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Band Handbook
Jerome High School “AMBUSH of TIGERS” 2011-12 Handbook
Address: 104 N. Tiger Way, Jerome, ID, 83338
E-mail to: gordon.smith@jeromeschools.org
Keep each section together in your drill binder as you get them for handy reference.
“There is Only One Way To Succeed in Anything, And That is to Give Everything.”
WHO and WHAT is the “AMBUSH of TIGERS”?
PHILOSOPHY
“The JEROME HIGH SCHOOL “AMBUSH OF TIGERS” exists as part of the Jerome School District educational program, and as such its first purpose is to educate the students who choose to participate in the activity, and through them the families and community the activity touches. All decisions made by and about this organization must first and foremost be educationally sound. The curriculum and activities serve to educate not only musically but also in the areas of responsibility, self-discipline, leadership, teamwork, and communication.
“Secondarily, the purposes of the JEROME HIGH SCHOOL “AMBUSH OF TIGERS” are to have fun, to make great music, to entertain its audiences, to provide support for high school and district activities, to serve as goodwill ambassadors for the community and the district in its travels, and to provide varied and enjoyable experiences for its members beyond the usual high school environment.
“Here’s what we believe about a band: it should be fun, it should be active, there should be plenty of performances, we have to demand a high standard of excellence in everything we do, we should perform the best, most interesting, and highest quality music and material we can, and the band should be an extended family. We try to achieve all of these things in the JEROME HIGH SCHOOL “AMBUSH OF TIGERS”, and with your continued help, we will!” –Mr. Smith
ABOUT THE JEROME HIGH BAND PROGRAM
The JEROME HIGH SCHOOL BAND (or “Varsity Band”) is comprised of three district performing groups that share the same membership:
*the MARCHING BAND, which performs during late summer and first trimester, rehearses first and third trimesters and during the late summer – This is the group which travels the most, competes with other schools throughout the region, and is the most visible face of the band program.
*the SYMPHONIC BAND, which performs second and third trimesters, and rehearses all three trimesters – This is the backbone of the organization, where the biggest gains in musicianship and performance skill levels are achieved; we present several concerts, host a middle school festival, and compete for ratings at the District IV festival.
*the PEP BAND, which performs primarily second trimester, with some rehearsing and performances first and third trimester – This is the “public relations” side of the band, performing at basketball games, assemblies, and other high-intensity occasions.
Because of the limitations of the five-period trimester schedule, we realize it’s not always possible for students to be part of the enrolled class each trimester. Therefore, it’s vitally important to keep involved playing your instrument through our zero-hour rehearsals and remain part of the band during the trimesters that you are unable to fit band into your five-period day. The schedule for those rehearsals are included inside the handbook, and we want to strongly urge all members to stay active in the program all three trimesters, even in times of non-enrollment in the class period. Re-acquiring playing skills you developed after a layoff is time-consuming and frustrating to you and to those around you. Remember, too, that in order to earn your letter or star for the year you need to be part of the program all three terms.
ABOUT THE JEROME COLOR GUARD PROGRAM
The Jerome Color Guard is comprised of any interested students grades 8-12 in the Jerome School District. The guard rehearses with the band during marching season, continues practices in the winter for performances on its own as a Winter Guard, and in the spring in preparation for the following fall season. Rehearsals are run by a combination of Mr. Smith, Mrs. Kim Clark or Ms. Anna Gardner (parent guard liaisons), and the color guard captain(s). The Ambush Of Tigers depends on the color guard to provide an essential element of its show, and values the color guard’s participation in its program. Students in the color guard program, therefore, must realize that their presence at rehearsals and performances is critical, and when they sign up to participate they are agreeing to make every effort to attend every function. The Color Guard is an integral part of the marching program, as important as the band, and we endeavor to treat all marching members as equals.
AFFILIATED ORGANIZATIONS
The Band program is supported by the JEROME MUSIC BOOSTERS, an adult organization designed to provide financial and parental support for the band’s activities. Mr. J.R. Clark is the current moderator of the Boosters, Mrs. Lynn Olsen the treasurer,and Mrs. Jeanette Cain the secretary. Officers are elected each May. Meetings are held at 7 p.m. on the third Monday of each month in the high school music room, except in cases when a general conflict forces the date or location to shift.
The JEROME MIDDLE SCHOOL BAND program is the feeder to the high school band, and is comprised of a sixth grade Beginning Band, a seventh grade Intermediate Band, and an eighth grade Concert Band, the last of which occasionally provides members to the high school band for select activities. Mr. Smith is the director of bands at JMS.
