Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 6A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. OCTOBER 10. 2013
Pickens Co. Middle School Fine Arts continue to grow
Last week, 183 students
gathered in the PCMS gym, not
to play a sport, but to perform
their newly-discovered musical
skills. The stands were full of
parents, relatives, teachers, and
other community stake-holders,
eager to hear their children do
something that wasn’t expected:
They made music together.
And these were not band stu
dents or chorus students; this
was every single sixth grader in
Pickens County Middle School.
These students just finished
their 6th Grade Music Class in
which all PCMS students are
enrolled during the first nine-
weeks of middle school. Mr.
Kevin Boyle, band director, and
Mr. Jack Louden, chorus direc
tor, team-teach the class and
cover the standards for both
chorus and instrumental per
formance.
The class was originally of
fered in 2006, when the rising
6th grade class consisted of
only 95 students, and the re
cruitment for band and chorus
was in jeopardy.
“The average percentage of a
grade level enrolled in the fine
arts is 20-30%. If we didn’t do
something new and innovative,
we were going to have only 15-
25 kids in the band and chorus
that year, and that’s not accept
able,” Mr. Boyle said. “Mrs.
Land (then director) searched
and found the best way to get
more kids involved in our pro
grams, without doing the tradi
tional recruitment strategies.
We ended up with about 40% of
the students involved in our
programs”.
Seven years later, the band
and chorus combined still have
40-45% of the student body in
volved in their programs.
Both music teachers highly
recommend that smaller middle
schools consider using this
strategy during the beginning of
the school year.
“It has definitely helped us
reach more kids than we would
normally reach with traditional
recruitment plans: a perform
ance at each elementary school
in the spring, or sending letters
home, or bring-a-friend-to-band
day in the first week of 6th
grade. Every kid at our school
comes through this class, and
we connect with many kids that
we would normally miss with
other methods.”
When asked about the logis
tics of this nine-week music
class, Mr. Boyle replied:
“You have to have a team of
teachers and administration that
see eye-to-eye on this. The Con
nection teachers, front office
staff, and administration are all
involved, whether it’s teaching
the class, or planning ahead for
the nine-week schedule
changes. Our teachers and ad
ministration sees this class as a
priority for whole-student de
velopment in our school”.
He continued: “The music
class has evolved quite a bit
since that first year. We now
delve deeper into the fundamen
tals of the musical mind. We
listen to, move to, sing, play,
create, and notate music. We
strive to develop the inner-mu
sician in each child, so that
every student in Pickens County
Middle School has had a posi
tive experience being actively
involved in music performance.
Yes, the short-term goal is still
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recruitment, but a long-term
goal has developed over the
years: that non-band and non
chorus students can still sing
and move with music that they
encounter the rest of their
lives.”
Mr. Boyle and Mr. Louden
are doing a fantastic job in
keeping music alive in their
school. When asked about what
the future might hold for this
6th grade music class, Mr.
Boyle quickly answered, “I feel
like we’re hitting our stride with
this class. Each year we intro
duce more concepts and the
kids are running with them.
We’re becoming better teachers.
As a result, the foundations of
our programs are more solidi
fied and our beginners seem to
have an advantage over students
in other programs comparable
in size to ours. We’re very
thankful to our administration
for allowing us to continue this
method for these seven years.
We’re already looking forward
to next year!”
Keeping music alive! As the PCMS band and chorus programs continue to grow, music
teachers say they strive to develop the inner-musician in each child. Here, 6th graders show
off their rhythm skills.
In just a few short weeks members of the 6th grade class at Pickens County Middle School
learned the basics of music performance - with instruments and vocals. Above, students are
pictured at last week’s concert.
Affordable Care Act (a.k.a.“Obamacare”)
By Brian Linkous
Insurance Advisor
The first week of Obamacare
proved that not enough prepara
tion was put in place to avoid the
backups, system crashes and
confusion associated with
www.healthcare.gov. In fact, one
of my colleagues in the insurance
business asked an Obamacare
Navigator on the phone last week
what the difference was between
the four metallic plans and he
was told that they didn’t have
that information available, but to
check back with them at the end
of the month. Now if an official
Navigator, one trained to assist
people who inquire about differ
ent health plans is unable to de
scribe basic differences in plans,
how are ordinary Americans sup
posed to make quality decisions
about their health care? While
no one at this point is an expert
in all the new regulations sur
rounding health care reform, I
will attempt to provide the most
accurate information currently
available.
Open enrollment for official
Affordable Care Act plans began
October 1st and will continue
through March 31st, 2014. These
health plans will begin on or after
January 1st, 2014 depending on
the date you get the plan. One
common misconception people
have is that they must purchase a
plan through
www.healthcare.gov. The only
reason why anyone should use
the government exchange to pur
chase their healthcare plan is if
they qualify for government sub
sidies to offset the cost of their
insurance premium. There are
some instances where the sub
sidy tax credit will cover the en
tire premium cost however the
plans will have a deductible and
co-insurance requiring some out
of pocket cost. And if you under
report your income when apply
ing for a premium tax credit, you
will be required to write a check
to Uncle Sam when you file your
taxes in 2015 to pay back all or a
portion of the subsidy you re
ceived in 2014. For those who
have pre-existing condition(s)
that prevent them from obtaining
an underwritten major medical
plan in 2013 and have the in
come to get a plan, purchase a
2014 Obamacare plan off the
marketplace exchange through a
health insurance broker. You will
be much more informed using a
licensed agent.
For everyone else, I highly
recommend purchasing an un
derwritten major medical plan
now in 2013. Most of the major
carriers have indicated they
won’t change their plans or pre
miums for at least 12 months.
Some will carry their plans
through the end of 2014 without
a rate increase. Also, consider
purchasing a short term major
medical plan as a cost saving op
tion for 2014. Qualifying for
these plans is minimal and the
amount of money you could save
over a standard underwritten
plan could be significant. Once
the short term plan ends, you can
either renew it or choose a 2014
Obamacare plan. If you develop
a major medical condition while
on a short term plan, you can
without penalty switch to an
Obamacare plan that will accept
any pre-existing condition(s).
There are some people who
have said they will not comply
with the new health laws and
with 2014 being a transition year,
the penalty for not complying for
an individual is only $95 or 1%
of your income whichever is
greater. After open enrollment
ends March 31,2014, you will be
able to apply for an Obamacare
plan if you experience a qualify
ing event such as losing your job,
having a child or getting di
vorced. The next open enroll
ment begins October 15th, 2014
and closes December 7th, 2014.
The penalty for not having insur
ance in 2015 rises to $325 for in
dividuals or 2% of your income
whichever is greater.
The bottom line is that Oba
macare will be an answer for
some, but not for all. There are
alternative solutions. So do not
just rush to the marketplace ex
change and purchase a plan. Talk
to a licensed insurance agent
now who can review your partic
ular situation and help you deter
mine what the best solution is for
you and your family.
Insurance
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