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Why We Do What We Do! (Philosophy)
We believe that music is
a lifestyle. It is a creative and disciplined art that requires year round study and devotion. We have created these policies
for our studio based on that philosophy. We’ve carefully studied our students past performance and compared it with
their attendance and believe we have come up with a system for year round musicianship that will allow for ample study
and ample downtime for everyone!
PLEASE
read these policies in full. As we’ve grown we’ve had to implement some new ideas and new lesson rates!
How Much?
Tuition is based upon a scheduled 48 lessons
per year. This means there are 4 weeks over the course of the year when we are
not teaching, which you do not pay for. Please refer to our “Wayne’s
World” calendar, which is located on it’s own separate webpage, to find the dates we are closed. You will also be reminded through a broadcast email. Please make all checks out to Wayne's World, LLC.
You can mail us your tuition check, or send it with
your student on the first lesson of each month. Please use an envelope with your student's name affixed if you
send cash. It would help us tremendously
if you would write a note on the memo line of your check, with your students name, teacher and month (i.e. Laurie w/Jennene
/ Aug). A $15 late fee will be charged after the 15th of the
month in which tuition was due. If your account has not been
brought up to date by the next month, your lessons will be suspended until you are current.
Your spot might be filled during this time. Sorry to sound mean. We HATE accounting and billing, please take care of us so we can spend our time teaching
you, which is what we love to do!
Tuition is payable in the following ways:
1) Monthly – full payment is due by the first lesson of every month, see below:
· 30 Minute Lessons – Monthly Payment of $120
· 45 Minute Lessons – Monthly Payment of $180
2) Quarterly – 4 quarterly payments due 9/1, 12/1, 3/1 & 6/1. A 5% discount
is reflected below:
· 30 Minute Lessons – Quarterly Payment of $342
· 45 Minute Lessons – Quarterly Payment of $513
3)
Multi-student discount – For families who love music and have 4 or more
lessons or students studying with us per week, we are offering the following discounted rates: (example: The Toppey family
has 4 students, Mary, John, Ashley & Clair. They each take one lesson per week...16 lessons total per month) (example:
The Bulard family has 2 students (Chris and Pam). Chris takes a piano and guitar lesson each week. Pam takes a flute and voice
lesson each week. So there are 4 total lessons each week, 16 total in a month.)
· 30 Minute Lessons – Monthly Payment of $110
per student
· 45 Minute Lessons – Monthly Payment of $170
per student
General Policies (Memorize…just kidding…well…)
Year Round Musicianship - You’ve heard it before...music
study is not an “off and on” thing. It’s an “on” thing.
We really believe it and we’ve designed the yearly calendar to allow for each student to receive 48 lessons per
year. After much painstaking research we have decided on a schedule of lessons
and intermingled breaks which we have made every effort to align to the school calendar of holidays. Obviously we are not magicians…we are musicians…we’ve done our best here to accommodate
the most students possible. Teaching is our livelihood. If you know us, you know we live it. We give our all to our
students…and they do the same for us! Year round study is the way to be
successful! And that’s what we want for each of our students and for ourselves.
When Do I Come To
Lessons?
So…here it is.
The unveiling of the coveted calendar! Our ‘2008-09 Calendar’
can be found on it’s own webpage and it’s link is located over on the left or just click here to see the 2008-09 Calendar. It may not be perfect, but we are trying to get in 48 weeks of lessons throughout the year. Holidays are highlighted in green. There are a total of 4 weeks off for every student and teacher. (These 4 weeks are not in your tuition) If
your lesson falls on a Monday, you will notice that there are several holidays that we are not observing. If you need to reschedule a Monday lesson that falls on a school holiday, just let us know and we will
make every attempt to accommodate you. Remember, you need to give us 24 hours
notice in order to receive a makeup or reschedule. We reserve the right to not offer a makeup, if you give us less than 24
hrs notice. This will be considered on a case by case basis.
Everything I Need To Know I Learned on
the Wayne’s World Website!
http://waynesworldmusic.com/
This is your way to have access to lots of great information
on the goings on at Wayne’s World Music Studios! Please look at it regularly. Our weekly schedules will be posted there and you can
get info on upcoming events, recitals, auditions, etc.
We love to talk to you…we REALLY do!!! But having a website with up to date info (or relatively so) helps us to communicate things to you without
having to personally phone or email each of you. This is a HUGE time saver for
us. We want to TEACH!! Anywhere
we can save time on paperwork, communication, scheduling, accounting…well we’re going to use it!
Practicing...You Love It...We Love It!
