Goldens Bridge Studio – Polices, Terms, and Agreements.

Missed Lessons: General Policy

Goldens Bridge Studio cannot provide make-up lessons or refunds for lessons that are canceled or missed by a student.

In other words, if a student misses or cancels an appointment for any reason (illness, sporting events, birthday parties, family vacations, weekend trips, school concerts, plays, medical appointments etc..), the lesson is considered forfeited.

Missed Lessons: Studio Students

If you take lessons at a studio location, we provide several options that will enable you to fulfil all your lessons even if you have to cancel periodically. A comprehensive lesson swap system is implemented through our website. Though we can't provide a guarantee that you will be able to reschedule or make up every lesson that you miss, you are allowed to freely use the swap system as much as necessary.

Missed Lessons: In-Home Students

If you take your lessons in your home, your appointment is considered set for the duration of the school year. We can't provide any official guarantee of make-up lessons for any lessons that you cancel. However, if you provide plenty of advance notice MOST instructors are willng to work with you to fulfil missed time. You have to be willing and able to extend your appointment to allow for additional time to be applied to missed lessons, as many teachers will not be able to drive to your home on a separate day. In addition, if a teacher lives locally, they may ask you to come to their home to fulfil a missed lesson.

Calendar & Holidays

All enrolled students are expected to review the general lesson calendar and to be aware of holidays, and other dates on which there are no lessons. No reminders will be made for holidays, and no make-ups will be available if you miss your lesson due to confusion about holiday schedules.

Instructor Cancellations

If the instructor cannot attend a lesson due to sickness or other reason, the lesson will be made up during the snow make-up week at the end of the term, or will be scheduled during the year at a mutually convenient time.

If lessons are suspended due to the instructor being away on tour, a schedule will be issued with pertinent details. Students are expected to return to lessons on the date specified, and no reminders will be made regarding lessons resuming. Instructors are responsible for making up all missed lessons.

Weather related cancellations

If sudden extreme weather conditions occur, a makeup will be given on the snow makeup date listed in the calendar.

Medical Leave & Catastrophic Events

If a medical condition prevents continuation of lessons, lessons may be terminated without prior notice, as long as a valid doctor’s note is submitted. Other catastrophic circumstances may be taken into consideration with regards to termination.

Student not at home (for in-home students)

For in-home students, if the instructor arrives at your home and no one is there, the lesson is forfeited.

Enrollment

Students may enroll in the school anytime, though we recommend that students begin either in the summer or fall.

Students interested in enrolling may schedule an interview and/or an audition anytime during the year. All students accepted into the school are required to pay a $200 advanced enrollment deposit (AED), in order to be placed on the waitng list for the subsequent term. If no slots are available in the subsequent term, students may either choose to extend their reservation or cancel (and receive a refund of the deposit).

Once enrolled at the school, students are expected to attend the complete lesson schedule for the academic year.  See below for information on withdrawal.

Tuition Rates & Fees

Tuition for the academic year is based on a volume discount. Students who withdraw during the academic year having completed less than the 33-35 lessons required for the volume discount will be charged for any lessons thus taken at the standard rate (approximately 20% higher than the discount rate.)

Students not attending the summer semester need to re-register for the following year.

Once a student is enrolled at the school, the tuition rate is fixed for a period of 5 years. After 5 years, tuition will increase by 5%, and will remain fixed for the subesquent 5 years. Students who take a leave of absence for any reason including the summer lose their continuing enrollment status, and when re-registering will receive the current tuition rate.

Your yearly Tuition Statement provides a detailed breakdown of charges, and when they are due. Only one tuition statement is created annually. Further lesson charges and fees are billed via email, or through the online booking system.

For students not taking summer lessons, enrollment for the Fall term requires a non-refundable $200 tuition deposit to be made no later than May 31st. The deposit will be refunded only if we cannot schedule a mutually convenient appointment time.

A $50 registration fee is charged to all new enrollments and students whose enrollment lapses for one semester or more.

There is a $40 returned check fee for any checks that do not clear.

