Welcome back musicians!!! We hope you had a wonderful summer break. We are super excited for a fun and productive year of learning & creating. Yay!!
First up, I must apologise for a mistake in a previous email. Term 1 is in fact 9 weeks, not 8.
All students will be issued a practice chart via email to fill in each day. Please bring your practice chart each week so your points earned can be awarded. Prizes are given out each semester to those who earn the most practice points! Parents, please sign the practice chart at the end of each practice session so we know that practice is being monitored. It is important for students to show initiative with their practice and be self- directed, this way students will have a sense of achievement and accomplishment at the end of each session, will develop confidence in themselves and their abilities and also instil a good habit with practice – they’ll want to do it, it’s their thing!! Parents please do help when help is asked for/required. Refer to their music journals that are filled out by their teacher each week. Try not to nag the students to practice. Encouragement is more productive, perhaps if the student is ‘not feeling it’ you can suggest a performance, a practice session together, or even ask the student to teach you what they have most recently learnt in their lesson. We are aiming towards providing more formal performance opportunities for the students. ANY performance can be encouraged at home and is invaluable for their development and confidence. Students can put on a recital for the family at the end of each week/fortnight. Grandparents LOVE to watch their grandchildren perform. Friends can make believe concerts. Siblings can work on music together. Be creative!! If you are having trouble with practice at home, please address this with your teacher and he/she can assist with ideas and ways to motivate your child to explore their music at home. We want our musical education to be enjoyable, not a boring chore.
The YVSM kitties WERE indoor only kitties but they have evolved & now occasionally enjoy the great outdoors. Please don’t worry if they get out.
Our website development was put on hold due to Covid. We will be getting it up & running ASAP. You may be contacted for consent to use a photograph of you/your child. If you have any photos from concerts and you consent to these being used, please forward to the YVSM email.
We are currently offering private tuition for the following: Vocals, Piano, Guitar, Self-Accompaniment, Ukulele,
Music Theory & VCE Tutoring.
ZOOM/ONLINE LESSONS
I am so grateful that we could continue with music lessons together during such a difficult year of ongoing isolation. THANK YOU, TECHNOLOGY!!! I am sure it is mutually felt all round that face-to-face lessons are preferred; online lessons are of course still very much available upon request. Here are some reasons why you may opt for an online lesson on any given week:
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You don’t feel 100% and think it’s best to stay home, but you feel well enough to have a lesson.
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You’re running late or you’ve forgotten your appointment & know you’ll lose valuable lesson time.
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You’re not feeling up to the drive.
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Someone in your household is isolating & you don’t feel comfortable leaving the home.
POLICIES
The following lesson and payment policies are to be followed by all please, regardless of how you pay for lessons. If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to converse with Maria.
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A lesson period is assigned to each individual student and is of value to no one else, therefore it is important that you are responsible for prompt attendance at lessons. It is not possible to extend the lesson period if you are late, reschedule the lost time or refund any part of the lesson fee.
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A 5% discount is available to those who are paying a FULL term of lessons up front by the 2nd lesson of each term. The fee to pay is provided in the newsletter each term. Please DO NOT decide you are going to attend 8 out of 11 lessons (for example), deduct 5% and pay that figure. ONLY FULL TERM PAYMENTS will be eligible for the discount. For weekly or fortnightly payments, cash is preferred.
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YVSM will charge a yearly school fee of $120.00 for vocalists and $80.00 for all other instruments. YVSM require payment of school fees upfront at the beginning of the year. School fees are charged to cover the costs of overheads such as admin, printing, CDs, iTunes, Internet, sheet music, Spotify, concert expenses, etcetera.
Please note: School fees are separate from lesson fees, and are not subject to discounts. If you decide to discontinue with tuition, school fees are not refundable. School fees will be invoiced at the beginning of the year. If you absolutely cannot pay school fees upfront, please contact Maria to arrange a payment plan.
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We require a minimum of 24 hours notification for lesson cancellations. If short notice is received for a lesson cancellation the full lesson fee will still be charged.
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If you need to cancel a lesson and make one up, please realise that it is your responsibility to contact us to arrange a mutually convenient time. We will endeavour to be flexible whenever possible. Be aware that we do not carry over make up lessons to the next term. Any cancelled lessons must be made up within the same term they are cancelled otherwise it becomes impractical, as I’m sure you can understand!
Please note: If you cancel a make up lesson, you will still be charged the full lesson fee, and the make up lesson will be forfeit.
COVID & GENERAL HOUSEKEEPING
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Please sanitise your hands with the sanitiser provided outside of the entry way into YVSM.
