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Our students are super heroes. Awesomeness abounds every day in Orchestra class. Every student has unique talents that set them apart from others and help make our Orchestra team strong! Their grades should reflect the awesome humans that they are!
Our super hero students have all embarked on their musical journey! As we learn and grow I want every student to remember that music can be challenging in different ways for different students. We are all on the same path to success. On that path some students may be sprinting and some may be taking a more leisurely pace, but they are all moving towards success and
When we assess student's performance we will either record a playing test in Canvas or perform individually in class. How a student performs initially will depend on quite a few factors. How long have they had a piece of music? How many years have they been playing their instrument? Do they practice every day? Are they in private lessons? Did they get a good night's sleep? Do they have a big presentation in their next class? Many factors contribute to how we, as musicians, perform. This means that students may initially get a lower score than they would hope to get. THAT'S OKAY! This is just a starting point. Once students receive their grade they can look at the performance rubric in Canvas and see what skills or even what specific rhythms, notes, bowings or dynamics they need to fix. When they practice that afternoon they can focus on addressing those items first. Once they have practiced they are ready to reassess. They can reassess during lunch (with a lunch pass) after school or at home. If they don't have an opportunity to reassess outside of class time they can ask permission and will almost always be given an opportunity to reassess during class time.
Students are given at least one day during class to record an assignment or a playing assessment. Students have until the second to last week of the quarter to reassess on assignments on which they would like to get a better grade. Occasionally students will get to the end of a grading period and for various reasons still have a missing assignment. Mx. Bollinger works with these students to try to schedule time during lunches or after school to make up this work and helps students problem solve if they feel unprepared for a playing assessment. If, by the last week of the quarter, these assignments have still not been submitted the students will be assigned a practice room during class to complete this assignment. Remember, missing work calculates as a 0% in the gradebook. Even if a student submits a performance with many mistakes, a grade of 50%, 60%, or 70% will significantly improve their overall grade compared to a 0%.
It is important for parents and students to not see grades below 70% on a playing test as a failure. This is a starting point. This is an opportunity to learn what specific techniques or musical elements the student needs to focus on the most. We are all on that same musical journey even if we aren't all moving at the same pace. We are all unique and have many different talents and strengths. That's what makes our Orchestra Program incredible! Each and every student adds value to our program and we are stronger for that!
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