President's Message

The 2021-2022 school year- what a beautiful opportunity to begin again! Thanks to the current climate of our world, we, as music teachers, are faced with the constant requirement to continually adapt and modify our music-making experiences without sacrificing the meaningfulness and richness of our programs. It is exhausting! But this year, I encourage you to shift your focus away from politics and debates, mandates, roadblocks, and discontent to simply embrace the beauty and the joy of the content we chose to pursue and teach, remembering why we do what we do and who we do it for.

Recorders for All!

District Provides Recorders for all 4th Grade Students

Have you heard the big news? Every 4th grader in Hillsborough County will have their own personal recorder this year! Supervisor of Elementary Music, Tracy Lisi answered some questions about how this all came to be.

How did all of this come about? Where did the funds come from?

"I had a meeting in the fall of 2020 with David Cox from Gasparilla Music Foundation, Chris Farkas Chief of Operations and Corries Culpepper, Director of Safety to discuss our partnership with Recycled Tunes and the potential donation of Electrostatic Sprayers for Music Rooms. It was during that meeting that sanitizing instruments was discussed. We talked about everything to do with sanitation of instruments. The district asked me which instruments we were unable to play in the elementary music room at that time due to Covid. I expressed that recorders were difficult to use at that time and that we did not have the proper sanitation supplies in place to re-use them. Mr. Farkas and Mr. Culpepper discussed the cost of cleaning supplies vs. the cost of each student receiving their own recorder and it was determined it was more cost effective to purchase recorders for each student. Although the meeting with GMF was intended for something completely different, it sparked great conversation with Operations and Safety. The district funded the purchase of the recorders."

How many recorders did the district purchase for the 4th graders in Hillsborough County? Did all schools receive them?

"17,500 recorders were purchased for the district. All 4th graders received them in traditional elementary and K-8 schools. Additionally, ESE and Career centers also received recorders for their elementary students."

What is the desired outcome of providing all 4th graders throughout our district with their own recorder? Why 4th grade specifically?

"First and foremost, safety and equity were top priorities. I chose 4th grade specifically, because at the time of the proposal for recorder purchase, the Florida Orchestra Youth Concert guide was in the beginning stages and had recorder lesson plans included. Additionally, I felt the recorder would be a great "tool" for students to experience grade-level specific content like treble staff note names, time signature, composing and arranging to name a few."

Is this the first time instruments were provided to schools on this magnitude?

"The district provides all furniture and equipment (instruments) to schools when they are built and the cost is far more substantial than the cost of this bulk recorder purchase, but yes, to my knowledge, this is the first time individual instruments were purchased for a select group of students."

Is this something you hope continues for future school years?

"As with every big purchase, it's important to track data. If we see that the recorders were utilized district wide with positive results, I will most certainly continue to pursue future funding."

Welcome to QuaverMusic!

Greetings, HCPS Music Makers!

On behalf of the Quaver Support Team, we are super excited for all of you to have access to this wonderful resource! Hopefully, you have had time to explore Quaver and check out some of the great things it has to offer. There are some great pre-made lessons in the Quaver Curriculum section of the Teacher Dashboard to get you started

As you get more comfortable with Quaver, you may want to start importing some of your favorite resources from outside of Quaver to use in a lesson. This is where the “Resource Manager” and “Resource Creation” tabs at the top of the Teacher Dashboard are going to be your “Home Base”.

Have a look at the “Quaver PD” section (also at the top of your Teacher Dashboard) for more information on how to make the most of this feature. One of the things that sets Quaver apart from previous adoptions is the Interactives. These allow your students to “show what they know” with any lesson topic as well as create with features like QGrooves where they can create their own music similar to Garage Band.

Learning a new resource can seem a little daunting and we are here to help! Please ask any questions in the Quaver section of K-5 Music Teams or the HCPS QuaverTeachers Facebook page so that one of our Q-Team members can assist you!

Happy Music Making!

Recipients of this Year's Recycled Tunes Donations

Recycled Tunes is a great project started by the Gasparilla Music Foundation that has put instruments in the hands of students across Tampa Bay. Read the stories of some of their recent donations below and be sure to check out their website here.

"Recycled Tunes is such a generous organization. They donated 2 electric guitars and 2 acoustic guitars to my school and as a result, I now have enough guitars for a full class of students. My students and I really appreciate their support."

