California could cut school year by several weeks - San Jose Mercury News

California could cut school year by several weeks - San Jose Mercury News

This would would be an absolute tragedy. I'm all for a little longer summer but this would just be a disaster. First off, we would once again be punishing the students who leave in the less affluent parts of the state, in the district that are struggling the most, since they would have to probably cut the most days. Our students would be at a greater disadvantage at simply knowing content for their subject areas. They simply would have learned less than other students putting them potentially behind students in other states and other parts of the state (depending on where they lived) when they apply and enter college and even enter the work force. If we were done with schools 3-5 weeks earlier our school year would be out before the nationwide AP testing (for those of you that don't know AP testing dates are not set by the district or school site but are the same nation wide).

When I read this article I did notice that someone posted that the government is only worried about the budget and that the teachers are only worried about their salary. I'm not only worried about my salary, I'm first worried about the kids, but for the first time in my career I have been forced to actually worry about myself. I'm never one who ends up doing the "work to rule" events that our teachers union puts on. I think they serve a potentially great point, to teach others how much work we do for our job that is outside of what we get paid. I personally run an entire weekly summer program in which I do not get paid at all.

But I am worried about my salary. I'm very worried about what will happen to me if we loose 3-5 weeks of school. With this job market and the loss of district summer school (which I could not have taught anyway since I'm a music teacher and we never had music in summer school) how the heck am I going to find a part time job for the summer when so many people can't find even full time work? How will I, like so many of my colleagues continue to do the same job for less pay? Heck, I already do have a summer job but I doubt I can ask for a raise, afterall its another public institution who is basically broke (San Jose State University). I know there are many people out there who are not in education who face this, but there are plenty of people outside education that would start looking for a new company to work for if that continued for years. How many people want to do the same job or more work for less pay? How many people want to do that for multiple years in a row? For the first time in my entire career, I'm honestly scared of that and it actually gets me down and makes me stressed. I wonder about my personal economic stability. How will I ever get out of this pile of student loan debt that I took out to further my career? How will I ever finish off paying off the credit card debt I got myself into when I first moved to the Silicon Valley and could not afford to live here? Screw home owner ship, that's the least of my concerns/interests at this point. Staying afloat is my biggest fear.

It makes me angry because I can't look at my students and say: If you work really hard in school and go to college and do really well, when you get into the work place you will be well taken care of. But I can't live in the doom and gloom all the time. What I can say with a smile though, is that I still believe education to be a noble profession, one in which I never ever regret entering and despite the budget issues and my personal concern about my own financial well being and future, I do my best to remain optimistic because ultimately this massive budget crisis is not my fault and its certainly not my students fault so I simply have to make the best of the time I am with them for the days that I am given with them each year.

I am I scared about the state of education in California? Absolutely. But as someone who is a 'fixer' of problems, I have zero idea of where to start. What I do know is we can not take away our students' education like this.

Check out this great article

I know many of you are finding this blog through the article that I was featured in in the San Jose Mercury News but for my readers who have not seen it yet please check it out. Santa Clara County Programs Top the Charts. 

For those of you that are new to the blog....well welcome and stop by often. I'm getting some great emails inviting me to local schools fundraising events and sharing their stories of support. Feel free to post on this blog, stop by often and email me if you feel so inclined.

stmusicteacher@yahoo.com

Want to see some great concerts this week? Its not too late. Santa Teresa's Concert Band, Symphonic Band, Wind Ensemble & Color Guard concert is tonight in the Santa Teresa High School Theater at 7pm.

Thursday night we will be featuring our Jazz Combos A & B, Jazz Bands 2 & 3, and our Guitar Ensemble at 7pm in our theater.

Saturday May 14th from 12:00-3:15pm come down to the Santa Teresa Branch of the San Jose Public Library for an event "Meddle with Music: A Teen Library Invasion" in which there will be performances by the Santa Teresa Jazz Bands, Combos,Ukulele Ensemble, and Saxophone Ensemble!

But most importantly thanks for supporting school music programs and thanks for stopping by!

Hey readers! I need your feedback!

Hello all you thrifty band director followers-all 19 of you that officially follow me and the few hundred of you who read my blogs-thanks!

