A VIRTUAL Presentation with professional musicians and music educators.

The Moon Area Music Department invites students in grades 7-12 showing interest in becoming a musicmajor to our annual“​ So,YouWanttobeaMusicMajor?”​ seminar.

The discussion will include a mixture of topics geared towards students wishing to obtain information about studying music in college. Parents are also welcome to join the event.

Topics include​:
● Degree options
● Career options based on degree
● How to prepare for a college audition
● How to select a college/university
● What to focus on as a high school musician

Details:
● Who: S​ tudents in grades 7-12
● Where: Virtual Presentation
● When​: Thursday, November 19th – 6:00pm

Click the link below to register:
https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=EXasUy9jc0SIDcycd3KEkpIzZLTzWZZEtb2iTo4ot1FUQURMSVVURkxCS0dSU04xUzhHQ1FUTENZTy4u&qrcode=true

Questions?
Please Contact:
Mr. Nicholas Barthen K-12 Music Coordinator nbarthen@moonarea.net
 (412) 264-9440 X2154
 

Interested in majoring in Music Education, Music Therapy, Music Performance, or Bachelor of Arts in Music?
Join us for a day of exploration and participation in the life of a music major.
Register online at www.sru.edu/mmfad  please see attached flyer for more info.

or contact. Dr. Kathleen Melago kathleen.melago@sru.edu Associate Professor of Music EducationDr. Colleen Gray colleen.gray@sru.edu Department Chair

A reminder that NAfME continues to collect and update resources available for you on COVID-19 here:  https://nafme.org/covid-19/
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Our Lesson Sharing Google Drive Folder is ready for you to peruse.  

Go to the “members only” section of the website.  The password was sent in our last district level communication.  Submissions will continue to be reviewed and added to the appropriate category.  If you have a lesson that works well, please consider sharing with your D1 colleagues!

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As local school districts prepare to return to campus for Fall 2020 many changes are being made not only for the experiences of students and teachers but also for preservice teacher education. At the most recent PMEA District 1 meeting a discussions about how in-service educators may continue to support higher education and teacher preparation led to the below invitation.

Just as in-service music educators are identifying new, innovative, and creative ways to make music within a variety of domains, preservice teacher education is also working on similar adaptations. We are working on collecting teaching materials and footage from in-service music educator willing to share any teaching footage collected within prior academic years as well as screencasts, video conference recordings, and materials developed for hyrbid or remote music lessons. 

If you are interested in helping, please complete the below form. We will share you contact information with the PMEA D1 higher education members. From there, you may receive an email from music education faculty interested in collaborating this term. Please know that by completing the form and volunteering may not result in being contacted. We are simply trying to help provide a bridge of communication between higher education and in-service music educators on a local level for fieldwork. Lastly, before sharing footage, please review your district’s technology agreements. In most cases all students are required to sign these documents and often using footage for professional development is permitted. Having said that, preservice teacher educators may still want to schedule a meeting with you just to discuss teaching with or without teaching footage for this term. 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSetVn-1DnTpGfMuO_8gfk0dLB63xl9QYTBLaIQltnvL7J-gjg/viewform?usp=sf_link


Sincerely,

Dr. Jessica Vaughan-Marra (PMEA D1 Professional Development Committee Chair)

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The path to the Virtual All-State Festival:

While no festivals will be occuring at the district level this year, each district has been tasked with creating a means to move students on to the “region” level, where they will be able to audition to be a part of the 2020-2021 PMEA Virtual All-State Festival.  The number of students that would have been accepted as a representation to Region-Level will be provided the music for auditioning for All State (audition music is provided by the state) and will complete a second audition.

This link has everything you need to know and will be updated as things evolve.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RigYzqg01PYuE8HYjOoGG9s-kisaxcrmLQWOlW88PPc/edit

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From Mark Despotakis our State Advocacy Chair:

We want to remind you of the new rules in Pennsylvania that allow up to 250 people to participate in outdoor events.  See PMEA’s emails about this from August 24th and September 2nd.  Of particular note to Allegheny County music teachers is a recent clarification from the County Health Department that clarifies what that means in Allegheny County. The County reminds everyone that each school district sets their own plan and must interpret the guidance as they see fit.
 
The County went on to say “the 100-person limit on outdoor gatherings and events remains in place in Allegheny County. The August 21 statement issued in conjunction with the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) used the idea of pods at a football game as an example of how pods could be used at a gathering. It is not limited to football, a game, or even sports. If pods – no matter their composition – follow the rest of the mitigation measures in place (i.e. physical distance, masking, etc.), then they meet the county guidelines.”
 
We again remind you to have conversations with your school administrators based on PMEA’s August 24th and September 2nd emails relating to marching band specifically.  But, the updated guidance for Allegheny County is also important for you to be aware of when it comes to rehearsals and other gatherings you may have with your ensembles that are over 50 people.  In Allegheny County, you can gather outside in “pods” of 100.
 
While the guidance tends to change frequently and those issuing the guidance are allowing for it to be interpreted at the local level, we are staying on top of the guidance and working with those issuing the guidance for further clarity. If you have questions, please feel free to reach out to Mark Despotakis, PMEA Advocacy Council Chair at advocacy@pmea.net

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As more information becomes available we will be sharing!
I hope your year is off to the best start possible.  Please reach out if there is anything that we can do!

Respectfully,

Rob