BIRMINGHAM MUSIC SERVICE
Monthly Bulletin – July 2011
Please read as this publication contains information that you will need to refer to
ALL STAFF
STAFF TRAINING DAY
FRIDAY 22NDJULY
9.00am – 12.30pm
MARTINEAU CENTRE
SCHEDULE
9.00 – 9.30 / Arrival – tea/coffee9.30 – 10.30 / The Primary National Curriculum and International Curriculum: their relevance to our work – Ian Axtell, Senior Lecturer, Birmingham City University
10.30 – 11.00 / Tea/coffee
11.00 – 12.00 / Cross-departmental discussion and feedback on Training and Professional Development
12.00 – 12.15 / Summer Singalong with Ruth and Claire
12.15 / Announcements
12.30 / Finish
All permanent staff who would normally work for the Music Service on Fridays are expected to attend; all other staff are strongly urged to attend if at all possible.
PLEASE NOTE THAT, IN LINE WITH THE CITY COUNCIL’S BUDGET POLICY, WE ARE UNABLE TO PROVIDE LUNCH AT THIS TRAINING DAY
Sessional teachers who attend the Training Day will be able to claim payment of £30.00.
STAFF TRAINING DAY
THURSDAY 1ST SEPTEMBER 2011
9.00am – 3.00pm
MARTINEAU CENTRE
PLEASE NOTE THAT, DUE TO THE MUSIC SERVICE’S REDUCED BUDGET, WE ARE NO LONGER ABLE TO MAKE ANY PAYMENTS TO SESSIONAL OR PART-TIME STAFF FOR ATTENDANCE AT TRAINING DAYS OR MEETINGS. BUT WE HOPE YOU WILL CONTINUE TO ATTEND THESE OCCASIONS, WHICH ARE A VITAL PART OF OUR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE SUCCESS OF THE SERVICE.
SCHEDULE
9.00 / Arrival – registration and refreshments9.30 / Full staff training – Roy Leighton: consultant, author and broadcaster on creativity and learning.
10.30 / Refreshments
11.00 / Introduction to the year - John Clemson
12.00 / Lunch
1.00 / Departmental meetings/training
3.00 / Finish
All permanent staff who would normally work for the Music Service on Thursdays are expected to attend and a lunch will be ordered for them, unless we are advised otherwise. All other staff are strongly urged to attend if at all possible. Please would sessional staff (and part-time permanent staff not contracted to work on Thursdays) let the Office know if they are attending by Wednesday 20th July. Please would you advise the office by the same date if you will require a specialised dietary meal.
SERVICE IMPROVEMENT PLAN 2011/12
Following discussion in groups at the recent full staff meeting, staff agreed a list of priorities for making improvements within the Music Service. (This list appears as an attachment with this Bulletin). These priorities form part of the process, currently in progress, to develop the Music Service’s Improvement Plan for next year. It is expected that 2 items in this Improvement Plan will be:
1. To identify talented pupils and give them appropriate opportunities to develop to the highest levels. (Based on nos. 5 and 10 from the Staff Priorities list).
2. To develop improved procedures for Professional Conversations involving all staff.
ATL MEMBERS
As I am taking Voluntary Redundancy/ Early Retirement at the end of this term, I will no longer be able to serve you as Music Service Rep.
With all that is going on, it is absolutely vital that you find another Rep as soon as possible!
Can I suggest that all ATL members meet with me for a short time after the training morning on July 22nd, so we can set the ball rolling to deal with this?
Thanks.
ANN TEMPEST
Email:
DEPARTMENTAL MATTERS
BRASS DEPARTMENT – MARTIN ORGILL
STORE CUPBOARD
This is already very full. If you try to add anything please be very careful of other instruments or use my room.
