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Grammy Music Educators Workshop

The Alexandria City High School (ACHS) Advanced Choir was selected by the Grammy Music Recording Academy for a choral workshop with Grammy Music Educator Dr. Jeffery Redding. The ACHS Choir was selected for the workshop based on their recordings during the 2020-21 school year when learning was in a virtual or hybrid format.

On Nov. 17, 2021, representatives from the Grammy Music Awards Recording Academy visited from Los Angeles, CA with a camera crew to film the workshop. 

Dr. Redding gave the class notes on their performance pieces and helped them work on their annunciation, projection and energy. 

“Now, they’re a force to watch. They’re not on autopilot. They have energy and passion in their eyes and they’re making it their own,” Dr. Redding said. “It was great to see them break out of their shells and not be so timid.”

The students will be featured in a virtual workshop that will be shown to choirs across the nation.

“The key is to watch the conductor and allow them to make the piece different if they feel like it,” Dr. Redding told the student choir. “Your job is to inspire the audience, not to impress them. A choir is a community, a community that becomes a family, and that family will inspire one another to be the best they can be.”

Virginia Accepting Entries for Annual Kids Safe Online Poster Contest

All K-12 students in Virginia have the opportunity to use their creativity to encourage their peers to use the internet safely. The Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA) and the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) are accepting entries for the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center’s (MS-ISAC) annual Kids Safe Online Poster Contest.

“I encourage teachers and parents to make sure students know of this creative opportunity to raise awareness with one another about cyberbullying and staying safe online,” said Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. James Lane. “Children are some of the most vulnerable targets on the internet and social media. The more they know, the better they can protect themselves when and if the need arises,” added Virginia’s Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) Michael Watson. 

The state’s top five winners from each grade will be entered into the national competition. Entries received may be used in national, regional and state cyber and computer security awareness campaigns. Entries are due by midnight on Jan. 12, 2022.

Find the official rules, topic suggestions and entry form on the MS-ISAC website. Send your entry to CommonwealthSecurity@VITA.virginia.gov. Please include the entry form completely filled out (all fields are required) when submitting the poster. For more information, visit the Virginia IT Agency website.

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