The Ensemble School and FunCamp (TES/FC)
Policies for Classes and Camps
REGISTRATION
• Students can be registered by mail, over the phone or online.
• You will receive registration confirmation via email.
• No further notification will be given unless a class is filled or cancelled.
• Classes fill quickly.
• Questions about TES/FC classes can be answered by the registrar, Barb Barry at 301-694-4744.
LATE REGISTRATION
• Late registrants may enroll, space permitting, at the sole discretion of TES/FC. Late registrants will be pro-rated.
PAYMENT
• Tuition is due at the time of registration for all classes.
• Your canceled check, charge card statement, or email confirmation will serve as your proof of payment.
• A $35 insufficient funds fee will be assessed for any returned checks.
PAYMENT PLANS
• TES/FC will offer payment plans at the discretion of the registrar. Please contact the registrar for more information.
DELINQUENT ACCOUNTS
• TES/FC reserves the right to suspend or discontinue instruction of any student who is delinquent in fulfilling his/her financial obligations at any time during a semester.
FINANCIAL AID
• Limited financial aid may be available for TES/FC in special economic circumstances. Please call to request an application. You will be required to submit your most recent tax form as part of the application process. Students of appropriate age may be requested to perform minimal work-study in exchange for aid.
INTERNSHIP/WORK-STUDY
• A limited number of internship or apprenticeships may be available in exchange for tuition. Information and application can be found below:
REFUNDS FOR THE ENSEMBLE SCHOOL (TES)
• TES does not provide refunds, partial or full. Credits may be issued to qualifying students if the registrar is notified in writing no later than fourteen (14) business days before the beginning of the scheduled class. Any credits issued must be used within one year of the date of the credit. Unused balances may also be converted to a tax-deductible charitable donation by request.
• Refunds will not be issued by TES for student absenteeism or discontinued participation except in extraordinary cases of a full withdrawal of a child from a semester or class due to prolonged physical injury or illness. These exemptions are at the sole discretion of TES staff.
• These extraordinary case requests for a refund must be made in writing to TES and be accompanied by a physician’s note.
• Refunds may be pro-rated from the date TES receives the doctor’s notification.
• Approved refunds (minus the class administrative/registration fee) may take 4 – 6 weeks to process.
• A $35 administrative fee will be charged for all withdrawal/change notices resulting in a refund.
REFUNDS FOR FUNCAMP (FC)
• If you wish to cancel, you must notify FC in writing at least 30 days prior to the start of the registered session in order to receive a tuition refund minus the non-refundable deposit of $100. If you need to switch to a different session we will try to accommodate your request according to space availability. Please contact the Registrar (zcallis@marylandensemble.org) to inquire about switching camp session registrations.
• Approved refunds (minus the non-refundable deposit fee) may take 4 – 6 weeks to process.
REFUNDS FOR STUDENT PRODUCTIONS
• There are no refunds of participation fees for withdrawal from student productions.
SAFETY & ETIQUETTE EXPECTATIONS
All students will be expected to behave according to basic safety and etiquette rules set forth by TES/FC staff on the first day of class.
• A verbal warning will be given for the first infraction and a formal written warning will be issued to the student (and parents if under 18) after the second infraction of these rules. After repeated infractions or if a students’ behavior becomes a safety concern or impedes the class from functioning harmoniously or as a whole, TES/FC reserves the right to discharge the student from further participation in the class without a refund.
DISMISSAL
• TES/FC reserves the right to dismiss any student due to frequent absences, disciplinary problems, overdue tuition payments and/or parental noncompliance with TES policies.
PARKING
• Unfortunately, we do not have a parking lot in which to park. There is often parking in front of the theatre on the street, but if not, the Court Street parking deck is only $1/hr. For adults — if you drive past the theatre a block there is usually parking in the next block or two in the evenings. Parking meters only run until 5pm.
PICK UP/DROP OFF FOR STUDENTS UNDER 16
• When classes for younger students are finished, the instructor will walk them up to the vestibule on Patrick Street to wait for their rides. Please be on time for pick up.
• Students must be picked up immediately after the conclusion of class at the end of their final class of the day. When classes for younger students are finished, the instructor will walk them up to the vestibule on Patrick Street to wait for their rides. Please be on time for pick up.
• If a child is left in our care for more than ten minutes at the end of the day, a late fee will be charged for every ten minutes until the child is collected.
• If a student is left in our care for more than one hour past closing time, and we are unable to reach any of the emergency contacts, which the parent has provided, the local police will be notified.
• We invite the parents to stay for the first ten minutes of the first meeting of our classes to meet the teacher and ask questions.
LIABILITY
• TES/FC is committed to conducting all programs in a safe manner and holds the safety of participants in the highest regard. TES/FC continually strives to reduce risk and insists that all participants follow safety rules and instructions that are designed to protect their safety. However, students and parents/guardians of minors must recognize that there is an inherent risk of injury when choosing to participate in physical activities. You are solely responsible for determining if you or your minor child/ward is physically fit and/or skilled for the activities contemplated by this agreement.
