It's Friday!

Hello all!

I type this from my hotel room in sunny Orlando, Florida from MENC's Centennial Congress. Actually, the Centennial Congress and subsequent National Assembly meeting wrapped up last night (Thursday) with a tremendous gala dessert at Epcot Center. It was french-themed and we had a french musical ensemble complete with a french musical ensemble as well as a mime. I have to say the mime was one of the best mimes I've seen and he was also hilarious!! I hope to post some pictures either later today or first thing next week (imagine white pancake make-up, black and white striped shirt, red beret and you're there).

The dessert wrapped up two days of intensive National Assembly meetings where state leaders used a variety of technology as well as a lot of discussion to talk about MENC's draft strategic plan. It was very busy time and yesterday the busiest of all as we worked to get everything taken care of for the last day.

I have to give a shoutout to MENC's Director of Conventions, MJ. MJ did a fantastic job coordinating this four day meeting and is truly impressive under pressure. When problems arose these past four days (because they always do in event planning) she swiftly and calmly dealt with them. She also has a fantastic ability when working with the conference center staff to be calm even in the face of errors and issues. And thank you to my fellow MENC staff at the convention EWL, ML, MB, and JJM -- we make a great team and thank you all for your help and great attitude this week!

I also want to thank the Disney staff for their impeccable service. They were so nice and helpful at every turn and really just jumped in to help including looking for lost items, helping make ballot boxes, carrying heavy items, procuring drinks when we couldn't leave the desk and so much more! Thank you Tim, Ross, Wallington, Eddie, Lionel, Nick, William, and all those whose names I've forgotten because it's 7:21 am!!

And of course the biggest thank you goes to all of the MENC members that made this such a great week--from MENC President Lynn Brinckmeyer and all of the members of the National Executive Board to each and every member who spent time, energy, and money to come give their input on the direction of the association. Thank you!!!

Must dash -- we have a plane to catch!

Around the water cooler: We actually did have a water cooler in our storage/staging room this week! And sitting around it were lots of boxes because we certainly weren't!! hahaha!

Thursday Interlude:The Bands Played On

National Anthem Project Singers and Drum Corp International Ensembles rehearse in Annapolis for the Grand Finale of the Project, "DCI Salutes America" on June 16 in Annapolis, Maryland.

Hi From Hazy, Hot and Humid Reston:


Not that I am complaining or anything. I grew up with the three H's in Kansas City, Missouri, so moving to the DC area a little over 20 years ago, was not a huge shock. Earlier in the week, it was beautiful, warm and sunny with low humidity. I was surprised as how often I was able to drive around without my air conditioning on (Yes, I feel guilty about global warming and am trying to reduce my carbon footprint, a phrase that I admit is relatively new to my vocabulary.)

Then came Tuesday and it was sticky. I am talking sticky—hair drooping, energy-sapping sticky, so I succumbed to the AC. Last night when I picked up my son Matt from baseball practice it was humid and in the low 90’s even at 7 PM. As he walked toward the car, dragging his equipment bag, he looked as if someone had dumped a bucket of water on his head. No such luck I discovered after he stowed his stuff in the back of my mini van and I got a whiff of him as he climbed into the car. He and his teammates are getting ready for their last tournament of the season in late July, so they are drinking lots of fluids and practicing in the early evening when it is (a little) less muggy.

It sounds sticky in Orlando, too, but I am happy things are going well at the Centennial Congress (see EWL's report two posts below). As one holding down the fort in the aforementioned hot and humid Reston, I was able to watch some of the Webcast Tuesday and it was fascinating. (See SR's report below).

I finished the August Teaching Music news pages late last week and as I look at spread of the pages on the wall opposite my desk, I am pleased with the results.

There are so many good photos and good stories about the great teachers and students I met in the past month, on the telephone and in person. If you were one of those fantastic members, thanks for talking to me. I can’t wait to see the printed, color version next month. Let me know what you think. My e-mail is rozf@menc.org.

My work this week includes preparing photos and stories from the National Anthem Project finale in Washington DC June 14–16 for the online version of my news. I will let you know when the updated version has been posted.

Oh, what the heck. I will share a few photos with you now, like the one at top of the page. On June 16, the three days of the National Anthem Project Grand Finale ended with a collaboration between MENC and Drum Corps International at Navy-Marine Corp Memorial Stadium in Annapolis. It is where the Mid-Shipmen of the U.S. Naval Academy play football and lacrosse, though not at same time.


I had never visited the beautiful, historical stadium, so that alone was really fun. MENC presented the National Anthem Project Road Show, complete with “Star-Spangled Banner” karaoke and the National Anthem Stage where singers won a medal for belting out the national anthem. We had soloists, school groups and whole families earn their medals. There lots of other activities and booths for the groups wandering through.

On that Saturday afternoon I split my time between the Road Show area and the field, where talented members of DCI ensembles played and the National Anthem Project finale attendees rehearsed for the opening ceremony. It was fun watching the rehearsal, which were energetic, but also well-organized. Music kids, you could tell, were great at following directions, even though there were hundreds of them on the field.


After a powerful version of "The Star-Spangled Banner," with the singers and drum ensembles performing together on the field, the young singers in red shirts settled in to the stands for the opening night of the DCI 2007 Summer Music Games Tour. The tour began that night in Annapolis and continues throughout the summer. The singers made a great audience, too, waving their yellow programs and cheering loudly for their favorites throughout the evening.

Over the next few weeks, more than 5,000 young people aged 14 to 22 will perform in stadiums across the United States, as part of a DCI tour that will end August 9 in Pasadena, California, in the Rose Bowl. DCI calls it "Marching Music's Major League."

The DCI ensembles that performed one dynamic routine after another on June 16 were: The Spirit from Jacksonville State University in Alabama; The Glassmen, Toledo, Ohio; The Carolina Crown, Fort Mill, SC; The Cadets, Allentown, PA; The Bluecoats, Canton, Ohio, and the Cavaliers, Rosemont, Ill. I got to take the photos from a deck atop the stadium, which was really cool. I loved watching the patterns the ensembles created and the music sounded great, too. I will have more photos in the aforementioned MENC online news.

In a close race , the Cavaliers, pictured below, won the Annapolis, competition, "DCI Salutes America." MENC President Lynn Brinckmeyer, MENC President-Elect Barbara Geer and MENC Executive Director John J. Mahlmann presented awards to the six ensembles on the field.


For more on the various ensembles, upcoming performances, and other DCI information, visit DCI
Well, that is about it for this week.

Hope your summer is going well, whatever you are doing. Something tells me, somewhere, somehow, music is involved.
Toodles,
RF

ps. Fav. webcast highlight!