We occasionally collaborate with the JEROME HIGH SCHOOL CHOIR and DRAMA programs. Mrs. Karen Palmer conducts the choral ensembles, and Mr. Shane Brown instructs the drama department. It is the policy of the band program to do everything possible for our students to be a part of any other group on campus they choose as well.
SERVING OUR COMMUNITY
Part of our purpose as a public organization of significant importance in our community is to give back to the community in several different ways – by providing performances, of course, but also by demonstrating our commitment to those who help us in so many ways by helping them as well. We participate in several community service projects each year – whether they be working at an elementary school event, doing clean-up work for the school or fairgrounds, or some other activity – and each are as important to our reputation as our performances.
To make sure we all do our share, we want every member of the program to participate in at least one community service project each school year. This may include one of the Music Boosters fund-raisers that do not directly put money into your accounts, or an activity that raises no money whatsoever but simply helps the community in some tangible way. (For example, the marching unit performs for the Jerome Historical Society and the South-Central Community Action Program in September.) We believe public service is a critical character element, and as part of our hope for our students is to build responsible citizens, this ties in to our philosophy very tightly.
DIRECTOR OF BANDS
The director of bands in the Jerome School District is Mr. Gordon P. Smith. He is in his sixth year in Jerome and his twenty-eighth of teaching band, having taught in California for eight years before beginning his Idaho career at Kuna in 1992, followed by seven years in Payette starting in 1999. He is the co-chairman of the Idaho District IV Middle School Large Ensemble Festival, chairman of the Magic Valley Music & Movement Showcase, and a long-time member of both the Idaho Music Educators Association and the Music Educators National Conference. He has been president of the Idaho District III (Boise region) and the District IV (Twin Falls region) Music Educators, director of the Magic Valley Regional Marching Band, festival chairman of the Idaho District III – Oregon District IX Large Ensemble Music Festival, the Idaho District III Middle School Large Ensemble Festival, the Snake River Band Festival, and the North Side Music Festival; and a state board member of the Idaho Music Educators Association. He has been an instrumental music adjudicator throughout southern Idaho, and his compositions, arrangements, and marching drills have been performed by bands throughout the western United States over the last thirty years. Besideshis duties with the JHS BAND and COLOR GUARD, he teaches the sixth through eighth grade band programs at Jerome Middle School, guitar at both the high school and middle school, and has taught mathematics most recently through our Northside Alternative High School.
Parents are welcome to visit Mr. Smith’s classroom at any time, either at JHS in the morning or JMS in the afternoon. He can best be reached by email at gordon.smith@jeromeschools.org – please do not hesitate to contact him with important questions should they arise. Usually conflicts, misunderstandings or problems can be solved quickly with a short conversation, and the instructional staff is always interested in solving problems associated with the band, color guard, and its members.
POLICIES of the “AMBUSH of TIGERS”
THE EIGHT “P’s” of the JEROME BAND PROGRAM
BE Positive.... Prepared.... Patient.... Professional.... Pleasant.... Polite…. Prompt.... and PROUD!
GRADING POLICY
Please see the district web-site for the Jerome School District instrumental music curriculum Jerome HS utilizes a standards-based curriculum and grading system, based on the Idaho state Humanities curriculum. Grading is divided as follows:
Ø 15% of the grade comes from Standard I (Historical and Cultural Contexts of Music).
Ø 20% comes from Standard II (Critical Thinking).
Ø 25% comes from Standard III assignments (Performance-based elements of Music).
Ø 25% comes from the actual performances – the true “tests” in a performance-based class.
Ø Finally, 15% comes from the two End-Of-Course (EOC) evaluations – one project-based, one performance based, of equal value.
ALL PERFORMANCES ARE REQUIRED UNLESS OTHERWISE ANNOUNCED in advance, and performances cannot be made up through non-performance means. Partial credit (up to 50%) can be given with advance notice, doctor’s verification, and so forth. Conflicts with other school district requirements will never result in grade penalties. But performances are a unique experience that cannot be duplicated in any other way, and missing those are a detriment to a student’s education that no other assignment can replace.
TRAVEL PROCEDURES AND POLICIES
Transportation to and from all school activities scheduled away from the district will be provided by the district; all participating students are to ride said transportation. If a student wishes to ride home with a parent/guardian, arrangements must be made with the director, and he must see the student and parent together before releasing the student.