Withdrawal Options:

The lesson rate is based on a discount for enrolling for the 35 week Academic Year. The rate is higher if you take less than 35 lessons. Students may withdraw from the school and use the 20-week payment to cover up to 16 lessons. The deadline to withdraw is December 12th. For students who have paid the 2nd semester and who wish to withdraw, please provide 30 days notice in writing. The last day to withdraw is March 7th; After March 7th, tuition for 28 weeks at the single lesson rate rate is equal to 35 weeks at discount rate.

Student Injuries

Students who sustain injuries that prevent them from attending regular school can receive make up lessons for the lessons that they miss due to the injury, subject to the following limitations:If an injury occurs within 24 hours of the scheduled appointment, and student cannot attend, that appointment is forfeited.

Subsequent missed lessons due to this injury may be eligible for make up lessons, provided that:

1.) The student is not able to attend regular school on the day of the lesson.

2.) We are notified 24 hours in advance of the cancellation.

3.) A doctor’s note is sent from the doctor’s office directly to us, confirming that the injury is such that the student is prevented from attending regular school.

Important note: students with injuries that prevent them from playing their instrument are still expected to attend lessons. No exceptions will me made to this policy. There are of course many activities that do not require the use of either hands or arms that are nonetheless still critical to all students’ musical study. These activities include but are not limited to: ear training, relative & perfect pitch, rhythm, music history, music theory, analysis, songwriting, composing lyrics, singing/Solfége, counterpoint, and many others.

Etiquette: Student’s Behavior & Practicing

If the instructor deems any student’s behavior unacceptable during a lesson, the instructor is at liberty to cut the lesson short. The remainder of the lesson is therefore forfeited. Please make sure to discuss with your children what constitutes acceptable behavior during a lesson prior to the commencement of study. It is also advisable to remind them of this occasionally. If an instructor feels that a child is not capable of continuing lessons due to behavioral problems, termination of the child’s study may be initiated.

Students are expected to practice daily for a length of time equal to or longer than the length of their weekly lesson, or a number of minutes that is equal to 5 times the student’s age. Practicing should be done year round, and should not be suspended during holidays or the summer. If the instructor is unsure that a student is practicing enough, he/she may request that the student record all practicing on a cassette tape and submit it to the instructor for review.

Length of Lessons: Guidelines & Expectations

A standard music lesson is 60 minutes. This is the length of time that is generally needed to cover an appropriate amount of material and ingrain it to the point where it is fully understood by the student. Beginner students may elect to have a shorter lesson of 30 or 45 minutes, but this is considered a temporary preference until the student is ready for a full lesson. Students are expected to commence full lessons no later than the beginning of their 3rd year of study, except for students younger than 8 yrs. Non-readiness for full lessons within three years of study may be an indication that a student is not practicing enough.

Condition of teaching area:  In-home

The teaching area should equal or exceed the conditions of the instructor’s private teaching studio. The points listed below illustrate how best to ensure a good teaching area setup.

a.) It is essential to have very bright ambient lighting, and direct lighting on the music.

b.) For piano students, there must be a high quality piano, either Yamaha, Steinway, or other manufacturer recognized as being of quality. The piano must be maintained. This means regular tunings need to be performed, and the instrument must be in a stable humidity. Please make sure that there is nothing on top of the piano. The piano is not a piece of furniture for displaying photographs. The piano is a musical instrument. The instructor may at any time need to open the piano, therefore to avoid having to waste time moving personal items off of the piano lid, please make sure it is always clear prior to the instructor arriving.

c.) For students playing instruments other than piano, there must be a high quality music stand (not a portable ‘wire’ stand’), bright lighting in the room as well as directly on the music, adequate seating (a chair for the instructor and a correctly sized stool for the student.) Instruments must be sized & approved by the instructor, and must be set up and in tune before the instructor arrives.

In-home lessons: About arrival & departure times

Please be aware that in-home appointment times are an estimate. The actual appointment time may vary up to 15 minutes or more, depending largely on road conditions. Students are expected to be available for their appointment both 15 minutes before and after the allotted time. Therefore, please do not schedule activities or other appointments within proximity to your in-home music lesson, as your lesson may end later than expected. Instructors are not responsible for making up lesson time if the lesson starts late or ends early due to a student’s schedule.

