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Arts a la Carte Department of Visual & Performing Arts April 2016—May 2016 Westfield Public Schools Westfield New Jersey http://tinyurl.com/nx8rzac 4/6/16 WHS / EIS / RIS Choral Night @ WHS Auditorium 4/7/16 Washington 4 th & 5 th grade Band 4/25/16 Franklin Advanced Band 4/27/16 WHS Chamber Music Night @ First United Methodist Church – 7:30 pm 4/27/16 Tamaques 4 th grade Band – 6:45 pm 4/27/16 Tamaques 5 th grade Band & Chorus – 7:30 pm 5/3/16 Wilson Band 5/5/16 Franklin Intermediate Band 5/11/16 Franklin Chorus 5/11/16 Jefferson Band & Chorus 5/14/16 WHS / EIS / RIS Jazz Night @ WHS Courtyard – 5:30 pm (Saturday) 5/16/16 McKinley Advanced Band & Chorus 5/18/16 McKinley Intermediate Band 5/19/16 Washington Chorus 5/19/16 Wilson Chorus 5/21/15 WHS May-Hem 5/23/16 All Elementary Intermediate Strings @ EIS 5/24/16 All Elementary Beginner Strings @ EIS 5/25/16 WHS Chorus – 7:30 pm 6/1/16 All City Festival @ WHS Auditorium – 7:30 pm 6/3/16 WHS Orchestra – 7:30 pm 6/7/16 WHS Jazz / Percussion @ WHS Auditorium – 7:30 pm 6/8/16 EIS Concert – 7 th Gr. Chorus & 6 th & 8 th Gr. Orchestra - 7:30 pm 6/8/16 RIS Concert – 6 th , 7 th & 8 th Gr. Concert Bands 6/9/16 EIS Concert – 6 th & 7 th Gr. Bands - 7:30 pm 6/9/16 RIS Concert – All Jazz Ensembles 6/13/16 WHS Band – 7:30 pm 6/14/16 EIS Concert – 6 th Gr. Chorus, 7 th Gr. Orchestra & Chamber - 7:30 pm 6/14/16 RIS Concert – 6 th & 8 th Gr. Chorus 6/14/16 RIS Concert – 6 th & 8 th Gr. Orchestra – 8:00 pm 6/15/16 EIS Concert – 8 th Gr. Band & Chorus, Broadway Singers & Jazz Band - 7:30 pm 6/15/16 RIS Concert – 7 th Gr. Chorus, Sharps and Flats 6/15/16 RIS Concert – 7 th Gr. Orchestra & Early Morning Orchestra – 8:00 pm District Art Show Opens May 10! Come experience the District Art Show in a new interactive way this year! The goal of the Westfield Visual Arts Department is to develop an awareness and appreciation of the visual arts in every learner, from grades pre-kindergarten through twelve. It has been proven many times in many different ways that the arts are an essential educational component. The arts help children better comprehend the basic studies of language, math and science. Annually, district art educators convert the Westfield High School gymnasium into an art gallery of work created by pre-K-12 students. Visitors are always amazed by the quality of work our art teachers encourage the students to create. You will find graphic art pieces, sculptures (both large and small) ceramics, charcoal and pencil drawings, watercolors, fabric arts, painted furniture and so much more. Beginning May 10 we invite you to come and enjoy the redesigned show with a true museum experience. The show is open to the public on May 10 and 11 from 9:00AM - 9:00PM and on May 13 from 9:00AM – 2:00PM. In coordination with Youth Art Month, RMC Studios in Garwood is hosting an Open House for the general public to view student artwork in unique gallery settings. The evening of Art and Music at RMC, 207 Center Street in Garwood will be held on Friday, April 1 From 6PM to 8PM ALL CONCERTS BEGIN AT 7:00 PM unless otherwise noted

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Page 1: Arts a la Carte - Westfield Visual & Performing Arts · 2018-09-09 · Indian vocal music workshop led by Hemant Kulkarni, owner of the Svara Sangham School for Hindustani Vocal music

Arts a la Carte Department of Visual & Performing Arts April 2016—May 2016

Westfield Public Schools Westfield New Jersey

http://tinyurl.com/nx8rzac

4/6/16 WHS / EIS / RIS Choral Night @ WHS Auditorium 4/7/16 Washington 4th & 5th grade Band 4/25/16 Franklin Advanced Band 4/27/16 WHS Chamber Music Night @ First United Methodist Church – 7:30 pm

4/27/16 Tamaques 4th grade Band – 6:45 pm 4/27/16 Tamaques 5th grade Band & Chorus – 7:30 pm 5/3/16 Wilson Band 5/5/16 Franklin Intermediate Band 5/11/16 Franklin Chorus 5/11/16 Jefferson Band & Chorus 5/14/16 WHS / EIS / RIS Jazz Night @ WHS Courtyard – 5:30 pm (Saturday) 5/16/16 McKinley Advanced Band & Chorus 5/18/16 McKinley Intermediate Band 5/19/16 Washington Chorus 5/19/16 Wilson Chorus 5/21/15 WHS May-Hem 5/23/16 All Elementary Intermediate Strings @ EIS 5/24/16 All Elementary Beginner Strings @ EIS 5/25/16 WHS Chorus – 7:30 pm 6/1/16 All City Festival @ WHS Auditorium – 7:30 pm 6/3/16 WHS Orchestra – 7:30 pm 6/7/16 WHS Jazz / Percussion @ WHS Auditorium – 7:30 pm 6/8/16 EIS Concert – 7th Gr. Chorus & 6th & 8th Gr. Orchestra - 7:30 pm 6/8/16 RIS Concert – 6th, 7th & 8th Gr. Concert Bands 6/9/16 EIS Concert – 6th & 7th Gr. Bands - 7:30 pm 6/9/16 RIS Concert – All Jazz Ensembles 6/13/16 WHS Band – 7:30 pm 6/14/16 EIS Concert – 6th Gr. Chorus, 7th Gr. Orchestra & Chamber - 7:30 pm 6/14/16 RIS Concert – 6th & 8th Gr. Chorus 6/14/16 RIS Concert – 6th & 8th Gr. Orchestra – 8:00 pm 6/15/16 EIS Concert – 8th Gr. Band & Chorus, Broadway Singers & Jazz Band - 7:30 pm 6/15/16 RIS Concert – 7th Gr. Chorus, Sharps and Flats 6/15/16 RIS Concert – 7th Gr. Orchestra & Early Morning Orchestra – 8:00 pm

District Art Show Opens May 10! Come experience the District Art Show in a new interactive way this year!

The goal of the Westfield Visual Arts Department is to develop an awareness and appreciation of the visual arts in every learner, from grades pre-kindergarten through twelve. It has been proven many times in many different ways

that the arts are an essential educational component. The arts help children better comprehend the basic studies of

language, math and science. Annually, district art educators convert the Westfield High School gymnasium into an art gallery of work created by pre-K-12 students. Visitors are always amazed by the quality of work our art teachers

encourage the students to create. You will find graphic art pieces, sculptures (both large and small) ceramics, charcoal and pencil drawings, watercolors, fabric arts, painted furniture and so much more.

Beginning May 10 we invite you to come and enjoy the redesigned show with a true museum experience. The show

is open to the public on May 10 and 11 from 9:00AM - 9:00PM and on May 13 from 9:00AM – 2:00PM.

