The Official
Hickory High
School
2014-2015
Band Handbook
Directors:
David Enloe and Crystal Cox
www.hhsbands.org
A. Hickory High School Band Classes
Students enjoying music and playing their instrument are
invited to enroll in Band Class at Hickory High School. They are
placed in one of three performance ensembles: Concert Band,
Symphonic Band, and Wind Ensemble. All band classes are offered
as yearlong classes which meet every other day on an alternating
A/B schedule.
A Day
B Day
Bell 1
Concert
Woodwinds
Concert
Brass/Perc
Bell 2
Wind
Ensemble
Symphonic
Band
Bell 3
Planning
Bell 4
Beg. Guitar
Planning
Beg. Guitar
Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band Expectations.
 Honors students are required to audition for district band,
however we encourage all students to audition.
 All Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band Students are required
to attend the Assessment Band Camp in January
 All Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band Students are required
to play in the graduation ceremony at the end of the academic
year.
 All Percussionists need to own their own mallets. Chesapeake
Public Schools along with HBPA have provided percussion
instruments for students to use.
o Percussion students in Concert B Day, Symphonic and
Wind Ensemble will need to contact Lone Star
Percussion at (214) 340-0835. Please mention you are
purchasing the Hickory High School Percussion Pack.
B. Daily Class Procedures
1. Students may store their instruments in the band room (at their
own risk) in the morning and pick it up in the afternoon after
school (the room will be locked by 4:00 pm).
2. Report to class on time. Hickory High School strictly enforces the
tardy policy. Be ready to begin class 2 minutes after the tardy bell
rings.
3. Always come to class with ALL necessary class materials
(instrument, pencil, reeds, mutes, music, folder, stick bag with
approved sticks, keyboard mallets, timpani mallets, triangle
beaters, and pitch pipe).
4. Every student in the Hickory High School Band is expected to
practice their instrument at home. Students are expected to work
both in and out of class to improve their playing ability. This will
ensure your preparedness for rehearsal time, performances, and
playing tests. Typical practice should average 30 minutes per
session, 3 nights a week.
C. Other Classroom Policies
1. No gum, food, or drink in the band room. This includes all adjacent
rooms to the band room.
2. All instruments are to be stored properly in the correct storage
area. These areas are to be kept clean and free from clutter
(ESPECIALLY PERCUSSION!!!).
3. During band class all personal items including book bags, coats,
and other class materials are to be kept in either your band cubby
or in the front of the room.
4. The instrument room is for the storing of instruments only. Do not
keep personal items in the instrument room other than during
class. Any personal items will be turned in to the main office's lost
and found.
5. Unauthorized use of another student's instrument is strictly
prohibited. Students found using another student's instrument
without permission from both the student AND the band directors
may face severe penalties including OSS, reimbursement of medical
costs, and reimbursement of instrument cleaning and repair.
D. School Issued Instruments
1. For those students playing oboe, bassoon, bass clarinet, tenor sax,
baritone sax, horn, baritone, tuba, percussion, and specialized
marching brass, the Hickory High School Band and Chesapeake
Public Schools provide you an opportunity to "borrow" an
instrument.
2. All students wishing to "borrow" an instrument MUST return a
check out form filled out and signed before taking possession of an
instrument.
3. The student is responsible for keeping the instrument in working
order throughout the school year. Brass players are expected to
keep tuning slides greased and movable, valves oiled and in "nonsticking" order, and instruments and cases in clean working
condition inside and out. Woodwinds are expected to replace worn
or damaged pads when needed, keep joints greased, prevent
moisture build-up in instrument, and keep instrument and case in
clean working order.
4. It is required that all instruments be taken to the shop for
a check-up before the end of the school year. Chesapeake
Public Schools are cracking down on the maintenance of
these expensive instruments, so your help is necessary!
E. Grading Policy
The general breakdown for determining your nine weeks grade is as follows:
1. 30%
Daily Participation
2. 30%
Concert Participation -Winter Concert, Benefit Concert, Performance
Assessment Concert, Spring Concert and Graduation Ceremony (Wind
Ensemble and Symphonic Band are required to attend the Graduation
Ceremony)
3. 30%
Playing/ Written Tests
(i.e. Smartmusic, chair test or major etude test)
4. 10%
Instrument, Music, Band Notebook, and/or other class materials.
F. Concert Attire
The following attire is required to meet the performance standards of the
Hickory High School Band Program. Failure to meet these standards will result in
the lowering of your nine weeks grade.
