Finding the Fine Arts in the Generalist Teaching World

The following post is taken from Denise Gagne's monthly newsletter of "Themes and Variations" Music To subscribe to Themes and Variations monthly newsletter  CLICK HERE To check out FREE DOWNLOADS from Themes and Variations music site  CLICK HERE Holiday Concert Survival Guide By Stacy Werner   As I write this post, I can already feel the panic and stress setting in! Thankfully, as I’m on maternity leave this year I don’t have to worry about this busy time of year for music teachers. I would have to say music teachers are the ultimate event planners. Who else can coordinate and organize 500 students, 50 teachers and school staff, and nearly 1000 parents for multiple shows! It’s an extremely busy time for music teachers, so I hope some of these tips that I have used in the past might be helpful! These are some ideas for before the show so you have less work to do during your concert week!   Start Planning Early: ·      ...

If you are interested in checking out my personal school website please see the link below. The website includes information about our events, the Music program, the French program, grade 5/6 Language Arts and current Art projects. PS, Weebly is a great tool for making websites! Just go to weebly.com. Send me an email if you need help setting up. CLICK HERE TO GO TO JULIE'S SCHOOL WEBSITE

Learning Through the Arts is currently a pilot project with my school. We have been grouped with 3 other schools in Calgary, and meet once a month with local artists and art specialists within the system. Learning Through the Arts provides support for projects that connect to the art and to media arts. Thus far the experience has been extremely valuable. We have explored the possibilities of designing learning tasks in the classroom with fine arts as the fuel to ignite our inquiries. The concept is that through encounters with art, encounters with art making, and encounters with artists students will have a richer experience with world of art while making connections to the curriculum. Essentially, art becomes the embodiment of everyday learning in the classroom. My inquiry with my grade 5/6 team in connection with the Social Studies Pillars of Democracy and Photography: Conceptual Photography My Favorite Spot Students venture outside to find a ‘special’ spot on the s...

This year's Fine Arts Conference was a huge success and a lot of fun! It was great to see so many people out there to enjoy the fresh mountain air and some amazing workshops and sessions. Prepare yourself for next year! We will be holding the fine arts conference in Kananaskis. Thank you to all presenters and attendees this year. We had a blast!! From your conference committee... (I'm the serious one :P) You can also see pictures and posts from the event through Facebook! Just search up "Fine Arts Council of the ATA" to view and join our group.