This is ARN and thank you to Sue for a great recap of yesterday's webcast! I wanted to add my favorite Huckabee line ... "Music and the arts are weapons of mass instruction ... and these are weapons we've found!" Hahahaha!

Midweek Meanderings and Miscellany XV: It's all Local! Finally Funding for FRSS! and....No Water Cooler!!

Since we last wrote.......

MENC has been a ghost-town, of sorts! Since last Friday, with exec staff on their way to Florida, the level of "background hum" is considerably lower! (to say nothing of the parking lot being considerably emptier!).

We did have our summer social last Thursday, in honor of the solstice, courtesy of MENC's publications department, who showered us with watermelon, brownies, ice tea and music! Singing In the Good Old Summertime, the MENC Centennial Canon and the National Anthem!

Friday, EH showed us a DVD collage of media coverage from the National Anthem Finale - what great footage! MENC hopes to get it up on the MENC website soon for all to enjoy!

Tuesday 26th, MENC set up a live web link for staff here at the national office to watch/participate in the Keynote address at the Centennial Congress in Florida. We were able to watch and listen as former Governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee addressed the Congress regarding music ed advocacy...and Anne Bryant, Executive Director National School Boards Association, and Brenda Welburn, Executive Director, National Association of State Boards of Education added their thoughts about strategies for dealing with local and state school boards.

I share below a few points that stuck with me. Hopefully, there will be a transcript or some other summary of the talks soon available on the MENC website or news pages....

Huckabee talked about how music is a life skill, a life long skill, not something you learn in school and then forget; he listed three points to remember:

1. real change is deployed at the LOCAL level, not the federal, and that is where influence from the community supporting music should be directed. Huckabee says the battlefield for winning the "get music into every school at every grade level K - 12" is at the LOCAL and state level. Policy is driven at the state level, innovation is at the state level. So, we need to PUSH at the STATE (and district) level. Not so much at the Federal level.

2. "You only fund what you force" - that is, build a mandate into the law and that will force the issue, and the money should follow.....push the issue!

3. you only improve in the games in which you keep score - that is, find ways to keep score and build community pride in the program - score the value of the arts program - performances, assessments, show cases....show it makes a difference!

Huckabee talked about "Play it Again, Arkansas!" a program where the state ran a used instrument drive, asking folks to donate old instruments they might have sitting unused. Music vendors across the state volunteered to fix these unused instruments, and donors got a tax break. The repaired, donated instruments were then distributed to school band directors in Arkansas, and when Gov. Huckabee visited the Arkansas All State festival, the director told him that the student who was first chair in the All State band had, one and a half years prior, not even had an instrument, as his parents couldn't afford it - and now, he was All State first chair! Talk about making things happen!

He spoke of building a bi-partisan coalition, a bi-partisan team. NO ONE OWNS this issue! It's a UNIFYING issue!!

When asked how to get the governors and local government officials to listen - he said, governors are competitive; they watch each other and see what is working in other states; they like to win. So, find a way to push your governor, find someone who knows him/her, convince your governor and leaders by building a coalition in the community.... make it easy for them to WIN at this issue......make it easy for your governor, school board, or district personnel to sell the idea to those higher up.......figure out what the community cares about, and present your argument and a win/win solution the government official can take to his higher ups. HELP the school boards and superintendents, show them that if the kids succeed, THEY succeed. Show them that the KIDS are the constituents!

Finally, Huckabee gave an example of how to deal with community members who may say they don't have kids in the system, don't care, don't want to help, tired of paying taxes for education, etc........he said remind them that future of our country depends on the education kids get today....that the kid serving burgers or working at local shops are kids in school NOW, and WILL be the doctors, businesspeople, mechanics, you name it, workers of tomorrow. That your life may depend on these kids, and it's in your best interest to care about the type and quality of education they get. The better educated they are, the better YOUR future as a citizen in this town/country is. Services and skills will be accurate and high with a good education - of which music is a huge part!!

ANNE BRYANT of NSBA mentioned, among other things, that a year or so ago, she asked a Disney executive, who does Disney hire? And that executive told her, we don't hire the MBAs, the accountants, the IT people - we hire the musicians and artists, because we can always teach them the other skills.....in essence, they wanted creativity in their new hires.

Brenda and Anne were asked what forms of evidence are most persuasive for local boards? They answered that while data is certainly good, stats, etc., legislators also LOVE the stories, so don't leave out the stories!

OTHER ITEMS OF NOTE:
Finally, GOOD NEWS!! Quoting from the MENC June 2007 Legislative Newsletter:
"On June 7, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (LHHS) passed the Fiscal Year 2008 (FY08) budget, and as part of this, they designated $2.2 million for the Fast Response Survey System (FRSS) which would allow enough money to perform the long-overdue FRSS in the arts, the last of which was done in 1999-2000" (see this link: http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/frss/publications/2002131/ ) and 1994 http://nces.ed.gov/pubs95/95082.pdf

"This significant success is a direct result of the intensive efforts by the arts education community, including MENC, over the past several years! "

I say YAHOO!! Boy, do we need stats and data on what's happening in the arts in our schools. This is GREAT NEWS!!!

CLICK HERE to register to get the MEMO

RESOURCES FOR PONDERING during summer days:

Musician Health
click to see the MENC Position paper on this topic

and read a short article (note: scroll ALL the way to the end of the page once it opens, article is at the end!) about hearing loss in musicians, and the program at the University of North Texas Center for Music and Medicine

NYTIMES Chamber music: is it dying?

ROCKERS ON TV by Steven Van Zandt

And see Little Steven's Underground Garage!

WATER COOLER
Did you know that MENC has, in fact, just ONE water cooler?! (bubbler, fountain!) for the three floors. I guess according to health codes, the ratio of staff to fountain is adequate. And it seems most non-work conversation actually goes on in the hallways, in the kitchens, between cubicles, and out in the lobby, rather than at the bubbler! Stay cool !

See you next week! SR

Reporting from Orlando

Wish you were here! We had an exciting first day at MENC's Centennial Congress. I wish I could tell you more about the substance of the event, but my co-workers (MJ and fellow bloggers ARN and ML) and I were kept very busy at registration most of the day as the attendees arrived. Today we're involved in the Webcast featuring Mike Huckabee, Anne Bryant, and Brenda Welburn, so we'll get a better idea of what's going on behind the confererence room doors.