In coordination with Youth Art Month,

RMC Studios in Garwood is hosting an Open House for the general public to view student artwork in unique

gallery settings. The evening of Art and Music at RMC, 207 Center Street in Garwood will be held on

Friday, April 1 From 6PM to 8PM

ALL CONCERTS BEGIN AT 7:00 PM unless

otherwise noted

Page 2: Arts a la Carte - Westfield Visual & Performing Arts · 2018-09-09 · Indian vocal music workshop led by Hemant Kulkarni, owner of the Svara Sangham School for Hindustani Vocal music

Page 2

Arts a la Carte April 2016 - May 2016

Westfield

High School Art

Ceramics 1 students are all pinch potted out! We spent most of the

second semester so far creating

various pinch pot forms. Students were introduced to white talc clay,

versa-clay, red clay, white stoneware clay, and raku clay. We

discussed the different clay bodies

and compared the texture, color and hardness of each clay while

creating pinch pots and decorating them. Students also learned how

to correctly join pieces of clay

together by adding faces to their pinch pots and joining two pinch

pots together. The pictures show our last pinch pot project….cute

presents that will be brightly glazed and displayed at the District

Art Show!

Students in Crafts Exploration are finishing up the sculpture unit.

The final sculpture project is stone carving. Students had to pick their

stone based on what object they thought they saw in the raw stone.

Just like Michelangelo, students

had to bring that object out of the stone using various carving tools,

rasps and sandpaper. Once the sculpture is complete, we start

buffing and polishing it using

pumice powder and butcher’s wax. The final product will be super

smooth and shiny. Be sure to check out the final sculptures at

the District Art Show in May!

Foundations of Art students are

continuing their exploration of the Elements and Principles of Art and

recently finished up color scheme

self-portraits (pictured below). A color scheme is a rational

arrangement or combination of colors. Students learned about a

variety of color schemes, including

achromatic, monochromatic, analogous, complementary and

triadic color schemes to name a few, as well as how to apply those

color schemes in a work of art.

Moreover, students studied how

color schemes impact their own

lives, through clothing choices, interior design and within

advertisements. Having learned how to appropriately mix different

values, tints, shades and tones,

Page 3: Arts a la Carte - Westfield Visual & Performing Arts · 2018-09-09 · Indian vocal music workshop led by Hemant Kulkarni, owner of the Svara Sangham School for Hindustani Vocal music

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April 2016 - May 2016 Arts a la Carte

students have transitioned into landscape painting. Building on

compositional theories, such as the rules of thirds and odds and ideas

developed by the Hudson River School painters, landscape

paintings are well underway!

Students start with an underpainting, an initial layer of

paint to set up major elements/features of the painting

and the different values visible.

Many works of art from both projects and the countless others

throughout the year will be displayed at the District Art Show

in May.

Drawing students in Happe-Conway’s classes have just finished

up a large mixed media drawing

unit. They explored creating and then developing a drawing on a

prepared surface for a homework piece. Students were exposed to

works by the Wyeth family of

artists, N.C, Andrew and Jamie. After seeing how illustrator

Howard Pyle’s influenced each generation of Wyeths, they were

challenged to work expressively with their mixed media. They

experienced building a piece in

layers.

Students used watercolor, gouache and pastels to carve out space.

They incorporated observed text into their works. Drawing students

are now working on perspective, value and refining their

observational seeing using

sighting.

Congratulations to sophomore,

Darika Lara-Rodriguez whose

artwork was chosen for this year’s Spring Concert program cover. The

covers will be used district wide,

for all the upcoming Spring Concerts.

Composition students are

working on acrylic paintings in

class. Homework assignments continue to challenge their

knowledge of intentional arrangement of space while

working with personal imagery. Students created tunnel books

trying to develop actual depth and

physical objects incorporating strong composition. They have just

investigated illuminated manuscripts and complex patterns in historical

design; The Book of Kells,

Carolinian manuscripts, Indian miniatures, Alphonse Mucha and

William Morris. They will work with

the inspiration of these artists to create small gouache paintings, full

of patterns to activate the negative space and to help tell the story of

their subject.

Page 4: Arts a la Carte - Westfield Visual & Performing Arts · 2018-09-09 · Indian vocal music workshop led by Hemant Kulkarni, owner of the Svara Sangham School for Hindustani Vocal music

Page 4

Arts a la Carte April 2016 - May 2016

Art IV students have just finished a faux stained glass assignment,

with beautiful results. They have been studying individual master

paintings and breaking down the historical use of armatures to see

how the artist composed the piece.

An original work of art will be created using the armature

knowledge gained by closely studying these works of art. Art IV

students will again be working in a

self-directed focus, developing works for potential inclusion in this

year’s art show.

World Crafts Sampler students

have completed original artworks using dry needle felting

techniques; the use of dyed raw wool applied with a barbed needle

to interlock the wool to the felt fabric backing creating the design.

Design, color theory/color schemes

and hand sewing techniques are also included in this unit.

The Craft students are presently tooling/embossing metal foils

(repoussé) and assembling the metal foils into wind chimes,

mobiles, covers for journals or bells… feverishly working towards

the Westfield Annual District Art

Show in May, which will exhibit the works of art!

Music

The students in Mixed Chorus have

been preparing their pieces for the upcoming spring concert and have

been working on elements of sight singing, ear training, music theory

and vocal technique. Some of the

highlights of the Mixed Chorus performance will be a choral piece

composed using the text of I Dream a World, a Langston

Hughes poem and Simon and

Garfunkel’s Bridge over Troubled Water. On March 4th, students in Concert

Choir and Bella Cora attended an Indian vocal music workshop led

by Hemant Kulkarni, owner of the Svara Sangham School for

Hindustani Vocal music training in South Brunswick. The WHS

students were treated to a performance and lecture related to

the characteristics of Indian music.

The treble chorus will be performing an Indian raga in the

spring called Palaanda.

The choral department welcomes

Mr. Lee Mamolen to the choral department. Mr. Mamolen is a

student teacher from Rutgers who will be working with the students

daily until the end of April. Additionally, Ms. Maureen Francis

continues to work with the

students weekly in sectionals and full group instruction.

The Concert Choir was treated to a

masterclass by Hofstra University

choral music professor, Dr. Fryling on February 25. The students

received feedback from Dr. Fryling and made significant strides in

their short amount of time with

him. Dr. Fryling will be back visiting both the Concert Choir and

Chorale on April 5.

Choral Festivals The students in Concert Choir will

be performing at the Summit

Hilltopper Choral festival, open to the public, on the evening of April

21st at Summit High School. The WHS Concert Choir will be joined

by several local NJ high schools.

The groups will perform for each other and receive feedback from

choral music educators. On May 17th, the students in Treble Chorus

and Concert Choir will attend the American Choral Directors

Association (ACDA) high school

choral festival at Rutgers. We know that these experiences will

have an enormous impact on student growth.

Page 5: Arts a la Carte - Westfield Visual & Performing Arts · 2018-09-09 · Indian vocal music workshop led by Hemant Kulkarni, owner of the Svara Sangham School for Hindustani Vocal music

Page 5

April 2016 - May 2016 Arts a la Carte

District Choral Night The first ever District Choral Night

will be held in the Westfield High School Theater on April 6th. The

night will include performances by seventh and eighth grade singers

from both intermediate schools as

well as several high school choral ensembles. The night will

culminate in a combined number with over 250 singers from grades

7-12!

WHS Chamber Music Night

The WHS Music department will hold its first ever Chamber Music

Night on April 27th at the First United Methodist Church. The

evening will feature small group

performances from the band and orchestra departments as well as

the WHS Chorale.

