The purpose of this newsletter is to update you on our recent activities and tell you about some great upcoming events. If you don’t already know, the HMPA is essentially the music boosters club for the Hingham schools. All parents of children in HPS music classes and programs are HMPA members. If your child loves music, whether they are a firstgrader or senior, we hope that you will read this and possibly get involved. Do you realize there are hundreds of students enrolled in music in Hingham? If we all “pitched” in, we could make great “music”. Best Regards, Barbara Emmel, HMPA President Barbemmel@mac.com

UPCOMING EVENTS

• General Membership Meeting, Wednesday 2/24: This is a great opportunity to inspire children and learn more about becoming a better musician. Please attend our general membership meeting Wednesday, February 24th at 7pm in Room 103 of HHS. Children encouraged to attend! We will have a faculty/student panel discussion of effective practicing techniques. We will also discuss audition opportunities, preparation and performances. The Tri-M program, a national music program, will also be presented. Meet fellow music parents and enthusiasts!

• KARAOKE fundraiser on May 13th at HHS: Just imagine your favorite teacher singing your favorite song in front of 600 people. Now, make it a reality!! May 13th in the HHS auditorium, featuring HHS departmentwide faculty members singing karaoke! Raffle for prizes and song selection during the show. Tickets are likely to be HOT sellers, so keep an eye out for details coming soon! IDEAS, HOSTS and PERFORMERS WELCOME!

Have a great idea for a fundraiser? Want to host one? Got Music? Make Music? Email barbemmel@mac.com.

FUNDRAISING PROGRESS AND SPENDING

We continue to raise money to support our annual $5000 operating budget, the faculty “wish list”, and other ideas brought before the board. We continue to evaluate suggestions from the faculty on enrichment ideas, and would love our members to help us raise money to accomplish these requests.

• Coffee Sales Results: This year’s Coffee Sale raised $8882.33, net. Roughly $4900 of this profit was allocated to students’ trip accounts. The remainder is set aside for the general HMPA budget. Our $5000 operating budget supports scholarships and registration fees for festivals, and awards for students at the end of the year.
• Private Fundraising Results: A private party in January raised over $2800 supporting the purchase of 3 piano dollies for our schools. The remainder is set aside for an enrichment program. Our heartfelt thanks to our hosts, Jennifer Cope and Mark Goodman, our attendees, and several student, parent, and faculty performers, who made this event possible.
• Flowers and Photographers: We will sell flowers at our spring concerts to help you congratulate your favorite musician. We are looking into photography to sell of our musicians “in action”.

New Mini-Grant System for 2010-2011

The HMPA board will establish a minigrant system effective in the fall 2010 to fairly analyze and distribute funds requested by faculty and our membership

OTHER MUSIC PROGRAM PROGRESS

Here are the items fulfilled from the faculty’s “Wish List”:

• Orff Instruments for East School
• Music Stands for HMS
• Dollies for pianos districtwide
• Percussion cabinets for HHS – thanks, Edmundson family!
• Piano bench for HHS

MORE WORK TO BE DONE

Unfulfilled items to fund and/or vote on:

• Bus transportation to musical events
• Chamber music coaching and private lesson support
• Enrichment programs featuring guests artists, musicians & teachers
• Anything brought before our board by members or faculty

VOLUNTEER CORNER

Open Positions Now and Next Year Nominations are being accepted for next year’s board and a few open positions remain this year. Can you spare a few hours? Read below and email barbemmel@mac.com.

Help Needed Now:

• Registrar/Membership – help us with our membership database
• Communications/Advertising – help us put get our word out
• Fundraising – volunteer at an event

Next Year Help Wanted:

• Secretary – next year
• School liaisons – next year from each school
• Tax Attorney – help us gain 501c3 status