Supplies & fees

if you have any questions not answered here, feel free to contact us. Money will never exclude a student from participating in choir class.

Click HERE to pay your fees online!

Students new to choir that do not have a Red Choir Polo will select “New Member” to pay $40 for both the Polo & Supply Fee.

Students returning to choir, or already have bought the shirt will select “Returning Member” to pay just the $20 Supply Fee.

Students needing to buy only the Polo without the Supply Fee must bring cash to school. Please don’t select the returning member fee if you’re trying to buy a polo by itself. All payments made using the “Returning Member” link will be processed as a Supply Fee.

All fees are also payable in cash. If you’re uncertain whether or not your student has paid their fees, please reach out with your student’s name and we can let you know.

All supplies that students need to be successful in choir are provided by the program for a small fee of $20. However, there are some supplies that benefit the whole class that may be donated to the program at any time. These are not required supplies, and we provide all these supplies to our students, but donations are welcome. 

These supplies include:

• Kleenex

• Dry Erase Markers

• Loose Leaf Paper

• PENCILS

• Highlighters

The BMS Choir department provides all the supplies students will need to be successful in class. In exchange we ask that all students pay a $20 supply fee. In addition we have a standard Performance Polo we need students to have that also costs $20. We will never ask for parents to purchase anything extra for their student beyond these two items. The fee and polo are both expectations for all students but we understand that not all families may be able to afford these fees. Below is a breakdown of what our fees cover as well as a few answers to commonly asked questions. We are extremely flexible when it comes to money. If there is ever a concern over a fee, you may contact us at any time. Click here to contact us.

Item: Supply Fee

Cost: $20

ALL NEW AND RETURNING STUDENTS ARE REQUIRED TO PAY THIS FEE.

Description: The Supply Fee is the primary classroom fee for Bammel MS Choir. This fee is used to pay for all the supplies your student will be provided in class to be successful. These supplies include a 3 ring binder, pencils, and sheet music. Additionally this fee also pays a portion of the various uniform cleaning fees, transportation fees for busses for academic field trips, and entry fees for some competitions. This fee does not cover the costs of extracurricular events such as our end of year reward field trips, however if a student does not pay the supply fee, they may not eligible to attend such extracurricular events.

Item: Red Choir Performance Polo

Cost: $20

ALL STUDENTS NEW TO BMS CHOIR NEED THIS SHIRT. Students that already have a shirt are not required to buy it again.

Description:The Red Performance Polo shirt is customized with our Bammel Choir logo (shown below). This is a modified version of the Bammel MS Choir logo that has been part of the program for nearly two decades! This shirt serves as our informal uniform for all performances and public outings at which our students are representing our school and program. Once a student has purchased their shirt, they are not required to buy it again in subsequent years they are in the program. The shirt is considered a school spirit shirt and may be worn by any student of any grade level on Fridays and may be worn as a standard dress code shirt for 6th graders any day of the week.

NOTE: Because this shirt has been part of our program for so long, it is common for older siblings and family members to pass their shirt down to their younger siblings. This is 100% acceptable and even encouraged! Any way we can help save moneys for famlies, we will do it!

Many of the questions you may have regarding fees are answered below. Please contact us if you still have questions regarding fees.

Q: I already bought my child a Red Choir Polo last year. Do I need to buy the a new one every year?

A: The Red Choir Polo is carred over from year to year. You may purchase an additional shirt if you feel like your student's shirt no longer fits, gets damanged, or you just want an extra one just in case. Students that have the polo are not required to get an additional one.

Q: My child already has a red collared shirt. Why do I need to pay $20 for your shirt? That seems steep.

A: Our polos are made from a high quality performance material that will last for the entire time your child is in our program. It is custom embroidered with our crest (shown above) and cannot be purchased anywhere else. This shirt is used for public performances and on field trips as well. This shirt is our informal uniform and failing to have this shirt means that your student isn't in uniform. We sell our shirts at cost meaning we do not make any profits off them.

Q: My child has an older family member that already has the Choir Performance Polo. Can my child use the one we already have?

