Making School of HONK the safe, fun, inclusive, learning community we all want it to be is a collaborative effort. As an organization, we are committed to seeing and acknowledging the oppression that exists in the world and working to dismantle it in our time and interactions together. Whether we are members or mentors, first-timers or long-timers, dancers or drummers or trombonists or excited onlookers, we all have the responsibility to respect ourselves, each other, our audiences, our instruments, and the spaces we inhabit whenever we are making the joyful noise and irreverent spectacle that is our 100+ person street band and dance troupe.
As members, we are expected to:
- Listen to leaders, bandmates, and the music
- Respect others’ physical space
- Respect others’ learning space
- Mind our privilege and be open to growth
- Stay with the group and participate
- Avoid hogging the limelight (Remember that School of HONK isn’t a backing band for our incredible solo improvisations!)
- Respect our musical arrangements (Remember that School of HONK is not a free-for-all jam session, but an open band with a developing repertoire!)
- Remember that School of HONK is for players of all skill levels and backgrounds
- Respect mentors’ leadership, remembering that mentors—like members—are at all levels and always learning
- Come ready to listen, play, parade, and dance, keeping our own and others’ safety in mind at all times
- Arrive seeking fun, and wear polka dots!
If you are a guardian to members under 12 years old:
- Understand our greeters make decisions about distributing loaner instruments. We have two sets, one appropriate for younger children and the other for older kids and adults.
- Members 12 and under must be accompanied by an adult guardian at all times—during full group practices, sectional breakouts, parades, and other performances.
- If you want to play a different instrument than your child or step away from your child for any reason, you are responsible for finding an adult you trust to provide supervision. If you cannot find such a person, please bring your child with you wherever you’re headed.