concert to hear all groups
- 25% - being dressed appropriately
It is essential to stay and hear all of the groups. Everyone has worked hard and deserves a great audience, and students can learn from one another! No exceptions, please.
Concert dress is a TMS band royal blue polo and khaki pants, shorts, or skirts. (Skirts must be knee length or longer.) All 6th graders will need to purchase a band shirt. The shirts are $14 and an order was already placed. However, if your child did not already have a royal blue band shirt, one was ordered for them and these can be paid for at any time.