A: YES! One of our biggest points of pride is how many "legacy" students have have. This is a big reason why we've had essentially the same polo for over 20 years! We take a great amount of joy in seeing current students wear the shirt of an older family member that was passed down to them. However, if you have multiple students in the program at the same time, we do need to make sure that every student has their own polo for concerts and performances that both students will be attending.

Q: $20 seems very steep for supplies. What exactly does the supply fee pay for?

A: The Supply Fee pays a portion of the cost of the school supplies we provide to your student (3 Ring binder, Pencils), sheet music that we must own to legally perform it, uniform cleaning costs, transportation costs for school buses for academic field trips, and entry fees for certain competitions. We have to pay for every supply, school bus, and entry fee we provide to our students whether the fee is paid or not. This fee does NOT pay for extracurricular field trips that are not a class requirement (i.e., Skating, Baseball or Waterpark field trips). 

Q: I have multiple children in choir at the same time. Do I really need to pay a fee for each child?

A: The short answer is yes. The long answer is it depends on your family situation. If it is financially prohibitive to pay a fee for each child, we have made arrangements on a case by case basis to waive certain costs. You would need to contact the choir directors to discuss the situation.

Q: What if I can’t pay? What are the consequences for not paying?

A: If your family is experiencing hardships, please communicate that to us. We have worked with families in the past to create payment plans, waive partial fees, or waive total fees as situations dictate. Students that fail to pay their balances without communicating hardship are in jeopardy of being ineligible to attend extracurricular trips. We do not want to keep students from attending trips with us, but their education comes first and the payment of fees goes toward their choral education. A student will never be forbidden from participating in academic actives, including concerts, contests, and competitions for failing to pay their fees.

Q: If we have to pay $20 for supplies (and $20 for the polo), why does my child have to fundraise?

A: Only a portion of our program is funded by the Supply Fee. The remaining funding comes from fundraising. Students are encouraged to fundraise, however no student is required to fundraise. Fundraising is not a replacement for paying the $20 fee. Both are critical towards ensuring our program has the necessary funds to give our students the best possible experience at the lowest cost for parents. When a student fails to turn in fundraising money, it is the equivalent of stealing from the choir program. We have to pay for every box of chocolate we order to sell whether we sell it or not. Students that fail to turn in their fundraising money will not be allowed to fundraise in the future, or attend extracurricular trips until their balance is paid off.

Q: What happens if every student paid their fees and outstanding balances?

A: We realistically understand that 100% of students will not pay their fees. Our program goal is 50%. As previously mentioned, we have to pay for the items we provide, or sell to students whether students turn their money in or not. Often times the “profit” from fundraising is necessary just to break even from uncollected fees. 

However, when all, or even just most of the outstanding fees are collected, we can turn around and use any "profit" from fundraising to provide additional opportunities to students such as lowering the cost of extracurricular field trips that are not covered in the Supply Fee cost. 

BMS Choir is a non-profit organization and will always use funds that would otherwise be referred to as "profit" from fundraisers to improve student experience in and outside of our classroom. Our goal is to reduce costs where we can. We cannot do it when our students have unpaid balances. We will never use supply fees to pay for extracurricular activities, only "profits" from fundraising as long as enough fees have been paid to allow the extra funds to be applied towards extracurricular activities.

Q: My child has turned in their supply fee, bought the red polo and even raised money through the fundraiser. Why do we still have to pay extra for extra curricular trips?

A: We will never ask students to pay anything extra as long as we have available funds in our activity account. If we have to charge extra for an extra curricular trip it simply means that we do not have enough money in our account to cover the cost for all students. This usually happens when to few students pay their fees and fundraising "profits" have to cover the costs normally covered by the supply fee. Our goal is for families to pay as little as possible. When everyone pays their fees, it offers us more flexibility to reduce or eliminate additional costs. Unfortunately in these situations it's the families that take care of their business that end up punished. We are actively working on solutions that can benefit all students while not adding additional burden on families.

Q: My child has gone above and beyond to fundraise for you. Can't you use the money my child raised to pay for their trips?

A: Currently Texas law states that money raised from fundraisers must benefit all children equally. A student cannot fundraise to fund their own activities, their contributions can only be used to reduce or eliminate costs for everyone. 

As always if there are any further questions you may contact us.