I do know that folks are having a good time. One member raved to me about yesterday's address by music education historian Michael L. Mark, and apparently the discussion groups were productive and lively. Monday evening, we all celebrated MENC's birthday with an old-fashioned picnic -- hot dogs, hamburgers, ice cream bar, and birthday cake, along with barbershop quartete singing, jugglers and magicians. (Fortunately for me and my hair, the picnic was actually inside in the air conditioning. We do not do well in the Florida summer climate.)

So I learned at the picnic that I am no good at "Launch the Lobster." Dr. Mahlmann suggested I try this game, and I completely whiffed the target on the first attempt. Very embarrassing. Subsequent tries were not much more impressive. I think I was a little better than ARN at least. Board member Barbara Payne McLain revealed a previously-hidden talent for this game, putting the lobster in the pot two out of three tries.

It is a real treat to get to visit with so many long time and new MENC friends. As I approach my 16th anniversary as an MENC staff member, being here at our Centennial is a wonderful reminder of why I am so proud to work for music education. I'm in touch with members all the time via e-mail, but it's great to connect in person with all these folks who do such important work.

Here are some great pictures! More to come! - EWL

Working the registration desk

The women of the NEB

Selling Centennial items at the picnic!

Not from My World - but almost - Keokuk II

Today, as you can see, Harley and Dr. M - are working, like really, really hard, at the Centennial Celebration in Orlando, FL. SO, Harriet Mogge is filling in for us and submits this report about activities surrounding the Keokuk II Symposium and her participation representing the MENC staff.

I was invited to attend Keokuk II to represent the MENC Headquarters office. I accepted with glee, and then started figuring out my travel schedule. It was one of those “you can’t get there from here” puzzles! However, I was determined to get there from here! After all, anyone who could attend a MENC convention at only 3 months old could certainly manage to get from Reston to Keokuk!

And what was happening in Keokuk? It was a historical symposium to celebrate the 100th birthday of MSC—MSNC—MENC! Organized by the History Special Research Interest Group of the Society for Research in Music Education, one of several research groups within MENC, it honored those who met there 100 years ago out of love for music and teaching, and a desire to learn from each other. Guess what – MENC members still do that today!

The event started with a reception Thursday evening in Meyer’s Courtyard, a very old building with a wire cage elevator to take us up to a beautifully restored reception room. The mayor came and spoke to us, as did the executive director of the Visitors Bureau. Both had been involved in the planning for our meeting. We all enjoyed beverages and "goodies." It was a good mixer for people to meet -- there were some researchers from overseas joining us also.

Friday and Saturday were sessions one right after the other, like the SRIGS schedule at convention (but no poster sessions!). Lunch both days was catered in the lobby of the hotel -- delicious! We had lots of fun with sing-alongs at lunch, accompanied by a guitar and accordion. Unfortunately, Friday’s plaque dedication was inside since the weather didn't cooperate. However, Jere Humphrey of Arizona State University, History SRIG national chair and organizer of this Symposium, had a grad assistant with him who is a technical whiz. A few of us went to the special centennial plaque, installed at the corner of Blondeau and 4th Street, unveiled it, and shot video. They went for David Circle's power point computer and created a little "show." Not the way it was planned originally, but a fun presentation shown in our big meeting room at the time scheduled for the unveiling. It was a great success. The Keokuk High School Choir, directed by MENC member Daniel Proctor, sang two numbers – glorious!

That evening (Friday) we had our banquet, prepared by the same church congregation that hosted our founders in 1907. This was in their "new church" built after the original burned in 1963. They enjoyed the replay as much as we did! Then into their large, beautiful sanctuary with a gorgeous three manual organ in the rear balcony -- a local MENC member is their organist and she played prelude and postlude for the concert. We enjoyed the Clark County High School Jazz Ensemble from neighboring Kahoka, Missouri, the Southeastern Community College Chamber Choir from West Burlington, Iowa, and the wonderful New Horizons Quartet “Tempered Brass” from Iowa City. These four “elders” were fantastic! Music is indeed for all generations.

The Symposium ended with two general sessions late Saturday afternoon. First was “Perspectives on American Music Education—Past, Present and Future” with our national president Lynn Brinckmeyer, national immediate past president David Circle, and national president-elect Barbara Geer, along with “Mr. MENC History” Dr. Michael Mark. The final session was “Music Education in the United States: Views from the Outside.” Panelists were researchers from Reading, United Kingdom; Mannheim, Germany; Victoria, Australia; New Brunswick, Canada; and a Michigan educator who is a native of Ireland.

Some went over to Nauvoo, Illinois, for dinner that evening, but I did not since I had to leave very early Sunday morning. It was time to reverse my travel itinerary and get from Keokuk to Reston via car and two planes. Could I get there from here? I certainly could, and was privileged to do so. Thank you for the opportunity, MENC!

Harriet Morgan Mogge, Retired MENC Staff

I love rock 'n roll

Hello all!

I want to tell you all about yesterday. Yesterday was cool. And it was cool for a number of reasons.

Yesterday Steve Van Zandt came to talk with us about a possible collaboration with his foundation on a series of lesson plans on rock and roll. For those of you who might not know him, he is a brilliant musician most famously known for playing in Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band as well as from his work playing Silvio on the Sopranos.

Because it was about a potential collaboration, several department heads attended including EWL and myself. I have to say that I was quite impressed with the plan his team laid out. He'd already reached out to, and partnered with, Scholastic who are well-known in the education world for their quality materials. They also understand the need for standards-based information in doing these lessons so I'm hopeful we can all work together in the coming months as it seems these will be great tools for students and teachers alike! What a great meeting!

Steve also understands how he can help music education and his role in doing so. He is willing to come to Capitol Hill to talk about music education's importance and knows that Members will react well to him as a celebrity. He also wanted to know all about what's going on in music education policy and was very thoughtful about helping us further our agenda. Again, what a great meeting!

Plus, we had lunch catered in! What a great meeting!

And then when I got back to my desk I couldn't sit down because I was so excited about all of the good things for music education and educators. What a great meeting!

And a picture!!! What a great meeting! (sure there may have been a few other people in this picture besides Steve, EWL, and I...but I'll never tell!!)


Around the water cooler: LOVE So You Think You Can Dance...if you're not watching it...you should be! It's such a wonderful showcase of dance on mainstream television and you learn so much about the different dance styles.

Midweek Meanderings and Miscellany XIV: Summer Solstice, MENC "Lite", and Glastonbury Fayre

In honor of the Summer Solstice today/tomorrow, I'm keeping today's entry as light and breezy as I can!
This is for sure a meandering and miscellany!

