April 30, 2011

Dear SPMA Community,

Greetings.

I trust each and every person in attendance of the 3rd Annual Spring Concert enjoyed the evening. It was such a sincere pleasure watching all of our students perform in the open-air environment.At SPMA, we believe that music is important for brain development and should be fostered through the Suzuki Method. Dr. Sinichi Suzuki’s philosophy parallels Dr. Montessori’s philosophy.

The Suzuki Method emphasizes that every child can learn no matter what their age of ability is…or in my case (thank goodness for Ella, Hake and Jeep) despite the lack of musical talent by the parents.Not only was last night’s weather a “Chamber of Commerce” evening, but also the performance was truly magical. Coupled with the Environmental Art Show in the atrium, it was my favorite night of the year.Last night, each and every family member was our guest and we hope you truly enjoyed yourself. If you didn’t pick up a cd of the (previously recorded) concert, please pick one up this week.

While there is NO CHARGE for the cd, any form of a donation is greatly appreciated.That said, we are still graciously accepting donations for the SPMA Annual Fund. Our 2010-11 goal is $150,000.00, and we have approximately $70,000.00 left to raise. We are striving for 100% participation throughout the SPMA community. To date, we have received donations from $5.00 to thousands of dollars. So, any amount is appreciated. If you have any questions, contact Marc Bergman, Chairman of the Annual Fund directly at marc@islandimprovements.com.

Our last event of the year is our SPMA Booster Club’s Inaugural Fishing Tournament & Music Festival featuring “Passion Reggae Band”. This is a very important event for our entire community, because 100% (YES 100%) of all of the proceeds go towards the SPMA Scholarship Fund. So, participation in this event will help some of the musicians, athletes and scholars that were on the stage last night. In order to be eligible, you must complete at least one year as a student without a scholarship. So, this is really a community-at-large event! Contact Meredith Hinzman at SPMABoosterClub@spma.com to participate in this great event held on Memorial Day.

In conclusion, thank you to all of the parents, families and friends that attended the 3rd Annual Spring Concert. Thank you to all of the students who performed and made the event an amazing success. Thank you to all of the SPMA staff members who work behind the scenes to have this (and every) event run smoothly. Lastly, thank you to the team of Mr. Dean, Sarah Perry, Michelle Metropolis and Katherine DeFreitas for being the best Performing Arts Team in the world! Mr. Dean’s last day for this school year was last night, for he is a famous Island entertainer and we have always happily worked to accommodate his seasonal schedule.

Sincerely,
Darcie D. Patrick
Head of School