Band Handbook

2015-2016

Lovinggood Middle School Bands

3825 Luther Ward Road
Powder Springs, GA 30127
(678) 331-3015
Soaring on the Wings of Success
Dear Parents,
It is our pleasure to welcome you to another exciting year with the Lovinggood Middle
School Band program. As we enter our 9th year in existence, we would like to extend a
very special welcome to those students and parents that are joining us for the very first
time. We believe that you will find this year fun, exciting and full of wonderful
experiences!
Please take the time to review the contents within this handbook. Enclosed you will find
extremely important information regarding rules and regulations, grading policies,
required uniforms and calendars, as well as forms needed to be turned in for participation
in band. Please keep this handbook as a reference guide throughout the year in the event
you have questions concerning the logistics of the Lovinggood Band Program.
We are excited about this coming year! With hard work, dedication and the help of your
student, I am sure we can continue molding the Lovinggood Band Program into an
organization that will bring pride to our parents, students and community. If you have any
questions regarding the Lovinggood Band Program, please feel free to contact us.
Musically Yours,
Joseph D. Heiberger
Director of Bands
Lovinggood Middle School
Joseph.Heiberger@cobbk12.org

Shelley M. Ferrell
Associate Director of Bands
Lovinggood Middle School
Shelley.Ferrell@cobbk12.org

Course Descriptions
6th Grade Beginner Band
The Beginner band is comprised of 6th grade students. Prior experience is not necessary
as students are taught all fundamental elements of instrumental music including
embouchure, tone, reading and technique. Beginner classes are divided into separate
classes of like instruments (clarinets, flutes, trumpets, etc.). Beginner students will
perform as a class at the end of the year at the spring concert. By the end of their 6th grade
year, students are expected to know 4-6 major scales (full range), chromatic scale (full
range), all eighth note and sixteenth note rhythms, 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4 time signatures as
well as demonstrate reading abilities commensurate with a 6th grade level.
7th Grade Bands
The 7th grade bands are split into two different ensembles containing full instrumentation.
Each ensemble will have several opportunities to perform at solo and ensemble contests,
GMEA All-State and Honor Bands, Winter and Spring Concerts as well as ensembles
(Percussion, Brass, etc.). Students will continue the development of musical skills,
flexibility exercises and sight reading. By the end of their 7th grade year, students are
expected to know 6-8 scales, chromatic scale, syncopated and compound rhythms, 6/8
time signature as well as demonstrate reading abilities commensurate with a 7th grade
level.
8th Grade Bands
The 8th grade bands are split into two different ensembles containing full instrumentation.
Each ensemble will have several opportunities to perform at solo and ensemble contests,
GMEA All-State and Honor Bands, Winter and Spring Concerts and ensembles
(percussion, Brass, etc.). Every 8th grade student will also have the opportunity to
perform at the Groovin at the Grove pizza feast as well as perform with the Hillgrove
High School Marching Band at a High School football game! Students will continue the
development of musical skills, flexibility exercises and sight-reading. By the end of their
8th grade year, students are expected to know 8-12 scales, chromatic scale, all rhythms,
all time signatures including 2/2 as well as demonstrate reading abilities commensurate
with an 8th grade level.

7th/8th Grade Concert Uniforms

We take pride in having a neat, professional appearance each time we perform. Please
make sure that your child has the following attire. This attire will be worn at all
performances throughout the year.
7th/8th Grade Guys
Guys Uniform Package $60
Black Socks
Black Dress Shoes (not tennis shoes)

7th/8th Grade Ladies

Ladies Black Dress Package $60
Black Dress Shoes (Flats preferable)

The Lovinggood Band will have a representative on Thursday, August 13th to fit
guys and girls for their uniforms.

* Please make checks payable to LOVINGGOOD MS and put BAND UNIFORM in

the memo section.

