Hello all,

Attached is the schedule for the Greensboro Concert Band and the Philharmonia. We are beginning a new initiative in arts education this year called Learning by Doing. This is part of that. I will be completing the online registration for this soon but wanted to get the info to you now. I can offer you 3 CEUs for your participation. Band directors can participate in either…orchestra directors can participate in the Philharmonia. Band directors, if you choose to participate in the Greensboro Concert Band, because there are so many dates, you are allowed to miss 9 and still get credit. Orchestra, you are allowed to miss 7. I’m sure the ensemble wouldn’t want you to miss any…especially a concert, but I have to make this concession.

I will be working on getting all the dates into the system so you can register for CEUs. I encourage you to participate! You’ll get a chance to play. I also encourage you to get your students involved.

GCB Schedule 2010-11

Phil Schedule 2010-11

Hello all,

Monthly Meetings
Attached you will find the dates for the monthly meetings for each content area. A couple of areas elected to take the half dates for this year so there are fewer dates for those specific content areas. Please take a moment to review the procedures for CEUs in GCS especially if this is your first time in GCS. You may review these policies at http://professional_development.gcsnc.com/pdfs/PD%20Policies.pdf. Each year, I have to complete the paperwork for monthly meeting CEUs and inevitably, there is someone who has missed more than 1 session. I am then forced to write either incomplete or in some cases, a no-show. There is a consequence to this, you can review on the weblink above. For those of you who have only half-dates this year, you cannot miss one. Theater teachers have a built in make-up day in case this occurs.

I completely understand that sometimes circumstances arise that forces you to miss more than one session. If this occurs, please take the time to unregister from the course prior to the last session. I will e-mail links to registration for monthly meetings once they are finalized. You will need to register for monthly meetings at the beginning unless you plan to attend for no credit. Some of you in the past have waited to see if you could attend them all. We cannot do that again this year. You will have to register and if you cannot attend them all, unregister. Monthly meetings will be applied to your transcript to assist in satisfying your content area CEUs. You are required to complete 3 of those. If you are an elementary or middle school teacher, you are also required to complete 3 reading CEUs. Remember that you gain 1 CEU per year you teach for a total of 5 during a single regular (non-BT) cycle. Those “experience” credits do not apply to the content area total.

You are responsible for obtaining the appropriate credits you need to complete your cycle. GCS provides innumerable options for teachers to complete renewal. Make sure you are vigilant in your monitoring of your CEUs. We may be able to offer some make-up sessions or we may not. It depends on what becomes available during the school year.

Please note: under the district events category on the attached dates document, the only dates for which you can obtain CEUs are District PD (which will be attached to the overall monthly meetings CEUs), the Youth Art Month Exhibition for elementary art teachers, and the Arts Education Summit in June for everyone (it will be attached to the monthly meetings overall dates this year). In the past, I have utilized teachers’ participation in On Stage as a means to making up time. I will be willing to do that again as well as utilize the District Marching Band Festival for band directors and the NC A&T High School Art Exhibition reception for visual art teachers.

State Conferences
Please also note that your state conferences are listed on this document as well. We will offer CEUs for your state conferences again this year; however, you will be responsible for requesting an outside GCS event via the Professional Development webpage at http://professional_development.gcsnc.com/event_request.html. Follow the instructions. I have attached the certificate of completion for music, visual art, and theater for your state conferences. Please store this is a safe location and I will go over it with you in monthly meetings prior to the state conference.

Once the conference is complete, you will send the SS-4 form, agenda/syllabus, and the appropriate attached certificate properly filled out and signed to Professional Development. I know some conferences charge for CEU paperwork processing; however, GCS will not charge for this service. Do not submit your forms to any other outside entity nor should you pay another outside entity to process your forms for CEUs.

I believe that is all for now. I have been/am working on a district catalogue of services for arts education with appendices containing forms and applications. Once it is complete, it will be a one-stop shop for applications for Summer Arts Institute, On Stage, HS Art Show, etc. As always, if you have questions, please feel free to contact me. I will be out of the office this afternoon, tomorrow (Friday, August 13), and next Thursday-Friday (August 19 and 20). I have not been off the clock all summer so I am planning to do so now before the school year gears up. Have a great rest of your summer vacation and I look forward to seeing you all when you return.

2010-11 Arts Ed Dates

2010-11 NCMEA CEU Certificate

Nathan Street

Hello all!

I know many of you are back in this week with band camps and next week as well. I wanted to touch base with you in regard to the Marching Band Festival on September 27. The non-profit organization who is our headline sponsor for the event is Kids Voting (KV). I talked with KV for a number of months and determined that we would pre-sale tickets only through each individual band. The reason for this is to give each band an opportunity to make some money off pre-sold tickets. Granted, it isn’t much but remember, the idea of this festival wasn’t to make money, it was to offer this opportunity that we’ve never been able to do and KV has been wonderful to come in and pay for everything.

You will be receiving a package with the tickets, a tracking sheet, and instructions with a rep from KV who will be a contact for any questions you may have. For each ticket sold, a dollar will be going back to each individual band so the more tickets sold, the better the margin. We will be utilizing the rest of the ticket price to pay for transportation, judges, and printing costs that we have incurred. It may be enough to buy a couple of pieces of music or a small instrument which would be nice. Your parents will be coming anyhow so rather than them spending the money at the gate (which is higher by the way) they can buy tickets from you and the band will profit some. Your feeder middle schools may also want to sell to their students and/or parents so communicate with your feeders. Remember that there will also be a favorite band of the day contest and the more representatives you have, the better. There is a cash prize attached to this as well.

In addition to your students selling the tickets, KV and GCS will be promoting the ticket sales publicly encouraging people to purchase tickets from their local HS band to help increase those sales. On September 20 at our first band directors meeting, you’ll be asked (or your booster treasurer) to turn in all monies (either actual money or booster check) and any extra tickets you may have to KV. KV will have a representative there to count the number of tickets sold against the number turned in. That person will immediately cut your band a check for the amount you are due so there will be no wait time on your money.

We are still negotiating for a rain date. Once we know this, I will send it to you. I have talked with three judges for hire to date: Brad Oliver with WSFCS as well as Dennis and Kim Askew. I am also still talking with a college band who will perform to wrap up the night. If you have not turned in your show information, please send that to me. I also need to know the size of your band for performance scheduling. Remember that KV is paying for your buses, you will need to negotiate the drivers.

We are very excited about this event! We’ve never had the opportunity for each band to showcase their talents and skills for each other in GCS. This will be a tremendous opportunity for your students to see the many different styles of marching band that we have here in GCS. This event is for exhibition only for educational purposes. Remember that your scores as given by the judges will not be shared but will be for your individual band’s growth only.

Nathan Street

We will supply the following instruments:

Bells – 1
Xylo – 1
Vibes – 1
Marimba – 1
Concert Bass Drums – 1
Crash Cymbals
Suspended Cymbals
Timpani (if requested, if not, we will not take them out)
Concert Toms
Other instruments upon request, but all auxiliary instruments such as tambourines, wood blocks, cow bells, etc., you will have to supply. You will also have to supply all mallets for the above listed instruments.

I will have students and parents to assist you in any way necessary.

Thanks.

Jeremy Ray

All,

I made this request last year and I’m going to make it again. Please don’t schedule any in-school events on the night of On Stage. I will be e-mailing principals as well asking them to disallow any in-school performances on this date. I wanted to get this to you because I know many of you are planning for next year already. Thank you for working with me on this.

SAVE THE DATE

Nathan Street

Admissions talk