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Arts a la Carte Department of Visual & Performing Arts December 2019—January 2020
Westfield Public Schools Westfield New Jersey
http://tinyurl.com/nx8rzac
Please see page 21 for
performance information on Lights, Camera
Holiday!
ALL CONCERTS BEGIN AT 7:00 pm
(Unless otherwise noted)
Date Place Performance 12/3/19 EIS 6th Grade Chorus & Orchestra
12/3/19 RIS Concert Bands 12/4/19 EIS 7th Grade Chorus & Orchestra
12/4/19 RIS Jazz Ensemble & Afternoon Ramble 12/5/19 WHS Bands
12/9/19 EIS 6th & 7th Grade Band
12/9/19 RIS 6th & 8th Grade Chorus 12/9/19 RIS 6th & 8th Grade Orchestra @ 8:00 pm
12/10/19 EIS Franklin, Tamaques, Washington & Wilson Intermediate Orchestra 12/11/19 McKinley Chorus
12/11/19 Jefferson 5th Grade Band, Chorus & Orchestra
12/11/19 RIS 7th Grade Chorus & Sharps and Flats 12/11/19 RIS 7th Grade Orchestra & Early Morning Orchestra @ 8:00 pm
12/11/19 Tamaques Band & Chorus 12/12/19 WHS Orchestra
12/16/19 EIS 8th Grade Band, Chorus & Orchestra @ 6:45 pm 12/16/19 EIS Broadway Singers, Jazz Band & Symphony Orchestra @ 8:15 pm 12/16/19 Franklin Intermediate Band
12/17/19 Wilson Band & Chorus 12/18/19 Franklin Chorus
12/18/19 McKinley Intermediate Band & Orchestra 12/18/19 Washington Band & Chorus
12/19/19 WHS Chorus
1/8/20 WHS District Band Night 1/13/20 WHS District Orchestra Night
1/15/20 WHS District Choral Night 2/8/20 WHS Choir Night of Love Songs
ALL City Auditions will be starting soon
Please contact your child’s elementary
music teacher for more information
Page 2
Arts a la Carte December 2019-January 2020
Westfield
High School Art
Sophomore, Amy Broughton’s
artwork was chosen for this year’s
Winter Concert program cover. The covers will be used district wide, for
all the upcoming Winter Concerts.
Congratulations Amy!
The Computer Graphic Design I classes researched European and
Asian forms of calligraphy and created calligraphy using traditional
tools and materials. After creating
the calligraphy, each student scanned their calligraphy designs
and were tasked with creating a page layout using Adobe In-Design.
After learning basic functions and
tools used within In-Design, they had to incorporate their calligraphy
into a page layout that included linked paragraphs of text, an initial
cap with text wraps, and their traditional calligraphy featured on
the page. After each student
created their individual page, each class collaborated to make a 20
page booklet of all of the individual
pages created in class. The booklets
also included an original
collaborative cover design and a table of contents. The finished
booklets were printed front to back and bound together. They will be on
display at the end of year District Wide Art Show.
Ceramics 1 students have almost completed the Pinch Pot Unit. They
will soon be glazing their joined
pinch pot sculptures. In this unit, they created a decorative pinch pot,
altered pinch pot, pinch pot with a face, blind pinch pot, joined pinch
pot sculpture, and a pinch pot present. As we move on, they will
also learn how to create several slab
pieces, as well as the technique of coiling.
Ceramics 2 students have been working hard on creating lidded
tripod vessels based off the artwork of Jeff Potaboy. Students had the
opportunity to use colored underglazes to decorate these
before being fired. The first
completed group have been bisque fired. As the second marking period
progresses, all Ceramics 2 students will have at least two chances to
throw on the wheel. Below is a
picture of four students attempting to center the clay on the wheel. It is
harder than it looks!
Page 3
December 2019-January 2020 Arts a la Carte
Drawing classes finished a unit on intuitive gesture and have moved on
to learn classical drawing techniques. As they incorporate
more techniques into their
observational drawings, they are able to problem-solve on their own.
Selecting what technique might be used best for their specific
challenge, they continue to become more independent in their abilities.
Composition students have
learned an extensive amount of
historical armatures during marking period 1 and are now applying
knowledge to create homework assignments with personal imagery.
Notan, Value massing and understanding the necessity to
create a strong value pattern to lay
over your armatures is their current focus. This will lead to learning
sound acrylic painting techniques that they can compose with
confidence.
Advanced Portfolio Prep & Art
History (Art IV) has completed their first marking period of self-
directed works. They are now working with the Formal Critical
Method and Visual Thinking
Strategies as they begin their lengthy investigation of Art History.
Page 4
Arts a la Carte December 2019-January 2020
Students in Foundations of Art
created works of art that focused on
the Element of Art known as Shape, as well as the Principle of Art known
as Balance. Shape is a two-dimensional, flat, enclosed area and
can be either organic or geometric. Balance refers to the way in which
the Elements of Art relate to one
another in a work of art, trying to reach a visual equilibrium. In
addition to learning about the Elements and Principles of Art listed
above, students focused on creating
a sense of tension in the work of art, as is seen in the work below.
Students in World Crafts Sampler studied illuminated manuscripts,
taking influence from historic works
to inspire their own unique handmade illuminated sketchbook
covers. In their works, students used vivid metallic gold to illuminate
/ decorate their work of art,
integrating the embellishment into their theme. After completing their
sketchbooks, students created handmade quill pens to accompany
their sketchbooks. Students
enjoyed practicing writing with the quill pen and ink well at the
completion of the project. As an extension, some students used the
quill pen to write original haiku poems.
Music
WHS Concert Bands
The WHS Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, and Concert Band
are off to a wonderful start for the
2019/20 school year. All three ensembles are preparing literature
for their December 5 concert, which will be held in the high school
auditorium at 7pm.
On December 14, the following WHS
band students will travel to JP Stevens High School to audition for
the CJMEA honor ensembles:
Robbie Strauss * Flute/Piccolo
Ashley Hu * Flute Rachel Hu * Flute
Amira Lee * Flute Ava Pranke * Flute
Noelle Shih * Flute
Ben Zakharenko * Flute Kerala McGrail * Bassoon
Morgan Rollins * Bassoon Kailey Zhao * Bassoon
Jamie Beyert * Clarinet
Alex Cha * Clarinet
James Kaprowski * Clarinet Andy Zhao * Clarinet
Eric Buecklers * Bass Clarinet Matthew Robinson * Bari Sax
Aprina Wang * French Horn Bryan Raber * Trumpet
Jason Paden * Trumpet
Max Tennant * Trumpet Ethan Abrams * Trombone
Conor Daly * Trombone Sam Sherman * Trombone
Patrick Gallagher * Tuba
Ian Gurland * Percussion David Criscuolo * Percussion
Liam Maurillo * Percussion
We would like to wish all 27 students auditioning the best of luck
as they represent the WHS band!
