January 25, 2025: Saturday Remix
Teachers and Staff: Happy Saturday!
Start Time Reminder and Ideas
Our goal is that we arrive 15 minutes prior to our first lesson, and stay for 15 minutes after our last lesson. I know that there are some predetermined exceptions to the general rule, but besides these exemptions, the rule should be followed all other times. 15 minutes before, and 15 minutes after.
Remember, we never want students to arrive at the school for a lesson and not have their teacher there ready for them. Ready to greet them warmly and enthusiastically as they enter the lesson room. We want students to always have the best and most positive experience possible. And we want teachers to present themselves to students and families in the most professional light possible.
Ideas: The 15 Minutes - What Can I Do?
Remember, one of the most important goals of being there 15 minutes early is simply that you are there. Even if you are doing nothing but preparing to greet your students as they arrive. Being there is what is important.
That said, it’s often nice to have some things to do! Here are 15 Ideas… some for before and some for after the lesson… and there are even more if we start thinking about it!
15 Ideas
1. Get set up, turn on technology and/or login, get situated and ready to present and teach. (If you are coming from another lesson room, this can include transition time.)
2. Tidy up and arrange things in the room. Did you (or the teacher before you) put every single thing you used in the room away where you got it? Make the room more attractive, as if guests were coming to visit and you wanted to make a great impression. Be super persnickety, as if reporters and photographers were coming to take shots for a magazine article. Make the rooms look that good!
3. Read and reread emails, Friday Medleys, Saturday Remixes, Newsletters, and other communications.
4. Plan lessons and conduct research for your students. Pre-screen videos/recordings that you might play for your students. (We should never play a video or recording that hasn't been personally screened by us in advance.)
5. Enter start and end times in your timesheet. (This should be completed at the end of every shift, before you leave.)
6. Print things and/or make photocopies.
7. Practice your instrument.
8. Make a list of things that would help you teach better at our school. (I encourage you to send me lists such as these.)
9. Take a break. Sit outside. Snack. Hydrate. Go for a walk. Think. Plan. Solve mental problems. Listen to music. Wind down. Daydream. Mentally prepare for your next student.
10. Read a self-help, financial planning, health, or educational book. Plan ahead and bring something with you to read. Or study a music or teaching topic that you are interested in and would like to learn more about.
11. Tidy up the waiting area, straighten the rugs, remove cobwebs from the entry doorways, vacuum the waiting area. Take ownership of the cleanliness and attractiveness of our school.
12. Practice the music you are going to teach your students.
13. Research holiday music, themed music, and cultural music so you can be ready to give this kind of music to your students early enough for them to prepare for upcoming holiday and themed recitals.
14. Practice musical skills, and improve your knowledge of music theory, and musicianship (such as ear training and sight singing), and how to teach these skills.
15. Learn more about music technology, and technology in general, that may be useful to you as a teacher, or to your students. Try to see the world from your students POV. Learn about the music that your students are listening to. Learn about the technology that your students are learning so you can keep up with them!
Please schedule your day and evening so that you can come 15 minutes before your first lesson, and stay 15 minutes after your last lesson. Please strive not to have to rush in before your first lesson, or rush out after your last lesson. Please use the time to your advantage and to the advantage of students and the school.
Studio Theme for the Season and Next Theme Recital: Songs of the Irish and Springtime
Thank you office staff for decorating the studio!
Thank you teachers who have begun incorporating our season’s theme into your music lessons with students! Students are asking about it and parents are signing them up for our recital! Be sure to participate!
Remember, one option is to assign them a new piece. Another option is to talk about how the theme relates or is expressed by some of the music they are already familiar with or learning.
I will be posting simplified arrangements of additional themed songs and pieces of various levels as well in a shared Google drive. Please send me requests as well, and I will do what I can to help!
Students are encouraged to play two or more songs or pieces from memory. They do not all have to follow the theme. If one does, that is sufficient. All music for themed recitals should be played from memory (no music sheets or books, if at all possible).
This is a studio-wide theme for this period of time. All teachers should encourage their students to participate in the theme, regardless whether they will play in the culminating performance.
(St.) Valentine’s Day
Friday, Feb. 14, 2025
Lessons are OFF for this day! It is an off-day if you teach regular lessons on Fridays! Enjoy the day and evening! (p.s. You should see studio-wide off-days and events on your teacher calendar.)
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Q. Should I call, text, or email?
A. Call or text when the situation is immediate. I am often teaching and so cannot answer. However, sometimes I can text even though I can’t talk. When the situation is not immediate, please email. With email, I can organize and track things. Text messages, when not immediate, are virtually impossible to organize and track. They often get buried deep and forgotten quickly. Long text messages are cumbersome to read and to type. Email is much better for conversations of any length. Thank you for striving to communicate in the most effective way possible!
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Thank you, everyone, for all that you do!
Have a magical Saturday, a musical weekend, and a safe and healthy coming week.
Thank you,
Dennis Frayne
"Dr. Dennis"
Laguna Niguel School of Music
Dennis Frayne Music Studios
30110 Crown Valley Pkwy, Suites 105/107/108
Laguna Niguel, CA 92677
(949) 844-9051 (office cell)
(949) 468-8040 (personal cell)
www.lagunaniguelschoolofmusic.com
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