Passing thoughts/comments!
* The photos of the National Anthem Finale last week are fantastic, almost (almost!) like being there. Be sure to check out the upcoming magazines and webnews for the photos!
* It's just a routine week on my end of things, keeping on with requests and follow up with surveys and info. Looking ahead to what will be due....soon!
* Staff summer social tomorrow to celebrate summer, and to send off staff heading to Florida for the Centennial Congress! (I see paper money in the denomination of ONE GAZILLION with picture of an MENC female leader on it, being produced in large quantities at the desk of LE, trusty assistant to MB - - hmm, are they really going to work or play games down at Disney??!)
* Staff to gather today at 11am to practice singing the MENC Centennial Canon for singing during social!

* ML wrote Monday in her blog how long time MENC stalwart retired staff member Harriet Mogge helped MENC with the Centennial preparations recently. Harriet has stepped in and up to the plate on numerous occasions for MENC since her retirement! When I was first hired back in 1999 (by fellow blogger EWL, thank you!), our department was fledgling and behind in its work, and Harriet M was on board to help us get up to snuff. I credit her with helping me understand a lot of how MENC works, and helping me navigate my first month of answering member requests! Thank you, Harriet! Hear Harriet's interview with EWL, on her lifelong connections with MENC, on the MENC PODCAST for May! (go to MENC's homepage, and click on PODCAST link on Right hand side of page!)

* Last few weeks I've been talking about surveys MENC has done, and how great it is to get member feedback/ideas. Did you know that you can always give us feedback? Just click on the MUSIC Box to send your thoughts!

FLASH: "NON-LITE"
NEW STUDY REVEALS STRONG RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN QUALITY MUSIC EDUCATION
PROGRAMS AND HIGHER STANDARDIZED TEST SCORES - funded by the NAMM Foundation under its "Sounds of Learning" initiative, and was published in MENC's Winter 2006 Journal of Research in Music Education

Click HERE for more info
About the NAMM FOUNDATION


Around the Water Cooler
As my time allows, I peruse/read a lot of arts journals and on-line arts websites, list servs and newsletters, always seeking useful/helpful info members can use in advocacy efforts or the classroom. Usually I run across some interesting fact or article which seems worth sharing. Here are a few "LITE" tidbits (and be sure to check past SR blogs for other "lite" and "not so lite" resources!)

SICK PUPPY FESTIVAL (it really is about music!)

NEW MUSIC how to respond

Please, don't forget THE COMPOSER!

GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL (formerly known as Glastonbury FAYRE) - "largest greenfield music and performing arts festival in the world" - started 1970 two days after Jimi Hendrix' death. Held over summer solstice weekend the following year and since then. Quote from website: "It's like going to another country. It involves travel, and probably a queue to get in. Then you enter a huge tented city, a mini-state under canvas. The Law still applies, but the rules of society are a bit different. Everyone is here to have a wild time in their own way. The site has distinct socio-geographic regions". Check it out!

History of the FAYRE

KT TUNSTALL on the Glastonbury Festival (KT, of "Black Horse and Cherry Tree" fame, made more famous by Kat McPhee's version on AI 2006). Sounds like someone living in Sgt. Peppers Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds!

Enjoy the longest day of the year! See you next week! SR

My National Anthem Project Finale Experience!

I wasn't sure the Grand Finale of the National Anthem Project would ever really happen. We posted the first Web site for the project in April 2004. The official campaign launch was in March 2005. The Road Show went on throughout 2006. And suddenly, after literally years of meetings and trips and press calls and Web updates, we really were at the Washington Monument on June 14, 2007, with 5000 students from 42 states, all in their campaign T-shirts, all singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" with the U.S. Marine Band, Mrs. America, and the Oak Ridge Boys. It was a truly special occasion for music education!

I personally had a terrific time running one of the interactive games for kids with staffer NS, doing a little patriotic karaoke with staffer SM, helping our government relations team (fellow blogger ARN/CW/HS) welcome Members of Congress (this involved waiting on the corner of 15th and Independence til a car stopped and someone important-looking got out), and singing the national anthem along with the crowd (and my sister, who walked over from her downtown DC office to join us).

Thanks to MENC staffmembers BS and (fellow blogger) RF for taking so many fantastic photos. Many more will be posted in the August Teaching Music online news and on the National Anthem Project Web page soon!

Now I must make press calls for next week's Centennial Celebration. (Don't forget to register to join us for the live Webcast on June 26 -- there are still some free connections available for members.) Will blog to you from Orlando next Tuesday! Onward!! -- EWL

P.S. Speaking of press calls, MENC would like to hear from members who have had particular success working with the media to publicize the need for the community to support school music. If you have a story to share (possibly for publication in Teaching Music), please e-mail me at elizabethl@menc.org. Thanks!

Good Morning from My World

WOW - all of us got through last week without any scrapes, bruises, or booboos. Well, kind of -- Harley is still staring at the big red sun patch on ANR's face. But you know, he is red and he thinks she's in love with him and trying to look red just like him. I don't have the heart..... Speaking of red, remember last week I told you all I have the red phone. WELL, we had to use it last week to get help in here to assist in putting notebooks together and getting boxes packed to go to the Centennial Celebration which begins next week. Well, my trusty assistant # 2 Harley got the phone out and called for Harriet Mogge. She came right over and helped out. Thank you, Harriet!

More and more boxes were packed while other staff were down in DC for the finale of the National Anthem Project -- also a lot of red. Do we have a theme going on here? Yes, a sea of red everywhere in my world! OK, back to reality. We also had the MENC Finance Committee in the office to review the draft budget -- NO, let's not talk about red - nope, not on the topic of the budget..... President Brinckmeyer, Immediate Past President Circle, Pres-Elect Geer, and North Central Division President Patch were working on the budget from Thursday afternoon to Friday afternoon. The budget that they reviewed and revised will be the one that the National Executive Board will act on this coming weekend. The Board begins meeting over dinner on Saturday, June 23, and will go until noon on Monday, June 25. Me, myself, and Harley will fly down on Saturday morning to Orlando. By Sunday a number of the staff bloggers will be together: ARN, EWL, Harley, and me. Also down there will be MJ, MB, Dr. M, and 200 of our closest friends.

See you next week. Leaving you with one more photo of our bestest friend Harriet helping us out with notebooks and more notebooks and more notebooks.

Finale Fireworks

I have to say it--The National Anthem Project Finale was spectacular. Really spectacular. Everything came together so perfectly--the kids, the teachers, the weather, the Oak Ridge Boys, the "President's Own" Marine Band, the VIPs, the press, and the Members of Congress.

Articles:
National Anthem Project -- Video of Morning Event
Students sing national anthem at Washington Monument
Singing along to the national song
Hundreds Of Children Commemorate Flag Day
and many more!