WHS Jazz Bands
Fifty-five students tried out for the WHS’ three jazz bands. Now that
the rosters are set, students will
begin rehearsal in January and will perform at regional jazz festivals
throughout the winter and spring. Don’t miss the 8th annual Westfield
Jazz Night on Saturday, May 9 in
the WHS Courtyard featuring jazz bands from Roosevelt Intermediate,
Edison Intermediate and Westfield High School.
WHS Winterguard
The Westfield High School Winter
Color Guard will begin rehearsal in December in preparation for the
2020 competitive season. The group will rehearse through April and will
perform at local and regional
competitions. Contact Mr. Vitale for more information:
WHS Marching Band The Marching Blue Devils enjoyed
many successes this year with their
field show, “…the Light.” In October, they traveled to the
University of Maryland to compete
Page 5
December 2019-January 2020 Arts a la Carte
in the Bands Of America Regional.
For only the second time in school
history, they cracked the top 10, earning them a spot in the Finals
competition, where they placed 7th.
The competitive season concluded with a performance at the USBands
NJ Regional Championship at Old
Bridge High School where they placed first in Group VI Open, and
fourth overall.
The 2019 season continued a
pattern of substantial growth in the program and the Blue Devils are
grateful for the support of the WHOLE band family. From staff
members, to administrators, to
volunteers and donors, hundreds of people made this season the best
one yet!
To keep up with all the exciting
news in the Westfield Band
program, follow online at: www.westfieldhsbands.org
WHS Bands Friends, Family, and Alumni
whsbandsfriendsfamilyandalumni
Westfield High School Bands
WHS Chorus
The students in all of the classes
have been busy preparing for their winter concert that will take place
on December 19 at 7pm in the WHS Theater. Some highlights will
include Concert Choir performing
the Chichester Psalms, Bernstein’s work for Chorus, Orchestra, and Boy
Soloist. The Mixed Chorus will be performing the stunningly beautiful
setting of Chanukah O Chanukah, as
well as the traditional Pat-a-Pan. Bella Cora is performing Elgar’s, The Snow and a beautiful arrangement of the traditional Hanukah text,
Haneyrot Halalu.
On the pieces accompanied with
orchestra, our choirs will be joined by over thirty students and
professional musicians.
Guys Night of Singing a HUGE Success- Thank you to everyone
who came out and supported our singers or were one of the over
eighty male participants on October 25th - a great time was had by all! A
special thanks to the Groovebarbers
and Westfield parent and
Groovebarbers member, Kevin Weist
for bringing this event to life!
Groovebarbers
The Men rehearsing the finale
I Wanna Hold Your Hand
Over eighty guys singing
“Lion Sleeps Tonight” with the Groovebarbers
All State Chorus- Congratulations to our 13 WHS choir students on a
stellar performance with the All State Orchestra and Chorus over the
past two weekends. Selected
through a rigorous audition process, our students had the opportunity to
perform alongside the top high school musicians in New Jersey.
Performances were held in Atlantic
City in Convention Hall on
Page 6
Arts a la Carte December 2019-January 2020
November 8 and at the New Jersey
Performing Arts Center on
November 17.
All State Chorus and Orchestra
Perform at the New Jersey
Performing Arts Center Newark, NJ
All State Concert in Atlantic City
Pictured above: Daniel Andrade, Luke Barry,
Olivia Ebel, Charlie Garretson, Sam Horvath, Zaria Katz,
Josh Madera, Finn Mcgurn,
Matt Meixner, Vincent Mora, Aishik Palit,
Elisa Saint-Denis, Rachel Seiden
Dr. Fryling visits from Hofstra
University- On November 5, Dr. David Fryling, Director of Choral
Activities at Hofstra University visited and worked with the
students of Concert Choir. Dr. Fryling spent a focused two periods
on the Chichester Psalms and
delving into its musical elements.
Dr. Fryling works with the students
in Concert Choir
Dr. Doni Remba visits Concert
Choir to talk about Chichester Psalms- On November 1, Dr. Doni
Remba, Religious School Principal at
Temple Beth-El Mekor Chayim in Cranford, came in to speak about
the historical context and meaning of the Psalms in Bernstein’s
Masterwork.
Dr. Remba talking to the students in
Concert Choir
Honor Choir Mentorship
Program Starts- This year, our choir leadership group has been
working to provide mentorship to first-time auditionees and younger
students who are auditioning for
Region Chorus on December 14. The mentorship provides one-on-
one, peer-to-peer help and encouragement to students that are
working on their auditioning skills. The mentorship group has been
meeting regularly with several
upperclassmen “ambassadors” and has been a great learning and
leadership opportunity for our students!
Students afterschool preparing for
Region auditions that will take place
on December 14
Drama
The Westfield High School drama students are once again engaged in
furthering their studies of the world
of theatre. In Intro to Theatre, the students have just completed an
investigation of Roman Theatre and its contributions to world theatre. In
addition to the historical aspects of
the period, the students also examined the specific elements from
the time period still seen in contemporary theatre via the
performance of scenes from Rumors, a comedy by Neil Simon.
The Theatre Workshop students are
continuing their exploration of the
world of Shakespeare, both tragedy and comedy. Currently, the students
are working on their scene performances from Macbeth.
In Advanced Theatre Technique, the
students are exploring the Epic
Theatre of Bertolt Brecht. This study includes a performance of scenes
from his iconic masterpiece Mother Courage and her Children.
WHS students are also continuing
their exploration of the world of
theatre behind the scenes in the Stagecraft course. The students are
engaged in learning the various jobs that exist in the technical theatre
and the numerous employment opportunities they present.
Currently, the students are learning
the fundamentals of Costume
Page 7
December 2019-January 2020 Arts a la Carte
Design and Props Design and their
various applications within the
theatrical production process. This unit will conclude with small student
groups reading a play and creating a costume design and prop design
for the show.
Radium Girls- The Westfield High
School Theatre Department presented Radium Girls, by D. W.
Gregory, as their fall production. This deeply moving play featured a
beautiful, representational set,
designed by Roy Chambers and Jack Frankola, the WHS Art teacher and
award winning Scenic Designer, and was constructed by the WHS Scenic
Design club and the Stagecraft class. The entire production,
especially the performances of all of
the students, was truly amazing and provided an evening that will not
soon be forgotten by the audiences or the students. The show was an
extremely successful production,
which played to full houses for all performances and ended with
standing ovations. Featuring over 110 student actors and technicians,
the production clearly demonstrated
the myriad talents of the WHS fine arts students and their various
disciplines. Radium Girls continued to illustrate the high level of
excellence that the WHS Theatre Department has become known for,
which includes nominations for
multiple actors, directors and best overall productions from both the
Montclair State University “Theatre Night” awards and the Paper Mill
Playhouse “Rising Star” Awards.