Now I need your help. We have been collecting ink jet cartridges for recycling but we have not made the money that I had hoped to on it and this is a result of the vendor that we have been using (a local business not to be named). But that's not the point of this blog.

The point is that I need a new vendor for ink jet cartridge and cell phone recycling.


Right now I'm looking at switching to Phoneraiser.


So my question to all of you is that do you do ink jet cartridge recycling or cell phone recycling or both? How do you do it? Do you do it ongoing through the year or dedicated drives (certain times of year) or both? Whose your vendor and the big question...how well have you done?

Thanks and when I get this going don't worry...I will blog about it!

Los Gatos High School Crab Feed

Hello All! Well I do apologize on my lack of blogging lately. It sure has been awhile and I do hope that I will not have another extended absence. I have been busy being thrifty and being a band director but there has not been much time for blogging in that. I would like to start getting back to some of my promised blogs and one of them is this one.

I had the pleasure of attending the Los Gatos High School Crab Feed. I will say upfront that I give both this kind of fundraiser and this particular event 5 stars. I think after you read this and see the pictures you will understand why.

The event was a class act. I actually found out about it NOT because I am friends with the band director, Chris Marra, but because I just so happened to be shopping in downtown Los Gatos and saw a very nice poster in a store front that caught my eye. Being someone that enjoys crab feeds (and is always looking for great fundraisers) this got my attention. I also have learned something living in the bay area. If you want to go to an event like a pancake breakfast or a crab feed, often times the best ones are hosted by the slightly more affluent communities (however I will say that not teaching in an affluent community we put on some darn good events so its NOT an always, please don't hate that comment too much).

I promptly purchased a ticket and decided to attend. They had a very helpful website as well, which I think is really important when running an event like this.  I was very impressed when I approached the event and found this great signage at the exit right off the freeway.

For those of you that don't know much about Los Gatos High School it is in beautiful downtown Los Gatos, California, which is a pretty amazing and picturesque place. I also feel like I'm taking a mini-vacation when I am there.

Here's the high school to give you an idea.

And here is the courtyard.

 This is the church where the event was held. I think for a five star event like this that location is key. You have to find a place that is going to work well for the guests and the event (clean, good parking, decorate-able and affordable). Based on the profits earned this location seemed to be a great fit. It was particularly good for the Los Gatos HS Band students because they performed at the event and so moving equipment etc. was snap since the church is next to the school.

 They did a great job decorating for  the event.

 Clearly marked entrances to the event are a plus!

And the students performing was a great touch!

 The entry way for checking in/purchasing tickets was helpful and the parents were very friendly and helpful!

 You could purchase additional cookies & bread which is a great way to get a little extra something to eat and a little extra $$$ for the event.

It's hard to see but inside the lobby that you entered to purchase your tickets etc. you could also purchase tickets for a raffle. Each section created a basket for the raffle and there were members of each section with the basket to describe it. I purchased 20 tickets for $20. I talked with the students who knew a lot about their baskets and were very friendly. I love seeing students actively participating in fundraising events that directly benefit them! The baskets were AWESOME! I fell in love with the flute section's basket and put nearly all my tickets in that one (while giving a few to my fellow percussion section's basket). This raffle is another FANTASTIC way to enhance your event's profits, especially if each section gets most of the items donated.

Inside the hall with the tables set up for dinner there was also an AMAZING silent auction with several outstanding items donated by community members. Here are just a few examples. Regardless of your socio-economic/what you are able to get donated for the event one of the best silent auction items for any event is premium seats for graduation. Its usually free to you as the event AND its one of the most highly bid on items. Great addition LGHS Band!

Every detail of this event was handled and as you can see here is a great menu and the room was very well put together.

Here's a little video from two of the students describing the "dining" portion of the event.

Los Gatos HS Crab Feed Introduction

The food was incredible! Here's the appetizer!

 

The entire meal was fantastic! I personally enjoyed the bib!

 And as you can see Mr. Marra was very excited as well!

 These hats that the students wore were a great touch! Thanks for letting me try one out!

 Here's what clenched the night for me! I WON THE FLUTE SECTION BASKET (that's the one I really wanted). It was the last item they raffled off!

 Check out my sweet loot! This included hot cocoa, chocolate covered pretzels (my fav), an awesome ceramic Starbucks mug, itunes gift card, Starbucks gift card, and why I really wanted the basket? The sweet hand knitted hat!

