DISTRICT VI

Illinois Music Educators Association

District VI

Spring Newsletter

May, 2008

Click Here for PDF Version of this Newsletter

Greetings!  I trust that you are all enjoying a relaxing end to the current school year and that you take time this summer to reflect on the accomplishments of the past year and make plans for an even better 2008-2009.  Now is the time to begin planning for next year’s IMEA activities, and this document will guide you through that process.

Division Information

Specific information for each division is available on the IMEA website (www.ilmea.org).  Please visit this site for the most up-to-date information.

Dates – A Quick Glance

New Address

Please note that the IMEA State Office has moved.  The new address is:

Illinois Music Educators Association

18700 Wolf Road, Suite 208

Mokena, IL  60448-8603

It would be appropriate for you to notify your school’s bookkeeper/business office NOW so that records can be changed.

Welcome New JEM Reps

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome our two new JEM Reps to the District VI Leadership Group.  Brenda Macke from Coulterville and Colleen Baker from Highland will be taking over for Jane Nelson who is currently serving on the state board as JEM Division Vice-President.  Thanks for your willingness to serve in this leadership position.

Professional Development

I am pleased to announce that J. W. Pepper Music, in conjunction with IMEA, will present a choral music reading session for CPDU credit in our area this summer.  This event will be held at the Collinsville Holiday Inn on July 12 and will feature music for elementary, junior high, and high school ensembles.  You can visit www.jwpepper.com for more information and to register.

Any ideas for workshops (either a topic or a workshop you would be willing to present), please contact our District VI Professional Development Chair Cathy Stranc at cstranc@ecusd7.org.  She is always looking for workshop or round-table discussion topics (mentoring programs, technology, teaching standards) that are current to education.

Please Share!

It is important that EVERY music teacher in District VI receive this newsletter, so please provide them with a copy or a link to this document.  It is CRITICAL that EVERY music teacher be registered in the RNS system.  I understand that some schools like to have one person enter all information for the entire school, but having each teacher registered means they will receive specific information regarding their area of specialty.

New Collaboration

I am pleased to announce the IMEA District VI now has a voice on the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra Music Educators Council.  This group’s purpose is to advise the SLSO through its Community Partnership Advisory Board to recommend and enact programs that will strengthen both the SLSO’s community relations mission and the schools of the greater St. Louis region.  There are many wonderful things happening with the SLSO that can greatly benefit the music programs in our district…more information will be shared as it becomes available.

Get Involved and Encourage Others

Remember, this is YOUR association!  Get involved, stay informed, and urge your colleagues and friends in neighboring schools to participate in IMEA activities.  Their students will benefit, and we all know that increased senior level participation allows for more District VI students at All-State.

I challenge you to do two things:

• Right now (really, RIGHT NOW) call someone in a neighboring school who is not currently active in IMEA activities and encourage them to consider participating.
• In the fall, contact a new teacher in your area and share information with them regarding IMEA and our wonderful activities.

In addition, please consider leadership positions within our district as well as at the state level.  My term as president will be ending soon and a replacement will be needed.  Division reps and chairs are always needed. 

Registration/Nomination /Selection (RNS) System

Have you visited the RNS site recently (www.ilalldist.org)?  The site has been completely redesigned with a new look and several improvements allowing our leadership to customize our district.  Check it out!

There are several things that should be done BEFORE THE SCHOOL YEAR ENDS and these are outlined below:

UPDATE YOUR PROFILE

• Go to www.ilalldist.org
• Select “District 6”.
• Select your school (for those at both a junior high and a high school, this must be done for each one).
• Select your name.
• Enter your password and click “Enter” (if you don’t remember your password, e-mail me at washburr@wesclin.k12.il.us).
• Click “Update Profile”.
• Check all boxes that are a part of your teaching assignments.  You may select more than one.  This insures that you receive information specific to each teaching specialty.
• Enter/update all phone numbers.  All numbers are confidential and will only be used for official IMEA purposes.
• Enter/update your e-mail information.  The “secondary e-mail” allows you to enter a secondary/home address…some school filters don’t allow some of IMEA’s communications to pass through and this additional e-mail will insure you receive all necessary information.  It is state policy to not share your e-mail address with third parties.
• If you are the primary contact, delete retiring teachers or teachers who are moving out of your school.
• Click on “Update Profile”.
• Click on “Exit”.

ADD NEW TEACHERS

• Go to www.ilalldist.org.
• Select “District 6”.
• Select your school.
• Click on “Add New Director”.
• Enter requested information.  You will need your school’s faculty password to complete this process.  Your school’s primary contact should have this information or you can contact me.
• Click on “Enter”.

DELETE RETIRING/RESIGNING TEACHERS (Can only be completed by the primary contact)

• Go to www.ilalldist.org.
• Select “District 6”.Select your school.Login.Click “Update Profile”.
• Near the bottom of the screen, choose the director you want to delete.

THINGS TO DO…

District VI Leadership