Communication Policies
E-mails are sent to all parents every few weeks (we mail hard copies to the few without e-mail); occasionally handouts are sent home with the girls. This saves staff huge amounts of time, and saves the Choir a great deal of photocopy and postage expense. New directories are provided at the end of each audition period.
A monthly newsletter and various handouts are sent home with the girls. Please check with your daughter when she gets in the car! Juniors' Tuesday handouts are held until Thursday, should they miss a rehearsal. Seniors' are mailed. New directories are provided at the end of each audition period.
Our phone chain functions as a quick-notice information and polling system, and also may reinforce handout reminders. Each parent volunteer contacts his/her list of 5-7 families and provides any necessary feedback within 24 hours. Phone chain callers should have a functional answering machine, plus should be attentive to detail (for example, knowing which choristers are available for a bill-signing ceremony — as opposed to just how many — allows the director to determine if we can do it and what songs we can handle). Each caller is notified by the telephone committee coordinator of what questions to ask and types of information solicited.
When is it important to call the director? First and foremost: in the event you need to request an excused absence. Her number is 834-3694; please review the attendance policy. (Please understand that attendance calls must come from the parent, not the chorister.) Other key times include getting answers for any questions you may have that are not covered in the handbook or communications sent home, resolving issues or concerns, or volunteering for jobs. Please be aware that the director has another job and her own family concerns, in addition to donating a large amount of time to this organization, and kindly limit calls to 10 minutes or less.
We strive for friendly, open communications in this organization. Should there be a need for clarification or assistance in dealing with a problem, please call the director. In the event of personality problems between choristers, the director is willing to have a discussion with the two children and to suggest some practical solutions, but she expects that differences will be worked out and that she (and others) will not be called upon frequently for mediation. We try to avoid placing incompatible individuals in adjacent seats or in the same host home! If you or your child feels that there has been some misunderstanding with the director, it is your responsibility to express this to the director privately in a courteous fashion. (She will do likewise.) If you or the director feel a need for additional discussion, she may choose to include a member of the Board of Directors in such an exchange.
Please understand that our policies have evolved through years of experience, and that while your input may result in minor changes, there will be little deviation from our current practices. Exceptions to rules are made only in rare situations, and are at the director's discretion. Fairness to all is a strong concern, as is smooth and stress-free operation of an activity. If an exception is made and is followed by inappropriate actions, such a privilege will not be extended again.
