Mrs. Laura Gates

208 S Valley View Dr Apt 7

St. George, UT 84770

(435) 862-4655

laura_gates2@yahoo.com

Standard 1: Procedures/Routines

Setup/Clean-Up of the Room for Rehearsal

· Students are responsible for setting up the room for rehearsal.

· Each student will grab their own chair and stand and place them in their designated chair assignment.

· After class, students are responsible for putting away their own chair and music stand in the correct place neatly and efficiently.

· Each student is responsible for putting away their instruments and music back where they found them as well as their other belongings.

· Students will take all of their belongings besides their instruments and music home.

· They may store their belongings in a band locker.

· If I see anything that is not an instrument or music, and no one is in the band room to claim the object, I will donate it to charity.

Taking Roll

· Students will fill out a popsicle stick with their name and what instrument they play at the beginning of the year.

· Students will then put the popsicle stick inside of their section's tin that I will make.

· The tins will be on the counter at the front of the room with the popsicle sticks laying on the counter.

· Before they sit down in their assigned seat with their instruments, students will look for their popsicle stick and place it in their section's designated tin.

· Whichever popsicle sticks are left on the countertop, I will mark those students absent.

· I will have a tardy tin for students who come in late, so students will put their popsicle stick in the tardy tin.

Warm Up

· When students have their instruments set up at the beginning of class, they will warm up individually on their own doing warm-ups just for their instruments until two minutes after the bell rings.

· The band will then warm up as a group playing a scale.

· Students will play the chord progression I-IV-ii-V7-I to help with their balance and blend.

· We will then tune to either the tuba or oboe depending upon the instrumentation of the band.

Rehearsal

· Students are required to bring their instruments to every class unless told otherwise.

· Students are required to be in their seats when the bell rings warming up.

· Students are required to have their music, instrument accessories, method books, and a pencil in class every day. No exceptions.

· When students come to class unprepared without a valid reason (repair, insufficient funds, theft, illness, etc.), participation points will be lost.

· There is a total of 15 participation points per class.

· The points are broken down into instrument-5 points; respect to the conductor/teacher; music-2 points; method book-2 points; and pencil-1 point.

· Once points are lost, students cannot make them up.

· Always be prepared to play music.

· Students will fill out a worksheet called 'Rehearsal Notes' as rehearsal goes on.

· They will write down their goals for improvement with music for different sections or individually.

· I will collect the worksheets at the end of the class, go over them, and work on what the majority of the concerns students have in the next rehearsal.

On the Podium

· When I or the class president is on the podium, all talking stops.

· Students will slide their bottoms to the edge of their chairs. This promotes good posture.

· When I am on the podium, students will rest their instruments in the attention position depending upon the instrument.

· I will explain what each position is in class.

· When my hands go up to the ready position, all students will bring their instruments to the appropriate playing position.

· When my hands rest to my sides, instruments go back into the attention position.

· When I step off of the podium, students will slide back in their chairs and rest their instruments in their laps.

Chair Auditions

· At the beginning of the school year within the first week, chair placement auditions will take place.

· I will assign each section an excerpt they need to learn on their own at home.

· They will play individually in a separate room from the group so I can evaluate them.

· How well they do influences where they will sit and what specific part they will play.

· A student can challenge another student's chair and part if they want. If the challenger plays better, the challenger will take the seat, and the other student moves down a seat.

Asking Questions

· If a student has a question, they should consult their neighbor quietly.

· If the neighbor does not know the answer, both should ask someone else in their section quietly.

· A student will ask the question to their whole section until they find someone who knows the answer.

· If no one in the section knows the answer, then the whole section will raise their hand, and I will answer the question.

Cell Phones, Toys, and Electronics

· Students will keep their cell phones, music players, headphones, toys, etc., inside their bags, pockets, or lockers.

· If an electronic device is pulled out during class, I will take it and put it inside my desk, and the student will come get their phone at the end of the school day.

· If an electronic device or toy is pulled out a second time, I will take it away and put it in my desk, but their parents will have to come at the end of the school day or next day to pick it up.

· They will need to explain to me why their child is using their electronic device or toy during school when he/she should be learning.

· We will come up with a plan to make sure they do not pull out the electronic device.