With the success of last fall’s production of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, which won “Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama”.
This is the sixth consecutive year that WHS has garnered a “best
play” recognition. The students of
the WHS Theatre Department have students, once again, demonstrated
their passion, talent and dedication
to achieving the highest possible
standards of theatrical performance.
Behind the scenes of Radium Girls- While the WHS Fall Drama
cast was preparing for their powerful rendition of Radium Girls,
the WHS theatre technology & design team was hard at work
producing a 1920’s Orange, New
Jersey right in our WHS Performing Arts Center.
Mr. Devlin begins the show process
each season by working with the
students to understand the era and, in this case, the real life effects of
the story. The cast and each design team uses this as the foundation to
the production.
Mrs. McNally reinforced this with the
hair, costumes, and makeup teams. The teams started experimenting
with styles early on in the rehearsal process. On show nights, the teams
worked with each cast member
preparing their hair, makeup and costumes for each performance.
This year, the hair and makeup team was tasked with the challenge
of principal characters falling ill as the show progressed. This required
changes to makeup throughout the
duration of a single show. The
costumes team needed to source attire for each cast member while
creatively re-purposing articles from
inventory. The team designed costumes that would allow for quick
changes and re-wiring of body microphones.
Mr. Chambers and Jack Frankola
lead set design team in creating a
set that was immersive for both the audience and the performers. The
show takes place in multiple settings. It was important to have a
set that had multiple acting areas.
Students learned how to design a set that was able to accommodate
both performer blocking during scenes and run crew blocking during
scene changes. For the first time ever at WHS, cast members and set
pieces were rotated out on a 16 foot
diameter rotating platform. The students learned everything from
building large performance structures to the small details, such
as getting parts of the set to
illuminate under UV blacklight. The props team worked alongside the
set design team to build custom props and source period-specific
items. The production’s graphic
Page 8
Arts a la Carte December 2019-January 2020
design team also needed to work
closely with the set design team to
ensure consistency between the set, promotional materials, and the
lobby design. Audience members were met with a transformed lobby
as they entered the theatre. The audience was then greeted and
guided to their seats by our front-
of-house team.
Mr. DiFabio worked with the lighting, sound, and automation
teams. The six-foot clock was
conceptualized, assembled, and illuminated by an automation team
dedicated specifically to the project. The twelve numbers of the wooden
clock were laser cut in the STEM lab at Edison Intermediate School. The
individually cut pieces were then
assembled on the WHS stage and wired with nearly 400 individually
controlled LED lights. Students learned how to map each diode to a
design software, which then allowed
them to create custom illuminations for each scene. The hands were
powered by a stepper motor connected to an Arduino
microcontroller. The hands moved
each time it receives a signal from the lighting console. The Theatre
program thanks Mr. Bonasera (EIS STEM) and Mrs. Doyle (WHS
Engineering) for their assistance and expertise on this project.
Lighting for this production consisted of over 60 moving and
stationary lighting instruments, 27 of which are newly implemented
color-mixing PARs funded by both
the Westfield Theatre Guild and the Westfield Coalition in Spring of
2019. Lighting is customized for each show. A team of students
learned how to focus, maintain, and program lighting, specific to the
show’s blocking and set design. The
audio design for the show called for 22 wireless body microphones. A
team backstage handled proper
microphone placement on each cast
member and resolved mid-show
troubleshooting as needed. A team in the booth handled level control
for each microphone and playback of the show’s 30+ sound effects.
Students are using industry-standard entertainment technology
such as ETC Lighting Controls,
Shure Digital Wireless Microphone Systems, Resolume Arena Visual
Mapping, and QLab Playback Software.
With many moving parts in this show, the stage management team
worked together to keep all areas of the production in sync from day
one. During the show, the stage manager followed the script to call
each show cue. The assistant stage
managers worked backstage with the run crew to make sure all
elements were prepared for every scene.
Ultimately, students learned that a theatrical production is a true team
effort. Every show is different and brings upon a new set of
challenges. Students are
encouraged to think outside of the box and implement new ideas with
their peers. It often takes many attempts and variations to find the
ideal solution. Creativity, resourcefulness, and collaboration
are key. Students leave each
production with a new set of skills that cannot only be applied to
theatre, but to everyday life.
Roosevelt
Intermediate
Art
The 6th and 7th grade students in Mr. Greenwood’s classes have finished
their first quarter projects. The focus this first quarter was covering
the Art Elements, the principal tools
artists use and control to create art.
This quarter the 6th grade students
created artworks based on abstract art, Egyptian Art, Pop art and the
art of Charles Addams.
Seventh grade looked at the Art
Elements, Aboriginal art, Cezanne, Van Gogh and Charles Addams. The
students also looked at Vincent Van Gogh and his development of
technique, from dark and flat
textured paintings to colorful and vibrant thick choppy brush strokes
working from nature.
The 7th grade students also explored Aboriginal art. Learning how the
native culture of Australia influenced
the Aboriginal artwork. The students recreated an Aboriginal style of
pattern making using paint and pencils.
The 6th grade also had an opportunity to discuss Pop Culture
and Pop art commercial art and its function in society. How commercial
art is using art tools, techniques and skills to create works to
communicate a specific purpose,
usually to sell.
Page 9
December 2019-January 2020 Arts a la Carte
Artists like Warhol and Lichtenstein
were discussed. Mr. Greenwood’s
students created fall still life drawings of pumpkins and gourds
based on the principal of the color wheel for the 6th graders and Depth,
Dimension and Shading for the 7th graders. Students in 6th grade were
to alter the colors in some way
reflecting how the color wheel and color theory works, while the 7th
graders were to explore 3 levels of shading and value.
Music
RIS Bands
The Roosevelt bands are very excited to present their Winter
Concert on December 3 at 7pm. All three concert bands have spent the
past several weeks preparing a
variety of challenging repertoire. Here is a brief preview of the
evening’s music:
The 6th grade band will open the
concert with “Chorale” by Paul Cook. This is a slow piece that helps
students learn how to make quality sounds on their instruments. They
will then perform some of the
melody from “Star Wars”, and give
the audience a little music theory
lesson on key signatures! The final piece the 6th grade will perform is a
challenging arrangement of “Do-Re-Mi” from the Sound of Music. The 7th grade band will begin their
portion of the concert with a medley
titled “Hannukah Holiday”. This piece combines well known Hebrew
folk songs and challenges students with changes in tempo, modes, and
extended range. Next, Mr. Doyle will
lead the band in a Timothy Loest tune entitled “The Greatest Gift”.
This piece challenges students to make quality sounds while
performing at a slow tempo. The band’s final piece, “Doppler Effect”,
recreates the scientific idea known
as the doppler effect through changes in dynamics and pitch
throughout the piece.