6th Grade Concert Uniform

The 6th grade band will perform one concert at the end of the year (see yearly calendar for
date). We realize that everyone has different types of clothing in their closet. Due to this,
the 6th grade band has several options for concert attire.
6th Grade Guys
Suit and Tie or
Pants (dress or khaki)
Collared shirt (Polo, button up)
(short or long sleeve)
NO JEANS
NO T-SHIRTS
NO SHORTS

6th Grade Girls

Dress or
Skirt w/ blouse or
Pants (dress or khaki)
Shirt (polo type, button up)
(short or long sleeve)
NO JEANS
NO T-SHIRTS
NO SHORTS

Attendance Policy
The daily instruction in band is always geared towards a common goal performance.
For band students, the concert/contest is the long-term goal of all the practice hours and
daily rehearsals. Students must attend all concerts involving their class. We
understand that schedules can get rather busy throughout the year. Due to this, we have
spent a lot of time developing the yearly calendar (enclosed in this handbook). The yearly
calendar is handed out at the beginning of the year so that parents/students can plan
accordingly.
Examples of Excused Absences:
Personal Illness which causes absence from school (Doctors note is required)
Death in the Family (note from parent required)
Examples of Unexcused Absences:
Not having a ride
Forgetting
Select soccer practice/game
Anything other than list of excused absences
Students who miss performances during the course of the year with unexcused
absences will need to complete all of the following before the missed concert date.
Students who fail to complete this before the missed concert date will receive a
performance assessment grade of zero.
1) Perform their band music alone for a grade for the directors
(must be completed prior to any absence)
2) Turn in alternate writing assignment (History of instrument, Composer paper, etc)
3) WILL NOT be allowed to participate in special performances and/or field trips
(ex. Lock-in, Six Flags, etc)

School Owned Instruments

Lovinggood Middle School has very high quality, professional equipment available for
student use. A student using a school owned instrument must fill out a Cobb Co.
instrument loan contract with parent signature before an instrument can be issued.
The board of education as well as the Lovinggood music department has invested
thousands of dollars for school owned instruments. Students performing on a school
owned instrument will receive an instrument in proper working condition. Students are
expected to treat and maintain the instrument with care throughout the year. There
is no rental fee per say, however, should the instrument need repair, it is the
responsibility of the student to take the instrument to an approved repair facility for
proper maintenance. At the end of the year, instruments will be returned and any
damage assessed and charged to student.

Lockers
Each band student at Lovinggood will be issued a band locker with a band lock. Students
may keep their instrument and band supplies in their locker. It is the responsibility of the
student to make sure that the lock is ALWAYS locked. This will ensure that no supplies
are taken and locks are not lost. Students that loose their lock will be charged a $5.00
lock fee.
Students are NOT allowed to keep anything else in their band lockers! Gym clothes,
math books, lunches, etc will be removed and thrown away if found in students
lockers. If a student is found to have a messy locker, the student will be given a Messy
Locker Ticket. The student will have 24 hours from the time the ticket is issued to
clean out their locker. Students who fail to clean out lockers will be given a teacher
detention. STUDENTS WILL LOOSE LOCKER PRIVILAGES UPON RECEIVING
THEIR 4th MESSY LOCKER TICKET!

Private Lessons
With over 450 band students and only 2 teachers, we do not have the opportunity to give
students the individualized attention that they may need. Fortunately, there are many
professional musicians in our area who offer private lessons on a weekly basis from 30 to
60 minutes in length. Students who take private lessons tend to progress at a faster pace
than those who dont.
Private lessons are for two types of students:
Students who are doing well and wish to be pushed beyond the pace of the class.
Students who are having problems in class and need tutoring assistance.
Students who wish to participate in solo contests and All-State/Honor Bands
A list of private teachers can be found in the Lovinggood Band Room.