· If an electronic device or toy is pulled out a third time, I will take it away and take it to the front office where the parents will have to come pick it up.

· A parent/teacher conference will then be arranged, and we will talk about the importance of learning versus electronic devices and toys.

· We will come up with a plan for the student to stay focused on the class rather than the electronic device or toy.

Setup/Cleanup for Concerts

· All percussionists are required to help set up the percussion equipment for the upcoming concert in the appropriate place that works for all the students who play certain instruments in the concert hall.

· Band Council members will set up the chairs and stands in the appropriate place in the concert hall.

· After the concert, all percussionists are required to put away their equipment in the proper place inside the band room.

· Band Council members will put away the chairs and stands in their appropriate place inside the band room.

· My podium and music stand will also be set up in the concert hall and put away in the band room by Band Council members.

· A student (Band Librarian) will put all of my scores of the songs we will be performing on my stand at the beginning of each concert.

Concert Etiquette

· Students will be silent during the whole concert.

· The “On the Podium” procedure will be the standard.

· Students will leave all electronic devices at home, in the car, or in the band room as to not distract from the ambiance of the concert.

· When there is a soloist or more than one, I will tell them in class that they need to stand when I motion for them to stand during applause.

· The principal clarinetist will stand on the podium to signal the oboe or tuba to play a concert Bb.

· The clarinetist will match the pitch.

· The clarinetist will signal for the rest of the group to play the concert Bb and tune to each other.

· When I walk on stage, the whole group will stand to acknowledge me and themselves.

· I will bow and acknowledge the group.

· I will motion for them to sit down, and they must follow the movements of the principal clarinetist.

· After every song, students will hold still and receive the applause as I take a bow.

· When applause is over, they may switch their music, and I will say a little bit to the audience to give them time.

· When there is a guest soloist, I will walk off stage, get the soloist, and walk back on stage with the soloist. The group will stand to acknowledge the soloist.

· At the end of the concert, I will acknowledge soloists first followed by the whole group.

· I will take my bow and walk off the stage.

· The group will sit down.

· If applause continues, I will walk back on stage, the group will stand, and I will take another bow.

· We will repeat these steps a couple of times or until the applause dies down.

Band Council

· Band council representatives are responsible to organize events, trips, uniforms, concerts, parades, festivals, buses, etc. for the upcoming school year.

· The positions will be president, vice president, secretary, historian, publicity, treasurer, librarian, jazz rep., drum major, uniform rep., class presidents for each class, a representative for each grade, and a few other positions if necessary.

· Each position will have a specific duty to fulfill that will help me stay organized and give students the opportunity to serve their school and ensemble.

· Candidates will go through an extensive application process that includes a service project, an essay about their goals for the band and how they will accomplish these goals in the position they are applying for, outstanding participation in their ensembles, good citizenship in all classes, and a minimum GPA of 3.0.

· I will announce who the band council members are at the end of the year party.

· The freshmen or sophomore class reps will be filled in at the beginning of the school year.

Passing Off Excerpts

· At the end of the week, students will be assessed through a group playing test.

· First, I will evaluate each student by section, and then I will evaluate the students as a whole ensemble.

· I will make a list of what I am looking for in each excerpt for each section, and then I will make another list of what I am looking for in each excerpt for the whole ensemble.

· If my list requirements are met, they will pass their tests.

· If a student is absent, they will need to come in on their own time and make up their playing test to me.

Selecting a Class President and the President's Duties

· During the first week of school, each student will submit the name of a person that has outstanding leadership skills, musical skills, and conducting skills to be the class president.

· I will go through all the names and pick the name most submitted.

· I will announce the new class president the following class.

· The class president's duties are to help me pass out any papers, run rehearsal when there is a substitute, help me oversee the setup and cleanup of concerts, and help me pass out new music when it is time for sight reading.

· When I leave class to work with a student individually, the class president will then be in charge of running rehearsal until I get back.

Band Trips

· All students will be on their best behavior as we travel to various performances. We are representing our school.

· Students will arrive 15 minutes before we are supposed to load up the bus.

· Students will be required to pay the fee before the end of the school year.

· On the bus, students may sit with whomever they want to during the day, but in the evening, the girls will sit in the front of the bus, the boys will be in the back of the bus, and the adults including myself will be sitting in the middle of the bus to prevent any unfortunate experience from happening.

