SCKMEA OUTSTANDING TEACHER NOMINATION

The SCKMEA Board is now accepting nominations for the Outstanding Teacher Award in our KMEA district. If you know of any outstanding High School, Middle School, or Elementary School teachers that are outstanding in their field, nominate them for this award.

Send an email with your nomination to execsecretary@sckmea.org by September 8th.

Honor Group Registrations Becoming Active

As of August 30, 2008, the MS Band, MS Choir, HS Band, HS Orchestra and HS Jazz online registrations are active and available. The HS Choir information is available, but the page at the KMEA website for registration is not yet active. The information for the SCKMEA Elementary clinic is still pending.

Message From The President

Dear Colleagues:

Several days ago, my wife and I were in one of those large discount warehouse outlets where you can buy business and teaching supplies. I happened to overhear three women, all of whom were obviously teachers because of the nature of their conversation. They were bemoaning the fact that summer was far too short, their class of 22 was far too large, and had far too many non-achieving students. They were going to have only one "para" and only one teaching assistant, the school day had been extended by ten minutes, and, well, you can imagine the tone and drift of the conversation. We have heard many of them ourselves, all together too often, in the workrooms of our schools.

I don't know what it is about music teachers. They are in the office, checking with the councilor about their "numbers" 30 minutes after enrollment, hoping for a band of 70, or a choir of 84, or working the halls for new recruits to the viola section. They are on a first name basis with the custodians and cooks, because those are the people they greet every morning when they come into work, and they are the staff members who check that the doors are locked and lights are out when they leave because they are quite often the last out of the building in the evening. They believe to the end that each and every one of their students can make music, and are certain that all of them will be better because of the experience. They can be found at clinics and summer school and concerts and reading sessions, and just hanging out with their fellows at the nearest music store throughout the summer. And they get to know and care for each other, and about each other's music programs.

So, welcome back! It has been far too long since we got together with our young musicians. We are most fortunate to get to do what we have a great passion for; making music with young people.

We at South Central Kansas Music Educators Association (SCKMEA) want to help you, and encourage you, and wish you well in this years' music journey with your students. If you are not a member, please learn about us (sckmea.org), and give us a try. If you are a brand new music educator, or one who is new to our district, we want to get to know you, and will supply you with a mentor if you wish. Just let us know. (mentor@sckmea.org) We hope that the clinics and events that we host will provide many opportunities for your students to grow, excel, and get to know other young musicians, and, that they will also be a time for you and your fellow teachers to exchange ideas and experiences.

I wish you all an exceptional musical year.

Mike Connell, President
South Central KMEA

Upcoming Events/Important Dates/Invoice Creator

• September 8
  Middle School Band Registrations Due
• September 22
  Middle School Choir Registrations Due
• October 1
  High School Jazz Auditions
  5:30 pm at Andover Middle School
• October 25
  Elementary Honor Choir Clinic/Mini-Convention/Concert
  8:00 am at Burrton High School
• November 8
  Middle School Band & Chorus Honor Group Performances
  56A & 1234A High School Honor Jazz Ensemble Performances
  District High School String/Choir/Wind/Percussion Auditions
  8:00 am at Andover Central High School
• December 6
  District Mini-Convention
  High School 56A & 1234A High School Honor Band Performances
  High School Honor Women's Chorus & Mixed Choir Performances
  High School Honor Orchestra Performance
  8:00 am at Wichita State University
• Need to create an invoice for your business office? Click here for an SCKMEA invoice that is an interactive Microsoft Excel file. Just fill in your school information and the number of students in the appropriate group, and the form will calculate your fees. If you don't have Microsoft Excel, click here to download a printable PDF version of the invoice that you can fill in by hand.