Concert Band and Symphonic Band
1. Shirts- White long sleeved tuxedo shirt. (Purchased by student)
2. Pants- Black dress pants or black pressed skirt, calf length or longer.
3. Shoes- Black dress shoes with black socks. No sneakers, sandals or
slippers.
4. Tie and Cummerbund- Black tie and cummerbund (Purchased through
HBPA $30)
Wind Ensemble
Men – White long sleeved tuxedo shirt. (Purchased by student)
Black Dress pants, black dress shoes, black socks.
Ladies – We will be wearing a black concert dress gown. You may
purchase a new gown, or purchase one that was used last year by the
wind ensemble members. Alterations required will be at your own
expense.
G. Attendance Policy
In order to maintain a high standard in any music program attendance to
all rehearsals and performances are essential. The Hickory High School Band
strictly adheres to the Chesapeake Public Schools guidelines for concert and
rehearsal attendance. Attached to this packet is a letter from Shelly Porter,
Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum Instruction. This letter describes the
requirements for performance attendance. Please also review the section of the
CPS High School Band Guidelines concerning rehearsal attendance. The policies
regarding attendance include all after-school rehearsals.
H. Class Placement
It is the directors’ philosophy to place each student in an
environment in which their music development is maximized. Many
factors are considered when placing a student including: year-long
performance in band class, attendance, practice habits, and further
development of musical skills (district auditions, private lessons, etc…).
Because of the size of the band, not every student will be placed in the
group of their choice. Just remember that there are many talented
musicians in the band program, and you will be a part of a fantastic
musical experience no matter what group you participate in.
There will be occasions when bands must hold some after
school sectionals to assist students who are having problems
with certain parts in their music. (This is similar to if a student
needed tutoring sessions in Chemistry!)
Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band will hold an Assessment
preparation camp (one Friday evening, and Saturday) in the Month of
January.
I.
Make up tests and retakes
Make ups



It is the responsibility of the STUDENT to get information or
materials missed while absent.
Students who are absent for a test/concert MUST be
responsible for the makeup assignment. The completion date
will be three days after the student returns, per Chesapeake
School Policy. Tests not made up will become a “0”.
Students who do not have an excused absence will NOT be
allowed to retake the test.
Retakes
Students can arrange in advance to come before school, afterschool,
or after class to make up or retake a test.
J. Band Letter
Band letters will be awarded at the end of the year to those
students who acquire the required point total by May 1st from the
following areas:
Marching Band (attendance to all required events)
District Band audition score:
Possible
Making District Band:
All-state Auditions:
Possible
Making All-State:
Approved private lessons 8 months of school year
Winter Percussion/Colorguard
Solo, ensemble, or recital (approved)
Approved participation in outside ensemble
Summer Music Camps (approved)
Jazz Band
Section Leader
Drum Major
Leadership Team
Craft Show Help
SEVMG Help
Concert Crew
HBPA Fundraisers (Fruit, pizza, raffle, etc)
HBPA Fundraiser -40 items or beyond for one fundraiser
160
100
50
100
100
100
50
50
30
50
30
30
50
20
10
10
10
10
40
Students must earn a total of 200 points to earn a letter. Students who commit
serious offenses are subject to the forfeiting of your letter points.
K.
Class Materials
a. Instrument
i. All instruments must be in good playing condition.
ii. Reed players must have more than one working reed.
iii. All students must have materials necessary in maintaining
their instrument.
iv. Percussionists must have the following: concert snare
sticks, yarn wrapped mallets, hard plastic mallets, mediumhard timpani mallets, triangle beater, and stick bag.
b. Notebook
i. Students are required to have all their band materials in a
3 ringed binder with clear plastic sheets.
ii. This notebook should contain all concert music, all
exercises, a scale sheet, a fingering chart for your
instrument, and any other handouts or information the
band directors deem necessary.
iii. Fingering charts and trill chartshttp://daviehighbands.weebly.com/fingering-charts.html
iv. Scale Sheetsc. Pencil
d. Smartmusici. Smartmusic is an education tool used to help develop
musical skills needed to be successful in high school
band.
ii. Students are encouraged to utilize Smartmusic at home
to help prepare for all tests and auditions.
iii. Students will be permitted to complete assignments at
home and submit via smartmusic.
iv. For any questions about Smartmusic, visit
smartmusic.com
v. Smartmusic requires a microphone and speakers to utilize
all of it’s features.
vi. Smartmusic also has a built in metronome and tuner for
the students to use!
