CM INFORMATION FOR TEACHERS

Certificate of Merit 2011
Registration Instructions and Fees

You will need to have access to a computer with Internet capabilities and an email address. You will be able to add, change and finalize your list until 11:59 p.m. November 15, 2010. At that time the system will lock down. THERE WILL BE NO LATE REGISTRATION. After Nov. 15th, you will not be able to add, change, or delete a student. If you had registered your students last year, you will only be changing their levels. You will need the date of birth and grade level of your new students.

All the information you will need to register is on the MTAC State website (www.MTAC.org). Among other things, it includes CM policies and procedures; registration instructions; the Panel program; syllabus updates; and the parent letter. On our North San Diego MTAC website (www.NSDMTAC.com), you will find the Certificate of Merit Instructions 2011 and fees, Teachers Work Contract and PayPal, Directions to the CM Performance Sites, and Student Performance Schedule.

CM Branch Dates:

Keyboard Evaluation Feb. 26/27 Regional Locations
Wind Theory Feb. 26 Oak Valley Middle School
Keyboard Theory Mar. 5 Regional Locations
Wind Evaluations (Performance) Feb. 27 & Mar. 5/6 Ozzie’s Music
String Evaluations and Theory Mar. 6 Adventist Academy
Voice TBA With Keyboard

Registration Instructions: You must register your students through the MTAC website by entering your username and password. If you do not have this information, please contact our Branch Chair.

On the MTAC website (mtac.org):
1. Register your students.
2. Print out the form that shows the total number of students registered.
Then go to the branch website to make payment.

On the Branch website (nsdmtac.com):
1. Read the Teacher Work Contract agreement.
2. Read the Teachers Work Contract then Pay for your students by using a credit card.
3. A PayPal percentage fee (2.2%), and a .30(cents) transaction charge will be added to your total. An example of the fee is: if you owe $100.00, the PayPal fee will be $2.20 plus .30 (cents). Another example is $500.00 owed, the PayPal fee is $11.00 plus .30 (cents).
4. Members who do not have a major credit card must contact the Branch Chair for an alternate payment method.

Choosing a Level: Choose your student level with care. If in doubt, choose a lower level since you can skip levels in the future for students who make unusually fast progress. If a student fails a level (either in theory or performance), he or she must repeat the same level next year. You will not be able to go on to another level before that level is passed.

Keyboard Specifics: Day, Time (a.m./p.m.), and Site Requests; Literature Specifics, Convention Application: These areas are all handled online at the MTAC website (under CM Students/Student List-Edit Evaluation Information), from January 2-10. Time requests for performance will be honored on a first-come, first-served basis. There will be places to note siblings, ensembles, car-pools, etc. No phone or written requests will be accepted. You may change requests for CM evaluation times and literature specifics as often as you like before January 20, 2011. If the student has the intention of playing at the Convention, be sure to mark the box for Convention.

Branch Honors and Convention Eligibility: To qualify for Branch Honors or Convention, keyboard students must play all pieces memorized and receive at least a “-5” out of a possible “5+” rating. The student must receive an “excellent” or “good” rating in Technique and Sight-Reading, along with 80 percent or higher in Theory and Ear-Training. The same requirements apply for Winds, Strings and Voice, but memorization requirements are different. Please refer to the MTAC.org website for specifics.

Final Convention Applications: Beginning in 2011, there will be a Final Convention Application Fee of $20.00 charged per student at the time the teacher registers his or her students before the deadline of April 15. This is a nonrefundable application fee, and will be paid either by credit card or by PayPal. All students attending the MTAC Convention, along with all family members coming to hear the student play, are admitted to the Convention at no extra charge, and are invited to attend any Convention events. The Final Convention Application is handled online at the MTAC website under CM Students/Student List-Final Convention Application).

Panel: Panel pamphlets are available online by going to the MTAC.org website (CM Information-Documents link). Please download a copy and refer to the requirements for your discipline. Literature must be entered on line between January 2-10. If a student wishes to revert back to Advanced and not go to Panel, the deadline for this is January 15. There is no refund for this change. South Regional Panel evaluations will be held February 26 and 27, and March 5 and 6. States Finals for all disciplines will be held March 25-27.

Senior Medallions: Senior medallions are awarded to High School Seniors who pass CM three out of four years of High School, one being their senior year, and complete a minimum of Level 7. To accompany the medal, we have also offered monetary scholarships. Though we cannot guarantee monetary awards every year, our Branch will make every effort to continue in this tradition.

Convention Theme Recital for 2011: Composers Born in Russia. Please refer to the MTAC.org website for more details.

CM Change of Teacher After Lockdown: In the event a change of teachers occurs after registration, the student may be evaluated at the Branch of the new teacher. However, the new teacher will need the consent of the old teacher. A Change of Teacher form (available on the MTAC.org website) must be signed by both teachers, and forwarded to the CM Branch Chair of the new branch.

Improvisation: Improvisation will be an optional part of the CM evaluation. We encourage teachers to become familiar with the MTAC Improvisation Syllabus to see how this might be used as part of the evaluations.

CM Newsletter: On the MTAC.org website is the CM newsletter. This is a very helpful source for all your questions. Go to the website and read the last few letters to update yourself on theory and literature changes for 2011.

Teachers Work Contract

Teachers with students enrolled in CM will need to volunteer their time for the CM weekends of their discipline. They will be assigned the positions of site hostesses, room monitors, check-in monitors, theory and ear training monitors, and theory graders. This year, theory grading and inputting will take place at the designated Theory locations on the day of the Theory exam. Other Branches of MTAC have successfully followed this practice, which has allowed teachers to view their students’ results online in a timely fashion.

By registering my students for CM in the North San Diego Branch of MTAC:

1. I agree to work during CM performance evaluations and/or theory testing days as needed. My work hours will be based on the number of students that I register:
a. 1-4 students must work 5 hours.
b. 5-8 students must work 10 hours.
c. 9-12 students must work 15 hours.
d. 13-24 students must work 20 hours.
e. 25-35 students must work 25 hours.
f. 36-45 students must work 30 hours.

2. If I am unable to work for any reason, I understand that I will be required to pay $60.00 per hour based on my required hours of work. This amount will be due to the CM Chair prior to my students’ CM evaluations.

3. I realize that extenuating circumstances that prevent me from working will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis by the CM Chair.

All teachers will be e-mailed their work schedules by January 15. Please be advised that it will be impossible to accommodate special requests for specific locations. If you have unavoidable conflicts that you know about now, you can contact our Teacher Scheduling Chair Nelly Kras, at NellyKras@aol.com, by November 30. We understand that all of our members have many teaching/church/family, misc. obligations, and hope that you will accommodate your work schedule without asking for special consideration.