Policies | suzukimetrowest

Suzuki MetroWest Policies

2018-2019

Scheduling & Term Dates

A current term calendar is available in your student portal. Click "login" from this website, or head to mymusicstaff.com to access it.

There are approximately 30 private lessons offered between September 1 and May 31.

On the 15th lesson of the year, the lesson will be replaced by a parent-teacher conference. For teenagers 13 and older, students are invited to also attend this conference. Parents should plan child-care for this time.

Studio Space

Students may park either on the street Francine Rd., or in the driveway closest to the mail box.

Students should enter at the front door on the left, directly up from the mailbox. There is no need to ring the bell, unless the door is locked.

Upon arrival, students should take off shoes and hang up coats, and either sit quietly on the bench at the entryway, or step quietly into the studio to hear the end of the previous lesson.

Students may not play in the main house. Running, jumping, and rough-housing are strictly prohibited.

No food or drink are allowed in the studio space. Water bottles with lids are permitted, and encouraged.

Parents are asked to monitor restroom use of young children—toilet flushed, paper products correctly disposed of, spills and splashes cleaned up, and water and lights properly turned off.

Attendance and Missed Lessons

Regular attendance is absolutely required. If you know ahead of time you will miss a lesson date, it is your obligation to either cancel the lesson in the student portal, or contact another student and switch lesson times. It is your responsibility to make arrangements between other students and notify your teacher.
Cancellations must occur a minimum of 5 days before the lesson that will be missed. Lessons cancelled before the five day cutoff will be automatically credited. If there is a make-up time slot available in the student portal, you may use that lesson time in exchange for one of your regular time slots. If there is an absence by the instructor due to travel, illness, playing engagements etc., we will reschedule your lesson at a mutually agreed upon time, or you will receive a credit for the lesson missed. Lessons cancelled after the five day cutoff will be billed, but will generate a 30 day make-up credit. You are responsible for finding a make-up lesson on the calendar in your student portal to use this credit. After 30 days the make-up credit will expire. If you miss a rescheduled lesson there will be no additional make-up lesson.
Students and their grown-ups should arrive together and on time. Please do not send in your child while you park the car. The lesson will not begin until everyone involved (parent, teacher, student) are all present and settled. It is imperative that students arrive on time. If a student is late he/she will only receive the remainder of his/her lesson time out of respect for the following students as well as the teacher.
If there is another student having a lesson, remove any coats or noisy paraphernalia in the entryway, then quietly enter and listen to the last few minutes of the lesson before yours. Students may take out their instrument while in the entryway, but it must stay silent while there is another student in a lesson. Be prepared for others to tiptoe into your lesson as well! We learn from observing each other.
While in-person lessons are ideal, you may request a zoom lesson for any reason in exchange for any in-person lesson.

Inclement Weather and Illness

In the case of inclement weather, Zoom lessons are offered as an alternative to travel. In the event of a power outage, a lesson credit will be issued.

Please cancel your lesson, or plan for a zoom lesson, if your student or anyone in your household has experienced high fever, diarrhea, vomiting, or severe coughing within 24 hours of your lesson time. If your student is border-line, please contact your teacher to assess. Students who are able should have a zoom lesson, however, in the event that the student is unwell, the lesson will be credited.

Technology

No cell phone, tablet, or computer use is permitted in the music studio. Please have a notebook available for taking notes. If video clips are required for home practice, your teacher will ask that you pull out a phone or tablet for that moment of the lesson. Under no circumstances should phone calls, emails, video watching, or other digital distractions take place during a lesson by anyone in the studio space (including siblings!).

Grown-ups

Grown-ups should bring a notebook to lessons to record information given at the lesson. It is very important, especially with small children, that the grown-up be attentive and take an interest in their child’s progress.

Please plan to have the same grown-up at each lesson for your child. This person should also be the “practice parent.” Progress is a lot easier when there is consistency for the child, both at the lesson and at home.

Please do not answer for your child during their lesson. There will be times when I ask you the question, but often when I ask your child a question I want him/her to answer it. If there is information that you feel I should know, such as, “we had a bad practice week,” or “he’s really tired today…there was a sleepover last night,” please tell me this in a text, phone call, or e-mail—not in front of your child. This is a sure way to have a lethargic and unproductive lesson.

Please do not wait until the child’s lesson is over to bring up a point of discussion or question with the teacher. Either discuss your thoughts at the beginning of each lesson or contact your teacher to arrange a time convenient for both parties. Don’t be surprised if the lesson ends a few minutes early to allow for questions.

Siblings are welcome to come to the lessons, but they are not to be let loose. They must sit quietly in the studio space without distracting, or you will be asked to make other arrangements.

Lesson Preparation

Students should have a nutritious snack before their lesson. This helps their concentration and focus to stay on the lesson and not on what’s for dinner!

Students should go to the bathroom and WASH HANDS before the lesson begins. Even if your child thinks that they will be fine, please ask them to try to go to the bathroom—this eliminates a huge distraction during lessons. They may use the bathroom located inside the studio space.

Students are expected to come to their lesson prepared. This will require regular daily practice. If practicing should become an issue, I will work with the grown-up to help resolve the problem. Be prepared! There will be times when a student will not want to practice. It takes a lot of work from the grown-ups to keep the interest and commitment.

Lesson Fees

- Invoices for lessons come out on the first of each month, with payments due for anticipated lessons in the month. It is recommended that families set up automatic payments with a credit card on file in the student portal. In lieu to paying monthly, families may request a special invoice and choose from one of the following options:
  1. Annual tuition paid in full by the first lesson.
  2. Tuition may be paid in three quarterly installments on August 15, November 15, and February 15.
Missed or late payments will result in suspended lessons without the opportunity for make-up lessons or credits.

Summer Lessons

Summer lessons are highly recommended, but not required. Due to a heavy travel schedule, lesson availability will be limited.

Lessons with other teachers are permitted during the summer—please check with your teacher before scheduling outside lessons.

Suzuki Institutes are strongly encouraged. For children under the age of 13, adults are usually required to attend all classes with their children. Institutes happen all over the country, and at all times of the summer. They run in 1 or 2 week sessions. Look for lists in January of available options and dates!

Concert & Recital Policy

Recitals are required, and every student is expected to perform.

Recital attire is “kiddo casual.” Think “business casual” for kids. Please no jeans or sneakers. Bright colors, polo shirts, kaki slacks or shorts, comfortable skirts and dresses, etc. are encouraged. Hair should be pulled off the face and shoes should be comfortable. Jewelry and nail polish should be subtle or removed.

Students are expected to stay for the entire performance to support and encourage their friends, and to learn from each other.

Receptions will always follow any studio performance!

Videos of your child are permitted, but please place the camera in a discreet area where it will not block the view of others. Cameras may not be held up during performance.

Flash or audible photography is not permitted during any performance. After performances photos may be “staged” if desired.

Instruments and Materials

Instruments and materials are required at every lesson. Forgetting an instrument will forfeit the lesson.

Please do not purchase instruments or materials on your own. Your teacher will provide you with information on what to get, and where to get it. Going out on your own could result in great frustration if the instrument is not to the teacher’s standards.

Lesson Termination

I realize that I will not be your child's teacher forever. Lessons end for a variety of reasons, and open communication is always the best way to handle a transition.

Once a separation has been decided, students must attend 2 more lessons. This allows an opportunity for closure on all sides of the student-parent-teacher triangle.
If you are looking to move to another teacher, please be open and honest during the process. Teacher moves happen all the time and for a variety of reasons, so this is not something that needs to be secretive. Students who move to another teacher without including the current teacher in the conversation will not be permitted to re-enter the studio at any point in the future.