The congressional side of things was an adrenaline filled 35 minutes and so I will narrate using a "time line" sequence. But first, let me set the scene.

It was a sunny day that began cloudy with cool and comfortable temperatures. Our heroine, me, decided to bring along a rain coat as the ground was still wet and the clouds had yet to part. Sunscreen was forgotten (my skin saved by HS bringing an extra tube--too bad I missed a spot on my face-now bright red). SKJ was a busy bee flying around as she was one of the event's planners along with EH. HS, new addition to the department, was in charge of the congressional check-in while CW and myself would be escorting the arriving Members of Congress. Senator Larry Craig (ID) was scheduled to speak at the press conference that began at 1:45pm. Representative Dennis Moore (KS) was set to arrive to meet with MENC Past-President David Circle at some point. Representative Jerry Moran was set to arrive to meet with a school group from his district--25 or so kids somewhere in the mass of 5,000 kids--all wearing red shirts.

1:30 pm -- CW calls for update from Craig's office, but unable to reach his contact. A good sign, but contingency plans for teleprompter and Dr. M finalized. All while the Marine Band performs.
1:40 pm -- Craig's office calls and says they are five minutes away. CW and ARN pace nervously and ARN finds back way onto stage for minimal travel time from car.
1:43 pm -- Band finishes two minutes early. Press conference begins! Remainder of MENC staff begin to pace.
1:44 pm -- Craig arrives! CW apologies for rushing the Senator and the kind-hearted Senator says not need to apologize and runs with CW using back path.
1:45 pm -- Craig calmly sits in chair on stage and speaks eloquently a few minutes later. CW and I let out huge sigh of relief. Feet hurt from running in heels.
1:48 pm -- Rep. Dennis Moore arrives escorted by blogger EWL. Introductions are made and quiet jollity ensues as Rep. Moore is an old friend of the project.
1:54 pm -- Rep. Moore slips into VIP seating with David Circle.
1:58 pm -- Oak Ridge Boys come on stage and make brief comments about the project.
2:00 pm -- Thousands of red t-shirt clad students, parents, teacher, and onlookers sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" together.
2:01 pm -- HS brings Rep. Jerry Moran to stage. I jump a stone wall in a skirt suit to find his students before they leave! Thank goodness CW and I had planned ahead so I knew where they were.
2:02 pm -- Sen. Craig gives comments on camera. CW takes him to see Oaks as they are old friends. Find Kansas students for Rep. Moran before they leave and get them to stay. Student steals teacher's cell phone from his pocket without him noticing.
2:03 pm -- Rep. Moran talks with students and takes pictures in front of the monument.
2:05 pm -- CW makes mad dash to Capitol Hill to facilitate meeting between school group and Senate office.

So while it was only 35 minutes...it was intense! I need to watch the video of the event because I missed most of it running around. And I have to include this picture of Sen. Craig on the left because it's just so great.

It doesn't end there! Today, the school groups are doing patriotic music performances at the national monuments. SKJ is escorting Mrs. America, Marney Duckworth, to go see the different groups and has been so kind as to send me a photo. What an amazing experience for all of the students and teachers!

And then tomorrow we have the kids all participating the Drum Corps International competition in Annapolis, Maryland to wrap it all up!

Around the water cooler: Water cooler? Was there a water cooler at the Washington Monument? I must've missed it. A special thank you to ML for my present -- a red, Swingline stapler!!!!

Thursday Interlude: The Grand Finale!

Happy Flag Day Everyone! This post will be a bit brief because as soon as I write this I will leave to go downtown. The Grand Finale of The National Anthem Project is in Washington DC. on the Washington Monument grounds this afternoon. The day started with about 1,000 music students at Fed Ex Field in Landover, Maryland, creating a giant map of the United States with words O, Say Can You See in the middle. Just before I left home I saw the kids on my local ABC-affiliate television station. Breaking news permitting, Good Morning America was expected to carry reports this morning, too.

The big finale this afternoon will be at the monument, though with a concert featuring "The President's Own" United States Marine Corps Band, the Oak Ridge Boys and more than 5,000 student musicians and music educators from all over the United States. We also have some elected officials, MENC leadership and other dignitaries coming. I am very excited to be going and taking pictures. I will have a two page spread of photos and information from the finale today, tomorrow at monuments around D.C. and Saturday at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, that I will include in the August issue of Teaching Music.

My week has been nuts, but fun and I wrapped up interviews, wrote stories and laid out the news pages for August and pages, except for the National Anthem Project stuff are out in the building for people to read. I went downtown to a hotel in DC on Monday to interview MENC member Andrea Peterson, the National Teacher of the Year who is a music teacher from Granite Falls, Washington. She is so great, high energy, focused, but also funny. I can see why the kids, parents and other teachers in her district like her so much. Look for a story about her in the August TM, along with a great photo BS took.

Well, gotta go. Hope Flag Day goes well for you, wherever you are. Music Education Rocks!
More later.
RF

Just a brief addendum to yesterday's Grand Finale. The day was fabulous. I met and interviewed so many wonderful music educators, not to mention students and parents who were thrilled to be here and be a part of the celebration. It was a day that made me proud to work for MENC.
Seeing a sea of red National Anthem T-shirts against the backdrop of the Washington Monument was breathtaking.

Look for lots of coverage in the online news soon at and in the August Teaching Music news, which is scheduled to go into the mail in mid-July.
Toodles again,
RF

Midweek Meanderings and Miscellany XIII: Peanutbutter Coookies, "Healthful Milk" and Server fritz!

It's a crazy week here, in fact, crazy two weeks to come, and perhaps to help allay stress and help fortify staff, Dr. Mahlmann treated the staff to “Healthful milk” and peanutbutter cookies yesterday in honor of National Peanutbutter Cookie day. Maybe we were overfortified, as the MENC server crashed and we've been without email (a lifeline to the outer world!) since noon on Tuesday. Yikes! And what a week! Webinars, three day National Anthem Project grand finale this week, NEB finance meeting, strategic planning finalization, budget finalization, notebook for Centennial Congress finalization (see ML’s blog of Monday)…..busy busy busy! The staff of the Executive, Special Programs, Public Relations, Government and Conference Department are all on full drive/overdrive, and my hat is off to them! Not easy to do what they do.....good luck and kudos! (I'm sure music teachers reading this understand this sense of wearing many hats, being their own PR, executive, finance, programming department all rolled into one - talk about being pros!!)

