Hi Team,
We’re off to a promising start to the school year. And there is a lot happening behind the scenes to make this year (our 10th!) be the best yet in every which way.
School Clinic
At the moment, there is no firm date for the Band/Orchestral clinic.
We are, however, only going to do a morning, and it will be a weekday. I have suggested a Friday, so kids can take their instruments home to make a splash with their parents and all of their great learning. This will not be decided until next week (I hope), due to a 10 day rotation schedule that this school has. This means that Monday will be their 10th day, after which the school can iron out any bumps, or make changes. Once that is done, we’ll know for sure.
Since it is only the morning, we will revert to the same honourarium of last year, which was $50. The school may also get you gifts, like they did last year, and I am also investigating another option to see if we can get a bonus amount on your honourarium.
As before, we will meet early for breakfast that day.
Low-Down-Light-Schedule-Blues
Over the last 4 years I have noticed that as we head into the 3rd week of school there is often a question for some teachers with lighter schedules about where all the students are. I thought I would head that off at the pass this year, with some information that might help.
While we can’t guarantee any number of students for any teacher, we work hard to get everyone busy. There is no thing we do that isn’t reviewed and improved upon when possible, as well as new things tried to make sure we aren’t missing any opportunities.
Also, scheduling is important; not only our advertising, but those of students getting organized at the beginning of the year. Our flyer run (over 30,000 this September) has not even hit the streets yet. Also, many students (read: parents) wait (read: desperately try to get organized after summer) before choosing extra-curriculars.
All factors considered, we notice that it takes a good 6 to 8 weeks to truly determine if a teacher’s schedule can be considered lighter than desired at the start of the academic year. We also try to accommodate students’ time requests in this time-frame, even if it leaves you with gaps (which we all hate). The reason for that is that we want to appear as helpful and nice as possible – which we are – and then we can ask them to move around to your benefit, once they get used to how awesome you are.
Dinner Selections
If you have not yet made your dinner selection for the GM, please do so now. You can find the link to submit your choice on the Teachers Only page, in the alerts section.
GM Start Time Pending
I ask that you keep 6:00 onwards clear for the GM. I will be teaching in Orillia that weekend, and I am trying to sort out how quickly I can get back. As soon as I can make a reasonable prediction, I will firm up a start time.
Thanksgiving Weekend
You will also notice a colour coded list of days for the Thanksgiving weekend. Saturday and Sunday are regular teaching days, in green. There are no group programs on long weekends this year (that’s new!). There is no teaching on the holiday Monday, in red. Long weekends will generally work this way, this year. The exception is Easter, when we take the Friday as the Statutory holiday, and we do teach on Easter Monday.
Thanks, and more soon, I’m sure!
Barn.