DISTRICT I

Illinois Music Educators Association

District I

Spring Newsletter

July, 2010

Click Here for PDF Version of this Newsletter

Dear District I Directors:

Spring greetings to you all!  This letter contains some basic reminders that should aid in your preparation to participate in IMEA activities in the fall.  Please note that in an effort to consolidate information on the website, all pertinent audition information can be found under the section titled “Audition Information” including links to the division information pages for Senior Level participants.  A few reminders follow”

• Follow the steps listed below under “general information for all directors” to ensure that your online information is accurate and up-to-date.  This is critical for your successful participation in all things IMEA.

• Please take note of the dates on the audition pages, particularly the nomination deadlines.  Please help us by doing everything in your power to meet these deadlines. Scheduling thousands of auditions is no small task, and we want the schedule to be accurate, complete and distributed in a timely fashion.

• As discussed in our fall meetings, you should anticipate a District I audition fee of $8.00 per student.  Festival fees will remain constant at $15.00 per student.

• As you renew your MENC membership (which you all should be doing!) you will notice a slight increase – please know that this increase reflects an increase in national MENC membership and NOT in State IMEA membership fees – our portion of your MENC membership fee remains the same.

• Please know that there are a variety of opportunities to receive professional development credit offered through IMEA this summer –see the “professional development” section of the website for further information.

• On a similar note, if you are interested in serving as the Professional Development Representative for District I this fall, please contact me – we are in need of someone to fill this position, and it is a valuable service to our members that requires relatively little time on your part.

Finally, enjoy your summer!  I look forward to another exciting year of music, festivals, auditions, and collegiality in District I.  I continue to appreciate your insight and ideas on ways we can continue to improve the IMEA experience for our students and am always available to you in that regard.  Please don’t hesitate to contact me if I can be of any assistance to you.

Sincerely,

Justin Sisul

District I President

imeadistrictone@gmail.com

708-278-5219 (cell)

General Information for All District I Directors

There are three very important things that you need to do as soon as possible to ensure a successful IMEA season:

Number One:  Update your profile.  Remember that when it comes to communication, we are essentially a paperless organization.  Much of the pertinent information can be found on our website – www.ilmea.org - but all of the direct communication from me and from your division reps will come via email that is generated by our online registration system (RNS.)  If your email is not correctly entered in this system, you simply will not receive the timely and accurate information you need to provide your students a successful experience.  For the system to work, you must ensure that this information is accurate.  Follow these steps:

• Direct your browser to www.ilalldist.org

• Select District 1

• Select your school

• Select your name

• Enter your password and click on ENTER (if you do not remember your password, email me at imeadistrictone@gmail.com)

• You will be directed to click “Update Profile” in the upper left of the screen.
  
• Check all boxes that are a part of your teaching assignments.  You may select more than one.  This will ensure that all pertinent information will come to you.

• Enter/update all phone numbers and other information.  Home/cell numbers are confidential and will not be shared, but are important for the District President to be able to contact you in the event of an emergency at an event.

• Enter/update your email information.  The second e-mail address allows you to enter a secondary address, if you would like a second copy sent to your home email.  This option exists because many school email systems will filter out attachments.  IMEA policy states that we may not share email addresses with third parties.

•  If you are the primary contact, delete retiring teachers or teachers who no longer teach in your school.  If you are the primary contact and cannot delete directors, email me.  If your primary contact has moved on and you need to change the primary contact, email me.

• Click on UPDATE.

• Click on Exit.

Number Two:  Register Your School and Pay the Participating School Fee

This step activates your school at the state level and allows you to nominate students for auditions.  Go to http://www.ilmea.org/district.shtml#forms (or go to www.ilmea.org, click on District Information, and scroll to the bottom of the page.)  You may either pay online with a credit card, or print a form and mail the check.  Do this as quickly as possible to prevent delays in registering your students.  The participating fee for each school is $25.  There is a September 6, 2009 deadline for registration.

Perhaps most important to our organization as a whole…

Number Three:  Share this information with directors new to your school, building, district, or community.  One of the largest frustrations of IMEA is that new directors seem to never receive accurate, timely information. The fact that all information is shared online only increases this concern.   You are the “front line” and can help tremendously.  If you know of a new director in your area, email them, introduce yourself, and help them get acquainted with IMEA.  Or, send me their contact information and I’ll make the introductions – whatever it takes to get the word out!