Grading Scheme
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The grading scheme below applies to all music courses, regardless of genre or level.
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Students will be assessed throughout the year based on Grade-Level rubrics. Regardless of the status of the politics of Education in Alberta, it is important that we teach in the manner that research has shown to us to be the best strategies with the best tools. These rubrics, seen below, are based on the Core Music Standards, recently produced by the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards, which focus on Creating, Performing, Responding and Connecting. Rubrics for skills are also based on a cross-section of objectives from music curricula from around the world, including Australia, Ontario, West Virginia and of course, Alberta. Included among these skills is that of collaboration, an important skill for Engaged Thinkers and Ethical Citizens with an Entrepreneurial Spirit; the overarching goal of Inspiring Education in Alberta. These, all combined into the rubrics below, make assessment deeply rooted in research, and robust in nature.
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It should also be noted that assessment of learning in musicking is concept-driven. Where a student may receive 70% on a skill at the beginning of the year, but 90% on the same skill at the end of the year, a cumulative method of assessing would provide that student with 80%. Students at Notre Dame Collegiate are not penalized for whatever skills they may have lacked at the beginning of the year, but rather are awarded a mark based on the end-state of their development as a percentage of what is of expected of them at any given time. This is true for Creating, Responding, and Collaborating marks.
Performing, Theory, and Skills and Technique marks are still cumulative, as each assessment targets a different series of concepts, and so must remain cumulative in nature.
Performing, Theory, and Skills and Technique marks are still cumulative, as each assessment targets a different series of concepts, and so must remain cumulative in nature.
The NDC Music Discord Server - Main Tool for Management and Assessments
Discord is our main tool for communication and many assessments. This tool will be used for helping students remain focussed, submit recordings, report assignment completion, and share musical opportunities. A separate page in this booklet provides detailed help for parents and students with their first experiences with Discord. Students will be logging on using the Christ the Redeemer email accounts, and parents are encouraged to join to contribute to the music community.
The benefits of a Discord Community is that only those who are invited may join, it is moderated by a teacher, and it is a platform many students are already using for their own purposes. There are no distractions like you would experience on Instagram groups, Facebook, SnapChat or even Tiktok, and resources are accessed far more easily than any other platform we have tried (we’ve tried Charms, MusicFirstClassroom and NoteFlight, and they are very costly solutions that simply did not do what we needed it to do). Students can also control very easily how they interact with Discord, including managing notifications, which channels they have access to (and every channel has to do with the NDC Music program only), and ask for help from Mr. Windsor through the ticket system there. Additionally students can practice with accompanying music using the voice channels, and practice with a friend as well, even if they aren’t in the same space.
The benefits of a Discord Community is that only those who are invited may join, it is moderated by a teacher, and it is a platform many students are already using for their own purposes. There are no distractions like you would experience on Instagram groups, Facebook, SnapChat or even Tiktok, and resources are accessed far more easily than any other platform we have tried (we’ve tried Charms, MusicFirstClassroom and NoteFlight, and they are very costly solutions that simply did not do what we needed it to do). Students can also control very easily how they interact with Discord, including managing notifications, which channels they have access to (and every channel has to do with the NDC Music program only), and ask for help from Mr. Windsor through the ticket system there. Additionally students can practice with accompanying music using the voice channels, and practice with a friend as well, even if they aren’t in the same space.
- Go to https://discord.ndcfinearts.ca to get the invitation link to join the NDC Music Discord Community.
- If you do not already have a Discord account, you will need to create one at this time. Nobody on Discord ever has access to your email account, and Discord does not tend to send emails, so you should not feel the need to worry about spam from Discord. Use that knowledge to determine what email account you want to use.
- Once your account is created and you’ve joined the NDC Music Discord Community, it will require you to read the Rules of the NDC Music Discord Community. Read them to understand what is expected of community members.
- Once you have agreed to the rules, you will be directed to the #welcome-and-rules channel which will remind you the rules you agreed to, and provide you with a Discord Orientation. Read through that for a clear understanding of how to use the NDC Music Discord Community.
Other Tools for Assessment
Students, particularly in the Junior and Senior Concert Bands, are instructed to standards set by the Royal Conservatory of Music in Canada. Resources are provided to the students by NDC. Students select a List A and a List B piece from the RCM resources, and may optionally choose a List C piece, which is oftentimes a popular music selection. For details, see the Recorded Assessments page.
PowerSchool
For all classes at Notre Dame Collegiate, PowerSchool is the medium for communicating student progress. For details on exactly how this is done for music, visit our Assessments Page. 
Google Classroom will be used minimally, namely for the completion of Responding Assignments, which will focus on practice skills and strategies and First Nations, Métis and Inuit music-making.
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Breezin' Thru Theory
Students learn and practice their music theory knowledge and their composition strategies through these online tools, which can be accessed from home. These apps provide a drill and test environment not just to learn theory, but to practice it and develop their fluency in the language of music. Breezin' Thru now supports Google Sign-On, so you only need to know the login credentials the first time you log in. To log into either Breezin' Thru Theory, first choose the Sign In With Google button, then use the username notredame and the password note223. Once logged in, identify the band class that you are in, and you will be ready to go. Once you use this once, you will never need it again. 
TARDIS is our sound-isolation booth in the music room. It provides a private room that students can practice or recording their playing assessments in. This, in addition to the main music room and on occasion the chapel, provide students with three spaces for practice before and after school. It must be booked in advance of use.
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Grade 7 BandStudents are expected to have developed a Novice level in each category on the Musicking Rubric by the end of Grade 7, but many will also advance to an Intermediate level.
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Junior BandStudents are expected to have developed an Intermediate level in each category on the Musicking Rubric by the end of Grade 9, but many will also advance to a level of Proficiency.
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Senior BandStudents are expected to have developed a Proficient, Accomplished, and Advanced level in each Musicking Rubric category by the end of each Grade 10, 11 and 12 respectively.
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