HHS Choir Department Handbook
WELCOME to the Heritage High School Choral Department and to another year of music making, voice building, leadership opportunities, and expanding your musicianship. Many of you are at the beginning a four-year musical journey at HHS with great expectations of what is to come. Some of you are experienced choral performers with well-developed vocal/musical skills and with an appreciation for those special moments when we all make music together. Novice or veteran, I am excited that you have chosen to be a part of our team.
As a team we will train together, we will depend on each other, and we look forward to the satisfaction of seeing the teamwork paying off in the end. We all have different levels of talent and experience, but every person will contribute a great deal in order to accomplish our purpose. The PURPOSE of the HHS Choral Dept. can be best described in the following statement:
It is our goal to instill in students core values that will generate quality individuals who can positively impact society, who are lifelong learners, and who have a passion for music.
In order to achieve this goal, expectations are high, and self-discipline is expected of each member. EXCELLENCE comes only with EFFORT and COMMITMENT.
DAILY CLASSROOM PROCEDURES
Upon Entering the Choir Room:
- Take all belongings to the designated area. The only item(s) you need at your seat are your choir folder and its contents.
- Pick up your choir folder from the appropriate slot.
- Go to your assigned seat and look at the chalk/white/smart boards for an assignment.
- If no assignment is given, stay in your seat and remain ready for further instruction.
Attendance:
- When roll is called, answer clearly and audibly by saying, “here.”
- When roll is called, only speak when spoken to.
Rehearsal:
- Listen when directions are given.
- Sing when my section is singing.
- Listen and study your score when other sections are singing.
- Only discuss issues regarding our music and rehearsal.
- Toward the end of rehearsal, wait on the teacher/substitute to dismiss the class from your assigned seats. The bell does not dismiss.
- Place your folder back in the appropriate slot before you leave the classroom.
OTHER PROCEDURES
Make up Work:
- If you have an excused absence from rehearsal, you are responsible for making up your work.
- If you have an excused absence from a performance, you must sing your part for the director in order to gain 80% of your credit. The other 20% is unrecoverable.
- You must make up your work within the same amount of days that you were absent, plus a one-day grace period.
ATTENDANCE
Your consistent attendance is vitally important to the success of every production/concert. Please notify the director if you know in advance of an impending absence.
- If you miss more than 10 minutes of any class, you are counted absent for that class.
- After 5 absences, your parents will receive notification.
- After 10 absences, you will receive a FAILING grade in this class.
- See the school handbook for a failure appeal process.
TARDY
The tardy policy at HHS is as follows:
- 1 st tardy – teacher’s discretion
- 2 nd tardy – teacher’s discretion
- 3 rd tardy – teacher assigns 1 hr. detention
- 4 th tardy – teacher assigns 2 hr. detention
- further tardies – referral and Saturday School
GRADING POLICY
During most of the year, the Choral Dept. grading policy is as follows:
Grading period with performances:
- Performance = 30%
- Daily Participation = 30%
- Listening Log = 10%
- Self Evaluation = 10%
- Quiz = 10%
- Test = 5%
- Home Practice = 5%
Grading period without performances:
- Daily Participation = 40%
- Listening Log = 15%
- Self Evaluation = 15%
- Quiz = 10%
- Test = 15%
- Home Practice = 5%
ACCEPTABLE PRACTICES
- Drink water
- Always have a working pencil; always take notes
- Be in your seat when the tardy bell rings
- Take care of your music and materials
- Be encouraging/respectful to your classmates and teacher or substitute
- Think before you speak
- Sing every day
- Be a team player; consider others’ needs more important than your own
- Strive for excellence and have a great attitude
- Strive to learn your own vocal parts quickly
UNACCEPTABLE PRACTICES
- Bring food, candy, drinks into the choir room
- Being unprepared or tardy
- Being careless with sheet music
- Touching equipment or instruments without permission
- Being careless/destructive or horse playing
- Being constantly negative
- Disrespecting classmates, teacher, or sub.
- Speaking without permission or interrupting
- Non-participation
- Selfishness
- Mediocrity
- Taking personal items on risers
- Putting on makeup during class
- Talking
- Doing homework or doodling during rehearsal
GOALS FOR CHOIR STUDENTS
- Maintain good vocal health
- Sing with excellent posture at all times
- Learn and understand musical notation
- Be competent on your own voice part
- Learn and demonstrate solfege
- Be a good team member at all times
- Do the best work you can do
Don’t compete with others’ vocal abilities
CONCERT ATTIRE
Women’s Chorale:
- All ladies will be issued a black, concert dress that will be required for formal concerts.
- Small, stud style earrings and single, gold or silver colored delicate looking necklaces may be worn. No chokers, no dangling earrings, other types of jewelry, and no piercing, other than the ears, is allowed.
- Black dress shoes (1” max heel) shall be worn with formal attire. No open toed shoes, no tennis shoes of any kind, and no flip flops/sandals.
Men’s Chorale:
- All men will be issued a necktie for formal concerts.
- You must provide your own black, dress slacks – black socks – black, dress shoes – white button down, long sleeve, dress shirt with a regular collar (no tux-style collars).
- Only SOLID, white t-shirts may be worn underneath the dress shirts.
- No visible piercings.
Concert Choir:
- Ladies, see description above for Women’s Chorale.
- All men will be issued tux pants, a tux shirt, and a tux vest.
- Men should provide their own black socks and black, dress shoes.
- No visible piercings.
Heritage Singers
- All ladies will be required to purchase your own black dress through the choral department. See other requirements above regarding jewelry and shoes.
- Men will be issued tux attire except for jacket, which you will be required to purchase. You have the option of purchasing the entire tux. See above requirements for shoes, piercings, etc.
- Each member of Heritage Singers is required to purchase a Madrigal/Renaissance costume for the Madrigal Dinner. You may find it more cost effective and individualized to have someone tailor your costume for you.
CHOIR FEE/FUNDRAISERS
Fees:
- Each choir student is asked to donate a choir fee of $25.00 once per year. These funds will be used to help purchase sheet music, for usage/purchase of formal attire, and other classroom needs.
Fundraisers:
- Each student is required to participate in Choral Dept. fundraisers. Fundraiser funds will be used to help purchase sheet music, formal attire, accompanists, piano tuning, buses for trips, musical equipment, and other classroom needs.
- When choirs go on overnight trips, each student will be allowed to contribute to their own student account. Their profit earned will go directly to defer trip costs.
- Anyone who sells the individual student goal amount during a fundraiser is automatically exempt from the choir fee.
TRIPS
Any choir that goes on an overnight trip will receive notice of any preliminary plans made by the director as soon as possible. Students may use their “choir account” to defer trip costs.
PARENT INVOLVEMENT/CHAPERONES
- Although there is no choir booster organization, parents are encouraged to become involved in their students choir experience.
- Parents may help the director during, before, or after school hours. I welcome your ideas for creative fundraising, your help in planning and scheduling, as well as your hands for decorating, taking tickets, etc. See the last page of this handbook to indicate interest in helping.
- Parents are welcome to chaperone day trips as well as overnight trips. Your help is always invaluable on these occasions.
MESSAGE FROM THE TEACHER
Why do I teach music?
Not because I expect you to major in music.
Not because I expect you to play or sing all your life.
Not so you can relax.
Not so you can have fun.
But- so you will be human.
So you will recognize beauty.
So you will be sensitive.
So you will be closer to an infinite beyond this world.
So you will have something to cling to.
So you will have more love, more compassion, more gentleness, more good -- in short, more life.
Of what value will it be to make a prosperous living unless you know how to live?
THAT IS WHY I TEACH MUSIC