Montessori Mozarts (Toddler & Pre-School)

Awaken and develop your child's inborn musicality! Montessori Mozarts is an active, joyful music-making program that gives your child the skills to make music from birth. Singing, moving, listening, playing simple instruments and music games are so much fun when we do them  together.                         

*Please visit our calendar on the website www.montessorimozarts.com for the schedule of class schedules and times.

Piano and Vocal Lesson Structure

·         Weekly lessons with your Montessori Mozarts Teacher

·         Individualized curriculum designed for each student

·         Performance opportunities and recitals throughout the year

·         Continually monitored process by both associate teacher and Ms. Harris

·         Mandatory attendance. Missed lessons must be rescheduled

·         Fiscal year extends from September 1 to August 31^st incl. summer camp.

·         Every lesson deals with all aspects dictated by the Royal Conservatory of Music piano or vocal curriculum and guaranteed, if followed, to produce successful results.

For the younger students in the group classes the Montessori Mozarts handbook and sing-along CDs offer a means for parents to assist in supporting the learning process at home.

1.       Support the fulfillment of your child's responsibilities. Consistency is the key to learning a musical instrument

2.       Encourage progress. Many small steps throughout the year yield big results!

3.       Remind your son/daughter of daily practice and help them to schedule this practice time in their daily routine.

4.       Provide a practice environment that is free from interruptions (family, friends, TV, computer or phone.)

5.       Be financially responsible and pay tuition ON TIME. Late payments result in late fees. For questions regarding tuition and your account, email bharris82@cogeco.ca

6.       Communicate with the teacher about any questions or concerns you have regarding the student, music, practicing, festivals, recitals or lesson content.

Student Expectations and Responsibilities

1.       Schedule 15-30 minutes of practice each day for at least five days per week. Two of those days must include the day of and following the private lesson. Remember: playing is not practicing!

2.       Complete all assignments the teacher has written down on the assignment sheet. Practice steps are included verbally in the lesson, and on the lesson assignment sheet.

3.       Review carefully any suggestions or instructions given in the previous lesson. I will write the main goals of each assignment on your assignment sheet.

4.       Arrive promptly at your lesson time, or two minutes early. If you arrive five minutes late, your lesson is five minutes shorter. You reserve the time slot, not the number of minutes.

5.       If questions arise, be sure to ask your teacher questions during lessons; I want you to understand the assignment and expectations.

Teacher Expectations and Responsibilities

1.       Provide each student with the personal attention and respect necessary to develop his/her individual talents.

2.       Guide each student to a greater understanding and enjoyment of music.

3.       Guide each student towards an awareness of her/his capabilities - clearly communicating short-term and long-term goals. This may be verbal or written communication.

4.       Encourage a feeling of success at each student's individual rate of learning.

5.       Guide each student towards Musical Independence and Initiative through a balanced program of theory, technique and repertoire.

    Theory: Essentially, studying the foundations of music.

  Technique: The physical mechanics of playing piano.

Repertoire: A list of pieces to be learned.

6.       Report the progress of the student to the parent, listen to any concerns and answer any questions that the parent and student may have.

Attendance

Students are expected to attend all scheduled lessons per each spring and fall semester. You are scheduling a specific time period, on a specific day, each week. This means that if your lesson is scheduled for Thursday at 3pm for 30 minutes - it is imperative you arrive on time. If you arrive 5 minutes late, the lesson will still end at its scheduled time. We are very prompt and respectful of time - we expect the students and parents to demonstrate the same respect to us. This includes dropping students off AND pickup of students at the conclusion of the lesson.

Montessori Mozarts has a specific number of weeks on the calendar. Our tuition is non-refundable and makeup lessons are not scheduled. Please plan lesson times and social engagements accordingly. In the event that an emergency should take place, please contact our office administrator to discuss possible (though not guaranteed) options.

Summer participation in lessons will be expected and scheduled on an individual basis. Each student is learning a new language and without reinforcement, new ideas, a change of pace and practice - they lose the very skills they have worked so hard to attain over the course of the past nine months. The investment you as parents have made is too great to take months off and expect to pick right back up where we left off. Our studio and its staff plan well in advance so please plan for one week of piano camp three hours per day, (offered numerous times throughout June and July) and two individually-scheduled private lessons.

