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Stephen F. Austin State University’s School of Human Sciences is home to the Center for Economic Education, which is one of six centers in Texas designed to help train educators who teach students about economic education.

“Financial literacy is such an important area of concern,” said Dr. Nancy Shepherd, who serves as the center’s director and program coordinator for family and consumer sciences at SFA. “SFA is very focused on financial literacy, and it is part of our strategic plan.”

The center operates under the Texas Council on Economic Education. Its primary function is to provide training for teachers across the state. SFA’s center concentrates on serving teachers in Deep East Texas and the Beaumont and Huntsville areas.

During training sessions, Shepherd and other presenters demonstrate how to teach a specific financial topic. The center receives grants to sponsor the trainings, which sometimes funds support materials such as the current VE4.5 jump drive that has more than 1,400 lessons that apply to students in kindergarten through 12th grade.

Lessons include economics, financial literacy and entrepreneurship courses. Presenters help teachers navigate the lessons and find additional resources to help them in their classrooms.

“We have some great teachers doing really great things, but they need more support and training,” Shepherd said. “They don’t feel comfortable with some of the concepts, so we are trying to provide as much training as we can.”

Shepherd will host a curriculum training session from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Dec. 5, at SFA in the Culinary Café, Room 121, located in the Education Annex Building on campus.

The session will focus on understanding fiscal responsibility and utilize real-world situations that illustrate current fiscal issues such as the national debt, budget deficit, national security, Social Security and national policy issues. The training session costs $15. Space is available for the Monday training. To register online, visit www.economicstexas.org.

For more information, contact Shepherd at (936) 468-1413 or shepherd@sfasu.edu.

The combined choirs at Stephen F. Austin State University, along with the Orchestra of the Pines, will present SFA’s traditional holiday concert at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 9, in W.M. Turner Auditorium on the university campus.

The highly anticipated annual celebration will feature “Hodie,” or “This Day,” a Christmas cantata by the great English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, according to Dr. Tim King, director of choral activities for the SFA School of Music.

“This exhilarating telling of the Christmas story was composed between 1953 and 1954,” King said. “It was Williams’ last major choral-orchestral composition and was premiered under his baton at Worcester Cathedral as part of the Three Choirs Festival on Sept. 8,1954.

“The cantata, in 16 movements, is scored for treble chorus, mixed chorus organ and orchestra, and it will feature our SFA voice faculty soloists,” he said. Those include Charlotte Davis, Scott LaGraff and Richard G. Leonberger.

The program will also include the popular Christmas carol sing-a-long that has become a favorite feature of the annual event, King said.

The concert is a joint presentation of the SFA College of Fine Arts and School of Music. Turner Auditorium is located in the Griffith Fine Arts Building, 2222 Alumni Drive.

Tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and $3 for students and youth. For tickets or more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu.

The Rockin’ Axes at Stephen F. Austin State University will present “The Sounds of the ’80s” when the two student ensembles perform at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 8, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

Andrew Sperandeo, director of the Rockin’ Axes groups, chose a theme that chronologically followed popular music through the decades because he wanted his students to experience “great music and great artists.”

Beginning with songs of the ’50s and ’60s three years ago, moving to the music of the ’70s last year, and forward to the music of the ’80s this year, Sperandeo’s students have seen how music, culture and style have changed over time, and they have seen how the music of previous decades influenced musicians that followed, he explained.

Among the program selections are “Rosanna,” written by David Paich and recorded by Toto; “Let’s Groove,” written by Maurice White and Wayne Vaughn and recorded by Earth, Wind & Fire; and “Owner of a Lonely Heart,” written by Trevor Rabin and recorded by “Yes.”

Toto was comprised of talented studio musicians from the ’80’s who played on many of the big hits by other artist of the time, including Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” Sperandeo said.

“‘Rosanna’ can be appreciated by so many because it has solid half-time shuffle groove, catchy chord progression and amazing vocals and harmony,” he said. “It contains a bit more advanced elements such as key changes and style changes, notably in the outro.”

Sperandeo chose “Let’s Groove” because he “always loved the intro bass line double with a vox vocoder, and also because this band is the epitome of groove – great horn lines and vocal harmonies,” he said. “I knew the kids and the audience would have fun with this one.”

Performing “Owner of a Lonely Heart” will allow student to experience a little of the “progressive rock scene” of the ’80’s, Sperandeo said, “and Yes definitely fell into that category.”

“I love the different textural layers in this tune created from great guitar tone and effects, with synth orchestral hits, hard-hitting bright snare and high clean vocals,” he said. “All of these elements and great mixing and mastering make it sound very progressive, even 30 years later.”

The Contemporary Ensemble will also perform after the two Rockin’ Axes Groups.

“Bust out your leg warmers, jean jackets and parachute pants for this concert as we try to transport you back 30 years to a time where MTV music videos changed the course of music history and culture,” Sperandeo encouraged audience members, “to a time we can all look back at our hair styles and wardrobe and honestly say, ‘What were we thinking?'”

The concert is a presentation of the SFA College of Fine Arts and School of Music. Cole concert Hall is located in the Tom and Peggy Wright Music Building, 2210 Alumni Drive.

Tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and $3 for students and youth. For tickets or more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or (888) 240-ARTS or visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu.

The Latin Lumberjacks ensemble at Stephen F. Austin State University will perform an outdoor holiday concert from noon to 1 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 8, in the plaza outside the Baker Pattillo Student Center on the SFA campus.

The Latin Lumberjacks is comprised of members of the Sound Recording Technology program within the SFA School of Music. Directed by Luigi Lazareno, music faculty member, the group will perform a variety of popular holiday songs in salsa style.

The Christmas-themed program will feature colorful, happy salsa sounds that highlight the powerful rhythms of cha-cha-cha, bolero, guaguancó, son montuno, bachata and others performed with congas, bongos, maracas, claves and other Latin music instruments.

“Come join the fun and get in the Christmas spirit,” Lazareno said.

The concert is free. For more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu.

High school students from Groveton and Lufkin ISDs recently participated in the Piney Woods Region branch of Texas Area Health Education Center East’s fall 2016 Health Career Camp.

“Most of the participants are first-generation college students, and their questions focused on scholarships, degree requirements and competition for entry into our nursing program,” said Debbie Kiesel with AHEC. “One student even asked what a dean’s job responsibilities entail after listening to Dr. Kimberly Childs, dean of SFA’s College of Sciences and Mathematics. We think the camp went very well!”

Held Nov. 15-17 on the Stephen F. Austin State University Campus, the camp’s goal was to provide aspiring health career students with an opportunity to learn about careers in public health, to shadow professionals who work in several health care facilities, and to learn more about related academic programs and resources available at SFA.

“Our event was educational, not recruiting-oriented, but I think it accomplished both things,” Kiesel said. “I know Dr. Childs’ presentation on the soon-to-be-built Ed and Gwen Cole STEM building, including the architect’s rendering, caused a lot of buzz. Then students toured campus, interacted with faculty and staff members, and tackled a final project to demonstrate that they have the skills to complete a college-level assignment.”

Health professionals will judge student posters created on the final day of the camp during an event in March sponsored by AHEC. Scholarships will be awarded to students whose posters are selected by judges as the most informative and effective.