Speaking of pros....and hats off.....there are a few other people here at MENC who quietly and efficiently and effectively keep this place humming along.....membership processors, memberservices reps, accountants and financial folks, publications editors, administrative assistants, receptionists, the IT and mailroom guys who keep us connected to the outside world, the production and web folks, the directors of these departments....all parts make the whole! Makes MENC an interesting place to work! (if I’ve forgotten anyone, I’m sorry, I get fogged in with all the info swirling around in the Info/Research Dept!).

Had a great email from a 30 year member who contacted us a couple weeks back for advocacy help, programs being cut…..her email was telling me how well the meeting went – one school board member showed, but 125 other folks –parents, arts people, you name it – and they had a long and productive brain storming session about what to do …..had her entire quote to share with you, but the MENC server is down, so cannot get at the email just now – may post it later...worth reading.....good solutions and approach. Really great to hear news like this, and an unusual solution! Yay to long time members and all members who work daily to keep music alive!

Recently got the results of a member survey sent to 5550 members randomly, about possible celebrity spokespeople for MENC…..the most frequently suggested person was Wynton Marsalis- and a good cross section of conductors, composers, jazz folks, opera, classical musicians, and tons of pop musicians and a good number of American Idol contestants! (as well as a few movie and TV stars/personalities.....) Don’t know if MENC will pursue any of these options…but thanks to the many members who took the time to give us feedback, it is so valuable and so interesting! (by the way got about 574 responses…..)

REFRESHMENT around the WATER COOLER
Remember (if you watched) the April 24 episode of American Idol, “Idol Gives Back”? The performance that most stayed with me was the African Children’s Choir. I found their website, as I wanted to know more. Great info here: CLICK
They are amazing, they're orphans and war tramatized kids, you'd never know it from their smiles and joy. Talk about the power of music!

Speaking of Africa and singing - read this great article "Why We need Choral Music - Ubuntu", by Steven Fisher CLICK

Wonderful poem, The Junior High Band Concert, courtesy of the Writers Almanac. In the archive, check the posting for June 7. It's worth a read! CLICK

Good article about taking music lessons and practicing! CLICK

SEE YOU NEXT WEEK! SR

Sopranos ... and More

Straight to the water cooler this morning -- I loved the finale of "The Sopranos"! I thought it was perfect. Actually, I know of only one other person on the staff who watched it (that would be fellow blogger RF, a great person with whom to be stuck in Beltway rush hour traffic on the way to a From the Top taping), so that has limited my time at the water cooler -- which is actually good, as there are a million things to do this week. Anyway, I thought the whole series was fantastic, including the use of different genres of music throughout. Almost every week, I found a new favorite song during the closing credits. I'm sad it's over, but it was a great run.

Back to the real world. Last week, MENC's friend Chely Wright held her annual fundraiser for her music education foundation. $185,000 was raised and will go to help struggling school music programs. Congratulations and thank you, Chely!

I received some photos from the Keokuk II - Centennial Symposium for MENC (which took place May 31-June 2) courtesy of National Executive Board member Joyce Patch. Here's a look at the new marker that was dedicated on the site of the original meeting of music supervisors that led to the creation of MENC. Thanks for sharing this, Joyce! A report on the symposium will appear in August Teaching Music with an expanded version online later this summer. Look there for lots more photos.

I'm off to a meeting of staff attending the National Anthem Project Grand Finale day after tomorrow. Have already had the weekly Web meeting this morning, and later on today is the monthly journal design/content meeting. We're also in the final preparation stage for the MENC Centennial Celebration. If you're not joining us in Orlando, please make sure to participate virtually! You can log on to a live Webcast to see keynote speaker Mike Huckabee and a panel of experts on June 26. This opportunity is free to the first 200 members who sign up!

I'll close with a little joke that came to me in an e-mail last week. Onward -- EWL

A managed health care company president was given a ticket for a performance of Schubert's "Unfinished Symphony." Since he was unable to go, he passed the invitation to one of his managed care reviewers. The next morning, the president asked the reviewer how he had enjoyed it, and he was handed a memorandum, which read as follows:

MEMORANDUM

1. For a considerable period, the oboe players had nothing to do. Their number should be reduced, and their work spread over the whole orchestra, thus avoiding peaks of inactivity.

2. All twelve violins were playing identical notes. This seems unnecessary duplication, and the staff in this section should be drastically cut. If a large volume of sound is required, this could be obtained through use of an amplifier.

3. Much effort was involved in playing the 16th notes. This seems an excessive refinement, and it is recommended that all notes should be rounded up to the nearest 8th note. If this were done, it would be possible to use paraprofessionals instead of experienced musicians.

4. No useful purpose is served by repeating with horns the passage that has already been handled by the strings. If all such redundant passages were eliminated, the concert could be reduced from two hours to twenty minutes.

5. This symphony has two movements. If Schubert did not achieve his musical goals by the end of the first movement, then he should have stopped there. The second movement is unnecessary and should be cut.

In light of the above, one can only conclude that had Schubert given attention to these matters, his symphony would probably have been finished by now.

Jumping the shark and up a tree in my world with a red phone

Hey ANR -- Forget the red stapler - you are no one till you have the RED phone! The RED trimline with letters that say "Emergency" phone, no less - don't really remember where Harley and I grabbed it.....an elevator you think?

OK, now where to begin... right now at this very minute I am in the belly of a shark and Harley is up a tree. So many things are happen'. The crunch is on for copying a gazillion things for the upcoming meetings in two weeks.

AND, on top of all that-- yes, you guessed it (or not) we will have the Finance Committee in to review a draft budget for the operations of MENC. The Finance Committee is made up on the national president (Lynn Brinckmeyer), the president-elect (Barbara Geer), the immediate past president (David Circle), and a division president (Joyce Patch). They are responsible for presenting a budget to the National Executive Board who will discuss and then vote on it and we will then have an operating for the next fiscal year. They will begin meeting during the National Anthem Grand Finale this week and then come to the office on Friday.

Speaking of Friday, we have to have these gazillion copies and things stuffed and packed so they can be shipped to Disney's Coronado Springs Hotel for the upcoming Congress and National Assembly. So this will be short since I have no idea how to key in a "gazillion" in the copy machine who has a mind of its own. Harley is protesting that he wants to go visit Paris in the pokey. Oh well, that is a whole nutter topic in a stream of unconsciousness. I'm going to jump the shark. Have a great week friends - maybe next week I will take a photo of my red phone and show ya i really do have one.

Supplying the Office

Hello all!

Have you seen the movie Office Space? It's a sardonic look at the work environment. One of the characters is Milton and he has a red Swingline stapler that he is very protective of.