Payment Procedures
Throughout the course of the year, there will be many times that students will need to
bring payments to school (i.e. uniform payment, field trip fees, fundraiser turn in, etc).
Due to Cobb County policy, school bookkeepers are the only staff members allowed to
handle money turned in by students. Teachers are not allowed to handle money in any
way. For this reason, payment of funds should follow the policy below:
1. Checks and money orders should be made out to Lovinggood Middle School.
(Cash should be in exact change as the bookkeeper can NOT provide change)
2. Payment of ANY sort should be placed into the pre-printed Cobb County payment
envelope.
3. Students must fill out the front of the envelope.
(Make sure to write Band as recipient.)
4. The sealed envelope should be placed into on of the black boxes located
throughout the school
Teachers are not responsible for money that is placed in the incorrect location!

Supplies
Each student is expected to have the following supplies. This list is only a reminder, as
supply lists were given out at the end of school last year. (This list does not include
instruments, reeds, oils and other band supplies). These items need to be in class
EVERYDAY. Failure to have any of the items will result in point deduction from daily
grade.
6th Grade Band::
Essential Elements 2000 Book 1 (yellow)
Alfreds Essentials of music Theory Book 1 (purchase at a music store or LMS school store)
Reeds (woodwinds only)
Stick bag w/ SD-1 generals/Bell Mallets/Yarn Mallets (percussion only)
Black, 1 three ring binder with 25 sheet protectors
Loose leaf paper
Pencil Pouch with 5 pencils
7th Grade Band:
Essential Elements 2000 Book 2 (red)
Alfreds Essentials of music Theory Book 1 (purchase at a music store or LMS school store)
Reeds (woodwinds only)
Stick bag w/ SD-1 generals/Bell Mallets/Yarn Mallets (percussion only)
Black, 1 three ring binder with 25 sheet protectors
Loose leaf paper
Pencil Pouch with 5 pencils
8th Grade Band:
Essential Elements 2000 Book 2 (red)
Essential Techniques 2000 Book 3 (Green) 8-1 Band only
Black, 1 three ring binder with 25 sheet protectors
Loose leaf paper
Pencil Pouch with 5 pencils
Students who do not have supplies will receive the following consequences:
1st time without supplies in a 9 week period:
Warning/Loss of daily points
Writing assignment given
Note sent home to parents via agenda
2nd time without supplies in a 9 week period:
Warning/Loss of daily points
Writing assignment given
Note sent home to parents via agenda
N on report card
3rd time without supplies in a 9 week period
Loss of daily points
Writing Assignment given during class
Office referral

Grading Policy
Grades will consist of several different categories; daily grade, playing tests, pass offs,
written tests, practice logs and SLOs. Each category will be worth a varied assortment of
percentages, differing by grade level (see below). Please note that daily grade
percentages for 8th graders rises due to lack of practice logs.
6th Grade

7th Grade

8th Grade

Daily Grade 35%

Pass offs 30 %
Practice Logs 20%
Written Theory Test 15%

Daily Grade 30%

Pass offs 25 %
Practice Logs 20%
Concert Repertoire Test 15%
Written Theory Test 10%

Daily Grade 40%

Performance Based Test 25%
Concert Repertoire Test 20%
Written/Theory Test 15%

DAILY PARTICIPATION GRADE: This category will be worth 30-40% of your total
grade (depending on what grade you are in). Your participation grade will be based on
the rubric provided below. For instance, students earning artist level each day will
receive a 100 for the week. Grades will be posted weekly. If your childs instrument is
in the shop for repair please send a note and no points will be deducted.
ARTIST LEVEL
(20 points)

PROFICIENT LEVEL
(15 points)
COMPETENT LEVEL
(10 points)

NOVICE LEVEL
(5 points)

The student is consistently focused during class, demonstrates

responsibility for being on task (instrument in proper playing
position and embouchure prepared when conductor raises
hands), and actively contributes to class in a variety of ways. The
student is consistently prepared with materials and ready to begin
when the bell rings (instrument fully assembled, reeds on,
music binder on stand with book and pencil).
The student is usually focused during class, demonstrates
responsibility for being on task, and usually contributes to class
in a variety of ways. The student is usually prepared with
materials and ready to begin when the bell rings.
The student is sometimes focused during class, sometimes
demonstrates responsibility for being on task, and sometimes
contributes to class in some way. The student is sometimes or
partially prepared with materials and ready to begin when the
bell rings.
The student is rarely focused during class or demonstrates
responsibility for being on task, and rarely contributes to
class. The student is rarely prepared with materials and ready to
begin when the bell rings.

