Pick-Up Notes
The Newsletter from the St. Joseph Arts Academy

Dear SJAA Families,

It’s that time again—backpacks are filling up, calendars are getting marked, and routines are slowly finding their way back into our days. We hope you’ve all had a wonderful and restorative summer, filled with family fun, adventures, and hopefully a little music too!

Here at the Academy, we’ve had a truly fantastic summer. From our 30-Day Practice Challenge, performances at Hawkfest, AKMA, and our Second Saturdays at the Children’s Discovery Center, to the joyful sounds of our Early Childhood Music Classes, the building has been alive with music and momentum. We’re proud of our students who stayed committed and creative all summer long—it’s been a season of real growth!

As we step into the new school year, it’s a perfect time to reestablish musical routines. Here are a few quick tips to help make music a seamless part of your family’s schedule this fall:

Choose a consistent weekly lesson time and make it sacred. Lesson times are filling up quickly, so please reach out if you haven’t secured yours yet.

Build practice into the daily routine—even 10–15 focused minutes can make a world of difference. Tie it to another habit (right after school, before dinner, or just before screen time) to make it stick.

Create a dedicated space for music at home: a well-lit, quiet corner with the instrument ready and accessible can be very inviting for regular practice.

Set small goals and celebrate often. Whether it’s mastering a song, remembering to bring a practice notebook, or simply showing up with a smile—acknowledge the progress!

We’re excited to continue offering more opportunities for our students to shine this year, including monthly recitals, Mall Concerts, and our return to “Bluegrass Battles Hunger” in September.

Thank you for allowing us to be a part of your musical journey. We’re honored to work alongside your families as we grow together through music. Let’s make this school year one to remember!

Jason Riley – Director

jason@jasonriley.com
(816) 294-4856 cell
St. Joseph Arts Academy
www.stjosephartsacademy.com
(816) 974-SOLO (7656)
jason@stjosephartsacademy

Join or Share us on Facebook/Instagram

#MusicAccomplished

Our August “Student of the Month” is…

Avery A.!

We are so lucky to have Avery and her family with us at the SJAA.

Avery has always loved music! So far, she plays violin, cello, and viola, and her next goals are to learn bass guitar, and voice. This fall, she’s starting 10th grade and will be playing both violin and cello in the Symphonic Orchestra at Central.

Avery has also been a dedicated figure skater with the St. Joseph Figure Skating Club for the past nine years. She competes individually and is heading into her sixth season with the Griffon Gliders synchronized figure skating team.

On top of that, Avery joined the swim team at Central this past year and plans to stay on—it’s no surprise she loves to swim!

Avery is also passionate about art. She’s won several awards, including three wins in the Purina Art Contest, her most recent being this year. Her other interests include going to the gym, solving Sudoku puzzles, fishing, spending time with her pets (two dogs and a cat), hanging out with friends, and—yes—even math!

She loves taking lessons with Mrs. Gerhardt at the St. Joseph Arts Academy, and she’s excited to see what the future holds!

We’ll celebrate Avery with a Ricky Deans gift card for her!

Thank you, Avery for referring your friends and family to the Academy.

Congratulations!!!

To be considered for Student of the Month, be sure to talk to your teacher about all your musical and extracurricular activities, share pictures and refer your fellow musicians to the academy.

Our August Pets of the Month goes to

Tele & Cowboy!
Thank you to the Branson family for sharing a photo of your sweet fur babies. Each month, SJAA will select a pet to feature and a donation will be made to Friends of the St. Joseph Animal Shelter in honor of all of our local pets in need. Share a favorite pic of your favorite pet and maybe they’ll be named the SJAA “Pet of the Month”! Bring on those adorable snapshots!

SJAA Partners with InspireU for “Second Saturdays” Music Experience!

We are thrilled to announce a new partnership between the St. Joseph Arts Academy and InspireU, St. Joseph’s brand-new children’s discovery center! As part of this exciting collaboration, SJAA students and faculty will become MusicMakers during SJAA Second Saturdays from 1:00–4:00 PM at InspireU.

This unique, interactive experience will allow our musicians to rehearse, workshop, and demonstrate the creative process of making music in a fun and informal way. While InspireU patrons (ages infant to 10 years) roam, play, and explore, they’ll have the chance to observe music in action—seeing firsthand how musicians practice, prepare, and bring songs to life.

Research shows that young people who witness art and music being created are more likely to be inspired to try it themselves. Through this partnership, SJAA is furthering its mission to ignite a love for music in the next generation. We believe this is an incredible opportunity for everyone involved, and we can’t wait to share the joy of music with the InspireU community!