AND FINALLY…
Though we are very close to the end of term and the school year in many respects this is the busiest time of all with so many concerts and for me of course the timetables. The galas have once again produced tremendous performances and I offer my congratulations to all staff who prepared, tutored or conducted pupils. We have so much to be grateful for; a few stories I have heard include a pupil on her 18th birthday who came along to a central ensemble rehearsal instead of having a party and another who came to BSBB’s last rehearsal instead of attending his farewell school ball. This level of dedication can be found throughout our ensembles and in schools everywhere. Pupils don’t start like this, in fact many start with very little interest in music at all but gradually their understanding and love for the subject shines through and the amount of work that takes is enormous. Each one of you helps hundreds of pupil make this journey and it is that you should be most proud of and commended for. I hope you all have a fantastic holiday, come back refreshed, batteries recharged and ready to take up the challenge again.
We also say goodbye to Katie Baker and Kate Furlong. Both have been such valued members of the department. Their commitment to excellence, their organisational skills and their substantial musical skills have been a great credit and an example to us all. I know that everyone in the brass department wish you well in the future and I hope you both go on to even greater things.
KEYBOARD AND GUITAR DEPARTMENT – NICOLA WALKER
Well here we are at last………….the final bulletin for this academic year!
I know that most of you have been (and may still be) very busy arranging performances and concerts for all of your pupils, both in schools and for the gala concerts. I have been involved in some and been in the audience of some and as always the end results display on a huge scale why we are all in this job!
Well done and a huge ‘Thank You’ to you all.
NEW ASSISTANT
I am delighted to say that I didn’t have to twist any arms this year to get any applicants!!! I am sure you will all join me in congratulating Adam Hickman, one of our guitar teachers, for interviewing successfully for the position of Assistant to Head of Department for the next academic year. I think this year, more than ever before, I will be very glad of assistance, and I know you will all give Adam as much help and support as you can, whether you are in the guitar or keyboard section of the department. A big thank you also to Baden who I know will be happy to pass on any pearls of wisdom he may have acquired in the role this year!
ELECTIVE INSTRUMENTS
As I write this I have still not heard from many of you about any need for extra instruments for elective pupils next year. We do have limited resources for these but I need to know asap to guarantee delivery in time for the new term. If you have collected any surplus instruments, i.e. from cancelled schools, please make sure you let me know so that I don’t order new instruments unnecessarily. Stuart Birnie and I have decided where instruments will move to where it is a WCIT class moving to a new school, but any small group instruments need to be re-used where necessary. There is very little storage here at the Martineau, so please don’t just turn up with a large number and expect to find a space to put them. If you can possibly hold on to any over the summer that would be very helpful!
TIMETABLES
I think I have probably said this every July, but this year, preparing the timetables is going to be the most challenging task yet for Heads of Depts. Please be patient and try to appreciate the immense logistical problems we may face. Some schools have made very specific requests regarding staffing and days and times of delivery, we are piloting ukulele for the first time, we have some schools cancelling, we have some new schools ordering, it goes on…………..
I am devoting the last week of term to attempting to fit bits of the jigsaw together for September – but we are still awaiting a good number of orders from schools!
It would help me if sessional teachers could email or text me any days they would not be available in September before I allocate a particular day if necessary. I will assume you are happy to do any day unless you let me know to the contrary.
Part Time contract teachers – could you confirm with me which days you will be working please, although I know some of you prefer to spread your work across the week.
Farewells and Get wells!
We wish Leeming Chong and Frances Griffin a speedy recovery following their recent spells in hospital, and we say a sad, reluctant goodbye to both Rob Southern and Rachel Fisher. I hope all goes well for the future!
LOOKING FORWARD
The future is still a little hazy for us, but I feel privileged to be the Head of a Department of such a hard working and dedicated team of teachers. I know that you will continue to support Music Service events and get fully involved in Department Training days in order to keep pushing our department forward.
Have a wonderful summer, and I look forward to seeing you all July 22nd, then again on 1st September!