Practice

The most important time for the student to practice is immediately following the lesson - or at least on the same day as the lesson, after the student has received instruction. Research indicates that retention rate is as high as 90% on the first day, whereas it drops to almost 60% if the student waits just 24-hours.

We at Montessori Mozarts say aim for six and expect five days of practice. If a student has 30 minute lessons, a good daily practice session would last between 15 and 20 minutes each day. If a student has a 45 minute lesson, a good daily practice session would last between 30 and 45 minutes each day.

You get out of it what you put into it - what we require is consistency and the results speak for themselves.

Absence

48 hour cancellation period prior to scheduled lesson is necessary for make-up lessons.

Drop-off/Pick-up

Prompt drop off and pick up are expected. It is unacceptable for a student to be waiting more than 5 minutes for the parents to pick up, as we do not provide a daycare service and cannot be responsible for the student after their lesson is finished. Parents are welcome to wait in the waiting area.

Private Lesson Tuition

Tuition is non-refundable and post-dated for the first of each month. Tuition for the 2010-2011 academic year is as follows:

        30 minute lessons

        $100 12 post-dated cheques for the 1^st of each month at registration

45 minute lessons

$150 12 post-dated cheques for the 1^st of each month at registration

1 hour lessons

$200 12 post-dated cheques for the 1^st of each month at registration

August 1 - first payment due for school

Tuition may be paid in full August 1 for Fall, December 1 for Spring and April 1 for Summer

·           A $15 late fee charged if payment is received after the 1st

·           In July of each year there is a $110 enrollment fee per student. This enrollment fee covers any additional costs such as flash cards, music, recital rental fees, etc.This fee does not include festival registration or competition registration.

Recitals

Each student is expected to participate in our annual recital usually scheduled for the Sunday closest to Valentine's Day in February. On any given year, there are usually three recital options at retirement homes and hospitals over the Christmas holiday season. Please see calendar for more specific dates.

Festivals and Competitions

Each student has the option of participating in festivals offered by the ORMTA and Kiwanis Associations and is encouraged to enter and participate in any competition the student, parents and teacher agree to. The teacher will ultimately make the decision as to if a student is ready to perform at a festival.

Inclement Weather

Should the need arise to cancel lessons due to bad weather; the lessons will be made up at the conclusion of the semester, or by the individual teacher. The lesson may be made up in the form of a master class, group class or individual lesson.

* Montessori Mozarts is not responsible for lost or stolen items left unattended in the waiting or studio areas.

**Montessori Mozarts is not responsible for students/children when not with their teacher during their regularly scheduled lesson time. This includes but is not limited to: dropped off early, picked up late, or show up at the unassigned lesson time.

Summer Camp

Camp highlights include, but are not exclusive to:

·           Playing with a rhythm section

·           Garage Band/Writing their own song (students will be able to upload their own song to their I-tunes)

·           5 different composers; 5 different genres - rhythm, blues, jazz, swing and improvisation

·           Fun! Theory games

·           Ensemble pieces/duets/trios with other students

The summer program consists of each student participating in one of the offered camps and two private lessons 45-minute lessons (private lessons may be broken down into 3 30-minute). If individual students would like additional lessons that can be discussed with Ms. Harris. But first let's get you all registered for the summer program! Priority for summer enrollment ends March 15.

What does that mean? That means that after March 15 we will re-open enrollment to those not currently taking lessons with Montessori Mozarts. If you choice not to participate in the summer program we will be happy to contact you when we begin registering for the fall, however, we cannot guarantee that your current time slot, or instructor will be available. The best way to be sure is to enrol in the summer program!

I am not sure what my summer plans are just yet. If you are unsure of your summer schedule, I advise you go ahead and register your child for the most likely camp and two private lesson times that fit your tentative plans. We can always change you to another available camp and lesson if that becomes necessary. Again...getting registered sooner, rather that later, is better.

Please email mharris@montessorimozarts.com or call 519.564.8862

Please see website www.montessorimozarts.com for an updated listing of our events.