Google Review

Private lessons spots are limited with our amazing coaching faculty at the SJAA but we still have room to grow. Thank you for referring your friends and family to the academy!

We’ve now reached over 50 5-star Google reviews. So, thank you to everybody that put in their reviews. We so much appreciate it, but we want to get to 75 reviews. If you haven’t yet, please consider going to Goggle, giving us a review. We’d love your feedback and thank you so much again for helping us get over 50 5-star Google reviews.

REVIEWS https://g.page/r/CZvsJULwejcCEAg/review

Referral Contest!

Share this referral as a GIFT FROM YOU and they’ll get FREE registration ($35.00) and their Fourth Lesson FREE ($29.00) when they register for lessons. ($64.00 Value!)

AND… you’ll both be registered for the quarterly referral contest for a chance to win a $100 Amazon Gift Card or a Private Party for 15 friends!

They WIN, you WIN and the SJAA WINS another great student JUST LIKE YOU!

Thank you for sharing the SJAA with your friends and family!

Our family has been lucky enough to have all three of our kids involved with the St Joseph Arts Academy. SJAA shares their love of music and the arts with their students and it reflects in the students. SJAA is a gift to our community and the arts. – Les and Cathy G.

Monthly tuition for private lessons (30 minute weekly sessions) is $116.

Review Our Lesson Policy
https://stjosephartsacademy.com/lesson-policy/

OTHER NOTES

Upcoming Events

8/9 – InspireU – SJAA Second Saturdays Music Makers, 1-4pm

9/1 – September “30 Day Practice Challenge” Begins!

9/6 – Saturday Early Childhood Music Begins! 9,10, 11am & 1, 2, 3pm

9/8 – Monday Early Childhood Music Begins! 9,10, 11am & 4, 5, 6pm

9/13 – InspireU – SJAA Second Saturdays Music Makers, 1-4pm

9/21 – SJAMTA Recital 2pm, MWSU

10/11 – InspireU – SJAA Second Saturdays Music Makers, 1-4pm

10/26 – SJAMTA “Mall-o-ween” recitals 2pm or 330, East Hills Mall

11/1 – November “30 Day Practice Challenge” Begins!

11/8 – InspireU – SJAA Second Saturdays Music Makers, 1-4pm

11/16 – SJAMTA “Patriotic” Recital 2pm, MWSU

Is your Teacher Sold Out?

Addy Gabriel – 430 Friday

Alex Rowen – 5 Monday

Andrew Holmes – 1230 Tuesday

Anthony Glise – Sold Out

Brett Wootton – Sold Out

Brent Isom – 3 Thursday

Claire Gerhardt – Sold Out

Garrett Branson – 330 Thursday

Jack Wing – 430 Wednesday

Jason Riley – Sold Out

Jolie Riley – Sold Out

Darren Verbick – 430 Tuesday

David Jarman – Sold Out

David Parker – Visual Only

Marina Gurnovich – 430 Friday

Olivia Guardado – Sold Out

Terry Brock – Sold Out

SJAA Classes/Courses – Private music lessons in Guitar, Piano, Violin, Cello, Voice and Singing, Ukulele, Drums and Percussion, Steel Pan, Mandolin, Banjo, Acoustic/Upright Bass, Electric Bass, Trumpet, Strings, Early Childhood Classes, Group Guitar, Group Ukulele. Art Classes, Online Music Lessons & Adult Art Classes. All musical styles for all ages.

We also offer…
Discounts on music books & accessories, instrument rentals and rental space for birthday parties and special events.

TeacherZone is our on-line platform for our students and our teachers.
https://app.teacherzone.com

UNITED FIBER has come to the SJAA!
Free Wi-Fi – SJAA password “MusicAccomplished”

Academy Mission

Our mission at the St. Joseph Arts Academy is to provide the highest quality musical instruction and performance opportunities to beginning and advancing students in the Midland empire. We use our patience, enthusiasm and loyalty to encourage, inform and inspire others to happily share their skill and talent in love and gratitude to make the world a better place.

OUR MOTTO… Music Accomplished!

Thank you for reading -“Pick-Up Notes” –
Monthly Newsletter from the St. Joseph Arts Academy!

It’s always a great month and they go by so fast!

Thank you for encouraging the advancing musicians in your life and in our community.

We are making the world a better place through music.

It’s fun! Thank you for that.

Jason Riley
Director
jason@stjosephartsacademy.com
Call: 816-974-7656
Text: 816-623-2002
Here to help! Call or text if you need anything at all.

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