Welcome to New York State
Dear OCMEA Members,
As the 2010/2011 school year begins I would like to take this opportunity to welcome both returning and new teachers to Orange County. The General Meeting will take place on Tuesday, September 7, 4:30PM at Brookside Manor, 2257 Goshen Turnpike, Middletown, NY. Dinner will be provided by OCMEA and a cash bar is available.
I would like to highlight some policies that will remain in place this year.
All Festival Sign-ups will be done at solochair.com. Contact Chris Taborsky (MW) if you have problems registering.
OCMEA dues will not be raised again this year.
All festivals will have pre-sale tickets, including jazz.
The Elementary Festival will have two choruses with a split concert format.
We will continue to “go green” by utilizing email as much as possible. We are investigating the possibility of using solochair.com for membership next year so consider joining now.
All instrumental auditions have specific scale and sight-reading requirements. Check the website for this and other pertinent information.
Students selected for any All-County Festival need to attend all rehearsals in their entirety. DO NOT tell students or their parents that they may leave rehearsal early.
All communication with parents must be done through the corresponding music teacher. This protects the teacher and the programs.
We are all aware of the reality of our school budgets during these difficult financial times and I encourage you to always advocate for the arts. It is never too late to develop positive relationships with your guidance counselors, administrators, secretarial and custodial staff, and teachers in addition to parents and community members. It is easy to get into the daily grind and forget that we can be our best advocates and waiting to lobby for your program at budget time could be too late. There are excellent resources to be found at NYSSMA.org. I also encourage you to join NYSSMA/MENC as they are our state and national advocates. The more members they have the stronger their platform.
There are many ways to keep in touch with OCMEA. All board members check their email regularly. If you are not sure who to email use the OCMEA email found below. You may share the website address and twitter account info with parents.
See you at the General Meeting and do not forget the Conference Day on November 2 at Monroe Woodbury High School!
Nicole Regan,
OCMEA President