The 8th grade band will perform last
at the concert. They will begin with a march entitled “Call to the Heroes”
by Chris Bernotas. Mr. Doyle will then lead the band in Anne
McGinty’s “The Red Balloon”, a
piece inspired by a painting of a child holding a red balloon while
standing with his grandfather. Mr. Freeman will then lead the band as
they close out the concert with excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s “The
Nutcracker” suite. This challenging
and familiar tune will be a perfect ending to the concert!
Jazz Ensembles and Afternoon
Ramble- The Roosevelt Jazz
Ensembles and Afternoon Ramble will perform their Winter Concert on
December 4 at 7pm. The Afternoon Ramble will perform two hits from
the band Creedance Clearwater Revival- “Down on the Corner” and
“Bad Moon Rising” to start the
concert. The Jazz Combo will then perform a few blues tunes, featuring
improvised solos. The Jazz Big Band
will finish off the concert with a mix
of jazz standards and arrangements
of holiday favorites, so don’t miss out!
On November 6, the Afternoon
Ramble performed in the cafeteria as part of the school’s Mix It Up
Day. During each lunch period
students performed for their peers as they ate lunch. It was a high
energy, fun filled afternoon, and everyone had a great time!
On December 20, the Jazz Big Band will join forces with the Early
Morning Orchestra and Sharps and Flats on our annual elementary
school holiday tour. We will perform at Wilson, Washington, and Franklin
elementary schools spreading
holiday cheer and giving the future RIS students a taste of what the
music program has to offer. It is a wonderful way to start the winter
break!
Mr. Doyle, Mrs. Colabaugh, and Mr.
Freeman would like to thank the entire Westfield community for their
continued support for our students and the arts. We wish everyone a
safe and happy holiday season!
Page 10
Arts a la Carte December 2019-January 2020
Veteran’s Day Assembly- On
November 11, the 8th grade band
performed at the annual RIS Veterans’ Day Assembly, where RIS
honors and thanks a member of our school community who has served
in the armed forces. The 8th grade band performed a medley of service
songs, representing each branch of
our armed forces. They also performed “Call to the Heroes” as
part of the ceremony. Trumpet players Thomas Hyland, Joseph
Slingerland, Tate Sun, and Luke
Tennant played “Taps” during a moment of solemn remembrance.
WHS District Music Day The 8th grade band will also be
participating in the WHS district
music day on Wednesday, January
8. The band, chorus, and orchestra
will travel to WHS and spend an afternoon performing with their high
school counterparts. The bands will be rehearsing in preparation for a
performance on the evening of the 8th, where they will join the 8th
grade concert band from EIS, the
WHS Wind Ensemble, and the WHS Marching Band for a concert in the
high school auditorium. This is a yearly event and is an excellent
opportunity to see the wide range of
talent in the Westfield band program. The concert begins at
7pm.
Drama
Congratulations to the Cast and Crew of The Outsiders!
Edison
Intermediate
Art
With Marking Period 2 just beginning, the students in Mrs.
Diliberto's 6th and 7th grade art classes are learning about the
significance of the art portfolio.
Students are learning how to build a portfolio, which will safely store
their artwork. Each portfolio will act as a "self-portrait" as they figure out
how to utilize a rather large surface
area with different elements of design such as color, line, and
shape. We are learning a little about each other through this
project as we explore different
themes and ideas, which
represent each student.
The 8th grade Arts and Crafts students are finishing up their Pin
Art studies. Students learned the process of pin art with by starting
with a borrowed image and then
expanding and honing in on their craft with an original design.
Students explored different watercolor techniques and how they
could be applied to their designs. Up
next, we will begin our Printmaking Unit. We will be comparing
different mediums and printing processes with scratch foam board
and soft-kut block. Students will be incorporating what they have
learned in their previous pin art
project about design and balance and applying it to their first print
series.
Page 11
December 2019-January 2020 Arts a la Carte
The 6th and 7th grade students in Mrs. Frees art classes are getting to
know one another as the 2nd marking period has begun. They are
going to be studying the elements
of art and working on lessons that are about color theory and
painting/drawing skills.
The Crafts 8th graders are finishing a
unit on Fibers and next will be moving on to a unit on clay.
Music EIS Bands
We are looking forward to a great concert season for the Edison
School Bands. Performing for the
first time as Edison students, the 6th grade band is looking forward to
showing how much progress they have made in only four short
months of being in middle school.
The 7th grade band will perform a sure crowd favorite, “Celtic Air and
Dance,” and feature the percussion section on “Mallet Maniacs.” The 8th
grade band have been working hard on a very advanced arrangement of
“Greensleeves.”
The 8th grade band will travel to
Westfield High School on January 8 to take part in their annual District
Band Concert/8th Grade Music Day.
During the school day, students will hear wonderful performances from
the WHS Choir, Orchestra, and
Band. The 8th grade students will
get to sit side-by-side with the WHS
Wind Ensemble and see what it is like to take part in a high school
rehearsal. At night, the students have a performance on stage with
the RIS 8th grade band and the WHS Wind Ensemble, which will
showcase the great band students
throughout Westfield.
This year, there continues to be a great number of students trying out
for Intermediate Band. The
students trying out have been working hard both at home and at
after school help sessions to fine-tune their solos. Last year, five
students from EIS made this prestigious group. We wish all these
students good luck on their
auditions this year.
The EIS Jazz Band is in full swing. Their winter concert performance on
December 15 will be filled with
many improvised solos. The group will be going on tour to the south
side elementary schools on December 20 to perform for captive
audiences. The Jazz Band is also
hard at work preparing for the Breakfast with the Bands coming up
on February 29.
EIS Orchestra In a perfect world, all music
students would receive private
instruction on their instrument, with consistent one-on-one attention on
a regular basis. However not everyone has the time to devote to
this type of commitment and it is
simply not feasible during the school day, when most classes average
around 25 students or more. Therefore, the Edison Intermediate
School Orchestra students have been breaking down grade-level
barriers with an “8th grade helpers”
program. Through this program, 6th or 7th grade students can request a
mini lesson with a current EIS 8th
grader before or after school. This
gives 6th or 7th grade students a
chance to have individual attention on their specific instrument with a
fellow student who has a few more years of experience. The program
has been very successful in the last month with close to 15 8th graders
volunteering their time before or
after school to work with younger students. This has also been a
wonderful opportunity for the 8th graders to try their hand at
teaching, and gain some experience
working with students to see if it may be a career they would like to
pursue down the road. All students involved love working together, and
often don’t want to leave the Orchestra Room!
