Greetings and Salutations,

My name is Edward Hudson, Jr., and I have the esteemed pleasure to serve Edmond Public Schools as the new Director of Fine Arts. My role allows me to assist the fine art programs in the district and advocate and support the needs for its students, teachers, and community. The following are the subject areas that I support from 29 schools and 104 educators:

• Elementary Music
• Elementary Art
• Secondary Band
• Secondary Choir
• Secondary Orchestra
• Secondary Drama
• Secondary Visual Art
• Secondary Speech & Debate
• Secondary Media Arts

It has been a pleasure thus far getting a chance to meet everyone and establish relationships with students, teachers, and administrators at every grade level. My vision and goal for this position include promoting visibility to our community of the great things that are happening with our fine arts programs, increased communication with the stakeholders of our district, and assist in providing accountability for our programs to support continued success.

At Convocation, Dr. Grunewald challenged each of us to "Commit" this school year to the things in our lives that we want to see succeed. I commit to - BELIEVE!!!

• I BELIEVE in Hope, Belonging, Collaboration, and Integrity.
• I BELIEVE we have the BEST educators in the field of education.
• I BELIEVE that we set the standard of excellence in the state of Oklahoma for Fine Arts.
• I BELIEVE that the best is yet to come.
• I BELIEVE in Edmond Public Schools.

I look forward to being a resource for each of you and partnering to continue the great things that are happening in our great district. The arts ARE alive, and well, in Edmond Public Schools!!!

EH

The purpose of the Oklahoma Alliance for Arts Education Professional Learning Grant is to provide financial assistance to active Oklahoma arts educators who are planning to attend their state/national conferences for professional development learning.

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The maximum award amount is $600.00 and may be applied to registration fees, travel, lodging, or food. To apply, see the Grant Guideline and Application Guide. The application deadline is August 31.

Recipients will be notified in September.

Edmond Public Schools is extremely excited to be able to expand Visual Art to ALL grades at the elementary level starting this year. Prior to this expansion, art was provided exclusively at the 5th grade level, and to 3rd and 4th grade through our partnership with the Edmond Fine Arts Institute. Working together, we were able to find a solution that now provides art to ALL K-5 students in our district!!! This is a huge victory for arts education that will truly benefit the enrichment and well being of our children. I have already begun to receive testimonials of the impact K-5 art is having in our schools.

• Thank you for your advocacy to get art in our elementary schools. My 8-year-old daughter is in EPS. She has always been a visual artist, and I have never seen her as happy about school as when she had art class for the first time this year. It radiated from her that she finally felt seen and fully included in a Specials class. The things we are implementing in our district matter and have a great impact. Thank you! - Parent of an EPS Elementary Student

This past weekend, all three high schools engaged in a friendly competition for bragging rights as the Battle of the Bands Car Wash Champion. Edmond Memorial 🥇won this year's competition by raising nearly $8,500 for their program. Thank you to all the students, parents, and community members for your support. As well as a BIG - THANK YOU - to Edmond Furniture Gallery for hosting the event.

Congratulations to Mr. Tracy Wilmes and HMS Artists for being selected to exhibit their art at the Oliver Hodge Building Art Gallery. They are scheduled to display their work in June 2024!!! We are so proud of your hard work and extraordinary effort!!! #EPSLeads #EPSFineArts

OkMEA's Mentorship division hosts a "Start-Up Summit" to provide Early and Veteran Educators a chance to network, discuss common strategies, and break-out into Area sessions to enrich their knowledge. Sessions included: Making Music Joyful: Strategies and Activities for an Engaging Music Class; Every Voice Matters… Including Yours!; Planning, Recruiting, and Teaching, OH MY!; OK State Department of Education Instructional Framework - Lesson Planning and Standards; Re-mixing Your Instruction: Popular Music Pedagogies in Your Classroom. We are so excited to see what our Edmond Educators bring back to their subject-area PLC's to help strengthen our team!

Congratulations to the Santa Fe High School Wind Ensemble for being selected as a 2024 OkMEA Honor group! Santa Fe was chosen from numerous ensembles from across the state of Oklahoma who submitted recordings for this prestigious honor. The Santa Fe Wind Ensemble will perform on Friday, January 19th, 2024 in the Tulsa Performing Arts Center as part of the annual Oklahoma Music Educators Association Winter Convention!

Oklahoma Arts Council grants ensure individuals statewide have access to the arts. Much of the agency's budget is invested directly into Oklahoma communities in the form of grants, and more than 40 percent of the agency's grant funding supports arts and arts education programming in rural areas. Communities throughout the state benefit from Oklahoma Arts Council grants.

September 4th

Labor Day

No School

September 5th

Edmond Public Schools Collaboration Day

Grant Writing Workshop presented by

Jennifer Allen-Barron - Oklahoma Arts Council Arts Education Director

Edmond Memorial High School

8:30 am

Various Content Specific Presentations

Numerous Sites across the District

September 7th

Edmond Public Schools September School Board Meeting

EPSAC

5 pm

September 8th

Edlam #1 - Memorial vs. North Football Game

Band Halftime Performances

Edmond North HS Husky Stadium

7 pm

September 8th

Edmond Santa Fe Fine Arts Tailgate

Home Football game vs. Norman North

5 pm

September 12th

EMHS PACE Soiree

Edmond Memorial Auditorium

7 pm

September 15th

Oklahoma State Department - Arts Consortium

Hosted by Norman Public Schools

10 am

September 15th

First Day of Hispanic Heritage Month

September 21st

Santa Fe Orchestra Fall Concert

Edmond Santa Fe Auditorium

7 pm

September 22nd

Edlam #2 - Memorial vs. Santa Fe

Band Halftime Performances

Edmond Santa Fe Wolves Stadium

7 pm

September 23rd

Deer Creek Marching Band Invitational

Edmond Memorial Bulldog Band

All Day

September 26th

Edmond Memorial Jazz Collective

UCO Jazz Lab

7 pm

September 28th

EPS All-City String Festival

North Siberian Gym

6 pm

September 29th

Edlam #3 - North vs. Santa Fe

Band Halftime Performances

Edmond Santa Fe Wolves Stadium

7 pm

September 29th

Moore Speech and Debate Contest

Moore High School

All Day

September 30th

COCDA Auditions

Edmond Memorial High School

All Day

September 30th

Yukon Marching Band Invitational

Edmond North Husky Band

All Day

September 30th

Owasso Marching Band Invitational

Edmond Santa Fe Wolves Band

All Day