For activities within the Jerome/Twin Falls region, the director has the OPTION of allowing members who live closer to the event than the school to arrange private transportation to and from the event. The trip permission slip at the end of the hard copy handbook must be turned in before a student will be allowed to travel with the band or color guard.
· Follow printed agendas but be open to necessary changes – snafu’s do occur occasionally.
· Treat your chaperones and bus drivers like royalty – if they say jump, do it now!
· Start each journey (and each leg on the journey) in your assigned bus seat.
· Veterans, you are expected to set the example – set a good one!
· Students may switch buses only at the discretion of the chaperones or directors.
· Keep buses clean – don’t wait ‘till the end of the trip!
· SCHOOL RULES APPLY – especially regarding dress code, PDA, and improper language.
· Help with the loading and unloading of equipment, even if it’s not yours. If you have any assigned duty, make sure it gets done quickly and correctly.
· Any changing of clothes (into/out of uniform etc.) will be done in an appropriate place; the only changing allowed on buses is when no one ever becomes even partially undressed – and since marching uniforms require full clothing underneath, this shouldn’t be a problem.
On overnight trips….
· Pack as lightly as you reasonably can – space is usually at a premium on these trips!
· Bring only enough medication as you actually need for the trip (not the whole bottle), and it must be given to a chaperone to be dispensed to you. (This includes over the counter medications.) All medications must be in their original container. We plan on having a certified medical professional on all extended trips, who will be the monitor for all such medications.
· Wear appropriate modest sleepwear as well as daytime clothing.
· When staying in a gym, boys will sleep on one side, girls on the other, with a six-foot bare strip between the two. The director and/or a chaperone will be between the two. Students caught on the wrong side after hours will be dealt with severely. (And by the way, gym showers are fairly open – if you’re uncomfortable, you may decide to wear a swimsuit.)
· Help clean the gym, locker rooms, and any other facilities we use before departing.
DUAL-ENROLLMENT
Our philosophy in offering dual-enrollment to students from neighboring school districts is to provide an opportunity that they wouldn’t have in their home school: the chance to develop and perform in a large ensemble, in a competition marching band environment, and to travel with such a group to a variety of performance and competitive activities. In particular, students who intend to continue in the field of music and/or the performing arts beyond high school often benefit from opportunities beyond those typically available in a smaller-school environment.
Students, parents, and school officials are reminded that this dual-enrollment opportunity is NOT designed to REPLACE anything at a student’s home school, but rather to SUPPLEMENT what they receive at their home school. This program will be withdrawn if it becomes apparent that it is harmful rather than supplementary to other schools’ music departments.
The same rules and regulations apply to dual enrollment students as to JHS students, although adjustments to time requirements can be made to accommodate transportation issues to and from their home school. (In particular, students may need to leave before 7:40 a.m. from morning rehearsals in order to be on time for their first class at their home school.) Transportation is the responsibility of the dual-enrolled student, although wherever we can help, we will gladly do so.
Arrangements for dual-credit will be made through the registrar’s office at Jerome High School and the appropriate contact person at the student’s home school.
Because the Ambush of Tigers does not participate in any competitions or events where IHSAA or related school-size guidelines are an issue (all of our competitions are based on GROUP size, not school size), dual-enrollment will not have an effect on ensemble eligibility. The IHSAA District IV Board of Control, of course, has the final say on this matter where it pertains to District IV activities.
While this option is theoretically open to students from any area school, it is intended for those “north side” schools which do not have large comparable ensembles for its student body – for example, Valley, Shoshone, and Gooding High Schools – and local home or private school students without band ensemble programs. All participants need the approval of their governing school administration to participate.
In 2006, Jerome HS was honored to be the host for the creation of the “Magic Valley Mall Regional Marching Band”, sponsored by the Twin Falls mall with the purpose of providing just this sort of opportunity to students who had no such group within their school situation. That group marched in four consecutive Western Days parades, among its many other activities, and is still alive in the form of Jerome’s ‘spring marching band’ program. It is our privilege to be the vehicle for any students interested in furthering their musical performance opportunities through their high school years, in the same manner that any other subject area would seek to expand its scope through teaming with other schools in person, on line, or through correspondence.
EXPECTATIONS of our REPRESENTATIVES
We have one rule: “No one has the right to interfere with your education”.
That means:
· Pay attention.
· Help each other.