L.
HBPA & Fundraising
The Hickory High School Band Parent Association is a volunteer
organization that helps raise necessary funds and provide volunteer
support to run our band program. EVERY STUDENT involved in the
Hickory High School Band Program benefits from the funds
generated by HBPA. A frequent misconception is that HBPA only
helps marching band students. The chart below illustrates just how
much HBPA spends on different aspects of the band program.
Activity
Concert Band Only
Amount spent by HBPA
per student
$100
Marching Band
$350
Equivalent HBPA
fundraising
5 Fall Fundraiser & 5
boxes fruit or combined
10 items
15 Fall Fundraiser & 15
boxes fruit or combined
30 items
Fundraising is done 3 times a year. Fall fundraiser and fall fruit
sale, spring sale. It is our hope that everyone participates in these
fundraisers to help maintain the quality of this band program.
M.
Charms Music Office Assistant
How to access parent/student information in
 Log on to www.charmsoffice.com, and click the “ENTER” link at
upper right.
 Locate the “PARENT/STUDENT/MEMBERS LOGIN” section of the
web page.
 Login to your child’s program account using the following School
Code:




________HickoryHSBand______________________
This will bring up the main parent page. This will allow you to look
at the “public” calendar for your organization, event list, handouts and
other files.
Clicking on an event on the calendar brings up the details for that
event, such as times, attendance requirements and equipment/uniform
necessities. Clicking on “event list” puts all of the calendar
information in a list form for easy printing.
When you enter your child’s ID NUMBER (Student School ID #) as a
Student Area Password, another more detailed screen appears with
even more options to view your student’s uniform assignments, music
assignments, financial records, forms and inventory. Once you have
first entered this ID number, you may create your own, unique
password by clicking on the “keyhole” (Change Password) button.
Two areas in which you can help the director maintain his/her records:
o Update Personal Information – if the director has allowed it,
you may help make changes to your child’s student information
page (such as updating phone numbers and email addresses if
they change) to help the teacher communicate with you more
effectively. Click the Personal Info button.
o (COMING SOON) If your program has setup online
payments, you can make credit card payments for fees, trips
and deposits to your student’s account. If credit card
payment is activated, you will see blue buttons in the four main
areas of the financial statement indicating your ability to make
online payments.
 You will also see links to enter Practice Logs, view Grades, and use
the Recording Studio if the teacher has enabled these options.
 Most importantly, the parent page assists both you and the teacher to
communicate with each other. Stay up to date on what’s going on
with your student!!!
N.
Private Lessons
Private lessons are not required; however the opportunity gives
students a chance to work with a professional specifically on their
instrument. Students who participate in private lessons can earn
up to 100 points towards their letter in band
2014-2015 HHS Band Calendar of Events
SEPTEMBER
Sept 12
Home Football Game
Sept 13
MB Fall Camp
Sept 26
Home Football Game
Sept 27
Southeastern Virginia Music Games
OCTOBER
Oct 4
MB Competition at Grassfield HS
Oct 13
Senior Regional Orchestra- Wind Auditions, Oscar Smith HS
Oct 17
Home Football Game vs. Lakeland (Homecoming)
Oct 18
MB Competition at Indian River HS, Possibly at Sportsplex (TBD)
Oct 25
MB Competition at Univ of Delaware, BOA
Oct 31
Home Football Game vs. King’s Fork
NOVEMBER
Nov 1
MB Cary Band Day, Raleigh, NC
Nov 7
Home Football Game vs. Oscar Smith HS (Senior Night)
Nov 15
HHS Band Craft Show
Nov 14 &15
Sr. Regional Orchestra Event, Grassfield HS, Chesapeake, VA
DECEMBER
Dec 6
Chesapeake City Christmas Parade
Dec 9 & 10
Winter Concert (Wind Ensemble, Symphonic, Concert. TBA)
Dec 11
Art)
Fine Arts Festival (Wind Ensemble, Chorus, Orchestra, Drama,
Dec 13
All District Band Auditions, Hugo Owens MS
JANUARY
Jan 9-10
Band Camp for Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band
Jan 9-10
Winter Guard Camp
FEBRUARY
Feb 6-7
District Band at Indian River HS
Feb 28
All Virginia Band and Orchestra Auditions, JMU
MARCH
March 12-14
Band Assessment at Great Bridge HS.
