For the seventh year, Island schools will participate in the ArtsSmarts program, which allows students and teachers to work closely with Island artists, says Tourism and Culture Minister Robert Vessey.
“Since the creation of the ArtsSmarts program in our Island schools, appreciation for the arts has increased and students now have connections with various Island artists,” said Minister Vessey.
Through the ArtsSmarts program, artists work with teachers and students on projects that integrate arts activities into non-arts school subject areas. Students combine their learning of core subjects such as math and languages with the help of visual and literary arts, dance, music and/or theatre.
Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Doug Currie commended the Island teachers and artist who encourage these creative approaches to learning. “ArtsSmarts engages students in multi-faceted education which makes learning fun. These projects help them discover their strengths and interests and will help them become creative thinkers,” said Minister Currie. “This is in line with the direction the department is going to ensure we are providing our students with the skills they need to be competitive in the 21st century.”
The ArtsSmarts Coordinator for Prince Edward Island is Cecile Arsenault. She believes that the collaborative work of teachers and artists has led to wonderful learning experiences for Island students. “With ArtsSmarts, you can integrate art into all aspects of the school curriculum, in French or in English, and from kindergarten to Grade 12,” said Ms. Arsenault.
The seven Island schools that will be involved in the 2011 ArtsSmarts program are Stratford Elementary, Sherwood Elementary, École Saint Augustin, Elm Street School, Kensington Intermediate Senior High School, École-sur-Mer and Gulf Shore School.
ArtsSmarts Prince Edward Island is administered and funded by the Department of Tourism and Culture and the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. ArtsSmarts Prince Edward Island is a proud partner of the National ArtsSmarts Network.
For more information on ArtsSmarts, please visit www.artssmartspei.ca
Backgrounder
French and English list of the ArtsSmarts programs at each of the selected schools
École-sur-Mer:
École-sur-Mer students will work on an adaptation of the musical The Little Mermaid. Students will experience the creation process through the following artistic areas: song, music, theatre, dance, costumes, accessories and decor, painting, and drawing. The artist will guide students through the visual aspect by reading the play and the songs, analyzing the storyline, studying underwater life as well as the principles of geometry and measurement that are part of the curriculum. Through this project, students will master many learning outcomes.
École Saint-Augustin:
École Saint-Augustin students, with the assistance of their teachers and the artist, will feature community individuals and groups who have worked hard to ensure that the Francophone community continues to thrive in Rustico. Students will create 12 scroll-shaped banners to represent several themes related to Francophone and community movements. The research stage will start with a discussion with people from the community involved in the development of Francophone life. Students will conduct interviews with these people to get a better understanding of the role they played in their community. Finally, students will design the images, symbols and names to appear on each scroll.
Elm Street School:
Elm Street School suggests the creation of comic strips. Under a common theme, each student will have the opportunity to create a story on bullying. Each story will then be placed in a comic strip book.
Kensington Intermediate Senior High School:
Students at Kensington Intermediate Senior High will study artist Andy Warhol, an important figure of the pop art artistic movement. Warhol’s works of art have marked art history. After studying pop art, students will create a large pop art painting under the food theme. Students of the travel and tourism program will organize an exhibit using the skills acquired during their training to feature the artistic talents of their colleagues.
Gulf Shore School:
The students at Gulf Shore School will work on the production of a large three dimensional map of the community of Rustico, from 1970 to the present. This map will show the physical changes of this area and include scale reproductions of various buildings such as schools, churches, stores and harbours during the 1970's. Each student will be matched with a local senior to be able to learn more about the community. Through research, students will be able to identify changes that have occurred as well as show and understand the reasons behind the economic orientations of this area.
Sherwood Elementary School:
Students at Sherwood Elementary will work on the production of three large prints (4 ft x 8 ft) expressing the cultural diversity of each student attending the school. This project will allow the student to unveil his or her uniqueness which he or she contributes to the class and the community. The combination of three prints will be a visual representation of the cultural identity and diversity present in our urban schools in the 21st century.
Stratford Elementary School:
The purpose of the Stratford Elementary School project is to engage students in a creative process. They will be exposed to equipment and various materials that they may never have used before. They will discover French artists as well as many French cultural movements. Using their log, they will write their impressions on their study session and develop a creative idea from the techniques and skills learned. Finally, each student will create a unique work of art.