"I can't say enough great things about this organization! They put instruments into the hands of students and teachers. When I found out that a violin and mandolin were available I jumped on the opportunity. We now have a violin at my school to help teach students about the string family of the orchestra and a mandolin which is used to accompany our students while they sing! Thanks Recycled Tunes!"

"I reached out to Recycled Tunes at the end of the school year in May and they worked hard to be able to donate 4 new xylophones and 18 new tubano drums to our program at the beginning of this school year. Our school's music program will be able to advance musically, collaboratively, and reach a wider group of students with our new instruments. This wouldn't have been possible without the amazing help and dedication from Recycled Tunes!"

HCEMEC Grant Recipients

Professional Development - Orff Level 1

I am writing to you with the deepest of gratitude. I was blessed to be chosen as a grant recipient for the 2020-2021 school year. As a result of being selected as a grant recipient, I was able to attend my Orff Level 1 Workshop in Gwinnett County, Georgia. To say that this workshop changed my life is an understatement! It was exactly what I needed to be inspired and encouraged going into a new school year.

In my time as an educator, I have had a brief understanding of the Orff process through teachings from my colleagues and my own discoveries. Before attending the workshop, I was curious to see what I already knew about Orff Schulwerk, and what I could gain from formal training in the process. From day 1 of this workshop, I realized that I had barely scratched the surface! Through many hours (60 to be exact) of movement, composition, singing, recorder playing, and studying, I made a discovery: I want to bring this type of music making to my students!

One of the biggest lessons you learn throughout your training process is that Orff Schulwerk is all about students natural ability to make music. So far this year, I have been amazed watching my students take creative control in the classroom with very little instruction. My students are moving freely to music, leading vocal warm ups, and have shown little fear to try new things and create knowing that there is a safe and wide open space to do so. I love seeing what they come up with! Moving forward, I plan to continue to develop my students musical repertoire, allowing them to continue to take the lead, and create on their own. At the end of the day, our ultimate goal is to help our students develop a love for music making.

This workshop was one of the most fulfilling and positive experiences of my educational life. I not only gained a plethora of knowledge and resources, as well as a true understanding of the Orff process, but I was able to collaborate and learn with educators from all over the state of Georgia, which in itself was an amazing experience.

This was all made possible by the support and generosity of our incredible music council. Thank you for providing me the opportunity to learn and continue to grow in our profession!

Professional Development - World Drumming Level 3

I attended level three world music drumming certification thanks to the professional development grant from the Hillsborough County Elementary Music Educators Council (HCEMEC). Level three certification is not like levels one and two, where you achieve it and move on to the next. Instead, it is a lifelong continuation of multi-cultural music and study through song, dance, and instruments.

I first attended level three in 2019, where I learned various songs, dances, and pieces that significantly improved my skills as an educator. In 2021, we went on to learn new things to pieces shared in 2019 and some new pieces. The most profound impact of taking the world music drumming certification, specifically the upper levels two and three, is the impact on your pedagogical approach to students. Once you start to learn the process that a majority of our students and the cultures they represent study music, you quickly begin to help students achieve mastery of music that would otherwise seem out of reach. You find yourself authentically teaching the culture and music appropriately, which significantly impacts the represented child.

In a world that is ever-growing and more diverse each day, it is crucial that we find ways to accommodate each student's individual interests and needs while including their cultural backgrounds because many families still practice the musical traditions of their culture. Thank you, HCEMEC, for the grant opportunity, which allowed me to attend level three to continue growing as an educator, musician, and advocate for diversity

Instrument Funding- World Drums for Maniscalco K-8

Sharing instruments among students is never ideal, but due to budget constraints, it is often necessary to reach our learning targets in music education. Last year’s Covid-19 protocols cast a spotlight on our limited number of World Drums for our students at Maniscalco K-8. Luckily, the Hillsborough County Elementary Music Education Council (HCEMEC) sponsors an annual grant for its members to either pursue professional development trainings or to purchase equipment. My co-teacher and I applied for an equipment grant last year and to our surprised delight, our grant was approved!

We purchased small Remo tubano drums for our elementary music classroom. We hinted to our students that a great surprise was on its way to our school. They were so happy when the drums arrived. They couldn’t wait to play them! By not having to share drums, no instructional time was lost, and the students could play during that portion of the lesson without stopping. Having more drums increased student learning, performance and helped them make music together as a community.

On behalf of our Maniscalco K-8 Mustangs, we thank the HCEMEC for the grant!