Talented music educators lead marching bands in 2020 Rose Parade

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One of my favorite events of the year is the annual Tournament of Roses Parade. And every year when I watch this parade on television, the dedication of our nation’s talented band directors amazes me. Here is Part 2 of a three-day series that features these accomplished music educators.

Kamehameha Warrior Marching Band and Color Guard

Band Director Matthew Urabe led the Kamehameha Warrior Marching Band and Color Guard from Honolulu, Hawaii, in the 2020 Tournament of Roses Parade.

Band Director Matthew Urabe conducted the Kamehameha Warrior Marching Band and Color Guard from Honolulu, Hawaii. Always a crowd favorite, the 200 student-member group represented Kamehameha Schools as they celebrated their Hawaiian culture. I loved the spirit the performers’ grass skirts, hula dancing, and conch shell players. This is the school’s fifth appearance in the Rose Parade.

Matthew is a graduate of Kamehameha Schools, class of 1999. This talented educator earned his Bachelor’s degree in Communications and Music from Oregon State University in 2005.

The Pride of Owasso Marching Band

The Pride of Owassa was led by Director of Bands Chris Harris  in the 2020 Tournament of Roses Parade.

Chris Harris, Director of Bands at Owasso Public Schools, led his 375-member group from Owasso, Oklahoma. The 2020 Rose Parade was the sixth time The Pride of Owasso has performed in the Rose Parade, and the first time under the direction of Chris. With six invitations, The Pride of Owasso has participated in more Tournament of Roses Parades than any other school from Oklahoma.

Owasso High School Director of Bands Chris Harris.

Chris Harris has been a music educator in Owasso since 2004. He graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education (1990) and a Master’s degree in Music Education (1992). The talented educator is a member of many professional organization. These include Phi Beta Mu, OkMEA, and NAfME. Furthermore, he is the 2019-2020 Vice President of the Oklahoma Bandmasters Association. In addition to his classroom responsibilities, Chris plays steel pan for Something Steel, an island- based cover band from Tulsa, and performs with the Barrel Fish Community Steel Band, which he founded in December of 2018. Chris also enjoys playing coed soccer and officiating OSSAA soccer matches.

The Pride of Pearland Marching Band

Director of Bands Joe Munoz led the Pride of Pearland Marching Band from Pearland, Texas.

Director of Bands Joe Munoz led the Pride of Pearland Marching Band from Pearland, Texas. The 325-member group is well-known for its musicality and marching skills. But an additional reason that Pearland High School was chosen for the parade was because of the band’s community service. The group took quick action in setting up and running a shelter for those who had lost their homes immediately following Hurricane Harvey.

Joe Munoz, the Director of Band for the Pride of Pearland Marching Band of Houston, Texas.

Joe Munoz has been the Director of Bands for Pearland since 2013. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Music from the University of Houston. There he studied instrument pedagogy and conducting. In addition to his classroom responsibilities, he is an active adjudicator and clinician. His professional affiliations include the Texas Music Educators Association, the Texas Bandmasters Association, Phi Beta Mu International School Bandmaster Fraternity, Kappa Kappa Psi Honorary Band Fraternity, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, and Tau Beta Sigma Honorary Band Sorority (Honorary Member). Joe is also the lead instructor at the famous George M. Parks Drum Major Academy.

To learn more about the Tournament of Roses, click on this link for the Rose Parade.

Talented music educators lead students in 2020 Rose Parade

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One of my favorite events of the year is the annual Tournament of Roses Parade. The event takes place every year on the morning of January 1. This exciting parade is televised live from the city of my birth: Pasadena, California. I love everything about the parade: the flower-festooned floats, the sprightly equestrian units, the celebrity appearances, and the spectacular marching bands. And every year when I watch this parade on television, the dedication of our nation’s talented band directors always amazes me. Here is Part 1 of a three-day series that features these accomplished music educators.

Alhambra Unified School District Marching Band

The Alhambra Unified School District Marching Band performed in the Rose Parade under the direction of music educator Mark Trulson.

Head Marching Band Director Mark Trulson led the 275 students who comprise the impressive Alhambra Unified School District Marching Band. The students who form this group come from three high schools that represent the Southern California cities of Alhambra, Monterey Park, and San Gabriel. Those schools are Mark Keppel High School, Alhambra High School, and San Gabriel High School.

Head Marching Band Director Mark Trulson led the Alhambra Unified School District Marching Band in this year’s Rose Parade.

“To get into the Rose Parade, it’s like making it to the Super Bowl,” asserted Mark. He was the band director when the school made their Rose Parade debut 10 years ago. “It’s fun to be back,” the talented music educator remarked. “The first time you do, it’s awe-inspiring,” he said. “The second time, we’ve done this before, we got this,” he concluded.

Mark hails from Massachusetts originally. He has been a music teacher at Alhambra High School since 2003. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from the University of Massachusetts. He earned his Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Concordia University in Portland, Oregon.

Interestingly, 2020 Tournament of Roses President Laura Farber is a graduate of Alhambra High School.

Dobyns-Bennett High School Marching Band

Music Educator Lafe Cook serves as the Director of Bands for Dobyns-Bennett High school in Kingsport, Tennessee.

Director of Bands Lafe Cook led more than 300 students from Dobyns-Bennett High School located in Kingsport, Tennessee. This accomplished group encompasses the largest band program in the state of Tennessee. It is one of only 14 band programs in the country that has earned both the John Philip Sousa Foundation’s prestigious Sudler Flag of Honor and the Sudler Shield Award. This is the group’s fourth appearance in the Rose Parade.

