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Pulaski County Schools

Somerset KY

Image of the words Arts and Humanities

******Information and Ideas from Your District Colleagues*******

  • Please forward to me instructional ideas that have been successful in your classroom so I can share them in the next newsletter.
  • Carol Parkey, art teacher at SWHS, displays student art work in the faculty restrooms.
  • Phil Shelton, music teacher at Burnside Elementary, asks questions to review key terms and concepts as part of his procedure to determine who lines up first for class change.
  • Darrell Whitaker, physical education teacher at BES, recommends the PE Central web site for lesson plans on dance and movement.
  • Charles Langford, teacher at Northern Middle, provided the attached poem entitled “Why Learn Visual Arts?” (He adapted it from a poster about one of the other humanities components. The author of the original wording is unknown.)

*******Announcements, Suggestions, Reminders, Etc.*******

  • I encourage you to use the Connections in Art Kits. I am confident that you will be pleased with the quality of the art prints and the focus of the lessons! These materials are designed to ensure successful lesson implementation even by teachers with limited preparation or expertise in the arts. (All elementary schools, except Woodstock, recently received an additional kit for each grade level. Please ask your principal where the materials are housed.)
  • Please consider participating in the district’s celebration of differences by providing examples or lessons on the arts of the countries being highlighted. Celebrations are scheduled for Germany in October, France in November, China in February and Mexico in May. (Wanda Gaskin or your school’s character coach will provide additional information later.) o Provide an authentic audience for your students by displaying their art work at PTA meetings or in the space where your SBDM council meets.
  • Please contact me if you would like the Kentucky Arts Council’s list of web sites featuring grant opportunities and resources.
  • Reminder—I have several videos available for checkout. Please refer to the list you received last year for titles, times, and descriptions
  • By the end of the month, your principal will receive your school’s copy of a dance manual that includes “step-by-step” (pun intended!) instructions, open-response ideas, historical background information, and a CD of musical accompaniment. (Burnside, Nancy, Shopville, Eubank, and Woodstock already have manuals from staff members who attended a dance workshop in July.)
  • I have made reservations for 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders in ESS Spring Academy to attend a performance of “A Thousand Cranes” at The Center.
  • Attached is “Bette’s Best”, a list of internet resources for funding, advocacy, and curriculum inspiration.
  • I have classroom sets of the July 8th issue of US News and World Report available for checkout from my office. This special double issue is entitled America’s Music: From Yankee Doodle to Hip-Hop. One suggestion for use is as a “think-pair-share” activity in middle or high school. A copy of the table of contents is attached for reference.
  • When Kengmo performed last year at Shopville Elementary, he gave me a CD that you may check out from my office. Kengmo’s music is played on authentic instruments made by the people of Central Africa. English translations are printed for the words that he describes as “the wisdom and philosophies of my ancestors and elders”.
  • Teachers are invited to submit to the National Music Foundation original examples of lessons that incorporate American music. Teachers whose lessons are selected will receive grants of $500. For contest guidelines and to view lesson plans, visit www.usamusic.org/amei.html. (Entry deadline is September 16, 2002.)
  • By the end of this month, your principal will receive a binder entitled Arts Toolkit: Drama and Music, a companion to the toolkit on visual art and dance that your school received last year. Both resources were developed by KET in conjunction with the Kentucky Department of Education, the Kentucky Arts Council, the Kentucky Center for the Arts, and teachers who attended a five-day workshop. (Our district’s representative to the workshop was Alice Mounce from Nancy and Eubank.) This resource is a result of requests from Kentucky teachers for instructional materials appropriate for focus on Core Content in the arts. Lesson plans identify specific relevance to the Program of Studies, Core Content, and Academic Expectations. Additionally, plans include sections on essential questions, objectives, materials list, handouts, vocabulary lists, cultural comparisons, instructional strategies, activities, resource/reference lists, extensions, applications across the curriculum, open response prompts, and directions and rubrics for performance events. In addition to the written plans, the toolkit includes CD’s for each section. Don’t miss this treasure of ideas!
  • Your principal has received a brochure describing the following performances scheduled for School Time Theatre at The Center.
    September 19 Huck and Tom on the Mighty Mississippi
    October 24 Out of the Mist…A Dragon December 5 One Appalachian Christmas
    March 18 A Thousand Cranes
    March 27 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
  • According to Dr. Julie Bucknam, an art professor at Eastern Kentucky University, coloring books inhibit creativity. She suggests using anti-coloring books instead.

***On the SIGNIFICANCE of the ARTS***

  • According to the National Art Education Association, only half of our nation’s elementary schools have art teachers, 60% of public secondary schools require arts as a part of graduation requirements, only 35% of higher education institutions count arts grades when computing GPA’s, and only 5 states conduct statewide assessments in the arts. (Those statistics reinforce my pride in the insightful leadership in Kentucky and in Pulaski County Schools!)
  • “Because the arts stress creative thinking and analytical skills, students who have a strong background in the arts are more likely to outperform academically their peers who do not. According to a study by the Business Committee for the Arts, students who study the arts perform 30% better than those who do not.”

***ARTS in the COMMUNITY and BEYOND***

  • Tickets are currently on sale for the 2002-2003 CenterStage portion of the Lake Cumberland Performing Arts Series at The Center for Rural Development. For additional information about the productions listed below, call 677-6000.
    September 26 In the Mood
    October 11 Romeo and Juliet
    October 29 A Streetcar Names Desire
    November 17 Stephen Rose and Stephen Wogaman
    December 3 The Nutcracker
    December 12 A Wonderful Life
    January 16 Miride e Damari
    February 6 American Spiritual Ensemble
    February 25 George M!
    March 2 Trio Brasil
    April 10 Michael McPherson’s Physical Magic
    April 17 The Miracle Worker
  • E-mail me if you are interested in ticket information for the Louisville Ballet 2002-2003 season.

***QUOTES FOR REFLECTION***

  • Art is a collaboration between God and the artist, and the less the artist does, the better. –Andre Gide
  • Art is a place kids travel to where they feel good about themselves. Keep their passport current. –Fred Babb, American author and artist
  • You can’t create without analysis, synthesis, evaluation, and problem-solving. So, the arts are the perfect model for moving into higher levels of thinking. --Rose Maree Myers, Elementary School Principal
  • The future belongs to those who believe in their dreams. –Eleanor Roosevelt
Any referenced attachment can be obtained by contacting Janice Fraley, Arts and Humanities Coordinator, Pulaski County Schools.