With our new employee, HS, getting into the swing of things this week, we were thinking about office supplies this week and it got me thinking about how everyone has their own likes and dislikes when it comes to supplies. I have a black Bostich rectangular stapler, but if I had a red Swingline stapler I would definitely protect it!

This week HS put in an order for office supplies. We have two different ways of ordering supplies. We have an in-house supply closet run which you can "order" supplies from twice a week. For things not in-house, we do a special order for.

So we needed pens! You see, sometimes one leaves a pen at another's desk during a meeting and then that person starts using that pen. Often, those are the pens that become one's favorite pens--of course.

We also discussed pen color this week because we didn't know if the department wanted all of the same color pen ordered or different colors. I like black and don't like blue. It's usable, but I will seek out the black pen. Apparently I'm the only one who really cares...so we have black pens now! There was an ink vs. ballpoint debate as well which the black pens were split upon.

I'm also a big fan of the blue sharpie and prefer staples to paper clips. In the comment section below list what office supply you couldn't do without!

In other departmental news, we are actually going pretty crazy in our department with The National Anthem Project Finale. SKJ is manning the helm and CW is securing congressional attendees so everything is gearing up for next week! It's going to be an amazing couple of days and I hope you can participate--even if it's just in your classroom at 2:00 pm ET on Thursday singing the anthem with us. We also have something exciting legislatively in the works, but I'll keep you on pins and needles until it's confirmed.

Around the Water Cooler: So You Think You Can Dance starts in earnest on Wednesday! Be sure to tune in to see dancers from all different genres take on different styles of choreography!

Thursday Interlude: Lights, Action—No Camera

Small confession. I love (with a capital L) writing behind the scenes arts stories. During my years as a feature writer at The Kansas City Star, I often wrote stories about the arts. Among my favorites were interviews with lighting, set or costume designers for various theater productions. And I loved to pick the brains of actors and playwrights. I am no James Lipton, but I got pretty good insights into what the lighting added to a certain scene or how integral the music was to moving a story along.

I also wrote about how art exhibits were installed a the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, attended sound checks and rehearsals for various groups that rolled into town for stadium shows at Arrowhead (where the Kansas City Chiefs football team plays. ) Whether it was watching the meticulous uncrating of a priceless painting or roadies tripping over cables while setting up equipment, I like taking people back stage with me.

So I am pleased to be able to take you along to a taping of the From the Top public radio show Wednesday night The Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda, Maryland. The show will air in October. I will let you know when closer to the date. In case you don't know From the Top is a non-profit organization that encourages and celebrates the commitment of young people to music and the arts through a variety of media, including nationally broadcast television and radio shows, education programs.

MENC works with the From The Top producers and with MENC members who write lesson plans for the weekly hour long shows. FTP producers graciously provided tickets for the show and EWL, NS and I attended the taping last night. Strathmore is a young performing space, a soaring musical hall of blond wood and purple seats that is both majestic and welcoming.

Hosted by talented pianist Christopher O'Reily, the show features teenagers who just happened to be amazing classical musicians. One last night was Eun-Hye "Grace" Lee, a 17-year-old pianist from Los Angeles who mesmerized the audience with "Sonata for Piano, Op. 25, IV. Fuga: Allegro con spirto" by Samuel Barber.

The night of music just blew me away. The young people produced music that was so passionate and heartfelt, not to mention exquisitely played (and sung—baritone John Brancy was wonderful), that no one really had to be told to clap louder.

I can't wait to hear the radio show. It was fascinating to watch the From the Top people work—silently guiding the students on and off the stage and from one microphone to another. I was also surprised to see that O'Reily actually sits down to play the From the Top theme at the top of the show. He played another piece as well that was short but thrilling.

The warm-up guy was funny as he gave us "rules" for participating in the show. Loud cheering and clapping were encouraged. And, oh, yes, turn off those cell phones. I would share some photos with you, but well, you know those warning about flashes harming the performers? No photos. I was really out of luck because my digital camera and phone are one and the same.

O'Reily was jovial and welcoming with the young virtuosos, including working with violist Paul Laraia, a member of the Newman Advanced Study String Quartet from Wayne, Pennsylvania. They went through a top 10 list of things you don't say to someone who has just concluded a performance. I won't spoil all of the fun, but one of them was "Did they let you warm-up first?"

I can't wait to hear it on the radio in October. Oh, and in case you are wondering, with just a handful of minor recording glitches, it took about 90 minutes to tape the 60 minute show.

Til Next Thursday
RF

Midweek Meanderings and Miscellany XII: Summer Breezes, Summer Lull!

You can feel that "end of school year" feeling even here at the National offices; you know, the workload seems to get "lighter"! (even the days get lighter.........until June 22, when they start getting shorter again!). The number of incoming requests from teachers and students has lessened (although the ones that do come in are usually a bit more complex, as some teachers/schools are now figuring out how to cope in the face of budget cut decisions)....and even responses to surveys indicate schools are closing and folks are winding things up in the classroom until next year.....and the honeysuckle which has been crazily prolific and heavy scented the last couple of weeks is finally receding from its intoxicating lure, and letting the lush green foliage take over with its whooshing of leaves in the wind (trees look like big ocean waves, all swaying in unison in the fresh strong summer breeze...."clapping their hands" (paraphrased from "The Peaceable Kingdom") - - makes you think of swinging on a hammock out in the back yard with a good book and glass of lemonade, watching the clouds drift by.......

Monday, a request came in from a current collegiate MENC member who is graduating, and starting his first year teaching in the fall. He was looking for resources to set up his elementary music classroom, wanted to be fully ready to roll come fall! Talk about eagerness, excitement and wanting to be prepared! I hope he's able to do what he wants in his classroom and gets the funding and support he needs and wants! In referring him to a few sources, looking through a few websites and catalogues for this student, it reminded me of how much joy I used to get out of elementary music class (seeing pictures of rhythm instruments, recorders, song books in the catalogues.....). It reminded me of the fun we had had back in school, music time was the best thing! How we loved to use the (old fashioned) painted and grooved wooden sticks (lummy sticks?) for clacking together in beat to the songs, the tambourine, the Orff instruments (oh, to be chosen to play the Orff! me, me!! hands going up wildy!), singing the rounds and piano playing!

Looking through the music vendor supply catalogues on Monday, I wanted to buy EVERYTHING in them, and set up my OWN classroom at home for ME to play and make music in! ;-} (but really, would LOVE to give it all away to kids, if I were a music teacher, I'd so spoil my kids with "stuff" to use in the classroom! Watching little kids make music, singing, and then the little ones dancing and responding to music is one of the rare beauties of life!).

