Term 1 2018 Newsletter
Welcome to 2018 - the start of another exciting year of music at AMS. Classes commence MONDAY January 29. There are limited vacancies in AMS classes for beginners.
Click here for our courses: http://australianmusicschools.com.au/courses/
and here for days and times: http://australianmusicschools.com.au/index.php/classes/
Contact our office on 9314 7282 for more information regarding our new Viva Voice course for high school students on Tuesdays at 7.30pm and Adult Piano beginners o Mondays at 7.30pm. Both offered at Randwick AMS.
There were lots of fantastic results at the end of last year - congratulations everyone! Click here to read a list of AMS students' achievements from terms 3 & 4, 2017:
http://australianmusicschools.com.au/student-results/
Our big event for term 1 is the AMS VOCAL EISTEDDFOD. Please save the weekend of March 24 & 25. The Vocal Eisteddfod is open to all students from Junior 2 onwards and is a wonderful opportunity to focus on pitch, breathing, posture & presentation in solo singing. We will begin learning the set songs in class soon and a booking link will be sent to all eligible classes. The SING & PLAY section is a highlight of this event! Extension, Spectrum & Advanced students - start getting your free choice song organised now! (All students will have the opportunity to perform piano solos in the AMS Piano Eisteddfod later in the year).
Exciting news - AMS Audio files are now available as a download! All the tracks you get on your CD may now also be downloaded from our website. Just hover over the ‘HOME’ tab and click on ‘Audio Downloads’. Please contact our office for the term 1 password. Scroll through to find your current AMS book and either listen to individual tracks or download to your preferred device. The ‘materials’ charge on your term 1 and term 3 invoices are a set amount inclusive of your AMS book, CD, Downloads, Printouts, the AMS youtube channel, Homework sheets, Eisteddfod materials and more.
A fantastic resource for helping with follow up at home is the AMS YOUTUBE channel! With videos of each piece in the JUNIOR, SUPER STARTER, JUNIOR PLUS and now also EXTENSION books, this is a wonderful help for parents who have missed a class (or are just having trouble keeping up!) Most pieces have a clip of each hand separately as well as hands together. Follow this link, click on the ‘search channel’ bar near the top on the right hand side and type in the title of the piece you need to watch – it’s as easy as that! http://www.youtube.com/1ams11 Many thanks to Miss Lindi and Tali Greenfield for putting this together
Congratulations Nisha Katdare - recipient of the AMS Scholarship for term 1, 2018. Each term the AMS staff select a student who shows enthusiasm and diligence in their study of music. The term 4 recipient was Aidan Eccleshall.
Music Essentials! Flashcards and Magnet Boards make note reading practice fun! Get yours here: https://www.trybooking.com/CCNN
Private lessons are an essential part of AMS training on completion of beginner courses. Private lessons provide the repertoire and training to prepare students for solo work. Junior Plus students are eligible for fortnightly private lessons and students in Extension & Spectrum need to have a fortnightly private lesson in order to continue with Piano Eisteddfods and Exams. SRS (the AMS Sight Reading Society) is an important focus of these lessons. Our fabulous AMS private teachers are finalising term 1 bookings now – please contact the office for further details.
We will once again be running AMS Camp in Nairobi in April! Watch out for an email explaining what we’ll be doing and how you can help us! Many of you have followed our journey to Kenya over the past few years. If you are new to AMS or you missed it, you can scroll through from here to get up to date:
https://australianmusicschools.wordpress.com/2017/04/25/monday-in-nairobi/
Miss Samantha will be presenting to music teachers in London, Belfast & Oxford in Feb/March. She will be speaking on practice incentives, sight reading and the over scheduled child. Here is a recent blog post written by Samantha – it’s super helpful reading for all parents embarking on a music education journey with their child – Enjoy! https://blitzbooks.com/the-progress-matrix-making-parents-responsible/
Term 1 fees are now past due - Please contact the office if you have not received your invoice. We regret that course materials (books, CDs, etc) can only be supplied to students once term fees have been paid.
Mobile phones are banned from class! This applies to all students and all parents. Please switch your phone off before you come into class.
Please remember that we have a 'no sibling' policy and only the child enrolled in the class lesson is to be inside the classroom – we cannot accommodate any extra children in class. Please speak to the office if this is a problem for you. Some locations have a waiting / play area which you are welcome to use.
Having trouble accompanying your child to class? A parent or regular carer is required as part of our Junior Course. We realise that this can be tricky to organise a round parent's work and family schedules. We can help! We have a list of long term, responsible AMS High Schoolers who can be the regular 'carer/for your child in class. If you're interested in theis, either short or long term, please give us a call and we'll connect you with the right helper. 9314 7282.
2018 EVENTS – here is an overview of our year:
Term 1 - Mon Jan 29 – Sat April 14
Week 8 - AMS VOCAL EISTEDDFOD - Sat March 24 & Sun 25 at Randwick
Week 9 – Easter Long Weekend – no classes Fri March 31, Sat 31, Mon April 2
Term 2 Mon April 30 – Sat July 7
Week 5- Preliminary and Grade 1 written theory exams
Week 6 - Monday June 11 Public Holiday, no classes
AMS CONCERTS – ALL CLASSES!! Sunday June 3 and Sunday June 17
Term 3 - Mon July 23 – Sat September 29
AUGUST – dates TBA – ALL PIANO EXAMS Preliminary, Grade 1 and above. These will NOT be offered in term 4!
Week 9 – Sep 22 & 23 - AMS PIANO EISTEDDFOD (including Piano Duet section)
Week 10 – Polyphonic! (High school) Fri September 28/29
Week 10 – AMS CAMP (ages 7+) Sat September 29 – Monday Oct 1 (Oct 1, the day of our camp concert, is a public holiday this year!)
Term 4 - Mon October 15 – Sat December 15
Week 7 – AMS COMPOSERS DAY - Friday Nov 30 at AMS Randwick
Week 8 dates tba – AMS Course Piano Exams Junior/ Super Starter / Junior Plus / Extension. (Prelim & grade levels are not offered in term 4)
Week 8 – All written THEORY Exams – Prelim, Grade 1 & 2
Term 1 fees are now past due - Please contact the office if you have not received your invoice. We regret that course materials (books, CDs, etc) can only be supplied to students once term fees have been paid.
PLEASE - No FOOD or DRINK in classrooms
Mobile phones are banned from class! This applies to all students and all parents. Please switch your phone off before you come into class
Please remember that we have a 'no sibling' policy and only the child enrolled in the class lesson is to be inside the classroom – we cannot accommodate any extra children in class. Please speak to the office if this is a problem for you. Some locations have a waiting / play area which you are welcome to use.
