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Policies & Procedures

Upon signing up for lessons, the student/parent will be provided with a paper copy of the studio Policies & Procedures and sign/date the document. By signing, you agree to respect and abide by the studio’s current policies as long as the student is taking lessons with the instructor. If a new version of the policies is issued, the instructor will provide a copy with the changes highlighted.


General Information: Weekly private lessons are offered in 30, 40, or 60-minute sessions, depending on the student’s age/level.  


At The Studio: Students are expected to arrive for lessons on time with all their materials and music. Parents may wait quietly the waiting area, wait in their vehicle in the driveway, or run errands so long as they return to pick up their student in a timely fashion. To discuss student progress, parents are welcome to talk with the teacher during the first five minutes of the student's lesson – but not afterwards, in order to respect the next student's time slot.


As of this time, we are not able to allow siblings, students or parents to wait inside the house during an in-person lesson. 


Practice and Instrument:

Private students are expected to practice daily on a well-maintained piano or electric keyboard. Please talk to your teacher to determine if your electric keyboard is appropriate.


Materials:   The student will be given an assignment notebook at their first lesson, which will be used keep track of assigned pieces and practice suggestions/goals for each week. The teacher will obtain all needed books and materials.  Parents will be invoiced for the books. 


Calendar and Schedule: The tuition rates are determined based on a calendar of  up to 36  weekly lessons, depending on which day of the week you attend your lesson.  (I.e. As an example, in past years, Monday students had 29 lessons.  Tuesday and Thursday students had 34 lessons.  And Wednesday students had 35 lessons.)  There are no lessons scheduled on holiday Mondays, Halloween, etc.


Makeup Lessons: Due to the teacher's limited availability, makeup lessons cannot be offered.  

Please be courteous to the teacher and fellow students by notifying the teacher at least 24 hours in advance regarding any known upcoming absences. 

If a student is contagiously ill but feels well enough to play, having a lesson via FaceTime is a viable option for that week. The student may also submit their lesson via video, and during the lesson time, the teacher will review the videos and create and send a video in return with the new lesson.

COVID protocols in 2023-2024:

If either student or teacher is at all unwell, the lesson will be moved to an online option. Please do not attend a lesson if you are unwell. I will offer you the same courtesy.


Tuition and Payment: Tuition is divided into equal monthly instalments, due on or before the 1st of each month.  Post-dated cheques are preferred, but you may also pay monthly by credit card. (In agreeing to pay monthly by credit card, you are agreeing to safely storing your credit card information with us. Please talk to us if you require information about this. Also please note that credit card payments are subject to an additional 4% fee.)

The Studio reserves the right to raise fees at the beginning of each academic year. 

Tuition may be paid via cash, cheque, or e-payment* or credit card.  E-payment is NOT preferred for monthly payments. 

*Please note, I can only accept e-payment for tuition if you are paying in full for the year. 

*Also note that credit card payments are subject to an additional 4% fee.  These are fees that I am charged by the Square app that I use.


Discontinuing Lessons: Every student stops taking lesson at some point. Ideally, this decision is made thoughtfully with plenty of discussion between the teacher, parent, and student so that lessons can cease with a positive sense of closure.  For this reason, the teacher asks for one month’s notice prior to discontinuing lessons. You will be charged for the following month's tuition. It is your choice if you would like to continue taking those lessons, or simply pay out the month and stop attending at that time.  The teacher respects the student’s right to end lessons at any time.  Note: At the discretion of the teacher, students may be dismissed at any time if they have unpaid tuition, an excess amount of absences/unprepared lessons, or if they show a lack of interest.

Parent Participation: Parents are encouraged to be supportive and active participants in practice at home. Due to space constraints, parents may not sit in the teaching room during lessons.


Communication:  

The best way to contact your teacher is via email, which will be promptly returned with an email reply or phone call. Phone calls are also welcome, especially on weekdays between 10am and 1pm. The teacher always welcomes emails or text messages from students during the week if they have questions regarding their assignments or other matters. 

Please note that Katie has another job during daytime hours, so she will not be able to return calls, texts or emails on weekdays between 9 and 5.