WHS Orchestra

The 3rd marking period of the school year is upon us and the

WHS Orchestras are busy at work with performances and trips

quickly filling up the schedule. On

February 26th, the Chamber Orchestra went with the WHS

Wind Ensemble to demonstrate instruments and perform for the

students of Jefferson, McKinley and Tamaques. The Chamber

Orchestra will continue the second

leg of our tour on April 8th at Washington, Wilson and Franklin

schools.

On February 27th, members of the

String and Chamber Orchestras that will be going to Boston,

Massachusetts in April, performed a fundraising concert at the 1st

Methodist Church of Westfield. The group performed pieces that they

have been preparing for their trip

to Boston, including Karl Jenkins’ Palladio. Afterwards, there was a

light reception where community members and concertgoers were

able to meet and greet with the

performers. All in all, it was a successful evening and the

students were able to raise close to $700. The trip to Boston will be

during our Spring Break from April 14th – 17th, 2016.

In class, our students are working on their Spring Concert music. The

Spring Orchestra Concert will be held on Friday June 3rd, 2016. In

addition, the Chamber Orchestra

will be taking part in the 1st Annual WHS Chamber Music Concert on

April 27th. The concert will feature small student-led groups made of

members from the WHS Chorale, the WHS Chamber Orchestra and

the WHS Bands. The students

have been hard at work and are looking forward to putting on some

wonderful concerts.

Photo from February 27th Concert

WHS Concert Bands

The WHS Wind Ensemble and Chamber Orchestras gave a special

performance at Jefferson, McKinley and Tamaques schools on

February 26th. The audiences

especially enjoyed hearing “Imperial March” from the Star

Wars films. As part of the presentation, WHS students

introduced each of the instruments

to the elementary children. They will continue the second leg of the

tour on April 8th at Washington, Wilson and Franklin schools.

On Thursday, March 17th, the WHS

Concert Bands traveled to the annual CJMEA State Concert Band

Festival held at Ridge High School.

The Concert Band and Symphonic Band both received a Silver Rating

in Division II. The Wind Ensemble received a Gold Rating in Division I

for the 5th consecutive year. The Wind Ensemble will perform at the

Kimmel Center for the Performing

Arts in Philadelphia, PA on May 24th. In preparation for both of

these festivals, the Wind Ensemble had opportunities to rehearse with

several guest clinicians: Mr. Denny

Stokes, a retired music teacher from Fairfax, VA; Mr. Adam

Warshafsky, Assistant Conductor of the Eastern Wind Symphony

and Dr. David Vickerman, Director

of Bands at TCNJ.

Congratulations to 11th grade

trumpet player, Dale Beyert on

winning the 2016 WHS Concerto Competition! He will perform

Fantaisie Brillante along with the

Wind Ensemble at the spring band concert on June 13th at 7:30 pm.

All-State Band

Congratulations to Dale Beyert

Trumpet - Wind Ensemble

Michael Hauge Eb Clarinet - Symphonic Band

and

Matthew Schiff Contra Clarinet- Symphonic Band

Page 6: Arts a la Carte - Westfield Visual & Performing Arts · 2018-09-09 · Indian vocal music workshop led by Hemant Kulkarni, owner of the Svara Sangham School for Hindustani Vocal music

Page 6

Arts a la Carte April 2016 - May 2016

Dale, Michael and Matthew were selected to the 2016 All-State

Bands. They performed at the NJ

Performing Arts Center in Newark on February 20th.

Jazz Bands

The Jazz Ensemble and Stage

Bands once again performed at the

Westfield Rotary Club Annual “Breakfast with the Bands” on

Saturday March 19th. They also played at several jazz festivals

throughout the spring, including

the Scotch Plains Jazz Festival and the Rutgers University Jazz Day.

The annual Jazz Night will be held on Saturday, May 14th in the WHS

Courtyard. Stop by for performances “under the stars” by

the RIS, EIS and WHS jazz students.

WHS Jazz is pleased to announce that NYC saxophonist and

composer, Todd Groves (pictured below), will be joining the 3 WHS

Jazz Bands at their Spring Jazz

Concert on Tuesday, June 7th. Todd specializes in saxophones,

flutes, clarinets, recorders and ethnic flutes. Currently, he teaches

saxophone at the University of Delaware and plays in the pit for

Aladdin the Musical on Broadway.

WHS Winterguard Under the direction of Danny

Matos, the WHS Winter Guard has traveled to competitions in

Hillsborough, South Brunswick, Somerville and Plainfield. So far,

they have placed among the top

groups in the Novice Class. They hope to continue their success

heading into the Mid-Atlantic Indoor Network Championships at

South Brunswick High School on

April 16th.

Marching Band

There will be an interest meeting for any prospective 2016 marching band members (including current 8th graders) on Monday, April 25th at 7:30 pm in WHS’ Cafeteria B. Those attending should park in the rear parking lot and enter the school through the back entrance closest to Rahway Avenue. Hope to see you there!

Page 7: Arts a la Carte - Westfield Visual & Performing Arts · 2018-09-09 · Indian vocal music workshop led by Hemant Kulkarni, owner of the Svara Sangham School for Hindustani Vocal music

Page 7

April 2016 - May 2016 Arts a la Carte

This fall, the WHS Marching Blue Devils will debut a BRAND NEW

LOOK! Thanks to the Westfield Community who rallied around this

project and secured the funds for the 2015 5A National Champions!

Special thanks to: Maria Kostyack & Sabrina Model

BPA Fundraising Chairs

Albert Paglialunga - BPA Member Barry Schnepf - BPA President

Heather Bryant - BPA Vice President

The Westfield Foundation

The Education Fund of Westfield The Westfield Coalition for the Arts

The Westfield Police Athletic

League The Rotary Club of Westfield

The Optimist Club of Westfield

For more information regarding the Westfield High School Bands or affiliated groups, please see our website at: www.westfieldhsbands.org

Drama

The Westfield High School drama

students are once again engaged in furthering their studies of the

world of theatre. In Drama 1, the

students have just completed an investigation of Roman Theatre

and its contributions to world theatre. In addition to the

historical aspects of the period, the students also examined the

specific elements from the time

period still seen in contemporary theatre via the performance of

scenes from Rumors, a comedy by Neil Simon.

The Drama 2 students are also exploring the world of comedy,

focusing on physical comedy and the Commedia dell’Arte. This study

included an exploration of the use

of mask work. All of the students created their own Commedia mask

and will conclude their study with an original performance of

commedia inspired scenes.

In Drama 3, the students are

preparing for the annual Bucks County Student One Act Play

Festival, where they will perform on Wednesday, April 20, 2016.

This year those performances will

be scenes from The Odd Couple (the Female Version), by Neil

Simon, The Actor’s Nightmare, by Christopher Durang and Baby with the Bathwater, by Christopher

Durang.

WHS students are also continuing their exploration of the world of

theatre behind the scenes in the newly developed Stagecraft

course. The students are engaged

in learning the various jobs that exist in the technical theatre and

the numerous employment opportunities they present.

Currently, the students are

learning the fundamentals of lighting design and its various

applications within the theatrical production process. This unit will

conclude with student pairs

reading a play and then designing a lighting plan for the show.

Into the Woods

The Westfield High School Theatre Department presented Into the Woods, the Tony award winning

musical by Stephen Sondheim, as their Spring Musical production this

March.

