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MSottement
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Name: Andy
Country: United States
Gender: Male
Interests: I like music, but only for a job. As a hobby, it sucks; it's time consuming, frustrating, and hard work.
Expertise: Knowing what to say to get me in trouble.
Occupation: Teacher
Industry: Education
Message: message me
AIM:  Msottement
Member Since:
7/24/2004
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| Google Images Search · google image searches for boredom Stealing this from Andrew, who stole it from Jason…and the cheese stands alone. Rules: answer each prompt, type your answer into google search, and post a picture from the first page of images from your search results. 1. Your age on your next birthday.  2. A place you'd like to travel.  3. Your favorite place.  4. Your favorite object.  5. You favorite food.  6. Your favorite animal.  7. Your favorite color.  8. The town where you were born.  9. The town where you live.  10. The name of a past pet.  11. Name of a past love.  12. Best friend's nickname.  13. Your screenname.  14. Your first name.  15. Your middle name.  16. Your last name.  17. A bad habit of yours.  18. Your first job.  19. Your Grandmother's first name.  20. College major(s).
 Well, that was fun! | | |
| Year in ReviewWell, it's been a crazy year. Most people do this in January, but it makes more sense for me to do so at the end of July, since that's when the year seems to start over.
Quick Rundown...
1) Got married to the most wonderful person I've ever met. I can't imagine how sad and unfulfilled my life would be without Kelly.
2) Moved to Kansas. I thought this would be weird, but I think both Kelly and I are very much at home here.
3) Started a new job as Choral Director at Seaman High School. I can honestly say that it is a dream job for me. Even though there is a show choir, I enjoy the students, and I think we are well on our way to making wonderful music.
4) Made friends at work. Not only the band directors, but also the "old ladies club," with whom I ate lunch several days a week. They were very informative, and always gracious in helping me!
5) Got through our first "holiday season" in Kansas. I know that it's hard for Kelly being away from her family, but I've never been more than three hours away, so this was quite a change.
6) Had to get used to being with Dave, Diane, and Markles, to name a few. After having met Jessica, she can be added to this group that we miss terribly.
7) Worked on my first musical, which was challenging both musically and personally. It's been a challenge, but one I think will get better with age.
8) Bought a house. This one was a lot harder than we thought it would be, but we persevered, and now we have our first home. Come by and see us sometime!
9) Surviving our first summer out of school. Well, Kelly's still in school, but she's not taking classes, so were learning to cope with all of this free time. It's helpful that we just moved, so we still have unpacking and adjusting to do, but it's still much different without a regular schedule and crazy-busy days.
Okay, back to watching some Hitchcock after a good morning of working!
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| Well, the school year is over. While I am relieved that I survived it, I also know that trying times are ahead. While most teachers revel in their time off for a few months, I know that I have a lot of work to do to make next year more successful than this year.
Things to do:
Visit Kelly's parents in Oregon
Come up with a show for my show choir in the fall
Come up with preliminary ideas for my other choirs
Create a curriculum for my Exploring Music class
Create the resources for Exploring Music
Come up with ideas for a cabaret with my show choir
Pack everything we own
Move it to our new house
Unpack everything we own
Hang out with my wife a lot
Hang out with Diane a lot, too
Create rubrics for performance exams
Things to do better for next year:
Get more kids involved in District Ensembles
Elect officers for each group
Have a better folder system, and number the music accordingly
Create quarterly newsletters for the choirs
Perform more for the community
Create a more efficient system for Singing Valentines
Create more musical students
Sight-read every single rehearsal
Focus more on traditional choral techniques
Be better prepared for Festival
Have a Show Choir retreat
Create choir t-shirts
Fundraise for our trip to Disney
Have more fun
Pick out better solos
Pick solos earlier
Prepare more for our musical
Be pickier with the musical
Keep better track of our money
Keep every receipt
Create more awards for the students
Have an awards banquet at the end of the year
Okay...I have about three more pages in a Word document on my computer, but I'll stop there.
Overall, I think this year was successful. I do have still some resistance in changing long-held traditions, most of the students have been understanding with the changes. In just a few years, they will be mine!
Have a great summer, all. | | |
| AuditionsAuditions were hard for me this time around. I wanted a balanced choir of even numbers, but I realized that it would result in an okay sounding choir, so I chose instead to do unbalanced girls/boys. I ended up with 11 girls and 7 boys, which should result in a blended and balanced sound. It was hard to choose who could stay and who couldn't, because I know them all this year, and want them all to feel loved and appreciated. My choreographers daughter has already complained about the uneven numbers. Why can't it be my program yet? | | |
| I think I can...I think I can...I think I can...Well, contest is around the corner. I'm combining my Concert and Show choirs and performing some tough literature, which I'm not quite sure my kids can handle: Bogoroditse Devo by Rachmaninoff, Three Hungarian Folk Songs by Seiber, Ching-a-ring-chaw by Copland, and April is in My Mistress Face by Morely. It will be tough, but I think we can do okay. I just hope they remember to think when they're singing. If they do, they'll be fine. If they don't...well...let's just hope they do. I think I've found the ideal degree for my next persuit. The only problem is that it's a Ph.D. I never even considered getting a Ph.D. because, well, because I'm not smart like Kelly. But since KU offers a Ph.D. in Choral Pedagogy, I think I might be looking into that in the near future. We'll see how that turns out. Kelly and I are looking at a house on Saturday. It's a nice little bungalow in Topeka, which would put it closer to my work, but I fear her commuting all that way. I know I don't like it very much, and I hate to put that burden on her. We'll see what she thinks of the house in person. Life is busy, but it's survivable. Let's hope it stays that way... | | |
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