April 2019 Newsletter

Spring has arrived!  Beautiful colors are popping up all around, the fragrance of orange blossoms is sweetening the air, children are getting restless for school to end and there is evidence of new growth everywhere you look!  At this time of year, we not only recognize natural and physical growth, but family calendars are filling up with numerous events that evaluate, recognize and celebrate academic growth as well.  Many students across the valley are currently taking the AZ Merit test in an effort to prove that they actually learned something at school this year!  Many students are making preparations to graduate and take the next academic or life step ahead.  Music and dance studios are busily polishing up numbers for spring recitals.  Sports teams are competing for division titles.  It is the season for demonstrating growth!
DVMTA has three remaining activities that celebrate and award the hard work students have made in their music studies this year – Awards in Excellence, Achievement Day and Awards Plus.  I hope that all of you have students participating in at least one of these awesome events!  They are each unique in their ability to provide the perfect way to award students for their musical growth.  Unfortunately, deadlines have passed for entering students in these events this year, but here are some suggestions, beyond the typical spring recital, of other things you might try in your studio to celebrate student growth this year!

1. Make one lesson at the end of the year a Mini – Achievement Day to evaluate whatever skills you’d like to test in your individual studio.
2. Hold an end-of-year group lesson with refreshments for the students with games and activities that celebrate the things they have learned during the year. 
3. Issue a report card praising the growth students have made on various music skills throughout the year.
4. Distribute special ribbons or awards at your end-of-year recital to celebrate specific areas of improvement for each child (memory skills, technique, sight-reading, theory, etc.)
5. Make an audio recording of each student’s recital pieces and create a permanent file that can be added to each year.  Have students critique their own performances to help set goals for next year.
6. Assign a piece or two to review from last spring and have the student reflect on how the piece “feels” this time around – what skills has s/he gained that makes it easier a year later?

No matter what you do, make sure to find some way to celebrate how far each student has come this year.  Musical growth is often difficult for students as well as parents to easily recognize, so it is definitely important to assure them that all those lessons have been worthwhile! 
 
Carolyn Rooder
DVMTA President 2018-2019

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