Studio Policies (specific to the Goldens Bridge location)

• Families driving larger vehicles should try to park in the space in front of the garage.
• Families driving standard cars should try to park in one of the two spaces in front of the porch.
• Vehicles may back in to all spaces except for the space in front of the garden.
• Please do not park along the street, in front of #36, or in front of # 38.
• Please no not idle your vehicle. All vehicles need to be turned off.
• Please drive slowly through the Quincy Ct. complex.

Student Conduct

Children are not permitted to play in the driveway, climb the rocks in front of the unit, or to walk onto the property of the other units. Wizarding children may not use magic anywhere on the premises.

If activities are required for siblings, please be sure to bring books or other quiet non-physical activities, and make your child aware of how they are expected to behave while at the studio.

Always enter the studio quietly approximately 5 minutes prior to your scheduled lesson time.

Please remember to remove shoes upon entry. If you have younger children, please physically prevent then from entering with shoes.

Entering

Avoid entering earlier than 5 minutes prior to your appointment, as it can be distracting for the student who is taking a lesson. Students who enter earlier than 5 minutes prior to their scheduled lesson may be asked to wait in the car or outside. However, never wait for the previous student to exit, and please don’t assume that we are aware of your arrival. Lessons will not be extended if the lesson starts late due to a student waiting outside past the scheduled lesson start time. (Many students have in the past assumed that they could wait for the previous student to exit before they enter, and have consequently forfeited lesson time.)

It is very important that once you enter the studio, you do not go in and out. The opening and closing of the front door can be very distracting for both the students and myself.

Hygiene & Dress Code

Piano students must wash their hands prior to touching the piano. Please use the 5-minute duration prior to the scheduled start of lessons to do this. It is also highly recommended that guitar students wash their hands prior to touching the guitar. This will not only greatly extend the life of the strings, but will also keep the guitar free from dirt & grime.

Piano students share the piano pedals, and the guitar students share the foot stool. Therefore we would sincerely appreiate all students wearing socks. Foot fungus is extremely common and communicable.

All piano & guitar students are expected to have their nails clipped short before arriving for lessons. Students with unclipped nails will be sent to their parents to have them clipped before the lesson will start.

Students coming for lessons must wear clean dry clothing. For example, please do not bring your child to the studio wearing soiled sports uniforms or wet bathing suits, or directly from a sandbox. Students may use the 5 minutes prior to their lesson to change if necessary.

Parents & guardians are expected to communicate with children about their needs to use bathroom facilities before their lesson, and to show them the location of the toilet.

Parents Please be aware of the following:

No Cell Phones.

Please keep quiet during your child’s lesson.

Late Fees and Payment Policies

Tuition checks that are received after a 10 day grace period starting on the due date, will incur a $50 late registration fee. This fee is should be added to your payment. Payments received that do not include the late registration fee will have that fee debited from the pre-paid materials deposit account.

If we do not receive any payment or communication by the 15th day after the due date we may opt, at our discretion, to give your appointment to the next student on the waiting list. In this event, your tuition deposit, as well as any remaining funds in your pre-paid materials account will be forfeited and we will notify you via email.

For students who have lessons at home, please be aware that we cannot send an instructor to your home until we have received your tuition payment. Lessons will begin when we have received your full payment for the term. Lessons missed due to late payment are forfeited and will not be made up.

For students at the studio, your first tuition payment is due before the first lesson of the semester. Therefore please do not wait until the first lesson of the year and bring the check to us in person. If for any reason you decide to bring a payment with you, be sure to present it when you arrive. We will need to use lesson time to fully process the payment that should have been mailed. To minimize payment processing time, please be sure to have the tuition check in an envelope with your name printed on the outside.

During any part of the school academic year, for any student of whom we are waiting on a tuition payment, the lesson will start after we have alerted the responsible party of the situation. If the parent or responsible party is not present at the lesson, we will delay the start of the lesson in order to contact by phone the person who is financially responsible. One the account is paid in full, we will discontinue delaying the start of lessons. To maximize the lesson time that you have paid for please be sure to send all tuition checks by mail in the enclosed pre-addressed envelope.