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NMAOSA Spring Newsletter

The Kokopelli

April 2025

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President’s Message:

It has been a profound honor to lead this chapter over the past several years. Our success is a testament to the dedication of our exceptional board members; this organization truly thrives on collective effort. However, to sustain the high-quality professional development NMAOSA has provided for over 50 years, we rely on your active participation and leadership.

We are currently seeking nominations for Vice President and Historian. Both roles are vital to our continued growth and operational success. We invite you to submit nominations—for yourself or a colleague—at our upcoming workshop. If you are unable to attend in person but wish to serve, please contact us via email to discuss your interest. Thank you for the opportunity to serve this community.

-Respectfully,

Kristen Hutchinson

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Our annual Chapter Share on March 14 th was a great experience, encompassing a wide

range of activities from books to dances to exploration with puppets and other

manipulatives. Our presenters ranged from second year teachers to 35+ year veterans.

There were songs from the volumes, music from other cultures, and even some Bad

Bunny. Learning from our peers who teach in similar settings as us is always so helpful

because we know they understand the unique challenges we face. I particularly enjoyed

learning how one of our teachers incorporates unusual modes in her page-turner songs

and games, and I am inspired to get into all the modes with my classes. Presenting at a

chapter share is a great way to get your feet wet teaching adults, so if you haven’t done

it, consider signing up next year!

March Chapter Share

-Diane Marino

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April Workshop

Where: Del Norte Baptist Church, 5800 Montgomery Blvd NE, ABQ NM 87109

When: Saturday, April 18th, 9am-1pm

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This delightful book encompasses so many jumping off places for activities and

collaboration. It’s not a monster, but what is it? An axolotl, of course! From the life cycle of axolotls, to a conservation message, to a lesson in Spanish words and colors, you will be sure to find lots of ways to connect to classroom content. For a musical activity, my student teacher and I wrote lyrics to a piece from MFC Vol. II. Students are learning to sing it with body percussion, and will be creating their own movement (body percussion or something else they choose) for the B section. I added a recorder part to the barred instrument arrangement from Vol. II, and we will ask students to add other unpitched percussion parts they create. I can imagine an art project to go with this book as well, and am looking forward to creating a unit with my visual arts counterpart next year.

-Diane Marino

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Cat Woo

Pedagogy I

Michael Chandler

Pedagogy II

Joshua Block

Movement

Luis Delgado

Recorder

Kris Olson

Rob Amchin

Masterclasses:

Pedagogy III

Creative Movements (AM)

Early Childhood Music (PM)

Orff Levels I, II, III → Summer 2026, June 1st-12th

Levels: $775

Masterclasses: $300 for each or $500 for both

Registration is open at nmaosa.org

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Next Year’s Workshops!

They are going to be AMAZING!

Amy Fenton, Saturday September 12th

Jennifer Prestridge, Saturday April 17th

Christina Reardon, Saturday October 17th

Chapter Share, Saturday TBD

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Meet the team

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