* Each student will receive a minimum of two grades for every week. They are:

Rehearsal Etiquette (Standard #2c). This grade will be worth a weekly total of
100 points. Rehearsal etiquette includes elements such as having all materials
every day, and class participation. In the event an instrument is getting repaired,
students can provide the shop receipt to avoid having points deducted. Simply
telling a director that the instrument is in the shop will not excuse them from
point deduction.

Playing alone at home (Standard #2) Playing alone at home will be monitored
by the use of practice logs. Practice logs are worth 100 points. Each student will
be required to turn in a practice log twice every 9 weeks. The logs will record the
amount of time spent on practicing their instrumenta sort of homework grade.
Practice logs must be signed by a parent! Students who do not turn in a log will
get a 0 for that weeks log grade. Practice logs without parent signatures will not
receive a grade higher than 70, no matter how many minutes are recorded.
Practice logs are handed out at the beginning of the year. If a student looses
his/her log, students have several options. 1) Download off of teacher blog
2) Request a new one 3) Use a piece of paper.

MUSIC EDUCATION STANDARDS

Cobb County has adopted the MENC National Music Education Standards. Below is a
brief description of each standard. A complete list of standards for each grade level can
be found on teacher blogs under the Georgia Music Standards section to the left of the
blog. Simply click on Georgia Music Standards link then select the grade level that
pertains to you.
A. Skills and Techniques/Performances
#1 Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music
#2 Performing on instruments, alone and with others, through a varied repertoire
of music
#3 Reading and notating music
B. Creation
#4 Improvising melodies, variations and accompaniments
#5 Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines
C. Critical Analysis/Investigate
#6 Listening to, analyzing, and describing music
#7 Evaluating music and music performance
D. Cultural and Historical Context
#8 Understanding relationships between music, the arts and disciplines outside
the arts.
#9 Understanding music in relation to history and culture

Practice Logs
Each student will be given a practice log to record home practice. Logs are due three
times per semester at 6 week progress, 12 week progress and again at end of the
semester. Students will be graded on all the weeks they practiced once log is turned
in. Logs must be signed by a parent in order to get credit. Times should be recorded in
minutes. Students will also be given a grading sheet so they can see what grade they will
receive before they turn it in. Practice log grades are as follows:
6th Grade Log Grading Sample
Minutes Practiced Per Week
150 and above
140 149
130 139
120 129
110 119
100 109
80 99
60 79
30 59
Less than 30

Weekly Grade
100
95
90
85
80
75
70
60
50
0

In addition to these two weekly grades, additional assessments that meet standards based
grading will be utilized. The point breakdown for these is as follows:

Performance Based Assessments (100 points)

Written Quizzes (10 points)
Performance projects (scale/book pass offs) = (100 points)

Rehearsal Etiquette
1. Be On Time

All students must be in the band room before the bell rings. Be in
your seat ready to play 2 minutes after the bell rings.

2. Be Prepared

Practice any assignments given at home. Have your instrument and

all listed materials EVERYDAY.

3. Be Respectful

When a band director steps on the podium, all talking stops.

No talking is allowed without a raised hand. Please respect
teachers, band directors, guest clinicians and fellow students.
Blurting out and back-talking are unacceptable.

4. No Food/Drink

There will be no food, gum or candy allowed in the band room at

any time. This includes water and cough drops.

5. Clean up

Your instrument case must be left in your locker during and after
class. Binders should be stored in lockers as well after class. Make
sure to pick up any papers that may have fallen out of your binder
during class.