And here I am with that hat. 

Now when I left the event I had such a positive "taste" in my mouth about the event and still do. I always have to say that I was a little nervous about how much I would like the event because I didn't know very many folks and that they were not serving alcohol. DON'T LET THIS DETER YOU FROM DOING AN EVENT LIKE THIS. Its often really hard to find a venue that will let you serve alcohol, or many folks in your organization may not be comfortable with having alcohol at a school related event. To be honest with you,  I didn't miss it. The event was GREAT without it!

What really put this event for me at 5.5 stars if that's possible was the follow up afterwards. I received this letter and picture a few weeks later. Outstanding job LGHS. I hope to "steal" some of your ideas and will be at your event again next year!

 Great Job Los Gatos HS Music Boosters, Students, & Staff. Excellent event.
Thanks for being my first fundraising event profiled on the blog and your 

thrifty rating is ***** (5 stars).

A Thrifty Way to Help Japan-SOCKS

I am the kind of person who gets really moved when terrible things happen to people. If I wasn't a music teacher, I am pretty convinced that I might be working for a humanitarian relief agency somewhere. But I am a music teacher and so in the wake of this crisis in Japan I have been struggling to figure out what the answer to the question "what can we do to help?" is.  So at my concert, one of my band parents and friends', Robin, suggested that we have donations jars and we can make a donation to the Red Cross. Done.

But I wanted something more. Something that my students, if they choose to, could get involved in. Because, like me, I think many of my students are seeking a way, beyond just posting on facebook that they are troubled by what has happened and want to do something to help.

My friend Nancy Moser (via someone else via someone else) on facebook posted about "Socks for Japan"  http://jasonkelly.com/helpjapan/

Its pretty simple and I read the website, the facebook, the nay-sayers comments etc. I'm doing it. Why? Because socks are cheap & thrifty and oddly enough yesterday I had my own personal mishap with socks yesterday that WAS IN NO WAY COMPARABLE TO WHAT IS GOING ON IN JAPAN BUT MADE ME REALLY THINK ABOUT HOW SIMPLE SOCKS ARE AND HOW IMPORTANT THEY CAN BE TO SOMEONE! 

Everything happens for a reason. So I took my large jazz band program to the Santa Cruz Jazz Festival and it poured. I was dressed in my cute dress and heels and it poured down rain while we were inside as the storm had finally hit us. I went out to the bus and in the walk my feet got soaked. I went in and grabbed my change of clothes, went in the bathroom to change and found that I had everything I needed but socks. We were stuck there for several more hours and our bus did not have heat. And I had no socks. I was frustrated and freezing and I do not live through an Earthquake, loose everything, it was not snowing (like it is in many parts of Japan right now) and I had more pairs at home to look forward to (and I have a home).

So when I got home and saw Nancy's post it resonated with me. This is something simple and easy that we can do to help. Better yet, Jason, who is coordinating this whole thing, suggests and provides resources for writing a care letter to include in the socks.

So here's what we will be doing in my band room. Collecting socks. We will be putting the sock sets in plastic bag to ease their sorting upon arriving in Japan. In zip lock plastic bag of socks we will be including a care letter. If you do donate you can send your own (please follow Jason's instructions on his website) or my student aides (and student volunteers) will do so for you. We will leave our contact information in the letter as the Santa Teresa Band Program/Santa Teresa HS Community.

A simple & thrifty way to help! Socks for Japan :)

Midwest Proposals-Feedback Needed

So the Midwest Proposals are due Friday. I'm trying to have mine done Wednesday.

Here are the three that I'm thinking of submitting
A Thrifty Approach to Running Your Program-Tips & Suggestions to be successful on a budget!
It could also be called "Thrifty Tips for Your Music Program" Suggestions on how to be successful on a budget!
This clinic will summarize sections of my blog "The Thrifty Band Director"  http://thethriftybanddirector.blogspot.com as well as discuss additional suggestions of ways that music teachers can run their programs on a budget. While specific fundraisers and products will not be discussed this session will include tips on how to evaluate your fundraisers (for example is the amount of work put into a fundraiser worth the how much revenue the fundraiser brings in). The session will talk about easy and free ways to market your program's concerts, fundraising events, etc. and will also touch on the topic of social media (since its free). 
Other ideas or suggestions for this one? They are all a work in progress....