Practice means to go over your assignments for
the week and complete them with the goal of PERFECTING them…raise your bar, reach higher, extend yourself…We think
everyone should be able to find 20 minutes or more per day to practice, and you need to practice 4 - 5 days per week to get
the assignments done. We want to help you be successful! If you are diligent, this minimum requirement will definitely help you to see growth. Moms and Dads-- please gently remind and encourage your kids to practice. They are still kids and need your support and guidance…sometimes even if they’re 17 and act
like they don’t want it or don’t need it J! Also, we know sports and extra-curricular activities
will compete with music. Students--don’t overextend yourself to the point that your music gets none
of your attention. You are still expected to practice even if you had soccer, lacrosse, baseball and a playdate that week
J
We’ve said it before…and
we still mean it…we will continue to crack down on those of you that do not practice. If you do not bring your materials or are under prepared to 2 or more lessons in a month you will be warned
to pick up the pace, and your parents will be notified. If this lack of preparation
continues after the warning you may be “fired.” We have fired students
before for being lazy… don’t become a statistic. On the other hand,
we have also “re-hired” students once they have taken time to get their acts together and re-commit to their musical
endeavors! Of course, re-hiring only happens if there is space in our studios
to permit it at that time. The bottom line = practice! None of us wants to go
through any of the above.
I Can’t Make My Lesson…
We are requiring 24 hours notice (by
email please) to reschedule a lesson, or you have forfeited the lesson time and money.
We pay our instructors for their time whether you come or not. A rescheduled
lesson will require a “makeup” within 30 days of the missed lesson. You
are responsible for requesting and rescheduling this “makeup.” If
you miss the makeup you forfeit the makeup. We will try to pen in your makeup
during our open times throughout the week. Your makeup may not be with your regular instructor, as we are trying to fit you
into the already packed calendar. You cannot miss more than one regularly scheduled
lesson in a 30 day period, unless it is an emergency. We will not make up any
more than one lesson per 30 day period, per student, unless it is an emergency situation.
Here comes one of those insightful things you might not
have thought of. Many folks, this past year, when they needed to miss a lesson,
simply contacted another Wayne’s World student, arranged
a lesson swap with that student and then emailed us the plan. This, my friends,
is pure GENIUS!! We love it! What a great way to handle an otherwise difficult situation. We think it’s marvelous and
support it whole-heartedly. Of course we wouldn’t want you to do this every week. We do plan for our students' lessons
and while we are excellently fast on our feet, we wouldn’t want to have to execute that weekly! If for some reason we
are unable to offer you a makeup and you have given us 24 hours notice, we will refund or forward your monies to the next
month.
Each week we also send out a broadcast email of the opens for the upcoming week.
If you need to reschedule a lesson, simply email back with the top two times of your choice. We will then email you back to
confirm the reschedule.
If WE are ill or have to cancel for any reason, you will
have the option to schedule a makeup or to pass on the lesson and be credited for it. From time to time, musicians may have
gigs that interfere with teaching schedules. We will try and warn you in advance of these and we will provide a substitute
teacher and/or do as many makeup lessons as possible.
If a student skips and doesn't call for one or
more lessons in two consecutive months he may be dismissed from our studio. (Unless
we work out a prior arrangement, or you want to pay to keep your lesson slot available). Skips/No Calls are not eligible for makeups.
We want to continue our makeup policies, even with so
many students. Some studios do not allow any makeups and you pay no matter what. We don’t want to get to this, so please limit your makeups and come ready to
perform at your scheduled lesson appointment…music is important! As important
as sports and school.
I'm Leaving the Studio...
If you are planning to resign from the studio, please
let us know in advance. We are requiring a two week advance notification in writing (email is fine) prior to your next payment
being due. Refunds for quarterly payment students will be considered provided adequate notice was given.
Quiet! We’re
Teaching! J
Students… Just come on into Suites 4, 5 or 6...QUIETLY and go to the
waiting area. Go ahead and unpack/tune quietly if you can, and get your books/materials ready to go! We’ll
invite you in, as the previous student leaves. If we seem to be running a few minutes behind, you can always knock and let
us know that you are there waiting.
Parents…While
we love to visit with you, if we could keep it to a minimum on lesson day that would be great. Emailing is the best way to
communicate scheduling, accounting or student issues. We keep musician hours and when we’re done teaching at 9:30 or
9:45pm we can then use the email as a tool to address any issues and neither of us has to be disturbed.
Where
Do I Park and Wait?
Parking: There are plenty of spaces in front of
"the porch" at the First Street Studios. Please be careful of other students darting out into our parking lot, drive
cautiously when entering and exiting.
Please enter the studios and go straight to your appropriate studio, as lingering in the hallway can cause a bit of traffic
congestion. If you are just dropping off your student, please pull into a space to do so. There are many people coming and
going at the same time and cannot do so safely if you stop at the front porch. One final note...please do not stop at the
front porch and leave your car unattended to run in. This is not safe for the approaching cars and there's just not enough
room to drive around you.
