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Tri-State Honors Band Festival this week
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Ninety-five student musicians from 30 area high schools have been selected to participate in the eighth annual UW–Platteville Tri-State Honors Band Festival.

The festival, organized by Dr. Barry Ellis and Matthew Gregg, UW–Platteville director of bands and associate director of bands respectively, includes clinics and master classes led by guest conductors and UW-Platteville music faculty, and free concerts on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 15–16.

This year’s guest conductor is Robert Sheldon, a nationally known musician, conductor, composer and clinician. He received his degrees through the University of Miami and the University of Florida. Sheldon taught in Florida and Illinois public schools for 28 years and also at the University of Florida, Florida State University, Illinois Central College and Bradley University. Sheldon is the concert band editor for Alfred Music Publishing and maintains memberships in several organizations that promote music and music education.

This is the third year in a row that the guest conductor has also been a composer.

“It’s enlightening for all of us, and students for sure,” said Ellis of the composer/conductor combination. “Not only do our UW–Platteville music students and guest high school students experience an outstanding musician and educator, but they also get the opportunity to perform the composer’s music with him as conductor. Many times there are students, musicians and conductors who never have the opportunity to play under a composer conducting his own composition, so this is a special experience and adds a uniqueness to our festival.”

Friday’s concert begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Richard and Helen Brodbeck Concert Hall. The UW–Platteville Symphonic Wind Ensemble, which will be directed by Ellis and Gregg, will play a number of pieces by Sheldon. They’ll also accompany Allen Cordingley, UW–Platteville music lecturer, on an exciting, virtuosic piece by composer John Mackey as Cordingley performs the solo on soprano saxophone.

The Jazz 1 ensemble, directed by Cordingley, will close the evening with a performance of several big band standards, including Duke Ellington’s “Caravan” with Dr. David Cooper, associate music professor and chair of the UW–Platteville Department of Performing and Visual Arts, on trumpet.

Saturday’s concert begins at 4 p.m. in the Brodbeck Concert Hall and features Sheldon directing the students in the Tri-State Honors Festival Band in many of his own works as they showcase what they’ve learned following two-days of rehearsals in sectional and masters classes. Ellis said it should be a great musical experience, with selections that the audience will enjoy as much as the students.

For more information, access www.uwplatt.edu/music/honorsbandinfo/index.html.

Boland retires from Seneca
After decades
Seneca School District

Seneca School District Administrator David Boland’s resignation from his position was accepted by the Seneca School Board at their meeting on Monday, following a closed session discussion.

David Boland has had a long career at the school including serving as a teacher, athletic coach, principal and district administrator. Boland will formally retire from his current administrator position effective June 30, 2025.

During the public input portion of the meeting, Seneca Director of Food Service Michelle Updike requested that the board consider a change to graduation. She proposed letting staff members hand diplomas to students at graduation. Updike is also the parent of a high school student.

Updike explained that staff members could be chosen by individual students because of a special impact that staff member may have had on that student.

The current policy is to have designated school board members hand out the diplomas at graduation.

Seneca teacher and parent Shelly Davidson agreed with Updike’s idea. She added that the staff member need not be a high school teacher, but could even be a kindergarten teacher.

Board member Britany Joy asked if coaches could be included as eligible to hand out the diplomas as staff members.

Seneca School District Administrator Dave Boland said if the designation was staff members, it would include not only teachers, but paraprofessionals, coaches and anyone else who works for the district.

Updike told the board that she would poll the senior class to see if they favored having staff members, as well as school board members, be eligible to hand out their diplomas.

Boland emphasized that if the change was made it would include a list on the back of the program denoting what person was giving a diploma to each student. To accomplish this, the board would have to decide by April, so that information could be gathered in a timely fashion for inclusion in the program.

The next item discussed impacted the date of the next meeting. The third Monday next month is April 21. However, because of spring break and family plans, four board members indicated they could not make the meeting. After some discussion, it was agreed that the next Seneca School Board meeting would be held on Monday, April 14.

The school calendar was explained and discussed. Phy ed teacher and volleyball coach Shelly Davidson asked if the parent-teacher conferences could be changed, because the date chosen means she can never attend a parent-teacher conference, because they are held on the same dates as the state high school  volleyball tournament, which she attends every year.

In a discussion, the board considered moving the date of conferences back two weeks. The calendar approval was tabled for more study.

The senior class trip expenses were also discussed. Teacher and senior class advisor Michele  Updike said that the senior class funds are used to pay for the substitute teacher for class advisors, who are often teachers. The cost can range from $700 to $900 if both class advisors are teachers. Updike pointed out that can be close to 10 percent of the funds raised by the senior class, which are often around $10,000.

Updike asked that school district to consider paying for the substitute teachers when needed, to replace teachers acting as class advisors on the school trip, creating more funds for the senior class to use.

Shelly Davidson asked if it would be possible to use professional development funds from the missing teachers to pay for the subs.

District administrator Dave Boland explained switching those funds would not be possible.

School board member Crisse Reynolds suggested that perhaps the district could share the cost of the substitutes with the class.

After more discussion, Seneca School Board president Shawn Lenzendorf said she had no problem with the cost of the substitutes being paid by the district. Lenzendorf moved to pay costs of any substitute teachers hired to replace teachers because they were acting as class advisors on the senior class trip. The motion was seconded by Adam Green and passed unanimously by the board.

During the discussion, Green had said he was shocked when he learned the senior class was paying for substitute teachers for the class advisors going on the trip.

In other business, the Seneca Area School District:

• approved the 2025 CESA #3 contract to provide specialized services to the district with a 2.5% increase that was well explained by the agency’s director Jamie Nutter

• learned that the district had chosen a Skyward automated time sheet program that was less expensive than the alternative and fit with other Skyward programs already in use by the district

• learned roof leaks around drains in some previous heavy rains were fixed under warranty

The Seneca Area School District’s Monthly Recognition Award was given to the Royals’ boys and girls basketball teams and to the North Crawford Seneca Wrestling Team’s Seneca wrestlers; Jaren Grimsled, Thomas Sprosty and Sawyer Swiggum for wrestling in the sectional and to Grimsled and Swiggum for wrestling the WIAA State Wrestling Tournament.