Welcome back to the 2016-2017 school year!  Performing arts class, formally known as “music,“ now encompasses music, acting and dancing.

 Ms. Dian is broadening the range of the class to include all of the arts which will enable the students to explore their self expression, confidence, team building, and problem solving.  She will weave in cultural themes from the classroom curriculum’s into the key themes taught in her performing arts lessons.

During the music component, students will be learning about their voices, singing, playing instruments, and understanding pitch, pulse, melody and genres.

Dance will make them aware of balance, coordination, core strength, respecting their own space, and improvisation.  Developing a good character, creating stories, role playing and understanding the stage will be covered as part of the acting piece.

In addition to this, there are life lessons to be learned in the performing arts class, as the students learn to tune into their own breaths and develop skills for calming their bodies and their minds.  It is also an opportunity for each student to bring their individual expressions of performing arts to the whole group and work together to create a united creative product.   

Ms. Dian will be directing and producing two large performances this year.  In December, she will lead the primary-aged students in a wonderfully touching show called “December Gifts.”

 In March, she will be working in collaboration with Ms Arlene and Ms Erica in Middle School to deliver an in depth performance of “Macbeth.

The regular cultural curriculum will also be woven into classes delivered to Primary, Elementary and Middle School students as they study themes such as Safety and Community Building, Anatomy, Martin Luther King Jr, Ancient Egypt, Asia, Africa, the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, Middle Ages, American Revolution, Westward Expansion, and Elements and the Periodic Table.

Ms. Dian hopes to infuse her performing arts classes with her love of music, dance and acting while creating memorable experiences for her students.