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President's Summer 2023 Message

Writer's picture: Paul WellerPaul Weller

Greetings Minnesota Orff Friends,

I hope that everyone is enjoying whatever combination of relaxation, professional development, and summer employment that is just right for you!


A special thanks once again to everyone who participated in our garage sale and silent auction last spring. Due in large part to the proceeds from the sale, our chapter was able to donate $2000 to the University of St Thomas Jane Frazee Orff scholarship fund in honor of our beloved


Arvida Steen! We are so excited to be able to pay Arvida's legacy forward by contributing to the education of the next generation of Orff educators. If you would like to learn more about Arvida's incredible life and legacy, here is a link to her obituary on our website:


Meanwhile, we are excited to announce our 2023-2024 workshops, which are now open for registration! We are thrilled to be hosting Ben Torres, Vivian Caputo, and Matthew Stensrud this coming school year. All workshops will take place at the Brady Education Center on the UST campus on Saturdays from 9:00am-1:00pm. You can read about our presenters and their workshops on our website: mnorff.org

Our September 9th opening workshop with Ben Torres will be coming up quickly at the start of the school year. Ben is an AOSA approved teacher trainer and a sought after clinician for school districts and Orff chap


ters across the United States. His workshop with us will focus on the creative process through movement, body percussion, recorders, and other media. You can register for Ben's workshop or for our entire workshop series on our website:

New this coming school year: All AOSA members who register for the workshop package by September 1st, 2023 will be eligible for a drawing for a free workshop package with a value of $130!



In addition to Ben's interactive presentation, we will also host a social hour with coffee and refreshments from 8:15-8:55. A representative from West Music will be onsite that morning with selected items available for sale. Contact jpine@west music.com directly if you would like to order a specific item for your school. They may be able to bring it to the workshop for you in order to save on the cost of shipping!


Finally, a note on our updated pricing for single workshops and workshop packages: At our spring meeting, our board members carefully discussed the need to keep our chapter financially healthy in order to continue to


provide the highest quality professional development for many years to come. We also took into consideration the new AOSA unified fee structure, which requires us to pay a small fee to our parent organization for all non-AOSA members who participate in our workshops. We believe that our new pricing is still a great value for our members. As always, all undergraduates may attend free of cost, including student teachers. We also provide a deep discount for first-year teachers and retired teachers. AOSA members who purchase the workshop package also receive a free guest pass to bring a colleague to the workshop of their choice at no additional cost.


Thank you for your continued support of the Minnesota Orff chapter and for all you do for your students. See you in September!

Very Truly,

--

Sarah Hruska Olson, President

She/Her



Minnesota Orff Chapter

612-859-1013


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