Children retain 10% of what is told to them, 40% if there is a visual aid, 60% if there is a story, and 90% if they sing it. ~Elder Boyd K. Packer
STRING DEPARTMENT –ROBERT JONES
MESSAGES FROM ROB:
What a lot is going on at the moment…so apologies if I have missed something out! – It seems like the year is just beginning again!
WELCOME BACK
Welcome Back Sally! We missed you loads! Great to see you in the office again J
THANKS
Thanks for the Timetable and Elective information sent in; it has all been noted, thanks! Any more elective information?-zoom it in to us ASAP! Re electives, try to ensure instruments are in place/retained for next year.
SCHOLAR CONCERTS
What a successful series of concerts! How satisfying to hear all those pupils with great potential performing to such supportive audiences. Well done to all pupils for performing so well – there were some very high standards; good work to all staff for preparing pupils thoroughly and to such a high standard, top job accompanists for sight-reading so well and being so cool on the night, and thanks to all staff who supported the concerts-brilliant!
MEETING
We had a very useful staff meeting on June 20th; thanks to all attendees for your contributions and also to the staff who sent me their apologies.
We had presentations on 2 new resource sharing ideas, and discussion of our event for next year - details as set out below.
Briefly, we discussed targets for next year, and concluded that observing live lessons was an extremely useful exercise for all; indeed, this idea is being rolled out in other departments. Next year we will focus on 2nd year learners, posture (including seated posture for upper strings), and continuing recruitment drives for Central Ensembles (e.g. ‘real’ violists at higher levels) – recruitment for BSJSO was a real success, but we need to keep doing it!
There were also discussions about starting pupils at a younger age, particularly at Y1 or even Reception; the idea being that by y4, playing is really established, leading to pupils entering BSJSO at a younger age and continuing to take lessons beyond Y6 and the change to secondary school. There was a call for some extra training on this, and a call for examination of teaching instruments to pupils with SEN. Also, upper string teachers need to keep remembering their target of 20% viola players.
There was further brief discussion on the Religion/Music issue, and I re-released a document originally given out by Robert Bunting several years ago; there are more copies in the office if you did not get one.
Emily Baptiste presented a really good resource she has developed for Y5 whole class electives featuring ABBA - based on Paul Douglas’ idea we saw at Christmas: What an excellent resource, thank you for sharing this Emily – can we share this in the DropBox?
2012 EVENT
Secondary Starters are welcome to attend Area Groups for ensemble experience, but we propose a Secondary Starter Event for November (the same time as we held Fiddlesticks this year). Ed Smith has volunteered to help enable this, and we decided that it would be best to aim for around grade 1 – 3 standard.
WALLWISHER
Go to www.wallwisher.com/wall/bmsrobjones to post any wishes, congrats or resource links you may have; just double-click on the wall to create a virtual ‘post-it’. You do not need to log in.
DROPBOX
If you install the DropBox BMS String Resources on your computer you can have instant access to shared resources, such as PowerPoint presentations, music arrangements etc. You should have had an email inviting you to join; contact me if you did not receive one.
Latest resources include the trial resources for Trinity from Madeleine Casson, plus a feedback form for you to email to her if you have any views on them. Also, I have added the syllabus and guidance notes for the new ABRSM lists – there are new violin pieces, plus new scales, aural and sight-reading requirements for all instruments from 2012; go check now!
Don’t forget, if you are using any of these resources, please ‘COPY’ them to your own folders before altering them, otherwise the changes will be saved to the DropBox. Do NOT ‘CUT’ or ‘MOVE’ the files – they will disappear from everyone else’s DropBox folder if you do!
I am sure more resources will appear as the summer holidays pass; do feel free to add useful files.
LIBRARY OF AREA ENSEMBLE RESOURCES
Many thanks go to all who contributed to the new Area Ensemble resources library. It is an invaluable resource available for all area coaches to browse. If you do any arrangements which you feel may be of use to others, please add them in!