The production was extremely

successful and played to packed houses for all performances and

ended each with standing ovations. Featuring over 130

student actors, technicians and musicians, the production clearly

demonstrated the myriad talents of

the WHS fine arts students and their various disciplines. Based

upon the reactions of the audience members each night, this

production continued the level of

Page 8: Arts a la Carte - Westfield Visual & Performing Arts · 2018-09-09 · Indian vocal music workshop led by Hemant Kulkarni, owner of the Svara Sangham School for Hindustani Vocal music

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Arts a la Carte April 2016 - May 2016

professionalism and excellence that the WHSTD has become

known for. Congratulations to everyone who participated in this

outstanding production.

Roosevelt

Intermediate

Art

The 6th graders in Mrs. Cohen's

class just completed a unit on clay. They learned the slab, coil and

pinch methods and now will

begin the glazing process. Everyone created a utilitarian piece

that is stunning!

After learning 1 point perspective last marking period, Mrs. Cohen’s

7th graders are now creating a 2

point perspective cityscape. It can be imaginary or "real".

The 8th graders in Mrs. Cohen’s

class are completing their painted

furniture project. Chairs, stools, tables, skateboards, baseball bats,

desks, crates and even a sled are all eye candy!

The 6th graders in Mr. Thompson’s

class have just begun studying Van

Gogh. We had an interesting discussion on the artist’s life and

art, looking at many paintings and ink drawings. We focused on his

expressive use of line, noting how

he was able to use line to show mood, texture and even time of

day. We also studied the elements that make up a landscape:

foreground, middle ground and

background, as well as atmospheric perspective. Students

then set about drawing their own landscape based on examples of

Van Gogh’s work and resources from the Internet. We have filled

up our drawings with a wide

Photo: Into the Woods

variety of textural line in Sharpie and are now in the process of

painting over the permanent marker with watercolors.

Seventh grade students in Mr. Thompson’s classes have just

completed a graffiti lesson. Following a very interesting

discussion on street art, students were challenged to design their

own “tag”: a highly stylized and

colorful name design. After viewing many different styles of tags, we

noted the many differences and the similar elements. Students

were able to base their tag on

their own name, a nickname, or another word of their choice. The

results were dramatic and colorful!

The 8th grade arts and crafts students with Mr. Thompson are

working on a crayon scratchboard project. The subject is animals or

sea creatures. Students drew,

carefully and realistically, the animal of their choice in its native

habitat. They then applied layers of heavy crayon in bright,

fantastical colors. Finally a layer of black was added on top, and

carefully scratched off to create

various textures. The finished compositions are very dramatic

and colorful!

Mr. Thompson’s art club has been working on a large group sculpture

based on Dale Chihuly’s, the art of

glass art. We are assembling a large mobile that is made up of

many individual pieces. We used marker and paint to color a variety

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Page 9

April 2016 - May 2016 Arts a la Carte

of plastic “junk”: water bottles, cups, bowls and sheets of acetate.

We then used a heat gun to melt and distort the objects so they

took on a new, abstracted form. We are in the process of attaching

these forms one at a time to an

armature made of chicken wire. It’s huge! We will be hanging it up

in the downstairs entrance way as soon as it’s finished.

Music RIS Bands

It has been a busy couple of months for the RIS band program!

The 6th graders have sight read

and chosen their spring concert repertoire and are now in the

process of learning this music. In addition, they have spent time

practicing five of their major

scales. They have learned the importance of practicing these and

other exercises regularly, because a consistent practice routine is the

most efficient way to improve skills, in any discipline.

The 7th graders just performed the chamber pieces they have been

working on. The percussion

ensemble and brass ensemble put on a combined performance on

March 17 in the auditorium. “Spanish Flavour”, “Stick Beats”

and “Polka” were the selections performed by the percussion

ensemble and the brass ensemble

closed the concert with their rendition of Michael Jackson’s

“Thriller”. The woodwinds also performed on this day. The

saxophone ensemble performed

“Elegy” by Tchaikovsky, followed by the clarinet ensemble’s

“Symphony No. 40” by Mozart. The flute ensemble closed out the

concert by performing “Pizzicato Polka” and “A-Rovin”. Playing in

chamber ensembles is an excellent

way for students to improve their skills and responsibility, because of

how small the groups are. Each individual is responsible to the rest

of the group to be prepared and

perform at a high level and these students certainly did that. Ms.

Minogue and Mr. Doyle are very proud of all their hard work!

The 8th grade band has also spent time working on chamber music. A

few of the 8th grade quintets recently performed a “mini-

concert” for the RIS faculty at our monthly meeting and the staff

loved it! Selections at this meeting

included “The Irish Washerwoman”, “The Can-Can”

and the theme from “The Simpsons”. The rest of the 8th

grade chamber ensemble

performed for their classmates and were coached by Mr. Doyle in a

workshop format. Many of these groups will be performing at our

Chamber Music Night on Tuesday, May 10.

The entire 8th grade band will be traveling to Freehold High School

on Thursday May 12 to participate in the annual CJMEA Concert Band

and Orchestra Festival. This event

features bands and orchestras from all over central New Jersey,

and students will have the opportunity to watch their peers

perform and be professionally adjudicated.

2016/2017 WHS Marching Band informational meeting - interested 8th graders please see

page 6 for more information.

RIS Jazz The RIS jazz ensembles have been

very busy! During the week of March 14, each ensemble (The

Naturals, Morning Jazz and The Accidentals) performed a “mini-

concert” before school. This was

an excellent chance for parents, teachers and fellow students to

hear all of the wonderful things these students are working on. All

three jazz ensembles then

performed to large, hungry crowds at the annual “Breakfast with the

Bands”, a scholarship fundraiser sponsored by the Westfield Rotary

Club. It was a wonderful morning,

featuring the jazz bands from Roosevelt, Edison and WHS. The

Edison Chamber Orchestra also performed.

On March 22, Mr. Doyle and Ms.

Minogue brought Morning Jazz and The Accidentals to the annual

“Terrill in Tempo” Jazz Festival at

Terrill Middle School in Scotch Plains. These groups played along

with seven other bands and were professionally adjudicated. Students

also had the chance to listen to bands from neighboring towns. It

is important that we support ALL

students involved in music, regardless of where they live!

It has been a fun and busy winter

and the spring is shaping up for much of the same! We hope to see

you at the spring concerts!

Page 10: Arts a la Carte - Westfield Visual & Performing Arts · 2018-09-09 · Indian vocal music workshop led by Hemant Kulkarni, owner of the Svara Sangham School for Hindustani Vocal music

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Arts a la Carte April 2016 - May 2016

RIS Chorus It has been a busy winter for the

RIS Vocal Music Department. In February we had our annual Black

History Month Assembly where our Sharps and Flats had the honor of

performing with the Newark Boys

Chorus under the direction of Donald Morris. We performed two

selections with them, “Raise it Up” and “Walk in Jerusalem”. Our

singers had an amazing experience

which they will always remember. We also had a wonderful weekend

in March performing our Spring Musical, Once on This Island. The

students did an outstanding job singing and acting and we had a

packed house for all three

performances.

The eighth grade chorus and Sharps and Flats have also been

preparing for the First District Choral Night. On April 6th the RIS,

EIS and High School groups will all

perform at WHS to showcase our talented students in a celebration

of Vocal music through the district. Fine Arts Day will close out Music

In Our Schools Month on March 24th. We had many students

audition for this annual event and

this year will showcase the talent of our students in a variety of

mediums. We look forward to a great day heading into our Eater

Weekend.