It is always advisable, especially if the participant is pregnant, disabled in any way, or recently suffered an illness, injury or impairment, to consult a physician before undertaking any physical activity.
Teachers should be made aware of any physical problem that would affect a student’s ability to take class. Programs are intended to challenge and engage the physical, mental and emotional resources of each participant. Despite careful and proper preparation, instruction, medical advice, conditioning and equipment, there is still a risk of serious injury when participating in any physical activity/program.
In this regard, it must be recognized that TES/FC is NOT responsible for any injury incurred on or off premises of the facility.
CALENDAR
• TES/FC observes the following holidays in keeping with the federal holiday calendar: New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.
STUDENT DRESS CODE
• Acting is a physical activity. Please dress in clothing that allows movement. Do not wear skirts or dresses without shorts underneath. Please wear closed toed shoes. Flipflops or similar sandals are not permitted.
• Students not appropriately dressed as listed above will not be permitted to participate in class and will be asked to remain at the perimeter of the space to observe.
GENERAL CLASSROOM RULES
• Cell phones are not permitted during class instruction.
• For the safety reasons, students arriving late to class are required to wait at the perimeter of the space and wait for an invitation from their instructor to join the class at an appropriate time.
• Students arriving more than 10 minutes late to class may be asked to observe the class, depending on the activity.
• Students will not call out of turn or otherwise interrupt the instructor during class instruction via unbidden questions or practicing while instruction is being given.
LOST OR STOLEN ITEMS
• TES/FC is not responsible for any lost or stolen items left in the facility.
• A lost and found box is kept in the box office.
LATE ARRIVAL/EARLY DISMISSAL
• Late arrival to/early dismissal from class is discouraged. See absenteeism, below.
ABSENTEEISM
• In the event of any student absence, please notify the registrar or stage manager in advance. TES/FC does not offer compensatory lessons or classes for absences and/or missed lessons that occur because students have conflicts, travel out of town, etc. or due to illness.
• Repeated absenteeism can be cause for dismissal from TES/FC and is at the sole discretion of TES/FC staff.
• Students missing more than two classes or sessions may not be able to participate in final work for the sessions. Participation is at the sole discretion of staff.
ILLNESS
• In the interest of the overall safety of our students, in the event a student becomes ill, TES/FC asks that you refrain from particpating in our programming until 24 hours after their fever has broken or until 72 hours after the student has seen their physician and/or received antibiotics.
• If TES/FC closes to prevent the spread of the flu or for any other reason, TES/FC will offer an additional class on Make-Up Day (see below).
INSTRUCTOR SUBSTITUTION
• TES/FC reserves the right to substitute an instructor temporarily or permanently without prior notification.
CANCELLATION
• TES/FC reserves the right to cancel any class with insufficient registration.
• Tuition and registration fees will be refunded for any = programs that are canceled by TES/FC.
CLOSING/INCLEMENT WEATHER
• As a general rule, if Frederick County public schools close for inclement weather, we also close. In some instances, however, schools will make the decision to close, but the roads are completely clear by mid-morning. For this reason all decisions to close will be made by Noon on the day of the class.
• If classes are cancelling, a notification will be put on our website on the home page and also on The Ensemble School page.
• Maryland Ensemble Theatre is a professional theatre company. Therefore, occasionally it is necessary for us to cancel classes for tech rehearsals and the like. If this is the case, students will be notified prior to class by announcement and through email.
• All missing classes (whether because of instructor cancellation or because of weather) will be made up at the end of the semester so that each class meets for 12 weeks.
MAKE UP DAYS
Classes will meet for the exact number of weeks posted in the schedule. If a class is canceled by TES, an extra week will be added to the end of the session. Notification will be given if this is the case.
• Make-up classes will not be held in order to accommodate any classes missed by a student for personal reasons, family scheduling conflicts or general student illness.
FINAL WORK
Classes at TES/FC are designed to provide students with a working technique. For this reason, we focus on the process of acting rather than the product. However, the final class of every semester will be open for family and friends to observe.
PHOTOS/VIDEO
• TES/FC reserves the right to use photos or video recordings taken during the course or a program or class for promotional purposes only.
CHANGE OF ADDRESS, TELEPHONE AND EMAIL
• Please notify TES/FC in writing of any address, phone or email changes. TES/FC is not responsible for lost or undeliverable mail or email.
NON-DISCRIMINATION POLICY
TES/FC complies with all laws prohibiting discrimination in the conduct of its operations and programs. TES/FC admits students of any religion, race, sexual orientation, color, national and ethnic origin to all rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of religion, race, sexual orientation, color, national and ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, financial aid or other school administered programs.