Fall Conference Wrap-up

Good morning Florida NAfME Collegiate,

I write this morning with thanks to all involved in this past weekends Fall Conference. We had just about 100 members attend and gain insight into the field of music education. Our schedule was filled with wonderful clinicians, educators, and supervisors from the state of Florida and around the country.

We began our conference on Friday evening with words from the Music Supervisors. Dr. Monty Musgrave led a discussion with a panel of supervisors on "Issues Facing Florida Music Educators." He provided a great look into what we can expect in our first years of teaching in the state of Florida. After hearing from our supervisors, we transitioned to hear from and interact with Dr. Artie Almeida.

Dr. Almeida's clinic was by far the most interactive clinic the Fall Conference has ever had. Attendees were laughing, smiling, moving, dancing, singing, clapping, and most importantly, learning as Dr. Almeida kept us captivated by her wonderful session. There was never a dull moment in the hour and a half we spent with the world-renowned educator from Bear Lake Elementary School.

We finished off the night with a performance by Dr. Thad Anderson and the UCF Percussion Ensemble. We believe it is important to continue to educate ourselves through the experiences of attending live concerts and hearing what great things are going on around the state. The UCF Percussion Ensemble and the "Black Steel" Steel Pan Band had a terrific performance that all enjoyed.

We resumed our conference the following morning with a presentation from our keynote speaker, Dr. Johanna Siebert, Director of Fine Arts, Webster Central School District, and Immediate Past-Chair, Eastern Division Representative, NAfME Council of Music Program Leaders. Dr. Siebert spoke on "Music Education in the 21st Century" and offered up wise words on the continued change we see in our students and education systems. At the conclusion of Dr. Siebert's first session, we welcomed the Music Supervisors back to the conference for two more clinic sessions.

The supervisors continued their presentations for the weekend by addressing "How To Build A Resume." The collegiate students offered up great questions and the supervisors had a wealth of information to share with everyone. The third and final supervisor session addressed the issue of "How To Find An Interview and Network." The process of applying for jobs can seem long, tedious, and confusing. With the supervisors help and guidance, members were able to sift through everything involved in finding a job interview. Students walked away from the sessions feeling much more informed and prepared to fine tune and create their resume and how to begin networking with educators, professionals, and colleagues around the state.

As we broke for lunch, many students took the opportunity to meet the supervisors and ask them questions about specific counties and music education.

We returned from lunch to hear from Dr. Siebert one last time as she addressed the question of "Music Education - At A Tipping Point?" Dr. Siebert's words were extremely informative and helped students understand where music education has been, where it is now, and where it is going.

We continued our afternoon with two guest clinicians from the state of Florida. First, Michael Antmann, Director of Bands at Bridgewater Middle School, presented on "Driving Student Performance Through the use of Progress Monitoring." Mr. Antmann had some great words on how to monitor your students throughout the year and how you can achieve the results you want from your ensemble.

Lastly, we finished off a great conference with Ms. Paula Thornton, Music Supervisor, Duval County. She spoke on "Effective Teaching Through Professionalism" and there was no doubt we finished the conference off with a great session from a great educator. Ms. Thornton's words were inspiring and gave everyone many points to consider as we continue to grow into professional educators.

In conclusion, the 2012 Fall Conference was a great success! Those in attendance walked away with a renewed passion and excitement to enter into the field of music education. Once again, thank you to all those involved in the conference. You will be able to find handouts from all the sessions at the Fall Conference on our website very soon!

Sincerely,
Brad Parks
President, Florida NAfME Collegiate

October FMD Report

Hello Florida NAfME Collegiate,

There was a mix-up in the most recent copy of the Florida Music Director. The report for Florida NAfME Collegiate does not appear in the "Components and Committees Reports" section near the back of the magazine. Below you will find my report for the month of October! Hope to see you this weekend in Orlando!