Drama

Congratulations to the Roosevelt 8th Grade Drama Students who

competed in the New Jersey Drama and Forensic League

Theatrefest 2016 on Saturday, March 19th. Students competed in

Comedic Monologues, Comedic

Pairs and Dramatic Monologues and performed in an improvisational

workshop performance. The team; Hope Banta, Sara Kirschner,

Vincent Mora, Julia Singer, Nina

Martini, Morgan Boll, Grace Dabulas, Eva Boyes, Talia

McRoberts, Natalia Hanchuk and Alexandra Sica pictured below is

coached by Kimberly Jonny. Bravo Team! Awards were given to the

following team members:

2nd Place Dramatic Monologue

Vincent Mora

4th Place Comedic Pairs Julia Singer and Nina Martini

5th Place Comedic Pairs

Eva Boyes and Talia McRoberts

Winners Improvisation Scene Performance

Nina Martini, Alexandra Sica and

Morgan Boll

Edison

Intermediate

Art The 6th grade students in Mrs.

Frees class are working on Egyptian Canopic Jars. They

worked either in groups of two or

alone. They had to use recycled objects, plaster and acrylic paint.

They are enjoying the process and connecting art to what they are

learning in their history class. This project connected well to the work

they did on drawing ellipses and

cylinders. They are continuing forward with cylinders in sculptural

form by making clay mugs. While they are making clay mugs, they

are learning the process of rolling a slab of clay and the technique of

attaching clay by scoring, slipping

and smoothing. These are all techniques they will need with

ceramics in their years here at EIS. Ms. Hooper’s classes are also

finishing clay mugs. They were

taught the proportions of the face and they applied these skills to

their mugs. They also worked hard at creating a proper handle for

their mug. The students in Ms. Hooper’s 6th grade class are

working on creating a Pop Art

inspired dessert. They are learning about Wayne Theibaud

and his diner paintings from the 1950’s.

Students in Mrs. Frees 8th grade

Fine arts class have been working on drawing skills and learning

about the Surrealist artists Dali, de Chirico, Miro and the influences of

Frida Kahlo. They are drawing a tree using various s line

techniques. They worked on a

lesson on positive negative space to draw a tree using texture. They

were to use hatching, crosshatching, stippling and some

shading when watercolor was

applied. They used the negative space to fit in objects and

creatures in the negative space. The students are now working

their way through the features, of

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April 2016 - May 2016 Arts a la Carte

the face eyes, nose, mouth and ears. They are to create each part

using a Surrealist style. They are then working on putting it all

together in a small portrait that will prepare them for the large Pop

art portrait. Students are also

working on a side project on deconstructed books. Mrs. Frees

took discarded books from the Clark library and is teaching the

students how to turn the books

into mixed media art. A selection from the books will be chosen to

be on display in the Clark library at the end of the school year.

Ms. Hooper Fine Arts classes worked on a 3 way Still Life pencil

drawing which incorporated three variations of drawing including

contour, value and crosshatching. They also worked on creating a

Mini Landscape using pen, ink,

water color and found objects. They are currently working on the

features of the face in Realism to prepare for the large Portrait

painting/drawing.

Ms. Hooper’s 8th grade crafts

classes have been working on a textile Collage inspired by the Pop

artist, Jasper Johns, which incorporated a patriotic theme.

They are using sewing skills built

in 7th grade and applying them to this project. Ms. Hooper’s period 2

Crafts class is also working on sewing skills and they are creating

a functional Pouch or Wallet from

various fabrics.

Students in Mrs. Frees 7th grade class have been working on skills

with perspective drawing. They

reviewed both two point and one point. They are creating boxes in

3D, they are drawing with two point perspective and then using a

needle and thread. They are

further exploring this concept making topographical maps out of

clay. We are rolling slabs of clay and then adding texture, coils in

clay and land formation. The students are enjoying the process

and are moving right into an exploration of gargoyles from the

Medieval period of art.

The students in Ms. Hooper’s class

will be starting this same project of

Gargoyles in clay. The students also finished a tapestry that

involved different methods of decorative stitching. This project is

inspired by the Medieval art period

and the Bayeaux Tapestry.

Music

EIS Bands have been hard at work on their individual skills as

well as preparing for their spring concert. Students have been

working on playing all of their

major scales and chorales in small, chamber groups. Students had

the chance to be their own teachers with students leading the

chamber groups. The 6th grade

band is preparing a wide variety of songs ranging from masterworks

like Stravinsky’s “Firebird” to up-tempo, modern pieces like

“Adrenaline Engines.” The 7th

grade band is working on the ballad, “With Quiet Region” as well

as Robert W. Smith’s exciting piece, “Encanto”.

Preparing for their annual Six Flags

festival, the 8th grade band is

working on a three movement piece entitled, “In The Forest Of

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The King” by Pierre La Plant. The piece features three traditional

French folk songs and the students are challenged to play in complex

time signatures with difficult rhythms.

The Jazz Band had a great performance at the Breakfast with the Bands fundraiser performance. Playing some hits like Van

Morrison’s, “Moon dance” and

Chicago’s, “25 or 6 to 4” the band showcased some of its outstanding

musicians who played both written out solos and improvised solos.

The jazz band is also looking

forward to performing for the Six Flags festival this spring. This

spring will be highlighted with a field trip to Jazz at Lincoln Center

where the students will be watching an open rehearsal of

Wynton Marsalis and his band.

2016/2017 WHS Marching Band informational meeting - interested 8th graders please see

page 6 for more information.

EIS Orchestra We would like to congratulate two

students on their performances with the CJMEA Region II

Orchestra! Dylan McCann, 7th

grade, was accepted on viola and

Amy Xiao, 6th grade, was

accepted on violin. We are proud

to have such talented students

represent Edison Intermediate School in this great ensemble.

The Chamber Orchestra, under the

direction of Mr. Craig Stanton,

performed at “Breakfast with the Bands” on Saturday, March 19th.

They performed a preview of their upcoming Spring Concert program,

including “The James Bond Theme."

The string orchestra students are gearing up for a challenging Spring

Concert series. Highlights from the 6th grade program include a

beautiful arrangement of the

Japanese folk song, “Sakura, Sakura" by Elliot Del Borg

and “Celtica” an Irish fiddle tune that will feature violinists

Genevieve Duguid and Amy Xiao.

The 7th grade program spans from

an arrangement of Shubert’s classic "Unfinished Symphony,” to

Kirt Mosier’s jazzy piece, “Blue Rhythmico.” The orchestra has

taken these different genres of

music as an opportunity to explore a variety of playing practices and

extended techniques. Lastly, the 8th grade orchestra has been

exploring aleatoric notation while learning the piece “Amadare”

composed by Keiko Yamada. The

Japanese word “amadare” translates to “raindrops”. The

students improvise within the structure of the piece to create the

effect of rain.

Drama

Congratulations to the cast and

crew of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory! The amazing

musical wowed audiences at Edison Intermediate School on

March 17-19. It was a stunning performance that was highlighted

with awesome performances by Lindsay Sherman as Charlie, Elissa

Saint Denis as Willy Wonka, Ana

Fowler as The Candy Man and exceptional performances from the

Golden Ticket winners and their parents, the Oompa Loompas,

Phineas Trout and the

Cameraman, and the many town folks and dancers that helped to

make this a success. But what made this show special is that all

facets of the show were run by students. Every job, from stage

crew to lights, from house crew to

sound, from costumes to PR designs, it was a complete

student-run production. Hats off to you EIS! All of you deserve a

Golden Ticket! Well Done!

