Redwood Middle School
13925 Fruitvale Ave. Saratoga, CA 95070
408-867-3042 • 408-867-3195 fax
www.saratogausd.org/redwood
Steve Hamm, Principal
Music & Sports at Redwood Middle School
One fundamental goal of Redwood and the Saratoga Union School District is a balanced curriculum for all of our students. However, due to the heavy academic culture of school in Saratoga, this necessitates that many student classes and activities such as music occur after and outside of normal class hours. We are incredibly proud of our students for the many accomplishments that they earn and the diversity of talents that they possess.
Redwood offers a multitude of sports throughout the school year in which students may participate. Additionally, music students rehearse and perform with various extracurricular music groups such as percussion ensembles, jazz ensemble, and chorus. Last year, more than half to almost ¾ of Redwood music students either tried out for or participated in athletic activities both associated with the school and in outside leagues.
The goal of the music department and after-school sports program alike is to both encourage and support students to be exposed to and involved in as many activities as they are able. We request that both our coaches and music teachers do the same by working with student schedules so that they may participate in both music and athletics.
If a student has a schedule conflict between a music class and an athletic activity, it is the responsibility of the student to speak with both his/her coach and music teacher to articulate the situation. The coach and music teacher should offer a compromise or altered schedule for the student to follow to balance both sport and music commitments. Communication is key!
Students who are in music and sports should remember the following:
- Students will not be penalized for missing (part of) a sport practice or a music rehearsal as long as they are at their other school-related activity and accounted for. This requires that they have already spoken with their coach and music teacher, worked out a schedule between the two activities, and are following this schedule.
- Music performances and sports games/meets always take priority over rehearsals or practices.
What compromises have worked in the past:
- Students split weekly commitments half and half. They attend music practice for one part of their afternoon, then their sport practice for the other portion. As both activities involve physical skills that require consistent practice, this has been the more popular and successful compromise of the two.
- Students alternate between music and sport practices every other week. This has also worked, though during the presence of games and performances interrupting this schedule, this may cause a student to be gone from one activity for more than a week at a time.
If a student is unable to arrive at an agreeable compromise between both activities, he or she should have their teacher and coach contact each other to work out the conflict.
It is our hope that all of our students feel encouraged and enthusiastic about pursuing their many interests, from the academic to the abstract, and the athletic to the aesthetic. We look forward to working with them to make sure that these opportunities remain open. Please contact us if you have any further questions!
Jonathan Jow, Music Director Jen Vandenberg, Athletic Director