L-R: Matthew Bonn (6th Grade)
Christian Sanford (8th Grade)
L-R: Rachel Werner (6th Grade) Maya Balakumaran (8th Grade)
Page 12
Arts a la Carte December 2019-January 2020
L-R: Ashley Garcia (6th Grade)
Olivia Bach (8th Grade) Valentina Ciucci (6th Grade)
L-R: Bella Donofrio (8th Grade)
Ashley Pizha (6th Grade)
The EIS Orchestra students would also love to have you attend their
Winter Concerts! The 6th grade Orchestra will perform on December
3, the 7th grade Orchestra on December 4, and the 8th grade and
Symphony Orchestras on December
16. You will hear pieces from famous works such as The Nutcracker, Hamilton, and Anastasia. We hope to see you
there!
Drama
Congratulations to the cast and crew of Edison Intermediate
School's Fall Drama Clue. All three performances were amazing with a
cast and crew of middle school
students responsible for the entire production, from acting to lights to
sound to sets to props it was a great job! This all combined to
make one amazing show that kept
audiences guessing and laughing every night. What a great job! The
reviews were amazing and the pride was well deserved. Take a bow
EIS! You made your community
proud!
Franklin
Elementary
Art
Now that the year is well under way, the Art Room has been full of
students working hard to design
artwork using their creativity.
The 1st graders are finishing up their Rainbow line painting, where they
not only focused on learning the color wheel, but on various types of
line and cutting skills. They will soon
be working on their symmetrical leaf painting. Students will learn about
symmetry in leaves when drawing them. They will then use warm and
cool colors to add color to their leaf
and background.
Second grade classes completed
two texture collage artworks. For this project, students used a variety
of everyday materials, such as corrugated cardboard, rubber dish
mats, paper clips, plastic coins and art sticks to create an artwork on
their choice of color paper. Students
chose to keep one as is, and the other one will be used in a paper-
weaving project, which we will begin next.
The 3rd graders are now completing their leaf artwork. Students were
given multiple choices about how they would like to represent leaves
in their artwork. Students could create realistic or whimsical leaves
and had the option of using
watercolor, marker, color pencil, or oil pastels to add color to their
design. Having students make more decisions about their artwork instills
ownership in their work.
Fourth grade is completing their
observational artwork of pumpkins. Students looked at photos of
pumpkins as well as real pumpkins
to assist them in drawing and planning their design. The goal was
to draw their pumpkin using an interesting composition by using
different techniques, such as overlapping, cropping, and off
centering. Oil pastels were used to
add color and create a 3-D look.
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December 2019-January 2020 Arts a la Carte
Masks are the focus of the 5th grade
classes. They worked on creating a design after looking at different
African masks, Tiki faces, and
symmetrical faces. Students could create a face based on a person or
an animal, but were to make it symmetrical. Once the face was
created, students transferred their image onto foil. Various tools were
then used to create texture and
emboss different designs into their foil. Color was added with marker.
Students could choose to add embellishments, such as pipe
cleaners, feathers, beads, buttons,
etc. to their artwork to enhance it.
We are well under way to an exciting year in the Art Room!
Music
The music room at Franklin has
been filled with the sounds of singing, playing, and laughing. Our
1st graders have discovered their
new rhythms, quarter notes, paired eighths, and quarter rests, and
they’ve begun composing with them using the elemental building blocks
for “Mince Pie”. They also learned a
new game using those concepts
playing Elves and Giants.
In 2nd grade, the students discovered their new rhythm the
half note through the singing game
“Let Us Chase the Squirrel”. Afterwards, they were able to
transfer those pitches and rhythms to the xylophones as they played
the melody of the piece. Once
December rolls around, the students will begin their unit on the
instrument families and begin to develop their ear as they identify
the timbre of each family.
Our 3rd graders traveled to London
as they learned the poem “Piccadilly Circus”. As they developed their
spatial awareness and created pathways through the room, they
chanted the poem and later
discovered that it contained their new rhythm, the sixteenth note.
Once the poem’s form was analyzed, the students composed
their own chants using their new
rhythm in aabc form. They also used this new rhythm in their
singing game “Chicken on a
Fencepost”.
Fourth grade students have been singing and playing in Aeolian and
Dorian a lot, and just learned a Dorian mode Native American song
that incorporated a passing game.
This required lots of coordination, teamwork, and a discerning ear as
they tried to find the hidden shaker. They also composed in Aeolian after
decoding a rhythm. Then these
were performed on xylophones for the class. Using the site Isle of
Tune, the students created musical islands that included their concepts
of melodic and rhythmic ostinatos,
and then a melody by assigning each tree and plant on their island a
pitch and rhythm. The 4th graders have also been building on their
movement concepts by creating machines that used positive and
negative space, levels, body facings,
connections, and ostinato movements. We had some really
creative machines!
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Arts a la Carte December 2019-January 2020
The 5th graders have been working
hard in preparing for their upcoming
Winter Chorus Concert on December 18. Their work ethic and attention
to detail will make for a great concert! They’ve also been very
creative by adding movements to one of their songs. Other students
have volunteered to create short
introductions or skits for each song during their “working lunch”. In
class, the 5th graders also mastered the stick passing game “Tiriba Ya”
which has several different levels of
difficulty.
Some of our 5th graders will be
performing with the NJ Festival Orchestra for their “Home for the
Holidays” concert. This is always a
special treat for the students and a wonderful concert right within our
own community. This concert will take place on December 7.
Jefferson
Elementary
Art
First graders have begun to paint their plaster handprints, using
primary colors, the next unit will be the African unit, which starts out
with mood masks.
The 2nd graders are almost done
with their facial proportion unit. They are beginning the last project,
self-portrait creatures, where they make themselves into anything they
can dream up. Is your child a hot
dog, a dress, a unicorn-dragon
eating a giant caterpillar? The sky is the limit.
Third grade students have begun
their Aboriginal X-ray Paintings. This is a group project with a focus
on Social Emotional Learning. Students will learn about the
indigenous people of Australia,
Australian animals, and the tradition of X-ray paintings. They will also
cover complementary colors, analogous colors, tints, shades,
organic shapes, and irregular patterns. Socially, we will be
working on cooperative learning,
inclusion, and conflict resolution.
The 4th grade students have just begun a unit where we study artists
that have/had special needs. Out
first artist is Sandra Silberzweig who was diagnosed with "synesthesia" a
disorder where she sees, smells, and feels color differently than
"normal".
Music
Jefferson’s musicians are learning all
about rhythm and timbre!
Many of our students had an
opportunity on the half days in
November to work on mindfulness
in art, library and music. We read
the book “The Listening Walk” by
Paul Showers and then went on our
own walk. We noticed what sounds
we could hear in the classroom and
then drew pictures of what the
sound would look like. We
completed our journey with some
mindfulness exercises such as
“Blowing out Candles” and “Which
Tree Are You?”