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Hand sanitiser is also available in dispensers in the doorway of each studio, as always. If you cough,
sneeze or blow your nose during a lesson, you will be asked to sanitise your hands again.
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The pianos & stools are disinfected after every lesson.
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Social distancing is observed wherever possible during lessons.
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Students & parents are not required to wear a mask inside.
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One Parent is welcome to sit in on each lesson or in the waiting room. If you have other children, they
are of course welcome to be inside with you.
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Siblings may come to lessons together.
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Monday the 8th of March is the Labour Day public holiday. Maria will be available to teach so if you’d
like to keep your lesson as usual, please let her know. If you are taking a long weekend or would prefer to enjoy the holiday with no commitments, please advise Maria that you will be requiring a make-up lesson at some point during the term.
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Saturday the 3rd of April is Easter Saturday & the last Saturday of the term. Maria will be available to teach so if you’d like to keep your lesson as usual, please let her know. If you are taking a long weekend or would prefer to enjoy the holiday with no commitments, please advise Maria that you will be requiring a make-up lesson at some point during the term.
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Music exercise books for weekly journaling will be provided by YVSM along with a practice chart. Please bring this to each lesson so the teacher can keep students and parents up to speed and make practice at home more straightforward.
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YVSM singers are required to have a display folder to keep their lyrics and music organised and neat. Recordings of singing exercises are available to be emailed upon request. Recordings will be done during lesson times.
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Exam & book fees will be required before being submitted/ordered. You will be notified verbally or via email. An email or text will be sent if follow up is needed.
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Please drive slowly (no faster than 30km/hr) & carefully on our dirt roads – complaints from neighbours have been filed with the council.
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Please park your car sensibly. We realise that it’s difficult where we are. Use the shoulder directly in front of the house. Use the driveway and please have patience with others in regards to drop-offs/pick- ups if you happen to get parked in. Please don’t park in front of the neighbours’ cars. You may also park horizontally in front of the garage.
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Grant Crescent is a through road and loops with Graceburn. Can make drop offs/pick ups easier to utilise this loop.
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Please remove your shoes before entering YVSM.
- Due to Covid we have had to remove the luxury of the tea & coffee facilities as well as our shared fruit bowl. Apologies if this causes any inconvenience.
TERM 1 FEE STRUCTURE
Term 1 of 2021 is 9 weeks duration commencing on Monday the 1st of February & ending on Saturday the 3rd of April. The lesson fee is $35.00 per half hour not including $120.00 yearly fee for vocalists or $80 yearly fee for other instruments. To be eligible for a 5% discount on lesson fees, the full term’s amount must be paid upfront by the 2nd lesson of term. If your lesson is for an hour or more, you have multiple children with us, or see multiple teachers, please ask Maria for your total lesson fee if unsure.
VOCALISTS
- Lesson x 9 30 mins – $315
- Yearly School Fee – $120
- Total Less 5% discount If paid by 2nd Lesson – 30 minute lesson = $419.25
OTHER INSTRUMENTS
- Lesson x 9 30 mins – $315
- Yearly School Fee – $80
- Total Less 5% discount If paid by 2nd Lesson – 30 minute lesson = $379.25
Please note: If 24 hours notice is not given for a lesson cancellation, the full lesson fee will still be charged. In extenuating circumstances, such as illness, school camps, etc. please try to give as much notice as possible & we will try to reschedule the lesson. If you pay the discounted fee after the 2nd lesson you will be invoiced the remainder of the fee. If a term has been paid upfront, lessons that have not been attended will not be deducted from the following term’s fees. Thanks for your understanding.
IMPORTANT!! DIRECT DEPOSIT PAYMENT POLICY
Please only make a payment into the YVSM bank account if you are paying the full discounted term fee upfront and on time. If you are paying weekly or fortnightly cash is preferred, but please speak to Maria if you have another payment method request and she will do her best to accommodate.
If you are making a payment directly into the YVSM bank account, it is important to keep the descriptions consistent so payments are easy to locate. Please follow the instructions below each time you make a payment.
If you have one child with us please enter the child’s full name as well as what term you’re paying for. For example, ‘Jane Jones T1’. If you have more than one child with us please put just the surname followed by the term. For example, ‘Jones T1’.
If everyone consistently enters each term with a capital T followed directly by the number of the term with no space (i.e. Term 1 would be T1, it makes payment verification much simpler. Thank youJ
Yarra Valley School of Music Bank: CBA
BSB: 063 689
Account Number: 1023 8099
20 GRANT CRESCENT, HEALESVILLE, VIC 3777 PHONE: 0439 995 208 EMAIL: yvmusicschool@gmail.com ABN: 85919594190