Another one would be all my tricks and suggestions for running working with your percussion section. 
How do you get your percussion section to do that? 25 tips on how to improve your percussion section. 
My friend Mike suggested these topics:
the bare necessities for a fully functioning section

                             - percussion notation (is there a reason you're at the bottom?)

                            -resources for finding out answers to questions like "what is the proper technique for triangle"

          -what does a percussion section need from a conductor/director to succeed.  

-and cymbal felts will always disappear (there are some other things but these are like reeds or the socks that come out of the dryer and one always goes missing, thanks for the help Reno). 

 

 

And social media and education :)

Things like how to set up your facebook and concert advertsing? Twitter etc....

 

Thoughts everyone ? 

Oh were oh where has the thrifty band director been?

Oh where oh where has the thrifty band director been? Basketball games. Lots of basketball games.
Santa Teresa's Boys Basketball Team just started winning football games and all of a sudden I realized that they were playing in the CCS (league finals) so we took a band to Santa Clara University and had an amazing time!

So in one day I formed a pep band for the boys varsity basketball team (that's right folks we don't have to play basketball games so we haven't been....there isn't an expectation at STHS that we do so). I did when I first got there but then the coaches of both boys and girls basketball didn't really ever get back to me about playing games and then never asked. The boys team completely disrespected me in ways I won't publish online when I repeatedly asked them not to leave all of their trash outside my room during lunch. So I just stopped going and no one noticed. Its not like our band program is busy or anything.

But I digress. Here's us at the CCS Finals at Santa Clara University against Serra HS. This was only our second time in school history that we have ever even made it this far. The last time was 1991 and oddly enough we played Serra and they won. Let's just say that Serra (based on what their parents & alumni were saying to the ST folks) was completely convinced they would shut us out....

Here's the 20 piece pep band that I "hand selected" that I started calling the Elite 35. Yes notice those ties. We purchased them for $6.95 as a set for Jazz Band 3 but they look awesome with the Elite 35 (I struggle with the kids wearing them since they are "Auburn ties"). We purchased them from NeckTies, Inc. you can check them out at NeckTies.Inc. (www.NeckTiesInc.com).

We have a pretty awesome and rowdy bunch of boys called the "6th Man" that attend all the games. My lovely student Dallas (in the orange face paint) is in 6th man so I pushed past security and got a quick pic with him. Since I'm standing down a row this picture makes me look a midget and him a giant!

And there's my sign. I'm not sure how this all came to be but apparently at some point I was complaining that no one ever makes me a sign or anything so Melissa my master sign/card maker/trumpet player/trombone player/drum major extraordinaire made this for me! What a nice surprise.

You may already know but you might be wondering....did we win the game?
Heck yes! Here's a video my friend Don Yellum (ST English teacher, alumi, & band groupee) shot.
The Final Seconds

Interested in seeing video of the band at the game? Our band's videographer Marty has some great videos on his youtube channel of us. Check it out Marty's You Tube Channel-mreinders

Then it was hosting the next game Tuesday night at 7pm at STHS to go against the San Francisco Section for a spot in the state California Interscholastic Federation Division 1 State Basketball Tournament. Our band expanded to the Elite 35 and we up-ed our game (and I played cymbals). Here's a few pics from that game.

Well we won that game too! Then it was go time. My friend Ben said to me my first year "Julie do not demonstrate competence. You will only be rewarded by more work". Boy was Ben right. Since I'm really functional and know how to get stuff done let's just say I assembled a small team and organized transportation, field trip forms, etc. for the team, the band, the cheerleaders, and 70 student fans & teachers to attend our next game at Sheldon HS in Sacramento. It was a lot of work but worth it. It was a super fun event. Sure, we did not win the game but hey, we made it to the Sweet 16 and for once, Santa Teresa HS came together to do something positive. In years full of tragedy it was nice to see us rally together. The band in particular had a great time playing back and forth with the Sheldon Band and their entire school were gracious hosts. It was the most fun I have had a high school sporting event probably ever...

And here's a pic of the band that night....The Elite 40 (give or take)