APRIL
April 9-11
All Virginia Band and Orchestra @ CNU
MAY
May 1-2
Musical
May 13 & 14
Spring Concerts (Groups to be announced)
JUNE
June 2
Band Banquet
June 12
Graduation @ 7:00 PM
FORM 1
PLEASE RETURN THIS FORM AND INFORMATION HANDOUT TO THE
BAND DIRECTORS
As a student and a member of this band, I have read this handbook and
understand the membership requirements, particularly in regard to study,
practice, rehearsals, and concert attendance.
As a member of this band, I will assume the obligations and responsibilities and
do my utmost to accomplish the objectives and follow the principles, rules, and
regulations.
______________________________
LEGIBLY print students name
_______________________________
Student’s signature
__________
Date
As parents/guardians of this child, we understand the rules and regulations that
our child is expected to follow.
________________________________
Legibly print parent/guardian’s name
_________________________________
Parent/Guardian’s signature
__________
Date
Students and Parents should BOTH mark their calendars to avoid
conflicts that could affect the student’s grade!!!
FORM 2
Hickory High School Band Information Form
Instrument Information (If you are using a school owned
instrument you do not have to complete this portion)
Type___________________________________________________________________
Brand Name_____________________________________________________________
Serial Number___________________________________________________________
To be completed by all students.
Mouthpiece Size________________________
Do you take Private Lessons?
Reed Type & Strength___________
___________Yes
____________No
IF Yes, Private Teacher’s Name_____________________________________________
Contact Number__________________________________________________________
FORM 3
I am signing stating that I have logged on to Charm Office.com and
completed the student and parent contact information. All information is up
date and emails address have been checked for accuracy.
Information for logging on to Charms is found in the HHS Bands Handbook
as well as on our webpage. www.hhsbands.org under PARENTS, then
Charms
Student_______________________________________________________
Parent________________________________________________________
FORM 4
Smartmusic
I understand that Smartmusic will be utilized at HHS this school year to
complete assignments. (THIS INCLUDES PERCUSSIONISTS). I
understand that I can utilize smartmusic at home as well as at school,
however, at school computer time will be limited so all students may
complete assignments. I also understand that I will need to update my
smartmusic subscription by September 15th by visiting
www.smartmusic.com
Student___________________________
Parent____________________________
Once you have Smartmusic downloaded in your computer or tablet, please
use the following links to enroll for your class and to receive assignments.
Symphonic Band Smartmusic Enrollmenthttps://gradebook.smartmusic.com/enroll/class/111729
Wind Ensemble Smartmusic Enrollmenthttps://gradebook.smartmusic.com/enroll/class/111718
Concert A Day (Woodwinds) Smartmusic Enrollmenthttps://gradebook.smartmusic.com/enroll/class/111732
Concert B Day (Brass and Perc.) Smartmusic Enrollmenthttps://gradebook.smartmusic.com/enroll/class/111734
Marching Band Smartmusic Enrollmenthttps://gradebook.smartmusic.com/enroll/class/104314
Jazz Ensemble Smartmusic Enrollmenthttps://gradebook.smartmusic.com/enroll/class/111737
FORM 5
(PERCUSSIONIST ONLY)
All Percussionists need to own their own mallets. Chesapeake Public
Schools along with HBPA have provided percussion instruments for
students to use.
 All Percussionists need to own their own mallets. Chesapeake
Public Schools along with HBPA have provided percussion
instruments for students to use.
o Percussion students in Concert B Day, Symphonic and
Wind Ensemble will need to contact Lone Star
Percussion at (214) 340-0835. Please mention you are
purchasing the Hickory High School Percussion Pack.
All equipment needs to be purchased and
brought to band class by September 15,
2014
I understand my child is a percussionist and must purchase their own mallet
equipment by September 15, 2014
Student___________________________
Parent____________________________
CHECK OFF LIST
Please make sure you have the following:
_____Instrument
_____Notebook with Sheet protectors
_____Pencil (NOT PEN)
_____SCALE SHEET
_____FINGERING CHART
_____TRILL CHART
_____PERCUSSION MALLETS
_____ Handbook Form (FORM 1 in handbook)
_____Information Form (FORM 2 in handbook)
_____ Updated Charms (FORM 3 in handbook)
______Smartmusic (Form 4 in handbook)
______ Percussion Mallets (Form 5 in handbook)