Lafe has been a high school band director for a total of 26 years. He is in his 20th year as the Director of the Dobyns-Bennett Band program. He earned his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. There he was the drum major of the university’s marching band and a graduate assistant with the Music Department. He taught at E.C. Glass High School in Lynchburg, Virginia, for six years prior to coming to Dobyns-Bennett.

The Dobyns-Bennett High School Band under the direction of Lafe Cook made its fourth appearance in the annual Rose Parade extravaganza.

Greendale High School Marching Band

Director of Bands Tom Reifenberg led the Greendale High School Marching Band from Greendale, Wisconsin, through the parade route. This was the first appearance of the 222-member award-winning group. Greendale High School has earned the John Philip Sousa Foundation’s prestigious Sudler Shield Award. In addition, the school has garnered the Wisconsin School Music Association State Marching Band Competition an impressive 15 times. They also marched in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2016.

Director of Bands Tom Reifenberg led his students in this years Rose Parade.

“There are thousands of high schools across the country, and only a select few get to do something on this scale, marching in front of not only that many people in California, but that many people watching around the world on New Year’s morning,” observed Tom.

Tom has been the Band Director at Greendale since 2001. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater in 2001. He earned his Master’s degree in Music Education from Boston University in 2008.  For his work in the classroom, this talented music educator garnered the Michael G. George Distinguished Service Award in 2017. He also earned the Educator of the Year honor from the Greendale Chamber of Commerce in 2016, and the Herb Kohl Fellowship Award in 2015.

The Greendale High School Marching Band marched in the Rose Parade under the leadership of Director of Bands Tom Reifenberg.

To learn more about the bands that marched in this year’s parade, see the list at this link: Tournament of Roses.

Five New Year’s Resolutions for teachers

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With the coming of 2020, many educators are giving thought about making New Year’s resolutions that will help them be better teachers. If this describes you, here are six suggestions for constructive resolutions you may consider.

First, establish a positive attitude. Approaching the next semester with a cheerful and upbeat attitude will be of great benefit to you, and it will also encourage your students to do the same. Teachers know how powerful modeling can be. Model a positive attitude for your kids.

Second, get your classroom organized. Clean up your desk and storage areas. Design an extra lesson that can be used independently of your regular curriculum, to be prepared just in case something unexpected happens such as a lock-down. Think of ways you can delegate classroom jobs to your students. Create an emergency substitute teacher plan and make it easy to find.

Third, think of ways you can reduce the amount of work you take home with you. Click on this link to read an article about ways to reduce your paper load: 12 Time-Saving Assessment Strategies.

Fourth, design a lesson for your students that will encourage healthy living habits.  Present a lesson on good eating habits or the benefits of physical fitness. Consider incorporating some sort of movement in your classroom activities.

Fifth, experiment with new instructional technique or updated technology. Studies show that the human brain craves novelty. Changing things up a bit will be stimulating for you, and for your students, too.

Last, take good care of yourself. Create balance between your work and your personal life. And be sure to get plenty of rest. Taking care of yourself is one of the best ways to take care of your students.

Have a wonderful Winter Break, and a successful second semester! And Happy New Year to you all of you!

Alaska’s Amy Gallaway named her state’s 2020 Teacher of the Year

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Alaska’s Amy Gallaway, a social studies teacher in Fairbanks, has been named her state’s 2020 Teacher of the Year.

I love to tell stories about teachers who have been recognized for their outstanding effort in the classroom. One of these is Amy Gallaway, a high school social studies teacher from Fairbanks, Alaska. Shes been named her states 2020 Teacher of the Year.

Amy inaugurated her 20-year career as an educator in Alaska in 1993. That was the year she was working as an archeologist in Wrangell St. Elias National Park. While working at that job, she took a seasonal position as a teacher’s aide in Glennallen School. She loved that temporary job so much she decided to go back to school to earn her teaching credentials. Amy had already completed the requirements for her Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology at Northern Arizona University. To earn her Master’s degree in Secondary Education and Teaching, she enrolled in courses at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. She completed that program in 1999.

After earning her teaching credentials, Amy accepted her first teaching job in Nuiqsut, an Inupiaq village on the Colville River. There she became involved in local civics projects. She wanted to show her students how they could use their personal power to benefit the entire community.

In 2002, Amy started working for the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District. Currently, she works at West Valley High School in that district. There she teaches history, government, and career education to high school students.

Because of her strong belief that learning should be empowering, relevant, and community-oriented, Amy is a teacher mentor for the national We the People civics program. The program emphasizes critical thinking skills and features a simulated Congressional hearing with judges from the community.

To read more about this amazing educator, click on this link to Amy Gallaway of Fairbanks named Teacher of the Year.

Spoken from the Heart of Former First Lady and teacher Laura Bush

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Anyone fascinated by presidential history, libraries, and teachers, whether Republican or Democrat, is bound to be interested by the fact that former First Lady Laura Bush was once a teacher and a school librarian. She describes her experiences in her classroom, in the libraries where she worked, and the annual National Book Festival she inaugurated in her 2011 autobiography, Spoken from the Heart.

The book covers the other details of her life you would expect to find in an autobiography: her childhood and education, how she met and married former President George W. Bush, her difficulty conceiving and the eventual birth of her twins, her husband’s gubernatorial and presidential elections, and her role as First Lady.

If you want to get to know Laura Bush better, be sure to read this book. You can find Spoken from the Heart on amazon.com.