· At each bathroom break during our trips, students have 15 minutes to go to the bathroom and get snacks before they have to be back on the bus.

· During meal times, we will have approximately 30 minutes to an hour to eat hour food.

· Section leaders will be in charge of taking roll for their sections on the bus. They will report who is missing and present to me.

Practice Cards

· Each week, students will be assigned a different practice card with different excerpts from the music we play in class, scales, technique, and a song from our method books.

· Students will need to practice the assigned excerpts at least four times a week.

· I will collect practices cards at the end of each week.

· I will make a list of what I am looking for in each excerpt and attach the list with the Practice Cards.

· A group playing test will be given on the assigned excerpts on the practice card to show me that the students are learning their parts.

Food and Drinks in the Band Room

· I allow food and drinks in the band room during lunch and parties only.

· Class time is learning time, so absolutely no food or drinks in class. Instruments can be ruined.

· Students may bring bottled water.

· If students are diabetic or hypoglycemic, they can talk to me about taking a little snack break, but they need to wash down their food with water so that they do not ruin their instruments.

Substitutes

· When there is a substitute teacher, students will show them more respect than they do me. I will allow substitutes to take away all participation points if students do not behave.

· The class president will be in charge of running rehearsal and conducting while the substitute will do crowd control.

· I will prepare a rehearsal schedule for my class president and substitute to follow with the assigned excerpts from the week or the group playing test depending on the day of the week I am gone.

· Students will also respect the class president while he/she is up on the podium.

Transitions Between Songs and Assignments

· Students will transition in between songs very quickly and quietly so that rehearsal time is not wasted.

· I will take away participation points if there is too much talking.

· Students will fill out their assignments without distracting others and quietly.

· I will be ready to go on to the next song right away, so my students need to be ready to start.

Absences

· When students are absent, they will need to continue working on their assigned excerpts on their practice cards four times a week.

· If they do well on the group playing test, I will give them 90% of the points they missed while absent back.

· To me, it shows that they are still working hard to do well in my class.

Hall Passes

· If a student needs to leave my class, they will ask to use a hall pass.

· Each student will be allowed three hall passes per quarter.

· Hall passes must be used in the quarter they are given. They are not good after the end of the quarter.

Brain Breaks

· After students have played their instruments for a while, I will give them a brain break.

· We will either have a classroom discussion about the music, talk to their shoulder partner about the music, or talk with their section about the music to give them a chance to rest their lips, fingers, and brains.

· The brain breaks will last 3-5 minutes depending on which one they do.

Standard 2: Classroom Arrangement Including Seating Charts

(Timpani)

(Tuba Euphonium) (Percussion)

(Trombones 1, 2, and 3)

(Trumpets)

(French Horns)

(Saxophones (Altos 1, 2, T Sax, B Sax))

(Low Woodwinds) (Clar. 3)

(Flute 2)

(Oboe Piccolo) (Clar. 2)

(Flute 1)

(Clar. 1)

(Podium)

This setup acts as a human body. The middle of this setup acts as the core. These sections are the strongest sections in the band. The sections to the sides at 45 degree angles are the limbs that help support the core making it stronger. This setup also makes it easier for the band director to work the crowd.

Standard 3: Rules, Consequences, and Rewards

Rules

1. Bring instruments, music, method books, and a pencil to class to receive full participation points every class.

2. Touch only the items (instrument, music, uniforms, pencils, school supplies, etc.) that belong to you.

3. Respect me, and I will respect you.

4. If you need to address something to me after talking to your section, please raise your hand and I will call on you.

5. Keep all electronic devices in your lockers, bags, or pockets.

6. Be aware that I follow the school honor code. If any school rule breaking happens in my class, I will take action and follow the honor code.

Consequences

· Consequences for not following school rules could include taking away participation points, contacting parents, or involving the administration depending on the seriousness of the misbehavior.

Rewards

· Recognition Awards

· Outstanding students for different grade levels (Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior, Etc.)