6. Knock First!

Please do not enter the band office without permission. We ask that
you knock AND wait for permission to enter (EVEN IF DOOR IS
OPEN!). We may be in the middle of something important. If we
do not respond, wait or come back later.

7. Do Not Touch What Does Not Belong to You

Enough said. This includes friends instruments and/or percussion.
8. No Horse Play No running, chasing or anything that resembles horseplay is
allowed.

Discipline Policy
All grades will be using the school-wide electronic EHS card for discipline. In
addition to the Discipline Card, the following discipline plan will be adhered to. Class
disruption will not be tolerated. Violation of class rules will result in the following
consequences.
1st Offense
2nd Offense
3rd Offense
4th Offense
5th Offense

Sign EHS card/Teachable Moment

Sign EHS/Loss of daily points/Self Reflection/Parent Contact
Sign EHS/Loss of daily points/Parent notified/Counselor Referral
Sign EHS/Conference scheduled between Parent/Teacher/Student.
Student is referred to Administrator.

The following offenses are instant referrals (Step 5).

Cursing
Fighting
Talking back to teacher/disrespect

Chair Tests and Placement

Auditions for chair placement within a section can sometimes bring stress to students.
Please remember that each student is important to the success of the band. Auditions and
playing tests judge the students performance at one specific time under one specific set
of circumstances. Therefore, it is essential that chair and playing tests be viewed only as
part of the learning process. Performance tests may be announced or unannounced.
Audition material will always include the material or literature currently being taught.

Before and After School Practice/Pass-off Times

Students may use the band room to practice before and after school in the event
practicing in the evening at home is an issue. Students may also be asked to pass-off
certain objectives during these times. Students who come in before school are required to
practice. Students who come to the band room just to hang and socialize will be asked to
go to the cafeteria and may loose the privilege of coming to the band room before school
in the future. Please see grid below for available times.
Day
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday

Morning (8:00 8:50)

Open
Open
Closed (Meetings)
Open
Open

Afternoon (4:15 4:45)

Appointment only
Appointment only
Appointment only
Appointment only
Closed

Media
The Lovinggood Band has several ways to stay informed. Feel free to use any of the
following resources to stay up to date with current announcements and events.
Blog
Charms
Facebook
Instagram
Remind

Located on Lovinggood MS website page. Click on faculty/staff and scroll

down to Mr. Heiberger or Mrs. Ferrell
https://wwwcharmsoffice.com
www.facebook.com/LovinggoodBands
http://instagram.com/lovinggoodband
Enter 81010 and Text either: @lovband6, @lovband71, @lovband72,
@lovband81, @lovband82 (depending on what class you are in)

GMEA Events
The Georgia Music Educators Association holds several events throughout the year.
These events include Solo & Ensemble Festival, District XII Honor Band and the AllState Middle School Honor Band. All events are open to any student wishing to
participate. The District XII and All-State Bands require auditioning to be selected.
Registration forms will be given the first week of school. Required audition materials can
be found at http://www.gmea.org/info/Band/msetudeslinks.htm.

Please Sign and Return

(Due Friday, August 28th)

Please review the information in this handbook carefully. It may be beneficial to review it with
your child in order to make sure that students have an understanding of expectations and
procedures. We ask that you initial by each item below. This signifies that you have read,
understood, and agree to the items in this document. Please return to the band room by Friday,
August 28th. This will count as your childs first participation grade.

______ Uniforms
______ Attendance
______ Calendar
______ Lockers
______ School Owned Instruments
______ Grading Policy
______ Practice Logs
______ Band Rules
______ Discipline Policy
______ Syllabus (given out in class separately not in handbook)

______ Medical History Form (see blog due Friday, August 28th)
(7th and 8th Grade Only)

______ Blanket Permission Form (see blog due Friday, August 28th)

________________________________________
(Parent/Guardian Signature

______________________
(Date)

_______________________________________
(Student Name PRINTED)

______________________
(Date)

_______________________________________
(Student Signature)

______________________
(Date)