First graders are exploring quarter
notes, eighth notes, and quarter rests through songs, games, and
composition activities. Favorites include “Engine Engine Number
Nine” and “Hot Pretzels.” Students are using rhythmic building blocks
to create their own compositions-
they are even using their favorite foods to inspire them!
Second graders are experiencing
half notes and other familiar
rhythms in a variety of different tempos. This is also the first time
we will use the barred instruments in class. Students will be learning an
accompaniment to the song “Let Us Chase the Squirrel.”
The 3rd graders enjoyed some rhythmic reading to “Twelfth Street
Rag.” We explored the form of the piece (introduction, A, interlude, B,
interlude, C, interlude, D, coda) and
then performed it with different body percussion. We are learning
about dotted half notes and working on a dance to “Great Big House.”
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December 2019-January 2020 Arts a la Carte
Fourth graders are exploring tempo.
Student musicians acted out various
animal scenes- including a presto tiger! We are really enjoying the
mirroring and shadowing activities. Students are working with partners
or groups to expand their movement vocabulary and respond
to music with their bodies.
The 5th grade students are
composing, creating, and moving with sixteenth notes, dotted
rhythms, and rests. Students put
the rhythm in their feet and experimented with different patterns
set to popular music. Classes are also working on their rhythmic
dictation, which is writing down a rhythm just by hearing it. Our 5th
grade chorus is hard at work
preparing for their holiday concert. We hope to see you on December
11!
Thank you to everyone who joined
us for our Fall Sing-a-long. The students loved sharing all of their
favorite music class activities with you. We wish you a very musical
holiday season!
McKinley
Elementary
Art
The 2019-2020 school year is really getting underway at McKinley as
students are producing so many wonderful artworks. Here are some
of the highlights!
First grade artists read “Mouse
Paint” by Ellen Walsh, delving into what happens each time the mice
get into the paint. Students created a “mouse paint” artwork based on
the story by reviewing the primary
colors, and how they are mixed to
make the secondary colors. They
sang along to songs on the color
wheel, practiced painting skills, and explored color mixing, just like the
mice in the story! Finally, students created mice out of model magic,
adding color mixing to them as well.
In 2nd grade, students learned about
insects and hatched monarch butterflies in their classrooms. To
connect this wonderful event in their classroom with a creative art
technique, students reviewed the life cycle and parts of a butterfly,
talked about symmetry being the
same on both sides, and made observations about butterfly's wings
being symmetrical. Students created butterfly prints using foam board to
create their stamps, washable
markers to color, and then dampened their paper to reproduce
their image over and over again. This process is called printmaking!
Using their creativity, the 2nd
graders came up with an infinite amount of color combinations for
their butterfly prints and then thoughtfully designed their
background.
Third grade artists are reviewing
different types of symmetry and
pulling inspiration from the radial designs of Gothic stained glass
windows. Students are learning about Gothic artwork and the
intricate metal and glasswork art form of stained glass. After viewing
images, students will create a radial
design and paint their artwork using watercolor to mimic the stained
glass visual of light pouring through the glass.
Bolstered by the McKinley slogan of “growing our hearts and our minds”
4th grade artists thought about how unnecessary excessive worrying can
be. By learning about the folk tale behind Guatemalan Worry Dolls,
students viewed one way
Guatemalan children handle stress, telling their worries to a small doll,
and sticking it under their pillows at night. After viewing traditional
Worry Dolls crafted by artisans,
students created their own with a plethora of different materials,
exploring 3-D forms and multimedia.
In 5th grade, students will be
creating 3-D landscape designs out of model magic clay. Students will
review landscape artwork, the different sections of foreground,
middle ground, and background
used to show depth, and clay techniques needed for creation.
After brainstorming and sketching some ideas, a favorite will be
chosen and created in three-
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Arts a la Carte December 2019-January 2020
dimensional form, showing creativity
and an understanding of size and
proportion.
Music
The 1st and 2nd graders at McKinley have been working on tempo and
rhythm this past month. First graders created their own rhythm
turkeys using notes that equal one
beat. They also learned a fun Thanksgiving song that they sang
around the school on the day before Thanksgiving! The second graders
have been learning more about note
values, and have been playing listening games, and rhythm
football. They're also learning about tempo, and identifying allegro,
andante and adagio!
The 4th graders have also been
working on tempo and rhythm this month. Fourth graders used Makey
Makey to connect their drawn rhythm patterns on paper to a
computer. Once connected,
students completed a circuit and were able to touch their notes on
paper to hear a drum sound played on the computer! They were also
able to use Specdrums, which are
rings that can read color, to play their rhythm patterns and hear
them come to life with different percussion sounds!
The 5th graders have been working
very hard to prepare all the music
for their Winter Concert on December 11. In addition to
preparing for our concert, students have been using note flight, an
online music software to create
songs and rhythm patterns. Students shared their compositions
last month with their classmates and have had a great time
experimenting with different online sounds.
Tamaques
Elementary
Art
The 1st grade students have just finished learning about texture while
constructing bas-relief scarecrows.
They began the unit using an assortment of textures including
burlap, raffia, felt and buttons to create the scarecrow’s outfit. A
colorful paper bag served as the
head of the scarecrow and it was topped off with a handkerchief and
hat! They will be starting their plaster sculpture unit soon.
Second grade students were
introduced to the wonderful work of
Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, who creates vibrant patterned pumpkins.
Focusing on composition, they created pumpkin patch drawings
that illustrated objects receding in
space. They were presented various options to complete their
drawings including oil pastel, watercolors, and markers. Some
students created patterned work inspired by Kusama and some chose
to color their pumpkins traditional
colors. Yayoi Kusama’s work will be on display at the NY Botanical
Garden in the Spring! Don’t miss it!
Grade 3 is busy learning how to
weave. Always a favorite lesson, most students request to take their
looms home to work on them outside of class. The designs are
exploding with beautiful texture,
colors and patterns! The students in 4th grade are finishing up expressive
landscape paintings. They analyzed Van Gogh’s Starry Night and learned
about fore, middle, and background in composition. The project also
afforded the students an
opportunity to experiment with
textural surfaces by mixing paint,
pencil shavings, and chalk pastels.
This super messy project was definitely a class favorite! Students
are highly encouraged to see Starry Night, a brilliant work of art at the
MoMa in New York City!
The 5th grade just finished their
sculpture unit on Pop Art and the results were magnificent! There
was tremendous variety including sushi and chopsticks, donuts, ice
cream, animals, and a sewing
needle and fabric, just to name a few! Next up… printmaking!
Music
Fall was filled with lots of music
making at Tamaques. Our musical focus for the month of October was
dynamics (the different volume
levels in music) and we took time to learn and recall the musical terms
for dynamics and apply these terms to the sounds we hear every day.