· President's Award for Band President

· Drum Major Award

· John Philip Sousa Award

· Louis Armstrong Award

· Most Improved Section

· Silly Awards

· Most Optimistic In Jazz Band (First Person to Mentally Wake Up In Jazz Band)

· Most Fun

· Biggest Flirt

· Most Blond

· The “I Love This Song” Award

· Band Geek 4 Life Award

· Most Likely to Become a Band Teacher

· Academic Awards

· Lettering

· Perfect Attendance

· Most Hours Practiced

Standard 4: Beginning of the Year Letters to Parents and Students

Date (month, day, year)

Dear Parent(s):

My name is Laura Gates, and I am your child's band teacher. I graduated from Dixie State College with my degree in Music Education. I have been continually involved in music since middle school. I have been in every single playing group you can think of. The clarinet is my primary instrument, but I also play all of the saxophones, all the clarinets, flute, and percussion. I learned how to play all the brass and string instruments in my schooling. Outside of music, I love spending time with my husband, Jeff, rock climbing, ballroom dancing, designing different rooms in a house, watching movies, exercising, walking, and traveling. I also played volleyball during high school. I look forward getting to know you and your child better this upcoming year.

The (Fill in school name here) band always wants to improve your students' musicality and ability to succeed. This year, we will be performing in various parades including the county parade, college homecoming parade, rodeo parade, and of course, the Veteran's Day Parade. A calender is enclosed with this letter. This year, we want to not only take home the Veteran's Day trophy again, but we want to pay tribute to the many men and women who fought for our freedoms, so we will also be having a concert the same day as the parade at 7:30 PM. In addition to parades, we perform at football and basketball games to promote school spirit. Our Pep Band makes a significant difference in how our football team performs during a game.

During December, we will have our annual Holiday Concert where we will play various holiday music including Hanukah music, Kwanzaa music, traditional Christmas music, and our favorite traditional piece, Sleigh Ride. I want to give your child the opportunity to explore different cultures through music that takes them to places without actually leaving the country.

Right after our Holiday Concert, we will begin rigorous work for the upcoming festival (competition) season. We will work on difficult pieces that will challenge your child's musicality, cognitive thinking, and physical ability to play their instruments, but with your encouragement to practice their assignments, I know they can become better musicians and better thinkers. We will be off to different festivals in the spring. I am very confident that we will make it to state and get superior ratings, the highest rating you can get at a festival. We will close our school year with a concert highlighting all of the things we have learned this year.

Your child will have homework every week in my class. I expect all of my students to practice their assigned music at least four times during the week. With this practice I expect to see improvement in their playing. They will be tested each week on their improvement as a group and how well they play in their section. I would appreciate it if you encouraged your child to fulfill his/her responsibility to practice his/her assignment.

I am also looking for a parent committee to help me run the concessions stands at football games. We get the majority of our funding from the concessions. The more help we can get, the better. Also, the same committee is in charge of organizing our fundraising to receive a little bit of extra money to help pay for instrument repairs for some of our students. The same committee volunteers to be chaperones when we go on trips to festivals. We need all the parental help we can get. During Back-to-School Night, we have our first meeting to sign up for the committee. I will go over the agenda for the upcoming school year again. I will pass out sign-ups for the concessions during football games. I will also choose a parent to work with my Uniform Representative on the Band Council to distribute Marching Band uniforms and Concert Black uniforms for festival season at the meeting. I will also pass out a sign-up for parents who are willing to be chaperones on various trips. The best thing about being a chaperone is the bus ride and hotel room is free. We just need parents to help the students behave the best they know how.

Thank you for allowing your child to be in my class. I look forward to working with him/her. I look forward to meeting you on Back-to-School Night. Have a great evening.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Laura Gates

Date (month, day, year)

Student;

Welcome to a fabulous year of High School Band! I am Mrs. Gates, your advisor, conductor, and teacher for this year. Thank you so much for signing up for band. We are going to participate in many activities, and we are going to have fun doing them. Enclosed is a calender of all of the events we are involved in this year. They include five parades, four concerts, and at least three festivals two of them will be over-night trips.

As always, our school has one of the highest reputations in the county and state for outstanding ensembles. I have great expectations for you this year. We will be marching in the county parade, our homecoming parade, the rodeo parade, the college's homecoming parade, and the Veterans' Day Parade. We want to continue to bring the Veteran's Day trophy home. In addition, this year, we will focus more on why we celebrate Veterans' Day: the brave men and women who fight for our freedoms. As such, we will be memorizing a Sousa march in honor of our Veterans. That night, we will also put on a concert celebrating Veterans' Day.