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April 2016 - May 2016 Arts a la Carte

Franklin

Elementary

Art

The Art Students at Franklin School are experiencing a wide

variety of media. Learning is taking

place through different projects and the inspiration of many a

Famous Artist. A creative environment is present and an

“aha” moment can be heard.

The 2nd grade students finished a

textural fish project which was a great segue into Model Magic.

Model Magic has an inviting texture which opens up discussion

about shape and form. These

elements should be understood so that a 3-D Owl sculpture can be

developed. New vocabulary and techniques are needed for the

development of these Franklin

School Mascots. Success can be seen throughout the class room

and students are enjoying the overlapping of colors and the

choices that they were given.

The 3rd grade students read the

book One Red Dot by David A. Carter. This artist was a paper

engineer who displayed his ability to cut and pop up form and shape.

He worked with paper and the

hiding of one red dot within his paper sculptures. The students

enjoyed this book and 3D was well received and visible. Concepts of

movement, positive and negative

shape and space, foreground, middle ground and background

were reviewed and reinforced. Projects were developed

accordingly and a collaborative lesson with Music was established.

The 4th grade students are studying value. Value is how much

darkness and lightness appears in a color. A 9 step value scale is

drawn up and the students can see and create many a variety of gray.

Once they experience and

understand the black and white, color will be introduced and a still

life will be drawn. Color sticks will be used with blending and

shading. Their 2D flat work will

begin to take on a 3D effect. Success can be seen.

The 5th grade students observed

and discussed the work of Claes Oldenburg. He was a Pop Art

sculptor who exaggerated the size

of everyday objects. Many a hamburger or ice cream cone were

visually enjoyed and sculpted. Model Magic was molded, cut,

pushed and pulled into a food item

of their choice. The experience of creating a 3D art object is so good

for these young minds.

Music

Spring is in the air as well as the

beautiful voices of the Franklin

students. On April 4, parents are invited to hear students in grades

1-4 sing at this year’s Music in Our Schools Month concert in the

Franklin gym. Grades 2 & 4 will perform at 12:45 p.m. and grades

1 & 3 will perform at 2:00 p.m.

The students have been rehearsing throughout March in preparation

for these two concerts and will demonstrate their musical skills

through singing, playing

instruments and dancing.

Students recreating pop up art using creative movement

In April, the students will continue to create and manipulate the

elemental rhythmic blocks using the Orff process. Body percussion

compositions will connect with

poetry and other chants which will then be transferred to pitched and

unpitched percussion. This will then lead into revisiting the

instruments of the orchestra,

especially as the third graders begin to think about what they

may want to play next year.

April is also Jazz Appreciation

Month (JAM). We’ll explore Jazz

music and its complex rhythms as we discuss the origins of Jazz and

its evolution. Improvisation will also be taught in the upper grades

with some opportunities to improvise both vocally and on the

xylophones and metallophones

during class.

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The fifth graders have been working very hard to prepare for

this year’s Spring Chorus concert. This year they will be singing a

variety of music that has challenged them as musicians and

attempting songs in three to six

part harmony. Their concert will be on Wednesday, May 11 at 7:00

p.m. in the Franklin gym.

Jefferson

Elementary Art

First graders are just beginning

their clay unit that emphasizes texture, pattern, and form. They

will be creating texture medallions and pinch pots (while studying

Greek pottery).

Second graders are finishing up

their weaving unit and their study of Georgia O'Keeffe's Flowers. The

next unit will concentrate on sculpture techniques, including the

slip and score methods of

attaching clay. Students will be constructing lizards, and then

reviewing color theory, starting with primary colors on their lizards,

then mixing acrylic paints to create

the secondaries for their lizard designs/patterns. This clay

sometimes stains clothes and the acrylic paint always stains clothes.

If your child doesn't have a smock

in school, I would HIGHLY suggest that you send one with him/her.

That being said, even with smocks, accidents happen. Please

have your child dress appropriately on their art day.

The students in 3rd grade will be starting the state testing soon. In

art, we will be complimenting that schedule by having our weaving

unit. Weaving has been shown to

relax students and increase focus. In the weeks leading up to the

testing, we will be creating our looms and learning new techniques

in weaving. Students will build upon prior knowledge from paper

weaving in first grade and radial

weaving in second grade. This is timed, so that during that actual

week of testing, they are practicing these newly acquired skills in a

serene atmosphere.

Fourth graders are just finishing up

their Totem Pole projects! This was a new lesson this year, and a

great success. Children used glue guns and corrugated cardboard to

create bas reliefs of their spirit

animal, on cardboard "trunks". This exercised the spatial relations

part of the brain, while being really fun! We also talked about

"YouTubekids" and how you can

learn a plethora of different artistic techniques from this wonderful

resource. This totem pole lesson was based on (with slight

modifications) a video from

"United Arts", an art supply vendor. Their next unit will be a

relaxing one based on the science of Zentangling. We will study a

contemporary, collaborative artwork, created by adolescents

diagnosed with "Obsessive

Compulsive Disorder" (OCD) in Baltimore, MD. In this

artwork, students will make contour drawings of expressive

faces, then break down the planes

of the face and create dimension using the repetition of simple lines.

This proven "Art Therapy" will be scheduled for the week of testing.

Art students in 5th grade are in the

final stages of their Pop Art, Andy

Warhol, self-portraits. To get ready for their Spring Musical,

students will be creating medieval banners to decorate the gym, as

well as props, such as the creating

and painting of the paper-mache boulder, that will act as the "sword

(and "boom-whacker") in the stone" scenes. The next project

will be focusing on drawing techniques including shading,

highlighting, hatching and cross-

hatching. We will be using still-life examples on their tables, starting

with real pears.

Music

Jefferson Elementary General Music classes are off to a Super

Spectacular Spring with specific lessons in Rhythm and Duration in

April, Tone Color and Timbre in

May and Form and Style in June.

First grade topics and songs will include: “The Three Billy Goats

Gruff” from Once Upon A Time Suite, “Mud”, “The Wheels on the Bus”, “Counting Up The

Dinosaur”, “The Dinosaur Dance”, “Out In The Garden”, “Take Me

Out to the Ballgame”, “The Seventh Inning Stretch”,

“Wiggleworm”, “The Itsy Bitsy

Spider” and “Over In The Meadow”.

Second grade topics and songs will

include: “I Had an Old Coat”,

“Abiyoyo”, “Michael Row the Boat Ashore”, “Circus Parade”, “You’re

a Grand Old Flag”, a variety of spring and Patriotic songs and a

study of the four Instrumental Families.

The 3rd grade topics and songs will include: “The Wheel of the

Water”, “America the Beautiful”, “Supermarket Shuffle”, “The

Garden Song”, “This Land is Your

Land” (composer: Woody Guthrie), “The Color of Music”,

partner songs and “Take Me Out to the Ballgame”.

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April 2016 - May 2016 Arts a la Carte

Fourth graders will finish up their study of Musicals with partner

songs “Pick-A-Little, Talk-A-Little” / “Goodnight Ladies”, “Seventy-Six

Trombones” and “The Wells Fargo Wagon” from The Music Man.

Additional topics and songs will

include: “Erie Canal”, “Oklahoma Land Rush”, “The Wreck of the

Edmund Fitzgerald”, “Side By Side”, “The MTA Song”, “The

Inchworm” and “Stars and Stripes

Forever” (“March King” composer: John Phillip Sousa).