The focus for November was
rhythm. We took time to practice clapping, saying, playing,
identifying, and writing different note values and rhythms across all
grade levels.
Some of the DYNAMIC activities we
worked on include: 1st: Making Jack-O-Lantern Shakers
that play piano (soft), mezzo-forte (medium loud), and forte (loud).
2nd: Listening for the different dynamics within “In the Hall of the
Mountain King” by Edvard Grieg, reading the story that goes along
with the song (written by Allison
Flannery), and playing the piece on boom whackers.
3rd: Creating a musical story with
spooky sounds using the book “The House that Drac Built” by Judy
Sierra, filling in a Musical Mad Libs
with dynamic words, and playing a
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December 2019-January 2020 Arts a la Carte
matching game with dynamics
cards.
4th: Performing Halloween poetry
pieces where students work together in groups to recite,
sing/play instruments, and act out a Halloween-themed poem with three
distinct dynamics of their choice.
5th: Completing a Halloween-themed
musical escape room (developed by Ms. Toulios at Lincoln/McKinley)
where students must apply their
knowledge of melody, dynamics, rhythm, and other musical concepts
to crack the code and “escape” before the end of class!
Some of the RHYTHM activities
we’ve been working on include:
1st: Building rhythm patterns
(quarter, eighth notes, and rests) we hear with popsicle stick notation,
playing rhythm telephone where
you pass a pattern around the class by tapping on the next person’s
shoulder, and putting the words of new songs we learned like “Who
Wants Ice Cream?” and “Pumpkin
Pie Polka” into our clapping and movement.
2nd: Notating rhythm patterns
(quarter, half, and eighth notes, and
rests) in Chrome Music Lab’s Rhythm App, playing a Star Wars
themed “Poison Pattern” game where students practice clapping
specific rhythms, and creating
rhythm pattern piles of leaves using
note value leaf cut-outs.
3rd: Looking at our Note Value
family tree and how every note can branch off of one another and
playing Rhythm Bingo where students needed to visually and
aurally identify patterns the teacher
claps.
4th: Playing beats we created on Splice Beat Maker at different
tempos (speeds) and reviewing note
values and rhythms/ composing patterns in a Jeopardy! style game.
5th: Discussing the origins of a
cappella music with listening examples and how beat-boxing and
body percussion is used to keep
time without any percussion instruments present.
Our 5th grade students have a
Winter Concert coming very soon!
The Chorus and Band have been preparing for a night filled with very
festive holiday music. We are excited to present this concert on
December 11 at 7pm. We hope to
see you there!
Tamaques & Washington 4th & 5th Grade Bands
The Tamaques and Washington 4th
grade band students are off to a great start! We have learned proper
playing posture, correct embouchure (the way in which a
player applies their mouth to the
mouthpiece of a brass or wind instrument), and quite a few notes.
Students have learned some favorite songs such as Hot Cross Buns, Go Tell Aunt Rhodie, Rolling Along, and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. We are
also trying to learn Jingle Bells and
The Dreydl Song in time for the holidays!
The 5th grade band students are
super excited about their holiday
concert! We have been rehearsing
our concert songs before school as
a full band. These performance songs include: Chanukah Joy, Blue Christmas, Chopsticks for Christmas, Band on the Housetop, and Jingle Bells. The Tamaques Concert will be December 11 at 7pm, and the
Washington Concert is December 18
at 7pm. We are excited about continuing the year and growing as
musicians. Have a wonderful holiday!
Washington
Elementary Art
The young artists at Washington
School are continuing their creative
exploration of several exciting
topics.
The 1st grade classes recently
completed their study of line, shape, and color with a fun “Painted
Popsicle” project. Every artist made a set of recipe cards by
sandwiching a secondary color between two primaries. Cards were
cut and pasted to a background to
look like an ice pop stand. Students are now applying their new
knowledge of the art elements to several projects about pattern,
including some cultural patterns as
inspired by traditional West African artists.
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Arts a la Carte December 2019-January 2020
Second grade students are starting
a unit on Asian Art. Over the next
marking period, they will be designing Ming vases, 3-D paper koi
fish, painted pandas, and dragons. They will also make pigs to
celebrate the animal of the Chinese New Year. It is sure to be a festive
season in art class!
Students in the third grade completed their study of the Middle
Ages with a painting of a stained glass window. These young artists
worked with a monochromatic color
palette, mixing their own tints and shades. They will next look at
traditional Native American arts with teepee paintings, adobe designs,
dreamcatchers, weavings, and totem poles.
In the 4th grade, artists will be using
perspective techniques to illustrate a
variety of places. This will include downtown Westfield, imaginary
castles, New York City, and Van Gogh’s bedroom.
Students in 5th grade will soon be
using their art to convey feelings of
identity. They will be completing their long-anticipated self-portrait
project where faces will be compared with their counterparts
from first grade. They will then
move on to large-scale figures and illustrations of their names. This will
be a fun shift from the art fundamentals of color and shading,
the best example of which is the wavy web completed right before
Thanksgiving.
It is exciting to see how these
young artists continue to develop their skills and apply them in such
unique ways!
Music
The cold weather is coming and soon it may be snowing outside, but
musicians are growing inside Washington School! The holiday
season started with a very successful pair of Fall Sing-a-longs
right before Thanksgiving break,
during which students sang songs about Halloween, fall, and
Thanksgiving. Favorite songs
included the spooky Ghost of John
and the always-bluesy Turkey Trot.
Thanks to parents and families for attending and making Washington
musicians feel so proud of what they have accomplished so far this
year!
Our focus in the music room during
the months of December and January will be tone color, which
helps us differentiate between the sounds of different voices and
instruments, and form, which is how
music is composed of similar sections that are arranged in
patterns. All students at Washington have been working on movement
activities designed to align with form all year long. The younger
students will get a chance to
practice recognizing distinct sections of music by performing learned
activities without assistance, and older students will begin to analyze
music they hear and assign labels to
different sections. The ability to recognize similar patterns of sound
is crucial to developing musicianship and an important precursor to
reading notation.
Our study of tone color in the month
of December will lead us into discussions about different
instruments of the band and orchestra, which will coincide nicely
with the Washington School Winter
Concerts. Our younger students will be able to learn all about
instruments that are pitched or unpitched, and which instruments
belong together in families. Older
students will learn more in-depth details about what makes an
instrument similar or different from another, and at the same time many
of them will be applying what they know to the instrument they are
learning in band and orchestra
lessons. On December 10, the fifth grade orchestra members will
perform their winter concert at
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December 2019-January 2020 Arts a la Carte
Edison School at 7pm with the
orchestras from Franklin, Wilson,
and Tamaques, and on December 18, the fifth grade band and chorus
will perform their winter concert program during the day for their
teachers and classmates, and again in the evening for their parents and
families. It is sure to be a delightful
performance; the very musical fifth grade has been working hard all
year to prepare for what will surely be a very holly jolly Winter Concert!