Of course we will be playing at every single home football and basketball game. The coaches are really excited to hear us play.

During December, we will have our holiday concert and play a variety of holiday music from different countries and cultures. We will also end our concert traditionally with Sleigh Ride.

After the concert, we will begin to work on our festival pieces for the upcoming festival season. I am picking some very challenging music that will help you grow as a musician. The music will also help develop your problem-solving skills. I will be requiring you to practice excerpts from your music at least four times a week. Yes, this is homework. I will be testing you every week as a section and as an ensemble to make sure you understand the music. If we perform the way I know we can, we will make it to state this year.

I expect you to come to class on time ready to learn how to be a better musician with your instrument, music, and a mechanical pencil to take notes in your music. If I do not see you in possession of any of these items, especially your instrument, I will have to dock your grade. Please come prepared to class.

I look forward to seeing you on the first day of school. I will go over the fees and classroom procedures in class that day. Have a good day.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Laura Gates

Standard 5: List of Classroom Management Literature and Websites

· Inviting Positive Classroom Discipline by W.W. Purkey and D.B. Strahan – Invitational theory addresses the total educational environment and culture of the classroom in school, focusing on the people, places, policies, programs, and processes that constitute the school culture. Invitational teaching is a process for communicating appropriate messages to nurture the student potential as well as identifying and changing those forces that defeat and destroy potential.

· Beyond Discipline: From Compliance to Community by A. Kohn – This book provides some thoughts for anyone interested in looking for alternatives to traditional classroom management approaches. It is also important for those interested in moral development, teacher-student relationships, and the application of political and social theory to school contexts in general.

· Win-Win Discipline by S. Kagan, P. Kyle, and S. Scott – Win-Win discipline is one of many classroom tools created by Kagan Publishing & Professional Development. Win-Win is composed of six parts: The Three Pillars, ABCD Disruptions, The Seven Positions, Preventive Procedures, Moment-of-Disruption Strategies, and Follow-Ups. Win-Win provides teachers with tools to identify reasons behind student behavior, ways to prevent disruptive behavior, and discipline strategies for the classroom to ensure disruptive behavior decreases.

· Discipline In the Secondary Classroom: A Positive Approach to Behavior Management by R. Sprick – Discipline in the Secondary Classroom gives teachers in grades 9-12 step-by-step guidance for designing a behavior management plan that will help prevent misbehavior and increase student motivation. The book is a hands-on resource that contains easy-to-implement strategies distilled from a research-based approach that is proactive, positive, instructional, and effective.

· When Teaching Gets Tough by A.N. Mendler – One of the main reasons why teachers leave the profession so early is because of the quality of the work environment they are in. This book contains practical strategies for how to make the job of teaching easier and more rewarding by overcoming day-to-day frustrations.

· Shouting Won't Grow Dendrites by M.L. Tate – Classroom management is the number one issue for both new teachers and experienced educators. This book shows that with appropriate planning, a classroom manager can reduce learning problems and increase academic achievement. The book talks about how to cultivate a physical classroom environment conducive to learning, develop a proactive classroom management plan, deliver brain-compatible lessons, and deal with chronic behavior problems.

· You Have to Go to School... You're the Teacher by R. Rosenblum-Lowden and F.L. Kimmell – This book offers beginning and experienced teachers an abundance of techniques for dealing with everyday classroom management issues. Blending professional knowledge, common sense, and wit, the book provides new strategies for avoiding confrontations, defusing difficult situations, encouraging honest communication, empowering students by building their confidence, cultivating responsible behaviors, getting students to complete homework assignments, come prepared, stay on task, and finally, working with parents and staff.

· The First Days of School by H.K. Wong and R.T. Wong – The effective teacher knows how to design lessons to help students reach mastery. The teacher who constantly learns and grows becomes a professional educator. This book is for any teacher who wants to improve their teaching through better classroom management.

· Tools for Teaching by F. Jones – This book seeks to develop and implement effective discipline practices. It focuses on primary prevention in the classroom. It employs applied behavioral research to build an advanced framework for classroom management.

