Dear SongWorks Family,
I know most of you have finished or are closing out the year soon. One of my favorite activities to end the school year was to have an in-class talent show. Many students were unprepared or too shy for the big all-school talent show that our parents hosted at the high school but were more than happy to perform in front of their classmates. Teachers often gave up all or part of their conference period to come and watch and support their students. The secretly talented pianists always surprised me the most! The days were filled with singing, skits, jokes, magic tricks, cheerleading and tumbling, playing instruments and more. And often matching costumes for the groups of dancers! If we had a talent show, what would YOU be willing to perform? You can have your chance at the banquet of our in-person conference in Dallas, April 9–10, 2027!
Anna and I want to take this opportunity to thank Rachel Gunderson for her work on the Presidential Team for the past four years. Rachel has done a tremendous job of mentoring the two of us and keeping us smiling and giggling along the way. We also want to give a big shout-out to Lisa Schoen and Alice Nordquist for organizing our Virtual Conference Series last month! Many members assisted on the Conference Planning Committee, but the conference wouldn’t have been possible without the leadership and guidance of Lisa and Alice. And we must include a gigantic thank you to Alice’s husband, Nathan Daniels, who handles so much of our technology that it would take another paragraph to list it all! Lisa and Alice have generously agreed to plan our next in-person conference in Dallas, April 9–10, 2027.
At our April membership meeting, we had an election and welcomed Kathy Walton to the Presidential Team as our President Elect. Kathy is a veteran teacher who will contribute new insight, strengths, and wisdom to our organization and represent us well as our President after our in-person conference in Dallas, April 9–10, 2027.
Are you getting the hint yet? Start saving now so you can join us in Dallas for the next SongWorks Conference in 2027! Did you know that it’s April 9–10?
But before that, make sure you come to Salt Lake City this July for a SongWorks Certification course. Our newest course, SongWorks in the General Classroom, will meet at the same time as Level 1: SongWorks in Action and Level 2: SongWorks for Musicality. Executive Director Betty Phillips and our fabulous SongWorks faculty want to see many new and familiar faces this summer!
I hope that you have a restful summer full of whatever you want to do, whenever you want to do it! Enjoy your time gardening, reading, volunteering, vacationing, SLEEPING, swimming, cooking, and maybe even a little planning for the upcoming school year…or not!
Blessings,
Natalie Neugent
SWEA President
