FREE concert!

Mark your calendars now. 

The world famous St. Paul Chamber Orchestra to perform free holiday community concert Dec. 19
The following event is co-sponsored by Blaine High School and endorsed by Anoka-Hennepin orchestra teachers. Anoka-Hennepin families and community members are encouraged to attend this free event.
 
The public is invited to attend a free holiday community concert performance by the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra on Wednesday, Dec. 19 at 7 p.m. at Blaine High School.
 
The orchestra, conducted by Mark Russell Smith, will perform the following musical pieces:
“Brandenburg Concerto No. 3” (Bach)
“Dumbarton Oaks” (Stravinsky)
“Air” (Bach)
“Christmas Concerto” (Corelli)
“Winter” from The Four Seasons (Vivaldi)
“Emperor Waltz” (Strauss, arr. Schoenberg) 
 
Tickets are free, but reservations are required. Call 651-291-1144 or visit: www.thespco.org   to make reservations. The Blaine High School auditorium has approximately 900 seats, so make reservations as soon as possible.
 
Blaine High School is located at 12555 University Ave. in Blaine.

Levy Information DIscussion

We here at school are trying our best to keep our parents and community informed about why the levy is important and what a yes or a no vote will mean.  We want you to make an INFORMED decision, so please plan to attend a levy information meeting.  There are lots of rumors floating around and mis-information.  Please take a few moments to learn about the levy. 

There is a Levy information meeting on Monday October 8th at 7pm at Eisenhower Elementary.

• Learn how the levy and bond questions will affect your school
• Learn what a "yes" and a "no" vote will mean
• Ask questions
• get information on voting. 
  

Thank you for your support of your child's education. 

Levy Information

This is VERY important information. Please share it with your friends and neighbors. If you have any questions about the Levy, please call or email me.

Why are there four questions on the ballot?
Citizens want choice. That’s what the School Board learned when a referendum levy of just one question failed in 2001. Following the failed levy, the school district surveyed voters and found that choice was important to them. Having four questions allows citizens to choose the level of support they feel is most appropriate.

Questions 1 and 2, which provide revenue to keep current educational programs intact, must pass before Question 3 can pass. Question 3 reinstates free transportation for students who encounter traffic hazards on their walk to school, reduces high school activity fees by half, reopens closed swimming pools and reinstates swimming instruction in middle schools. It also provides support staff to keep technology running in the schools and assist teachers in integrating technology into their teaching. Question 4 provides updated computers for student use and improves the student to computer ratio from nine students per computer to five students per computer.

Just Married

This past weekend was very exciting for Mr. Weller. He tied the knot with his lady love Elissa. It was an amazing celebration filled with friends, family, and (of course) lots of great music. Now he's back at work ready to tackle the school year with his full attention.

Another new year approaches

Greetings to one and all!
I can't believe that it's almost time to start school again.  This is going to be an amazing year and I am anxious to get started! 

Here's some news about Mr. Weller as we begin a new year together:

• I'm getting married on Sept. 8th (yes, I know it's terrible timing, but there's a story)
  
• This summer I completed my 3rd year of Orff-Schulwerk training and am now a fully certified Orff-Schulwerk teacher.
  
• I also completed my Master's Degree last June at St. Mary's University
  
• Third grade music classes will be twice a week for 30 minutes this year instead of once a week for 60 minutes.

The last point is the one I am totally excited about (well besides getting married, of course).  This means HUGE things for your children at Jefferson.  Now that I see them twice a week (just like I did in 2nd grade) they will be able to continue the breakneck pace of learning this language of music that they have had for the past 2 years.  I had found it frustrating in the past to see my 2nd graders further along in the curriculum and far more competant than the 3rd graders by the end of the year...just by the sheer fact that I saw them more often.  A huge THANK YOU goes out to the 3rd grade classroom teachers who agreed to the crazy schedule I developed. 

That's it for now.  Be sure to come and see me at open house!
Mr. Weller :)

Choir...one more thing

The Jefferson Choir will be performing one more time this year. We have been asked to sing at the Volunteer breakfast on Friday May 11th. Please arrive at school at 8:45am and we will go and sing a few of our songs for our wonderful volunteers!

2nd Grade Demo Concert May 3rd

Arts and Academics night is fast approaching us. As has become tradition, the 2nd grade classes will present a demonstration concert. This concert is more of a demonstration of what we do in class than an actual performance...the idea behind the performance is to show parents and community members what we accomplish in the music room in 2nd grade. It's a fun time for me because I get to let the kids show off what they know and it's fun for the kids to share their experiences in music class.

So mark your calendars now for May 3rd and plan to attend to see what your child has been up to.

Choir

The Jefferson Choir this year is starting off strong! I am so excited to have over 90 kids participating! We barely fit into the music room. It's going to be a powerful sound.

New Email Contact List

Welcome to a new year in the Music room!! Forgive me for not updating the blog in a while. I have developed one new way of keeping in contact with all the parents...an email contact list. If you would like to put your email on this list, just follow this link. Please know that your email address will be kept confidential and only be used to inform you of homework assignments, class news, etc.

Still looking for comments and feedback from parents on this blog to help me know if it is a useful tool for communication. You can email these comments to Mr. Weller or you can just click the "comment" link below this blog post.

Thanks!