So! Back to reality....with this little lull in the rush of member requests, with most surveys sent, and results coming in or in already, there's time to catch up on back requests, and look ahead a bit and try to plan for projects/work in upcoming months. It seems we'll barely get caught up and on course, when mid August, suddenly, there's an upsurge of requests, as more schools are starting the school year in August.....I used to plan on doing long pushed-to-the-back-burner projects in the "summer", meaning July and August, but now I'm the wiser to know that it's really more like June and July when things are a bit quieter, and it all starts again in August! (of course, when MENC National Assembly happens in July, or other executive level functions come onto the radar, as they are this year with the Centennial Congress and surveys for National Assembly, there really isn't much of a lull at all!)

One of the surveys that recently came to conclusion is the May on-line Question of the Month, on the use of sacred music in the classroom, classroom management, out of pocket expenses, and overtime work for the music teacher. We've asked these same questions two previous times, and as in the past, have received some of the highest response rates from members in this voluntary on-line survey. 765 responses this year! Hoping to publicize some of the results in the October news pages in Teaching Music, and eventually, hopefully on the website so members can read how others are dealing with these issues. It's so helpful to hear back from our members on all these issues! Thanks to all who responded and shared!

AROUND THE WATER COOLER:
Best summer song: "Summer Breeze", Seals and Croft

Click to see more songs with seasons in the title!

Remember "In the Summertime" by Mungo Jerry? If you've never heard, you've GOT to! Will bring a silly smile to your face! (can't link to it cuz it's on commercial sites...but you can easily find it on the web!)

What's your favorite song about summer? ! (write to info@menc.org to get a link to a neat interview with Daniel Levitin (mentioned in EWL's blog yesterday) about music, memory and emotion!)

Picking up on EWL's mention of the Beatles' Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band album - June1, driving home, heard great BBC radio program about the making of the album (Links to all BEATLES stuff - please write to info@menc.org, because me and technology don't mix and this blog won't take my links!)

The BBC commentary talked about how for this album, a 40 piece orchestra was hired....they interviewed some of the musicians who were in that orchestra for this album! They commented that to them, it was just another gig, and some of them did their 10 - 5 with the Beatles, then went off that evening to another gig! For the song "A Day in the Life", the orchestra was requested to come in full concert dress. The producers/Beatles had re-created a party atmosphere in the studio for the recording of this song....colored lights, party hats, soda/beer, and members of orchestra and production team had to wear false mustaches, noses, etc. For the famous "sound of car crash" (or however you want to interpret it!) orchestral part in between verses, there were 40 empty measures to be filled by the orchestra. George Martin instructed the orchestra to glissando from the very softest they could play to the loudest......

This commentary so inspired me, when I got home, I informed my husband that June 1 was the 40th anniversary of the album, and we promptly put the record on and sat and listened and remembered and got recharged as my husband sang Paul's bass guitar line while imitating his picking, and I did my famous pretend to be their back up singer gig - imitating John's nasally drone and Paul's old-timey vaudevillian sound....

And as if that wasn't enough, Sunday 6/3, on Washington's 100.3 FM, their Beatles Brunch featured more of the history of Sgt. Pepper, with actual interviews with the Beatles about the songs. Did you know "Good Morning" idea came from a cereal commercial? And they ended the show with a GREAT live version of "It's getting better all the time" that Paul did on a recent tour.....and finally, John on tape, with his 4 year old son Sean singing "I get by with a little help from my friends" .

Anyway, "We'd like to thank you once again" (quoting the Fab Four).....for being members and reading this blog! Hope your summer is off to a good start!
See you next week! SR

40 Years Ago

Two momentous events occurred on June 2, 1967. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was released, of course. It was also the birthdate of one of my favorite musicians and friends, Nerissa Nields. This past weekend, I attended the Herndon (VA) Festival to catch Nerissa and her sister Katryna perform a set of their original alt-folk-rock music. The sisters are also children's music performers, early childhood music educators. and have contributed to MENC's public service announcement series, Why Music? Of course seeing them at this time of year was a chance to congratulate Nerissa, as I do every year, on having such an utterly cool birthday.

Sgt. Pepper got a lot of press in the last week. The Washington Post had a great op-ed about why the music of the Beatles will stand the test of time. (No argument from me about that.) The author is Daniel J. Levitin, a former record producer, now a professor of psychology and music at McGill University in Montreal and the author of "This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession." I think I will have to check out this book.

In other news, it turns out that spelling is just a hobby for Evan O'Dorney, the winner of the 2007 National Spelling Bee -- his favorite subjects are music and math. (Thanks to a blog reader for this excellent tip!)

Wednesday of this week, From the Top is in town for a radio show taping at the DC area's newest fantastic performing arts facility, Strathmore Music Hall. I've decided to go and see for myself what is happening that can't be seen on this wonderful radio show.

I did clean the litter boxes, dog beds, etc. out of my office over the weekend and got them to the Washington Humane Society, so it's looking a little more professional in here. Good thing, too - it's going to be a busy month of meetings, projects, etc. And of course, the National Anthem Project Grand Finale in just over a week and then shortly after that, I'm off to the MENC Centennial Celebration.

Onward! -- EWL

How many notebooks in my world?

Last week was really super for getting things done around here. Now, how many notebooks could surround me in my office? Notebooks include: 1) Board Book; 2) Chock-full-of stuff; 3) National Assembly; 4) Centennial Congress; and 5) National Nominating Committee. These add up to a total of just about 450 notebooks. NOW, if stacked on the ground, they would reach 29.5 feet high or 9.83 yards headed upward toward the stars. OK, I did create this weekend and my head is still in stars and I would rather be at home playing in the craft room which is basically out-of-control - yes, for those who know me, like my office is at the moment.

However, getting back on topic. You will see from this photo that my trusty, amazing, spectacular, and capable assistant, PS, is taking the first batch of notebooks to the Fed-Ex box. Now, where am I? Well, behind the camera capturing this moment for you as PS trudges across the parking lot to the box...... Like, where else would I be. I was assisting and picking up all boxes that dropped. Harley's mouth just dropped open, like he doesn't believe me.... in fact he is hopping on his harley and getting out of dodge before I pack him in a notebook.

This week we (PS, Harley, and Me) will be concentrating on getting the 400 notebooks started. We have many of the inserts that will be going into it. These will end up being shipped to the Centennial. In my world, MENC President Brinckmeyer and MENC Executive Director Mahlmann are in Indiana at the Conn Selmer University. They will be returning the middle part of this week which means I need to get as much done today and tomorrow as possible. You all have a good week! I have just decided to hop on the Harley bike and head out with Harley! See ya later.