The 5th grade general music

classes are working with key signatures, scales, and the circle of

fifths. At the same time, the chorus is working hard on their

spring musical, “Joust!” to be

performed on Wednesday, May 11 in the Jefferson Auditorium. The

Band and Chorus performance will begin at 1 pm for students and

staff and 7 pm for parents and

guests. The chorus will also give an additional performance of their

musical “Joust!” for Grandparent’s Day on Thursday morning, May

12th, 2016.

We would like to thank the really AWESOME Jefferson School PTO

for helping to support our musical

experience and recent field trip to “Medieval Times” where we

learned more about being knights, squires, damsels, Merlin, King

Arthur, The Sword and the Stone, the Round Table and the Age of

Chivalry.

McKinley

Elementary Art

First Grade artists are on the move

creating movement through overlapping in their Mondrian

inspired collages. Motivated

through Mondrian’s work “Broadway Boogie Woogie”, the

students had a great time making and learning about this “New

Style” of abstraction. The students used poetry in their own titles for

their works that really tied the

project together nicely. Here is a picture of some of our hard

working artists. After this unit on overlapping shapes, the students

experimented with Air Art to

overlap colors and reinforce their understanding of color mixing.

The 2nd graders completed a unit

studying tints and shades through painting an overlapping name

design and now they will move

further into their unit of color learning about color balance. After

viewing a wide variety of famous artworks, the students were asked

if color has weight? How do artists balance colors in their artwork to

balance this weight? Each student

was given a stretched canvas and a variety of unconventional

“paintbrushes” like sponges, toothbrushes, Q-Tips, erasers,

funny brushes, etc. to make marks

throughout their work while keeping in mind the overall

balance of their painting. The results are really fantastic and

these young artists had a lot of fun too!

Third grade artists are working

with air-dry clay and the technique of coil building to reinforce artistic

concepts of Unity, Form and Shape. After a demonstration and

an introduction into the wide

variety of ways that artists build with coils, the students were

prompted to sketch three different coil designs. After selecting their

favorite idea, the students began

to wedge their clay, build their slab base, create with coils and even

make slip to make sure their artwork is held together. Once

their work is dried we will then use paint and gloss to put the finishing

touches on their work. We will

rediscover pattern as well as complementary colors in this final

stage of the fun art project.

Fourth grade artists are currently

scuba diving under the sea discovering and creating organic

shapes while learning about the

three important parts to divide a landscape; foreground, middle

ground and background. Through use of overlapping to create these

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differences spaces within their composition, the students will also

be focusing on contrast between colors. Their paper collages are

really awe inspiring and are bringing so much life into McKinley

School!

Fifth grade artists are going back

in time to the early 20th Century when Braque and Picasso created

Cubism in Paris, France. After their introduction to this radical art

movement, the students were

each photographed from three different angles. Then, each artist

combined the multiple perspectives through collaging their

photographs. These 5th graders then outlined all of the shapes in

the photograph to construct their

Cubist composition. Finally, the students will create their own

flavor to the work using a personalized palette of colors and

use what they have learned about

color theory to express their own artistic vision for these abstracted

Cubist self-portraits.

Music

At McKinley, everyone has been celebrating Music in Our Schools

Month! The 1st graders have been

listening to music of different moods while reading Dr. Suess'

"My Many Colored Days". The 2nd graders learned all about octaves

and made "Octave Octopuses" as shown in the picture here to

decorate their lockers. The 4th

graders made dynamic iPods showing the range of dynamics

from softest to loudest. The 5th graders have been working on new

music for their Spring Concert on

May 16th. We have also watched some ed.ted talks about the

importance of music education.

Tamaques

Elementary Art

Sumi-e refers to Japanese monochrome ink painting. It

originated in China and the technique was brought to Japan in

the 14th century. Second grade

students Mrs. Massenzio’s learned that in sumi-e painting, “the

picture already exists in your mind and the artist just puts it down on

paper. “To unfold the creative process, we first meditated and

listened to tranquil music. The

students painted beautiful bamboo and birds. Everyone enjoyed

learning about another culture and has a deeper understanding and

appreciation of the world around

them.

Georgia O’Keeffe (born 1887) was a celebrated American artist,

significant in the art movement of American abstraction. Although

she painted other subjects, she is most noted for her beautiful close-

up abstract paintings of flowers.

The 3rd graders in Mrs. Massenzio’s classes enjoyed an opportunity to

develop their own artwork, patterned after the colorful style of

Georgia O’Keeffe. This lesson

emphasized the exploration of line, color and shape.

Fourth grade students in Mrs.

Massenzio’s class experimented cutting and gluing various pieces

of cardboard together to create a

large-sized dog. Many different breeds were represented. The

students learned about proportion, symmetry, texture, color, form and

value, as they used their

imagination to create some really wonderful canine creations! Look

for these at the art show!

Imaginations ran wild as Mrs.

Massenzio’s 5th grade students experimented with various

wallpapers to create original whimsical canine portraits. Each

dog was created as a character and the final results were clever

and quite impressive! The focus

was on texture and pattern; both of which create visual interest.

Music

The past few months at Tamaques

have been primarily focused on the technical aspects of music that you

may find while playing, singing, or

performing. Whether it’s the 1st and 2nd graders fine tuning their

aural and visual recognition of melodic direction, or 3rd graders

discovering the connection

between the treble staff and the piano keyboard, the students have

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eagerly been hard at work. Throughout the process, each

class has continued singing and playing games to reinforce what

they have learned. Our 4th and 5th graders have continued developing

and fine tuning their knowledge of

written notation and it has successfully translated not only in

their singing, but also for some in their individual lessons for band

and orchestra.

The 5th grade Band and Chorus

Concert features a theme of “Look to the Sky!” Each song takes a

literal or figurative take on the catch-phrase, exploring a wide

variety of styles and

interpretations. From well-known to obscure, old to new, heartfelt to

light-hearted, somber to upbeat…Tamaques will cover it all

at our concert! Our performance

will be on Wednesday, April 27th at 7:30 pm following the 4th Grade

Band Concert at 6:45pm.

Tamaques & Washington 4th & 5th Grade Band

Tamaques School and Washington

School 4th grade bands are busy preparing for their Spring

Concerts. In addition to their weekly lessons, the students are

participating in their weekly before

school band rehearsals. Selections for the spring concerts include

favorites: ”When the Saints Go Marching In”, “Hard Rock Blues” “Frere Jacques”, “London Bridge” and many others!

The Washington and Tamaques 5th

grade bands are also preparing for

their Spring Concert. The 5th grade band will perform many

songs including: “Band Room Boogie” and “Expedition!” a band

piece, in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of Zebulon Pike’s

expedition to discover the upper

reaches of the Mississippi. The concerts are free and open to the

public. Come hear our exciting progress!

Congratulations to all of the

Washington and Tamaques Band student who were accepted into

the 2016 All City Band!

Washington

Elementary Art

Art is blooming all around Washington School! Students in

1st grade have recently completed

a group of African animal projects. Each class has a collection of lions,

hippos, and giraffes (oh my!). This acted as the perfect segue

into a unit on African art and more

specifically, Egyptian art. Students are currently in the midst of

making colorful Kente clothing and mummy masks.

Second grade students are

applying their creative ideas to a very imaginative unit. They are

designing monsters, aliens, rocket ships, and futuristic robots. It has

been great fun watching these

ideas “come to life”. Without actual examples of these subjects,

the students’ visions have truly soared to infinity and beyond!