· Be on time – don’t show up at 6:30 for a 6:30 rehearsal! (Get there a few minutes early to prepare.)
· HUSTLE! Don’t waste time!
· Spend your time practicing your music (or marching, or flagwork) at home so we can spend our time rehearsing.
· Do NOT play with equipment that isn’t yours.
· Do not talk or play at inappropriate times during the rehearsal.
· Please do not have food, drinks, or gum in the classroom.
· Listen to staff members, parents, and student leaders – they have your best interests at heart, and they may actually know what they’re talking about.
· If you have a problem with a leader – or anyone else in the organization – discuss the problem with that person before going over his or her head. That’s a sign of respect and much more likely to get the situation resolved constructively.
CONSEQUENCES: After a first warning in appropriate situations, students will be written up privately for the first offense. Second-time offenders will have their parents notified, and third offenses will start the road to school-defined consequences as described in the school discipline policy. PLEASE do not make any of these steps necessary, as the mere fact that we have to stop class to deal with your behavior will interfere with your education as much as the offense itself did!
EXPECTATIONS AT FOOTBALL AND BASKETBALL GAMES
This is the only place much of our audience will ever see or hear us, so impressions made here can make or break the band’s reputation. Therefore…
· Try to perform your best every time you play.
· Represent your Ambush well whenever you’re in the public’s view.
· Stay in full uniform in the public eye.
· Be ready to perform at a moment’s notice when “on duty” and listen for directions from your director/field conductor/pep band director.
· Non-performing buddies can sit alongside the band section but not within the boundaries of the Ambush itself.
· You will get at least the third quarter off – please try to save trips for food and so forth until then.
Our usual schedule for football games – 5:30 p.m. arrival and getting into uniforms, rehearsal on our practice field, break, head to stadium, perform national anthem at 6:55, play in stands until six minutes before halftime, prepare for and perform at halftime, third quarter off, play in stands for fourth quarter. These performances are for the largest audiences we see all year – be on time, and be prepared – know your part!
Our usual schedule for basketball games - 6:30 p.m. arrival time, warm-up in band room, set up in gym, play between JV and Varsity games, usually play national anthem, introduction of players, play during first half occasionally, play at halftime, third quarter off, play fourth quarter, return all equipment to the band room before anybody leaves. Realize that more people hear and know about us through pep band than anything else we do – it is vitally important that we make a good showing at each and every game.
EXPECTATIONS AT CONCERTS
Our concerts are where our bread-and-butter lies – this is the most musically important component of our program. Our accomplishments as musicians are judged by all in the concert hall.
· We will need your assistance setting up; please provide it willingly.
· Please dress appropriately. It is a sign of respect for your audience, and it adds to the appeal of the performance for the audience.
· When someone else is performing, please give them your utmost attention.
· Refrain from talking or moving about.
· We will also need your help putting away our equipment after the concert as well; thank you in advance.
EXPECTATIONS AT FESTIVALS AND COMPETITIONS
This is where the world outside Jerome forms their opinion of our program: from how we perform at competitions and festivals. Make the most of the opportunity!
· You and the audience are there to listen (when you’re not performing!) – so LISTEN!!!
· Please consider the patrons around you when deciding to talk, and choose appropriate times, volumes, and subject matter.
· Your audience (or judges) will begin forming an opinion of us the moment they see you, so begin your performance long before you play your first note.
EXPECTATIONS IN GENERAL
The public will generally identify you with the Ambush whether you’re in or out of uniform. Fair or not, we are judged by your actions.
· Profanity is inappropriate in any public place.
· Illicit drugs and alcohol are forbidden.
· Treat all other beings with respect. They’re not the ones who deserve it… YOU are. Earn it.
· NO MEANS NO… harassment (sexual or otherwise) is in the eye of the victim.
· Leave things better than you find them.
· Be a gentleman or a lady – politeness is important, always.
· Cooperation is always better than conflict. Act accordingly.
· Take your schoolwork seriously. Not only will failing classes get you removed from school activities, doing less than your best reflects on your potential when you move into the outside world of employment.
· Admit your mistakes, without excuses, and accept forgiveness. It’s the only way to improve as a person.
IT IS ALL OF OUR RESPONSIBILITIES TO MAKE SURE THAT THINGS ARE DONE THE RIGHT WAY - All of us will be judged by our actions, by our school and our public, and it is in everyone’s best interest that we treat people, places, and things the way we would want ourselves and our possessions to be treated.
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