ARTS NEWSLETTER # 22 – 11 December 2007
GREETINGS FROM ARGY’S CUBBY with a view of the STATE HOUSE DOME at the Department of Education
ARTS NEWS
- CONGRATULATIONS to Maine music educators who are busy with preparations and excitement of winter student performances throughout communities. For students the opportunity to perform is very special and these experiences are at the top of the “pride list” for parents. Thank you for the work you do bringing music education to the lives of Maine students.
- Thank you to everyone that sent me feedback after the last newsletter on professional development opportunities for the Maine Learning Results.
- Congratulations to Brewer School district for the recent community vote that supports a new K-8 building that will have a performing arts center with seating for 499. I just spent two wonderful days in the Brewer Schools. High school art teacher, Randy Menninghaus was a superb tour guide during the first day. I visited each art and music teachers’ classroom in the elementary, middle and high schools. I also learned about the outstanding dance program that principal Joan Staffiere has put in place for several years. I visited with each building principal and superintendent, Dr. Daniel Lee and Director of Instruction, Kathleen Kazmierczak. Besides the opportunity to learn about their programs I was very impressed with the students. They were polite and friendly, and easily articulated the benefits of their arts education experiences.
NEWSLETTER
- This electronic arts education newsletter is going to 588 readers. Yes, that means ONLY 12 more for 600!!! This is an increase of 9 from the last newsletter. You can read back issues by clicking on: http://mailman.informe.org/pipermail/doe-arts/
- If you know of someone who would like to receive the newsletter please have them email me at: argy.nestor@maine.gov
DIGITAL CAMERAS AVAILABLE – AT NO COST
Nine Canon Power Shot A630 8MP Cameras are available for arts educators to borrow for up to two weeks. Please contact me argy.nestor@maine.gov if you are interested and I will send you the details.
MAINE LEARNING RESULTS
The accepted revisions for the Maine Learning Results can be found at a different link: http://www.maine.gov/education/lres/pei/index.html Please use the revisions that were officially approved by the Maine State Board of Education to guide the development of your local curriculum. Three other documents can be found at this link as well:
1) Cross Content Connections- shows some connections between the 8 content of the MLR’s.
2) Glossary- defines the key words from each of the 8 content
3) Crosswalks- shows where the standards and performance indicators are found in the 1997 and 2007 document
These documents are in .pdf and .rft (rich text format).
EXTENDING THE DANCE MAP: A NORTHERN NEW ENGLAND RURAL DANCE PROJECT
A wonderful dance opportunity is being offered!!!! Teachers, dance educators, and dance artists are invited to participate in a four-day professional development opportunity in dance and movement education. The overall goal is to make dance part of classroom curriculum and more available in public schools. The professional development opportunities will take place on January 13, 14, February 3, 4. If you are interested in participating or have questions please email Nancy Salmon ncsalmon@suscom-maine.net 207-865-4311 or www.aannh.org and request an application.
JOB OPENINGS
- K-6 General and Choral Music teacher position, Auburn School Department State of Maine 614 certification required. The Auburn School Department is seeking a highly qualified, inspiring and effective music teacher for Park Avenue Elementary and East Auburn Community Schools. For additional information contact the office of Thomas Morrill, Assistant Superintendent, Auburn School Dept., Auburn Hall, 60 Court Street, Auburn, 04210, 333-6601 tmorrill@auburnsch.edu
- First Parish Church of Saco is seeking a senior choir director for the 20 plus voices of the senior choir. Please go to http://www.Firstparishsaco.org for more information.
COMING UP TALLER AWARDS PROGRAM SEEKS NOMINATIONS
The President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH) is inviting nominations for the 2008 Coming Up Taller Awards. In partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), they are embarking on the eleventh year of the Coming Up Taller Awards, which recognizes the accomplishments of exceptional arts and humanities after-school and out-of-school programs. Coming Up Taller finalists receive $10,000, an individualized plaque, and an invitation to attend the Coming Up Taller Leadership Enhancement Conference. For more information please go to www.cominguptaller.org or call 202-682-5409. The deadline is January 31st.
