Monday, December 5, 2016 | Uncategorized

Christmas is coming! All students are learning some new Christmas pieces. Winter is here which we hope is putting everyone in a festive mood!

We're really pleased with the response to the the pot-luck party invitation for adult students December 11. This will be fun.

Here are some changes this month:

• We are making more make-up lesson spaces available each week on the fly rather than waiting for cancellations. These are in addition to the storm day make-up days in the instructional calendar. If you're unable to make it to a lesson, please let us know right away.
• Snow day advisories will now be sent by email or SMS to affected parents that day instead of just being posted on our web site.
• You can now choose to save your credit card details when making an online payment and also set up automatic payments if desired. Remember, only you can see your card details using the parent/student portal. No-one else (not even us) can see this. We encourage everyone to use the automatic payment option, so beginning in January we are eliminating the 1% online payment convenience fee.
• Our provider at MyMusicStaff is working on enabling online debit payments. This will eventually augment or replace Interac e-transfers. Also, they have made some changes to the look of the student portal to make this more mobile-friendly, especially for small mobile devices.

We want to wish everyone an enjoyable and music-filled Christmas!

Tuesday, October 4, 2016 | Uncategorized

Hello everyone, lessons are off to a good start this fall. It is a pleasure to see everyone each week.

The 2016-17 instructional calendar is now available, and parents will find a copy in the student's binder. It is also available for reference or download any time at  our web site http://harmonyhouse.ca.

The first event coming up will be the Halloween piano parties on Oct. 29th and 30th for ages 6 to 12. These costume parties are always fun, and students will have a chance to hear each other's pieces. Please watch for your invitations and sign-up details.

This is also a reminder that lessons are cancelled on Halloween, and we will have lessons on Thanksgiving Monday instead.

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I have two teaching studios, and Studio B is cat free for anyone with allergies. Students who come early can warm up in one studio while I finish with a student in the other.

If you have two students in a family coming on different days you may choose who comes to each lesson time; I am happy to see them in any order. If possible, please give me an advance notice who will be attending to allow me to prepare accordingly.

One important request: please remember that if a student is sick with a cold, or otherwise not feeling well, please don't come to the lesson; let's reschedule to a time when he or she is feeling better. If you give us a call we'll be happy to find a make-up time, or you can log in to the parent/student portal to select an available time.

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If anyone needs a piano or is interested in upgrading, I can help choose a suitable instrument.

This is also a reminder that our policies now include two new sections, one on unavoidable teacher absence and one on extra lessons. If I feel that a student will benefit from an additional lesson I will arrange that with you, usually on a scheduled make-up day. The policies are on our web site.

Tuesday, September 6, 2016 | Uncategorized

NEW: Automatic Credit Card Payments Available for Your Convenience

In addition to payments with post-dated cheques, Interac e-Transfer, credit card/Paypal, or cash, we are pleased to tell you that our studio management system now handles automatic credit card payments. Your card details are securely stored and a payment confirmation/receipt is sent by e-mail. Of course, the system will continue to accept payments directly from the billing statement or by logging in to the Parent/student Portal, and you may conveniently and securely store your card details even if you don't choose automatic payments. Please call for more information.

 

Billing Statements and Payments

We now send billing statements whenever payments are due unless paid by post-dated cheques or automatic credit card. In January and April (for example) you will receive a statement. If there is no amount due, no statement will be sent.

The statements used to be on the following month's billing cycle and did not show payments made the previous cycle. We will attempt to make the statement cycle match your payment schedule (monthly, bi-monthly, 3-pay, 2-pay) to correctly show payments and charges. 

We sincerely thank everyone for keeping your account up to date.

Make-up Lessons

The special make-up days throughout last year were quite successful and we will continue the same this year for storm days and other cancellations. 

Policy Revisions

We've revised our studio policies. Please take a moment to review them here.

Tip: Synchronize the Lesson Calendar

Did you know that you can synchronize your lesson schedule with the calendar on your computer or mobile device? Simply log in to the Parent/student portal. Your Home screen shows your schedule for the current month, and you'll see a "Setup Sync" button at the right. Click that, choose your calendar, confirm the subscription in the popup, and... voilà. You can then set up any reminders, alerts, etc. in your calendar.

We hope you like these improvements, and we look forward to seeing everyone at lessons. 

Friday, June 10, 2016 | Uncategorized

For returning students:

This is to let all parents know that Pre-registration is on-line now for the fall.

The link to the form is on our web site harmonyhouse.ca
or direct on our parent/student portal HERE.

Scheduling will begin late August, and if you let us know your preference, especially to request a day or time change, that will help greatly with the scheduling process.

We wish everyone a terrific summer!

Monday, May 9, 2016 | Uncategorized

Here is our May lesson schedule update

Victoria Day, Monday May 23 - No Lessons (Statutory Holiday)

Tuesday May 24 - make-up lessons only
Our remaining scheduled storm day make-up day is Tuesday May 24th by invitation. Most Tuesday students will be attending due to a previous cancellation.

Year-end Recital Dates
The dates marked in the instructional calendar have now been confirmed, and the recitals will be on Saturday June 11 and Saturday June 18, both at 1:00 p.m. Please mark these on your calendar. Everyone is invited: family, friends, etc. and more information will be available in June.

Regular weekly make-up lesson times
This is a reminder that we have two regular make-up times available, on Wednesdays at 4:30 and Thursdays at 5:00 p.m. If you need to change a lesson, these will be an option. If another students takes one of these times, that student's time will be available instead. The available times are always visible in the Parent/student portal.