Author:		Christopher Morse
Posted:		2/28/03; 8:37:18 AM
Topic:		Experiencing the Arts
Msg #:		200 (top msg in thread)
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EXPERIENCING THE ARTS

Art Club Students, Caitlyn Arnold, Shelby Maville and Sandy Perez painted a Toyota Tacoma truck as part of an art competition. They chose to paint on the theme of America's addiction to oil. They were awarded the "Independance Award" for their effort. The Contest was stated, "We want you to answer the question: " What do you do when the moral response goes against conventional wisdom." They had to answer the question by creating their installation on a very non-traditional canvas: A Toyota Tacoma truck. Teams of up to ten students from four schools arrived at White River Toyota at 10am on Saturday November 22nd and had until 4pm to finish their artistry, then each team presented their installation before a panel of judges. Paint and brushes were provided. White River Toyota also provided refreshments and had a performance by the cast of "Les Miserables." It was a great time! Thanks to Pete Stoddard of White River Toyota for including Mascoma High School!

Click on underlined title links
Field Trips and Community Events, 2008 - 2009
Synergy Brass Quintet Residency December 15, 16, 17, 2008
Nature Walk 09/24/08 with Darcie Jensvold's English Class
Thoughts of Autumn
Painting Competition on a Toyota Tacoma!
Figure Drawing 2008
Articles 2007 - 2008 School Year
Articles 2006/07 & before
Articles 2005/06 and before
Articles 2004/05 & before

Experiencing the Arts 2008-09

Experiencing the Arts is an experiential arts enrichment program based at Mascoma Valley Regional High School in Canaan, NH. Experiencing the Arts is developing a system to connect students and artists from the NH State Council's Artists Roster, The League of NH Craftsmen, and from the four corners of the world. The initial concept for Experiencing the Arts was to develop a new high school course that provided a combination of a work/learning curriculum that engaged professional artists, arts administrators, and other arts professions to work with youth. With continued funding through 2008 from the NH State Council on the Arts and matching support from Mascoma School District, Experiencing the Arts will continue as a class and formalize the development of the cross curricular and broader community impact of the program.

In the school year, 2008-09, the program will be entering its seventh year in practice and eighth year since its creation. The program has succeeded in far exceeding its initial benefit as a class bringing programs to the entire school and broader community as well as sponsoring dozens of field trips to arts events. Our partners in this program include the Lebanon Opera House, The Hopkins Center Outreach Department at Dartmouth College, and AVA Gallery. We also work closely with the Education Department at the Hood Museum of Art. These organizations offer excellent educational material in conjunction with all their programs making it possible to include other classes that could benefit with the vitality of an arts experience in the six areas of the arts covered by the Experiencing the Arts program (Theater, Media Arts, Visual Arts, Dance, Music, and Writing/Poetry).

Within the school Experiencing the Arts has made partners of Mascoma's Alternative Program and other classes often including additional students on field trips. These partnerships enable teachers to enhance their curriculum and students to benefit from the enrichment opportunities.

Experiencing the Arts has been honored to continue to win the Artlinks grant support and matching support from Mascoma School District. We have also enjoyed generous support from the Byrne Foundation and Mascoma Bank Foundation, the Walker Fund, and The Wellborn Ecology Fund. You can e-mail Experiencing the Arts Director, Christopher Morse at oculuspress@valley.net

2008/2009, Experiencing the Arts - A Fully Integrated Program

"Teachers across the disciplines see a greater need for Arts activities to stimulate learning in their classes. They are excited to stimulate learning by bringing the arts into their curriculum. Teachers do not work in a vacuum and learning does not just take place in the formal classroom. In order to continue to raise the bar and meet No Child Left Behind goals, teachers need the continued investment of their students. They must be excited about learning. With Experiencing the Arts we have seen firsthand that student learning is energized by enrichment experiences. Students find the classroom work more meaningful and useful when skills have been brought to life, so to speak, by arts experiences.

In January 2008 Experiencing the Arts became a fully integrated program. The course in Experiencing the Arts will be a club program allowing for the development of after school programming it supported with the Art Club. All the Experiencing the Arts curriculum areas - field trips, all-school assemblies, artists in residence, cross-curricular arts experiences for individual classes, entire departments, entire classes, the whole school and the broader community will be designed with increased input from partnering teachers and community programs such as the PTO and vertical programming with district schools.

Experiencing the Arts has built itself into this fully integrated community program through a steady evolution; strengthening of partnerships with the faculty, broadening of partnerships in the school district and with community organizations such as the PTO. This year, we took Canaan Elementary students to see Old Yeller. Students from all area schools enjoyed performances of Synergy Brass Quintet, and students from Canaan Elementary and Indian River School have scheduled visits to the Ways of the Woods mobile museum which will be at the Mascoma campus April 23-24 as part of the theme week festivities. The Ways of the Woods exhibit is offered together with a wood turning demonstration with Dustin Coates. Based on the success of the Synergy Brass Quintet's vertical programming and their rapport with Mascoma's band, a residency with Synergy has been arranged for December 2008. Synergy will work with the band students at all levels, then students will perform for the local community in an evening performance at Mascoma, the following morning, participating students will perform with Synergy as part of a Youth Education Series performance at Lebanon Opera House benefiting about 26 schools.

Building on this direction, arts programming can become a vital part of the Mascoma education and can inspire the imaginations of both students and teachers. As the theme week and Open House Festival become regular events, teachers will be able to explore specific facets in their curriculum which could be enhanced by a hands on component and reinforced by their students presenting their efforts at the festival.

Experiencing the Arts has had a very successful 2007/08 school year and we are poised to expand on community partnerships that will identify curriculum areas that can be enhanced by arts experiences. We had the biggest and most successful festival culminating a week of hands on projects in many courses. The Principal was so pleased with the energy in this hands on celebration of student work, that he named the festival the school's open house.

In 2007/08 we also enjoyed our usual slate of arts experiences, twelve field trips, eleven guest artists, five all school assemblies, Art Club, community projects such as building a war memorial eagle sculpture for the town of Grafton and collaborating with the Mascoma Valley Health Initiative creating a mural for the national "Kick Butts" campaign. This year we also hosted two events with vertical programming that benefited students of all ages from all five district area schools as well as Cardigan Mountain School - Synergy Brass Quintet and The Ways of the Woods mobile museum. We will continue these activities.

Experiencing the Arts Director, Christopher Hill Morse