Music

2007/2008 Music Program Schedule

K – Mother’s Day Tea – T.B.A.

1^st – February 28, 2008

2^nd – January 17, 2008

3^rd – May 8, 2008

4^th – December 13, 2007

5^th – October 25, 2007

1^st – 5^th grade performances will be at 7:00p.m. in the evening. Dress rehearsals for 1^st, 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th grade are on the stage in the gym the day of the performance during specials time. Run through rehearsal for 1^st, 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th will be the previous day during specials time. We will have a Fine Art Night (Music, P.E. and Tech) for 2^nd grade this year. No dress rehearsal or run through is needed for K or for 2^nd grade.

2007 – 2008 Music Fieldtrip Schedule

4^th grade - Lyric Opera in the Neighborhoods

November 6, 2007 9:30 – 11:30a.m.

5^th grade – Naperville Central High School Drum Show

T.B.A. – sometime in April most likely

5^th grade World Music Ensemble – Northern Illinois University

T.B.A. –at the end of April or early May

Art

Art Matters In the 21^st Century

Art education has changed dramatically over the last 50 years. Looking back on my childhood experience (which was a while ago, as my students readily point out) the purpose, method, and focus of elementary art education have been transformed. In years past, students were encouraged to make art that copied the teacher’s example; most art history was concentrated on the study of a small, select group of artists from a very limited cultural tradition; and art was thought to be a kind of enrichment—nice, but not necessary.

In today’s world, however, building cultural and visual literacy is not a luxury, but a necessity. We are surrounded by images that compete for our attention. And understanding how those images work becomes an important part of understanding—and responding to—our changing world.

This broad cultural shift is reflected in the District 203 mission statement, which states that the district strives to “produce a graduate who is a self directed learner, a collaborative worker, a complex thinker, a quality producer and a community contributor.”

In the visual arts program here at Scott School, we put into practice the District 203 learning goals by engaging our students in a constantly evolving art curriculum that prepares students to be more skilled creators, consumers, and navigators of the visual world that surrounds them.

I look forward to exploring that world with your children.

Simone Gaiownik

Visual Arts Teacher