Dear Parents
Members of our Peripatetic Faculty (our Peris) have been sharing their considerable gifts by performing in Primary and Secondary assemblies throughout the term and at Carols on the Pitch. The response from the children has been overwhelmingly enthusiastic with many expressing an interest in learning an instrument. We currently have teachers of clarinet, flute, saxophone, piano, strings, brass (including a trombone specialist from the HK Philharmonic), guitar, bass guitar, ukulele, voice and drums. We’ve attached a video to give you a taste of the range of Peri talent on offer – HERE.
We are pleased to share with you the DBIS Music School programme for Term 2 (2019/20). Our instrumental lessons are offered during the school day and support our classroom music lessons, ensembles and performances.
Instrumental Lessons Available
Instrumental lessons are offered to students on the following instruments.
Year 1 and 2 – Piano and violin
Year 3 – Piano, violin, cello, acoustic guitar and flute.
Years 4 to 12 – Piano, violin, cello, voice, flute, clarinet, alto saxophone, trumpet, trombone, French horn, ukulele, drum kit, acoustic guitar and bass guitar.
Instrumental Hire
Where available, instruments may be hired from our school for any student who wishes to begin instrumental lessons. For those students who have hired instruments previously, and who are continuing their lessons, it will be necessary for parents to purchase an instrument so that priority for hiring can be given to beginners. Instrumental teachers will be happy to suggest retailers and brands. If you wish to hire an instrument please indicate on the application form. Please note piano, drum kit, bass guitar and guitars cannot be hired from school therefore students must purchase their own.
Price of Lessons
Lessons are provided at a rate of $290 for individual session.
Timetabling
Lessons are timetabled weekly on a rotating schedule throughout the school day. Lessons are 30 minutes in duration. Lessons missed due to school trips will be eligible for a make up lesson, however, any lessons missed due to personal holidays, student absence or when students forget their lesson time will not be eligible for a make up or refund. Lessons missed due to student illness may be eligible for a make-up lesson dependent upon whether capacity exists. This cannot be guaranteed. Students in Year 3 and below or in Year 10 will be prioritized. Students in Years 11, 12 and 13 will have lessons scheduled during break, lunch, before or after school, depending on availability and capacity
Re-enrolment for existing students
Students who were taking instrument lessons last term have been emailed earlier this week and an invoice can be found in the documents section of the Parent Portal. To access the invoices, click on Parent Information on the main menu and select Document & Files. The invoice for your child will be in a folder called Instrument Lessons. Please settle the invoice by Friday 10 January at the DBIS Office.
If you no longer wish your child to continue with instrumental lessons, please complete the lesson cancellation form by the end of school on Friday 27 December – dbis.hk/1UXGsJN. If the school does not receive any lesson cancellation notification by the above date, the school will assume your child is continuing with their instrument lessons. Link to the form can also be found on the front page of the Parent Portal.
Enrolment for new students/instruments
For new students or students wishing to take lessons in a new instrument, please complete the new student enrolment form – here. Please complete the online form by the end of Friday 27 December. Please ensure that the parent contract is read in detail. The link to the parent contract is here.
Payment
Lessons for new students will be charged for the full term once enrolled. An email with details of the lesson day and invoice information will be sent as soon as lesson schedules are finalised.
Cheque can be handed in to the school office. Online bank transfer is also accepted provided that the transfer slip and student information are emailed to the school office for reconciliation purposes.
Bank details as follows:
Bank name: Discovery Bay International School Limited
HSBC account number: 111-459624-001
Should there be any queries, please feel free to contact the school office or myself.
Kind regards
David Spencer
Head of Performing and Creative Arts