School Calendar
The school year will be divided into three semesters:

There will be no lessons during Thanksgiving Vacation (11/24-11/27) and Winter Vacation (12/24-1/2). Lessons will be held as scheduled during all other holidays and vacations.

Cancellation/Makeup Policy
If a student has to miss a lesson, it is strongly encouraged that every effort is made to try to make up a lesson. Skipping lessons regularly will not only impede a student's progress, but will result in a lessening of a student’s devotion and interest in lessons. It is also unfair to the teacher who has committed a particular time slot weekly for the student.  Please understand that when you sign up for lessons, you are essentially paying for the time slot with that teacher, and not the actual lesson.  We want to be flexible to accommodate as many of your scheduling needs as possible, but please also understand that your slot is yours!

Student Cancellations
Lessons MUST be cancelled 24 hours in advance, with the exception of cancellations due to illness or extreme emergencies. In the case of illness or extreme emergencies, you must cancel before the teacher arrives at your house or you will be charged without make up offered. Cancelled lessons within the 24-hour notice will be charged and not be made up.

Every student will start the fall and spring semesters with 2 cancellation allowances in each semester. Lessons that are cancelled without being made up within a semester will be counted towards the allowance. Lessons that are cancelled past the cancellation allowance will not be credited or refunded. Every cancelled lesson that is made up within a semester will not count against your cancellation allowance.

Make-up Policy
We will try our best to reschedule make-up lessons during the semester in this order:

1. Find a near term make-up day that is mutually agreed upon between the student and the teacher. The make-up day will depend on the availability of the student as well as when the teacher will be in town.

2. Lengthen the lessons for the next couple of weeks until the lesson times are made up. For example, if a 30 minute lesson was missed, a student might have two 45 minute lessons for the next two weeks to make up for that one lesson.

3. We will have two designated make-up days at the end of each semester chosen by the teacher as a last chance for students to make-up any nonrefundable lessons. This is at the discretion and availability of the individual teacher.  In the event that having a lesson on the designated make-up day will mean a student having a lesson two days in a row, the teacher will design a special course for the second lesson.

Cancellation Procedure
1. If you are cancelling in advance until the day before, please visit www.merrymelodymusicacademy.com/forms/cancellation and fill out the cancellation request form. You can also reach this form by entering our website (www.merrymelodymusicacademy.com) and click on “Students” —> “Cancellation”.

2. If you are cancelling on the day of the lesson, please call your teacher directly. Chris or Vivian will contact you regarding possible make-up times.

Teacher Cancellations
If a teacher cancels due to illness, inclement weather, or any other personal reasons, make-ups are optional. The cancellation will not count towards your cancellation allowance and you will not be charged for that lesson if it cannot be made up.

Exceptions to Cancellation Policy
The cancellation policy does not apply during the summer semester. Lessons during the summer must be cancelled with a 24-hour notice, with the exception of cancellations due to illness or extreme emergencies. You will not be charged for lessons cancelled with a 24-hour notice during the summer.

We will make exceptions to this cancellation policy for those students with severe illnesses that will impede the ability of the student to play the instrument or attend the lesson for an extended period of time, such as a broken arm or wrist, or cancer treatments.

Inclement Weather
In the case of inclement weather, Merry Melody Music Academy will notify each family individually whether or not lessons will take place. We do not go by the school cancellations, so please do not assume that lessons are cancelled just because school is closed.

Tardiness
Students are expected to be ready for their lessons on time. Under normal circumstances, teachers will wait for 10 minutes if the student is not available. Any tardiness beyond the 10 minutes window will result in forfeit of the lesson. Teachers are not expected to make up the time loss if a student is late.

Payments
Payments for the entire month are by the EIGHTEENTH of the month. You will receive an invoice from us at the end of each month. Tuition should be mailed to: 46 Churchill Road, Westwood, MA 02090. Please make checks payable to Merry Melody Music Academy. There is a $25 late fee for payments not received by the 1st of the following month and a $25.00 fee for returned checks. We will withhold credit card information, and in the event that your invoice is unpaid for 30 days, we will charge your credit card the full amount due plus the $25 late fee. There is also an option to set up recurring billing for the invoice amount to be automatically deducted from your checking account on the 18th of each month.

Books
Your teacher will provide all the music books for your child. The fees for the books will added to your monthly invoice.

Referrals
Our business is run mainly through word of mouth. If you are satisfied with your experience, please refer us to your friends! You will receive $50 off your next invoice for every family you refer who successfully signs up with us.

registration FEE
There is a $30 per family registration fee to register for each school year.

END OF YEAR RECITAL FEE
There is a $30 recital fee per family with one performer, or a $45 recital fee per family with two or more performers, to participate in the End of Year Recitals in June.

Lessons discontinuation
You must give 4-week notice to discontinue lessons during the school year.

Practicing
Students are required to practice and complete their assignments every week. Aside from obvious musical benefits, practicing will help a child develop self-discipline, persistence, and devotion. Every student has different needs, so your teacher will be addressing how much your child should practice individually. It will be helpful if you could schedule a practice session into a child's daily activities. If practicing only happens when a student has some free time or feels like it, chances are it will never happen. Please allow for a quiet environment so your child could focus on what he or she is practicing. Remember: practicing should not be a daily chore (although it sometimes can be), but rather a time for making music. Parents are encouraged to come to the last five minutes of the lessons so the teacher could briefly explain what your child needs to practice for the week. Students are encouraged to ask any questions they may have during the week by calling or emailing their teacher.