RESEARCH
- Kathyrn Vaughn (2000) conducted a meta-analysis of twenty-five studies examining the relationship between music instruction and mathematics achievement. A significant positive relationship between music study and mathematics in ten studies was documented. Six experimental music instruction studies indicated that music study may have a positive relationship to an increase in mathematics achievement. The fifteen listening studies (or indirect experiences) analysis did not find any significant positive results. The Journal of Aesthetics, 34 (3-4), 149-166.
- Sandra Minton’s (2000) experimental study of 286 high school students found a relationship between dance students and the development of the creative thinking skills of originality, elaboration, and abstract thinking as measured by the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking. You can access this study at: http://www.aep-arts.org/files/publications/CriticalLinks.pdf
- Recently released is The Arts Education Partnership publication Arts Integration Frameworks, Research and Practice: A Literature Review by Gail Burnaford, Ph.D. with Sally Brown, James Doherty and H. James McLaughlin. It covers what has been written in the field between 1995 and 2007 in the U.S. and abroad and includes an historical overview, definitions and theoretical frameworks for arts integration, research and evaluation studies, as well as methods and practices for each of the art forms. It is a valuable resource to anyone involved in the research, theories, or methods and practices of arts integration because it covers the most relevant work in the field to date. For more information please visit www.aep-arts.org/publications.
- A recently published article in the Boston Globe on connecting arts classrooms with higher order thinking skills can be found at http://www.boston.com/news.glober/ideas/articles/2007/09/art_for_our_sake/
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY
- The 2008 Teaching East Asia seminar series, offered (at no cost) by the
National Consortium for Teaching about Asia (NCTA) provides an exciting opportunity for Maine educators to learn about history, culture, literature, and art of China, Japan, and Korea from the state's top scholars of East Asian
studies.
First session: Thursday, January 17th, 4:00-8:00
Other 5 sessions: Jan. 19, Feb 2, Mar. 1, Mar. 15, Apr. 5 and Feb. 29, 9-3:00
Location: Colby College, Waterville.
No Cost
Stipends and incentives to participate
• $500 in stipends
• $200 in books for their personal libraries
• $300 in mini-grants to purchase curriculum materials for their classrooms
• eligibility to apply for study tour opportunities to China, Japan, or Korea;
• 3 CEUs or optional university credits (university credit at an additional charge)
For more information about this program, please call or email Ryan Bradeen, Seminar Leader, 207 942 7146 ryan@primarysource.org
ABBE MUSEUM EXHIBIT
Weaving traditions of the Darien Jungle, a basket collection, is on exhibit until March 14th at the Abbe Museum in Bar Harbor www.abbemuseum.org
This artwork is by the indigenous Wounaan and Embera Indians of Panama. The baskets are made from natural and dyed palm tree fibers and are cultural symbols of the Darien rainforest.
NAMM FOUNDATION FUNDING GRANTS
The NAMM Foundation announced the 2008 Funding Grants for research, non-profit organizations, and schools. There are five initiatives that concentrate on reaching specific segments of potential music makers, with proposal deadlines from 11/30/07 to 1/15/08. For more details about the programs supported by the NAMM Foundation’s initiatives and how to submit a request for proposal, visit www.nammfoundation.org/Grants/guidelines.html
PCA GREAT PERFORMANCES
PCA Great Performances will present Orson Welles’ Moby Dick Rehearsed by the Acting Company from Julliard at 7:30 p.m on Wednesday, April 16th. Student tickets are available for $10. PCA Great Performances is looking for 1-2 schools in the Portland area that would be willing to host workshops with the Acting Company on Thursday, April 17, 2008.
Please contact Barri Lynn Moreau, PCA’s Director of Education for more information blmoreau@pcagreatperformances.org 207-773-3150 x227
QUOTE OF THE NEWSLETTER
“The arts and humanities are critical building blocks for a child's development, and they provide a strong foundation for a lifetime of learning… The study of the arts and humanities gives children the chance to be extraordinary -- the power to be themselves.”
First Lady Laura Bush Coming Up Taller Awards Ceremony
