Fall is in full swing!  Everyone's back to the school year routine and playing great.  We welcome several new students to the group; I'm really happy to see our little guitar community grow.  I've got several little posts I'll be making in the next few days, so check back often.  Here are the big announcements:
Group Classes: Due to the new students we have and a wider range of age and repertoire level, I'm going to be splitting us into two groups.  We'll have interaction between the two groups, but the bulk of the time will be in the group that you've been assigned--I'll e-mail those out.  Group class is a really important aspect of Suzuki.  It's a great time to have fun, review repertoire, learn to play music as a group, and meet and hear other students.  Because this is so important, in 2012, we are going to start meeting twice a month--first and third Sundays at 3:30 (Group A) and 4:30 (Group B).  For now, we're going to stick to once a month (Oct. 16 is next class).  I'll give more details (rates, group assignment) by e-mail. 
Parent Education class: I've been threatening this for a while, but I want to organize this to happen some weekend in November.  I've considered having a reading that we could all discuss, but instead I want to keep this very open and have the main topic be motivation.  It's a broad topic and can include practice games, routines for home practice, ideas for keeping motivation going.  This is a huge topic, but I'll plan for some specific discussions.  Please comment any ideas here.  I'll send an e-mail out about this and make a poll for narrowing down a time that will work for everyone. 
More to come soon including: listening recommendations, upcoming concerts, Suzuki Assoc. of WI retreat, and the Guitar Olympics in December!