North Springs High School Wins Nation’s Top Music Honor Society Award

North Springs High School’s Tri-M Music Honor Society Chapter has been named the 2024–2025 National Chapter of the Year by the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) and the Music Honor Society Advisory Council. Selected from over 2,100 chapters across the country, representing more than 75,000 student musicians, North Springs stood out for its exceptional creativity, student leadership, and community impact.

Under the guidance of Band Director Mr. Michael Brown, Orchestra Director Dr. Mirna Dinovic, and Chorus Director Ms. Jessica Gilbert, the chapter demonstrated a year of meaningful engagement, artistic excellence, and service to both the school and the wider Sandy Springs community.

“Our program embraced the spirit of Tri-M by creating experiences that brought music and the arts into the community in lasting, impactful ways,” said Dr. Dinovic. “This national recognition is a reflection of our students’ talent, leadership, and generosity. A huge shoutout to our amazing board of officers, led by President Kate Lott and Vice President Whitney Phillips. Their leadership, hard work, and dedication to organizing and documenting our events made this award possible.”

Kate, a North Springs junior and Chapter President, said, “I am so incredibly proud of the hard work each and every member of our Tri-M chapter put into this year. We produced incredible, community-driven work, and I’m so excited to see what we can achieve next year.” The outstanding student leadership board members feature:

• President - Kate Lott
• Vice President - Whitney Phillips
• Secretary - Diane Foster
• Treasurer - Sylvia Schuessler
• Historian - Wilna Charlemagne
• Band Ambassador - Bex Stifel
• Chorus Ambassador - Lexi Stevens
• Orchestra Ambassador - Sami Rkab
• Music Industry Ambassador - Jaeda Iman
• Visual and Performing Arts Coordinator - Keira Mobley

The chapter’s accomplishments this year included:

• The 4th Annual Arts Festival, celebrating music and the arts with the broader Sandy Springs community
• Art in the Commons, a monthly school-based performance and art series
• A unique collaborative showcase at the Sandy Springs ArtBeat event
• Community-focused outreach including a food drive, performances at nursing homes, classroom visits, and participation in the Halcyon holiday celebration

As the 2024–2025 Senior Division National Chapter of the Year, North Springs will receive a $1,000 scholarship to support future music-related programming, a plaque, and a feature on the NAfME website.