In just a few short days we will be holding our annual Fall Conference in Orlando, Florida on the campus of the University of Central Florida! The dates and times of the conference are Friday, October 5th, from 5pm-9:30pm and Saturday, October 6th, from 8am-4pm. Our keynote speaker this year is Dr. Johanna Siebert, chair, NAfME Council of Music Leaders Program and fine arts director of the Webster Central School District in New York. We are very excited to have such an esteemed music educator as a presenter at our conference. We will be joined by many of Florida's finest in the field of music education in addition to Dr. Siebert. Dr. Artie Almeida, an elementary music teacher, will be joining us on Friday evening. Dr. Almeida is a highly sought after clinician throughout the country. Paula Thornton, Scott Evans, and Michael Antmann will be presenting on Saturday afternoon. The music supervisors will also be in attendance on Friday and Saturday, offering three different sessions for collegiate students in regards to current trends in education in Florida, building your resume, and how to network and get an interview. Visit our website, floridanafmecollegiate.com, to see the full schedule for the conference. The weekend will be packed with lots of information and advice for college students of all levels. Everyone is invited and registration will be on-site. Registration is only $5! It isn't too late to make plans to attend what is sure to be a GREAT Fall Conference!

Take care,
Brad Parks

"A Teacher's Trenches"

Beginning in January of this year, an English teacher (Jo Ann Nahirny) from Matanzas High School in Palm Coast, Florida, began writing about her day to day life as a teacher and publishing the articles in an online periodical. She explained that although contractually her day ended at 2:15, the work never stopped. She spent several hours a night at home reading essays, grading exams, answering emails, writing recommendation letters for seniors going on to college, etc. Please understand that Mrs. Nahirny is in no way complaining about her situation, she is simply shedding light on the different aspects of her job that are unrelated to face to face instruction. Recently, Mrs. Nahirny found out that her cancer had returned from six years earlier. She continued teaching, but realized that this is something that she cannot ignore and must take care of immediately. Despite her situation, the Flagler County School Board has hired a long term sub for three months. Mrs. Nahirny, said, "I will not see you until  January 2^nd, Mrs. Beale [the substitute teacher] will be in charge of you starting end of today. You may email me at the same email school address and I will respond to you." Mrs. Nahirny has setup a computer in her classroom as well as one in her room at the American Cancer Society's Winn-Dixie Hope Lodge where she will be staying while undergoing cancer treatment. The Winn-Dixie Hope Lodge is a place where cancer patients can stay for free while being treated. She has instructed the students to email her or Skype her with any questions they may have.

Mrs. Nahirny is not a music teacher, but she is an extremely dedicated, National Board Certified and caring educator that absolutely loves what she does. She is the type of teacher that we need to look toward for encouragement and help. She is the type of teacher that pushes through and does everything for the students despite the problems in education in the country. I do not personally know Mrs. Nahirny, but I am extremely appreciative of what is doing and I pray that she recovers quickly is able to return to teaching.

I encourage you all to read her articles: http://flaglerlive.com/category/commentary/jo-ann-nihirny/

Marshaun Hymon
Treasurer, Florida NAfME Collegiate

Welcome Back!

Hello Florida NAfME Collegiate,

I hope your first few weeks back to school have treated you well! As we transition into some kind of "regular" schedule I want to bring your attention to the big event coming up in just two weeks!!! The Fall Conference!! You can browse our website for more information about the conference. I guarantee you won't want to miss this years conference. We have THREE sessions with the supervisors! Year in and year out the membership has asked for more time with the supervisors and this year we're seeing our requests come to fruition! For only $5, you can spend Friday evening and all day Saturday learning from the best educators and administrators around the country and the state of Florida. We hope to see you Friday and Saturday, October 5th and 6th at the University of Central Florida for our annual Fall Conference!

Questions? Email me! brad.parks21@gmail.com

Take care,
Brad Parks
President, Florida NAfME Collegiate

Tau Beta Sigma March for Music

The Southeast District of TBS is hosting a 12-hour relay for music education on March 9, 2013. The funds raised go towards actively supporting local music programs. NAfME chapters should consider taking a team to the event as these are the ways we further music education. It is through constant support that music programs continue to grow, and this is an excellent opportunity to show your support. More information can be found here. If there are any questions not answered there, feel free to contact me and I will speak with the event coordinators.

Ajori Spencer
Florida NAfME Collegiate Advocacy Chair

Coming Soon!

Check back for more updates!