In the 3rd grade, students are

learning about the art of architecture. They have

discovered that the designs of buildings differ according to their

time, place and purpose. Thus far,

these young planners have created ancient castles, towering

cathedrals and colorful adobe houses.

Students in the 4th grade are

concluding their study of famous artists. They have loved exploring

the work of Haring, Matisse and

Picasso and have just finished an Impressionistic piece, a la Monet.

Their water lilies for this assignment truly stood out. They

have since begun an investigation of Gustav Klimt and Vincent Van

Gogh.

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The fifth grade students are in the midst of their most recent unit on

Pop Art. The colorful works of Andy Warhol and Claes Oldenburg

have inspired some amazing work. These young artists painted a

drawing of their own shoes and

are now designing an original logo for their favorite candy. It has

been a blast to observe how art is all around us.

Music

This school year has gone by so incredibly fast! The students here

at Washington enjoyed our

Valentine’s and Presidents’ Day Sing-Along in February, which was

a huge success! It’s exciting to see how the students are constantly

improving their music skills and

abilities every day!

In the past few months, we have been building on concepts such as

pitch and melody in music. We have been playing lots of games

and singing songs to help improve

our ability to match pitch and feel the placement of it in our voices.

We have continued talking more about rhythm, as the 1st and 2nd

graders can now recognize

patterns of pitches and rhythms much better than before! The 3rd,

4th and 5th graders have been able to identify solfege syllables

with hand signs, as well as

complicated rhythms, while their rhythmic capabilities improve.

Some favorite games of ours include “Step/Skip Game”, “Simon

Sings”, “Salami” and “Don’t clap this one back”. Many of these are

“out” games, which encourage students to stay motivated and

focused, while training their ears!

The students have also learned

about texture in music and they were physically able to see a score

of music through something called

an animated score. The colors in the animation showed what

instruments were playing and the shapes described the length and

dynamics of notes. The placement of where the notes were on the

page correlated with the pitch,

whether it was high, middle, or low. The students were fascinated

by these animated scores, especially the ones that included

symphony orchestras, as the

animations became much more complex!

We have been learning a number

of folk and partner songs, which

help students stay involved, keep a steady beat, recognize pitch and

form, while dancing and moving. Students have been able to create

their own dances and hand motions for these songs, allowing

room for creativity and self-

expression. We have also used some of our instruments, such as

bells, sticks and drums to add different textures to our musical

experiences.

The 5th graders have been

working hard these past few months on our Spring chorus

music. Our upcoming final concert is Thursday, May 19th at 7pm,

which includes “Mr. Trombone

Man”, “A Folk Song Hand Jive”, “Hakuna Matata” from The Lion King and some others! We hope to see you there!

Wilson

Elementary Art

The 1st grade students of Wilson School have just finished drawing

and painting turtles. In this lesson

they engaged in direct instructed drawing and then practiced mixing

primary colors to create secondaries. They finished up their

turtles with beautiful colorful

backgrounds.

Second grade is also focusing on mixing primaries and secondaries

with clown portraits. Tints and shades will also be added to

reinforce concepts learned earlier in the year.

The 3rd grade is journeying into

Jurassic World! This year their

sculptural unit is focused on prehistoric creatures! They are

learning about 3-dimensional form as they create their dinosaur

armature which will then be plastered and painted. Look for

them at this year’s District Art

Show!

The students in 4th grade finished up their one point perspective

mixed media bedrooms and have begun creating 3-D forms with cut

paper shapes. The focus of the

lesson is on organic forms and the paper cut collage work of Henri

Matisse served as inspiration.

The 5th graders are studying the Pop Art movement and learning

about Andy Warhol, Claes Oldenberg and Jeff Koons. Within

the unit, they are creating 3-D

sculptures and learning to make multiples with the printmaking

process.

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Page 19

April 2016 - May 2016 Arts a la Carte

Lincoln

School

At Lincoln School the kindergarteners have been

working hard preparing for the Sing-a-Long on April 1st. Students

will be telling the story "How to Make a Pie and See the World"

through songs. There will be four

shows that day at 9:30, 10:30, 1:00 and 2:00.

These growing artists did an

amazing job creating Cezanne-

inspired, apple still life paintings helping to set the mood for our

Sing-a-Long theme. In April and May, we will be travelling around

the world and back in time. First,

the Japanese art of fish printing called Gyotaku will be explored.

Then, we will be learning about the first artists through cave

painting. The kinders really do love to explore how others make art.

The littlest artists at Lincoln will be

focusing on all things spring in April and May. From Georgia

O’Keeffe’s big and bold flowers and

Van Gogh’s sunflowers to cheery cherry blossoms that help us

welcome spring, we will be exploring many different ways to

create flowers. We will then have a bit of fun with fruit as we print and

paint our way to the end of the

school year! Yikes, that was fast!

To be placed on our email distribution list for Arts a la Carte, please email your name to: [email protected] Subject: Arts a la Carte and look for our June issue in

your inbox.

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Page 20

Arts a la Carte April 2016 - May 2016

Westfield Coalition for the Arts

FALL 2015

Dear Westfield Parents: The mission of the Westfield Coalition for the Arts is to act as an advocate for the arts, including music, drama, visual arts, and dance in the Westfield Public Schools, by speaking out on behalf of the arts, maintaining public awareness and utilizing sources of community, financial and philosophical support. Each year we award grants to different arts programs in the schools based upon applications submitted to us from the Westfield Schools’ faculty. This year, we were happy to award over $20,000 in grant money for the following: Guest Clinicians to work with the WHS Band, an Apple TV for RIS music program, a field trip for Ms. Gant’s 8th Grade Orchestra at EIS, a Guest Collegiate Choral Director for WHS Choir, acoustic ceiling tiles for the WHS Band Room, transportation for the WHS Choir to travel to a senior housing complex, Master Classes for the WHS Chorale, musical instruments for Franklin School, music conferences for faculty, art supplies for RIS, new drum sets for RIS, EIS and WHS, and beautifully embroidered choir robes for the high school. We are so fortunate to live in a community that reveres the arts and believes strongly in nourishing the diverse talents of our youth. Demonstrate YOUR commitment to the arts by making a donation today. With your donations we are able to assist the music, choral, fine art, and theatre programs at the elementary, intermediate and high school levels. We are an independent, not-for-profit organization, and we depend solely on the generosity of parents and supporters. In addition, the Coalition is interested in your ideas, suggestions, and comments and hope that you will take the time to email us at [email protected]. PLEASE “LIKE” us on FACEBOOK and visit our website: http://www.WestfieldCoalitionForTheArts. We look forward to hearing from you! Thank you for your support. ~ Margaret Smith, W.C.A. President _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Yes, I/we would like to support the WCA. I/we will donate: Benefactor $500 Sponsor $75 Angel $200 Sustaining Member $50 Patron $100 Donation $_______ In appreciation of your gift of $75.00 or more, your name will print in the Winter & Spring concert programs. Name: ____________________________________________________________________________ (If donating $75 or more, please print the name as you would like it to appear in the programs.) Email: _________________________________________________Phone: _________________________ Westfield Public School (where youngest child attends): _____________________________________ Yes, I am interested in volunteering with the Coalition. Check here:___

Please make checks payable to Westfield Coalition for the Arts and mail to:

WCA Treasurer, 562 Pierson St., Westfield NJ 07090