President's Column - Ann Burbridge
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In just a few short weeks many of us will be putting the music books back
in the text room, storing instruments and saying good bye for the summer. At
the beginning of the year it always seems like “forever” until the end of
the school year. Somehow we get through two semesters, multiple music
programs, TAKS testing, grading hundreds of kids and district choral
festivals. The very best part is that as Kodály educators our kids leave
the classroom singing, playing games and enriched with the knowledge of
music! It is always a joy to observe a Kodály classroom as the kids are
engaged, involved and enjoying the lesson. All of this comes to an end
though as we plan more time with our families, friends and just rejuvenating
ourselves. Some of you will be attending Kodály training courses, taking
graduate courses and maybe even teaching summer school. No matter what, I
hope each of you will be able to find several days for R&R; the spring from
which we become restored and able to return fresh in the fall to start
another cycle of music teaching/learning.
I attended the Texas Coalition for Quality Arts Education (TCQAE: http://www.tcqae.org/ ) today (April 30) at TMEA headquarters in Austin. This organization acts as an umbrella for many different arts organizations for music, art, theatre and dance. It is wonderful assembling with presidents and executive directors of many fine groups trying to prosper quality arts education for Texas children. The passion each member shares is to sustain the rigor of fine arts education and have representation in legislative matters. For more information on recent legislation go to the TMEA website and click on the link SB 530: http://www.tmea.org/
On July 30 your KET Executive Board will be meeting for their annual summer meeting at my home. At that time we will share upcoming Kodály-inspired workshops around the state and these will be printed in the early fall edition of our magazine. In the meantime I send everyone my best for a successful conclusion of your school year and a wonderful summer. I know I am planning on the same!
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President Elect - Lisa Roebuck
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What
an incredibly busy time of year. I know all of you are looking forward to
the summer vacation, a time to relax, travel, do some projects that have
been put on the back burner and hopefully attend some worthwhile
professional development sessions.
Many teachers will again give hours of intense work to attend a summer Kodály certification program. To those of you who will attend one of the many programs available we wish you the best of luck. You will find many valuable instructional strategies to bring back to your classroom and all those hours of labor will pay off.
If you are already certified, consider taking a refresher course. We also encourage those of you who have been through the training to visit a closing session of one of the Texas programs near you. The executive board has plans to attend as many closing ceremonies of the programs as possible and encourage all the participants to join OAKE and KET.
Listed on our website are the training dates for many courses in your area. Please consider mentoring a teacher from your district who will be going through the training and encourage them not only to join OAKE and KET but also to become involved.
At the OAKE conference in Denver (which was an incredible conference) – I attended a meeting that brainstormed ideas of how to attract more chapter members. Here are some of the ideas:
· Sponsor a free workshop that outlines a day in Kodály training
· Provide a luncheon, reception or snacks at one of the Texas Kodály trainings
· Offer a new to Kodály teacher scholarship
· Offer a discount to a Kodály workshop for OAKE members
· Offer a Choral Reading session with octavos provided by a music company before each Kodály workshop
Send us any ideas you may have on the subject of membership recruitment or anything else we might do to grow our organization. Please email me at: Lisa_Roebuck@roundrockisd.org . We’d love to hear from you and I could share your ideas at our summer executive board meeting.
Have a wonderful summer.
Lisa Roebuck
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Past President Column- Vivian Ferchill
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Those of you who could not
attend the OAKE Conference missed a fabulous one! It was one of the best
I’ve been to! Downtown Denver is a wonderful venue for a conference! The
cool, dry air and free hybrid bus service up and down 16th Street
to an eclectic mix of shops, eateries and museums made it so pleasant and
convenient to come and go and really see some of the city. The conference
ran very smoothly and included many informative workshops and inspiring
concerts. I hope you will take the time to read some of the reviews we’ve
included in this issue of the Encounter.
It’s that busy, exciting time of year where we are wrapping up all our programs and concerts, working on those last bits of our curriculum with our students after enduring the stress of the state mandated testing. It’s that time of year when I think back to August and realize how much progress my students have really made. It’s also when I take the time to think about what I could do better next year to help my students learn even more. After seeing him at OAKE, I’m planning to go study a week this summer with John Feierabend. I am also looking at a cruise to Alaska with my husband to broaden my own experiences! We all need to plan some fun and relaxation!
Take a deep breath and enjoy the ride to the end of the year!