Parents Waiting: We would prefer to have younger students wait in a waiting room quietly, until you come in
and pick them up, as we have no saftey patrols in our front areas outside, and no one is really watching them enter or
exit our building. While we are happy to have you wait inside for your student, we’d love to reduce the
noise and commotion. Folks coming in and out often create noise, so we’re thinking… less traffic…less noise. Again, with the valuable insight…here are a few ideas other parents have worked
out. Drop and run errands…car wash, grocery store, Rite Aid, 7-11…(oops almost got off track again), Ben Franklin,
Leesburg Pharmacy, p/u Thai food or chicken for dinner!! These are just a few of the many ideas to do with a ½ hour.
Communications!!!
We love email!!! Please
make every effort to communicate to us through email. This is so much easier for folks in our profession. We are on “Musician
Time.” This means that we try not to pick up the phone during lessons;
we teach late into the evening…9:45 or later by the time the last student leaves, and that in general our free time
comes somewhere between 11pm & 2am! Be sure to know that we are diligent in sharing your email with your student's instructor,
so anything you communicate through Wayne or Jennene will definitely be passed on in a timely fashion.
If you do call us on the
cell phones…We check our cell phone voicemails very frequently, but sometimes we cannot call you back immediately, because
we have lessons back to back. We will make every attempt to get back to you as
soon as we can, again…keep in mind…we’re on musician time J
Please feel free to call
us anytime during our daily business hours of 10am - 9pm, Monday thru Friday. We’re church folk
so our phones are typically off on Sunday mornings and back on after lunch. You may call and leave a voicemail at anytime
in the event of an emergency or cancellation outside of business hours. We will
try to pickup when possible. Please email us a backup,
as we are better able to timely process email messages and responses. Please
don’t send spam, jokes, or pictures, and no links, please, unless they are business and/or music related.
The
Snow Plows Are Coming! (Inclement Weather)
We will observe snow days,
and poor drivability conditions of ice and/or snow. We will provide makeup lessons
to any student that does not feel safe in venturing out. That said, if the streets are cleared and safe, and you would still
like to have a lesson on a snow day call us. We are happy to teach, if you feel
safe in coming. You know Mr. Wayne just loves to use that snow blower of his!! (Yeah
Baby! (in his best Austin Powers voice)) We will post
on the website home page whether we are open for business on a snow day!
Low
Stress/Fun Filled Performance Opportunities (A.K.A. Recitals)
Just a little education on how we handle recitals. We offer various recitals and opportunities to perform
throughout the year. Some of these will be combined disciplines/instruments and
others will be for instance an all “piano” recital. For these events, we try to keep the costs as low as possible.
When using accompaniment tracks that Wayne creates/arranges
or using a live accompanist, there will most probably be costs associated. We will notify you of these costs in advance, but
you can plan on somewhere between $50 - $75 when performing with an accompanist and $75 - $100 when Wayne creates a track or writes parts for you to sing or play along with. We just want to give you some warning, so you will know what to expect.
Also depending on the venue contracted for the recital there may be a small recital fee to cover the cost of renting
the space and paying instructors, drummers, other musicians and accompanists to join us.
Can
I Go? Please!!! (Field Trips and Special
Events)
We try and arrange as many
opportunities as we can to expose our students to a variety of musical ensembles and events. This can be in the form of simple
calendar announcements on the website where we encourage students to go on their own or meet us there, or it might be a pre-arranged
full blown field trip on a rented bus, or a couple of vans heading to a concert at a local venue. Basically, when we’re
going to something, we will offer to take students along. It might be to hear a great group at a local church or head to a
local university and listen to their jazz ensembles. We take in as many school performances as possible and appreciate you
letting us know when these take place. Sometimes we open up these trips to the entire studio, sometimes just to a particular
discipline or sometimes we hand select students to go for various reasons…inspiration, reward, field of interest. With
these events come costs and we of course have to pass that along to you. We will announce these as they come up and keep you
as informed as possible.
Mom/Dad,
“I need some music!!!!”
www.Sheetmusicplus.com
We have established an
arrangement with this company that they will rebate the Wayne’s
World Studios 8% for all music purchased there by us or our students or referrals. You simply sign in on the main home page
under the section on the left sidebar titled "easy rebates". Just type jestesbhc1@aol.com (Jennene’s old email) into the space provided and you will be instantly signed on and we will receive the rebate. This
is one creative way we have sought out to streamline costs and save us and you money! We use this rebated money to defer costs
such as ensemble rehearsals, recitals, and upgrades to the music library.
One final thought, Parents
please check your students notebook reguarly or ask them about new books. Every few months or so they might receive a new
book and the cost will be written in their notebook. We do not send out a separate bill for this. Once monthly we reconcile
the unpaid books and Jennene or Wayne will send you an email reminder.
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