· Nine Essential Skills of the Love and Logic Classroom by J. Fay and C. Fay – Being able to remain calm when confronted with a student behavior is not always easy, and teachers cannot always think of what to do on the spot. That's where Love and Logic comes in. A systematic approach has been used to set up rules and then match the consequences that went with each rule.

· “Discipline Strategies in the Music Classroom” by http://www.teachervision.fen.com/music/behavior/6763.html – This website is geared and specified towards having control over a music classroom. Three strategies are put in place which are classroom management, behavioral contracts, and rules. Each section goes into detail about how to implement them into your classroom.

· “Middle School Classroom Management” by http://www.teachervision.fen.com/music/behavior/6763.html – This article goes into deeper detail about why sometimes it is hard to manage a classroom at the middle school or jr. high levels. This article also goes into further detail about what to do if one of your students is being bullied.

· “Pacing: What Every Great Band Director Knows” by http://www.soyouwanttoteach.com/pacing-what-every-great-band-director-knows/ – In a band class, sometimes if feels like there is a lot of misbehaving. Teachers realized that they have given the students way too much downtime in between songs. This article talks about how to appropriately pace your ensemble keeping them engaged without tiring them.

· “Effective Classroom Management” by Adam Waxler http://www.musicedmagic.com/class-management/effective-classroom-management.html – Adam Waxler put it well when he said effective classroom management isn't about punishments and rewards. It is about the teacher keeping the students actively involved in their learning and activities (Waxler). He lists five activities that students can do to stay active. They are All-Write, Pair/Share, On-the-Clock, Check-for-Understanding, and Do Now.

· “Classroom Management: Making the System Work for You” by Dennis Granlie http://www.mtmusiced.org/MgtExtended.pdf – This article goes into extreme detail about how to implement different strategies including those of Wong's into a music rehearsal, specifically a choir rehearsal. It goes over the most valuable items during rehearsal and how we can make the most of these items.

Standard 6: Attention Getters

· Hold hand up- the goal is to be quiet in five seconds or less. I will hold my hand up and count to 5, and students will raise their hands in response. If people are still talking and do not have their hand raised after I get to 5, I will start docking participation points.

· Step on and off of the podium- the goal is to focus our energy into the music. When I step on the podium, students will sit at the edge of their chair with their instruments in the attention position. When I step off of the podium, students will sit back in their seats with their instruments in the resting position. I will explain what the individual instrument positions in the attention and resting positions are.

· Sonic boom on a snare drum- the goal is to be quiet before I get to the actual sonic boom. If I get to the sonic boom before everyone is quiet, everyone will suffer some hearing loss because sonic boom is very loud. I will rarely use this one.

Standard 7: Educational/Inspirational Quotes, Certificates, and Rewards/PAT

Certificates

· Outstanding students for different grade levels (Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior, Etc.)

· President's Award for Band President

· Drum Major Award

· John Philip Sousa Award

· Louis Armstrong Award

· Most Improved Section

· Most Valuable Player

· Band Council Contribution

· Ex. Most Optimistic In Jazz Band (First Person to Wake Up In Jazz Band)

· Most Fun

· Biggest Flirt

· Most Reliable

· Most Original

· Most Blond

· The “I Love This Song” Award

· Band Geek 4 Life Award

· Most Likely to Become a Band Teacher

· Lettering

· Perfect Attendance

· Most Hours Practiced

Educational/Inspirational Quotes

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...”

· Dr. Seuss, Oh the Places You Will Go

“Why fit in when you were born to stand out?”

― Dr. Seuss

“Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.”

― Marilyn Monroe

“Nothing is impossible, the word itself says 'I'm possible'!”

· Audrey Hepburn

"If you don't like the road you're walking, start paving another one."

– Dolly Parton

“Find out who you are and do it on purpose.”

· Dolly Parton

Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere.

-Chinese Proverb

“Action is the foundational key to all success.”

· Pablo Picasso

“Success is falling nine times and getting up ten.”

· Jon Bon Jovi

“If you don’t dream big, there’s no use of dreaming. If you don’t have faith, there’s nothing worth believing.”

– Justin Bieber

Standard 8: Visual Instructional Plans (VIPs)

Circle of Fifths

Nonharmonic Tones

Scale Degree Names