Wilson
Elementary
Art
The artists at Wilson School
continued their exploration of the Elements of Art and Principles of
Design.
First grade artists learned how the Empire State Building was
constructed by examining the illustrations and photographs in Sky Boys: How They Built the Empire State Building. They discovered the various geometric shapes that can
be found on buildings in the form of windows, doors and rooflines.
Each artist cut geometric shapes
from paper and glued them onto a larger piece of paper to create one-
of-a-kind Shape Skyscraper collages.
The 2nd grade artists learned that
when Henri Matisse was too frail to continue painting, he cut brightly
colored pieces of paper into organic
shapes using a technique he referred to as “drawing with
scissors.” Inspired by Matisse, 2nd graders cut organic shapes from
pieces of paper in the primary and
secondary colors. These shapes were used to create vibrant collages
in which colors were paired with
their color complement. The color
wheel was used as a tool for finding
complementary colors.
Third grade students viewed images
of Romero Britto’s paintings and
discussed how he used lines, patterns, and bright colors to create
his joyful paintings. Inspired by Britto and using warm-colored
markers, artists created individual
pumpkins with each segment of their pumpkin containing a different
pattern. The Britto-inspired pumpkins were attached to cool-
colored construction paper to create a warm/cool contrast.
Artists in 4th grade viewed images of
sugar skulls, which are traditionally
created in Mexico for Day of the Dead celebrations. They learned
how to draw a symmetrically shaped skull on tracing paper and then
transfer it onto drawing paper.
These paper skulls were embellished with hand-drawn motifs; markers
were used to add color. The skulls and hand-made paper flowers were
used to create a Day of the Dead multi-media collage.
Fifth grade artists viewed Vincent Van Gogh’s famous painting, Starry Night, which was created during the Post-Impressionist time period. Van
Gogh’s placement of objects in the
foreground, middle ground and background were discussed. Also
discussed was Van Gogh’s thick application of paint swirls, which
gives his paintings texture and movement. Inspired by Van Gogh
and using oil pastels on black
sulphite paper, they created “Spooky Night” drawings, complete
with ghost-like clouds and pumpkins.
The Dot by Peter Reynolds was read to each class during the first month
of school. When Vashti, the main character, experiences a creative
block, her art teacher tells her to
“just make a mark and see where it
takes you.” Vashti starts by making
a dot with a pencil and soon discovers that she has a passion for
painting dots in all sizes and colors. Every artist was given a square of
sulphite paper that corresponded to the color of their art room table.
They were taught a folding and
cutting technique for making a dot (circle) when a compass is not
readily available. Using paint sticks, each artist created a unique design.
All of the dots were joined together
to form a collaborative artwork that adds joyful color to the art room
and is intended to convey the message that everyone’s artwork is
valued and appreciated.
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Arts a la Carte December 2019-January 2020
Music Wilson students are focusing on rhythm and duration across the
grade levels! First grade students are working to perform and identify
rhythms such as quarter notes,
eighth notes, half notes and quarter rests. They are practicing keeping a
steady beat as part of a drum circle and are performing rhythmic and
melodic ostinatos. They especially
enjoy improvisational activities with movement where they can create
their own dance sequence!
The 2nd grade students are focusing on performing and identifying
rhythms through songs with melodic
and rhythmic ostinatos. They have mastered singing partner songs as
well as performing rounds with the song “Donkeys are in love with
carrots!”
Third grade students have
expanded their rhythmic vocabulary to include syncopa as well as
sixteenth notes. They have been
practicing playing these rhythms on the barred instruments as well as
the drums. They will continue to focus on expanding their pentatonic
scale as well.
The 4th grade students are focusing
on rhythm and movement with the
song “Chicken on a Fencepost”. They are mastering a circle dance
and game while students accompany the class on the barred
instruments.
Fifth grade music classes will be notating 4 part ostinatos to be
performed live for the class. They
will compose a rhythmic ostinato on Chrome Music Lab to use as their
accompaniment. The 5th grade Chorus students are busy continuing
to prepare for the upcoming Winter
Concert. Students are practicing solos as well as instrumental
accompaniments in preparation for a spectacular performance!
Lincoln
School
At Lincoln School, we are learning all about notes and steady beat!
Students have learned to identify quarter notes, quarter rests and
eighth notes as you can see in the
picture below of them coloring in a Thanksgiving Turkey by notes.
Students have also been learning some fun Thanksgiving songs,
including a Turkey Named Bert.
The Department of Visual & Performing Arts would like to thank the Westfield Coalition for the Arts for their generous donations benefiting so many students throughout the district so far this year. Wenger Bass Rack for Jefferson
Art Display Board for Edison
Professional Development Courses for EIS & RIS art
teachers
Travel Expenses for WHS Chorus performance in NYC
Masterclass fees for WHS, RIS &
EIS Music Departments
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December 2019-January 2020 Arts a la Carte
Support the Westfield HS Band and Choir programs!
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Arts a la Carte December 2019-January 2020
FALL 2019 Dear Westfield Arts Lovers! The mission of the Westfield Coalition for the Arts is to act as an advocate for the arts in our schools, including music, fine art, theatre, visual art and dance. We speak out on behalf of the arts and their importance in our schools by raising public awareness of the arts’ programs currently in our schools, supporting the schools when there is no room left in the budget, and encouraging our students’ artistic endeavors. We cannot do this without your support!
The Coalition was able to award grants to fine art, music, and drama teachers for different art projects due to your generous donations of over $20,000! Just look at what some of your donations paid for this past school year:
★ Lighting equipment and a new scrim for the WHS stage
★ Xylophones for an innovative music project at Franklin School
★ New music folios for the choirs at Edison Intermediate School and WHS
★ Funding for choral attire for the new WHS Blue Devil Treble acapella group
★ Travel expenses for the WHS Wind Ensemble to participate in the Music for All National Concert Band Festival
★ Funding for a new and permanent fine art installation at Washington School
★ Document Camera purchase for Roosevelt Intermediate School Fine Art program
★ Art Classroom amplification system for Edison Intermediate School
★ Continuing education classes for art teachers AND MUCH MORE!
The Westfield Coalition is an independent, nonprofit, organization, and we depend solely upon the generosity of supporters and parents like you! We hope that you will once again demonstrate your commitment to the arts by donating today.
Like our Facebook page and visit our website: www.WestfieldCoalitionForTheArts.weebly.com. Please say you will stand with us as art advocates! DONATE TODAY! ~ Margaret Smith, President ~ Eric Lipkind, Treasurer, Michelle McGurn and Danielle Michaeli TO DONATE, simply mail your checks, made payable to WESTFIELD COALITION FOR THE ARTS to:
WCA Treasurer, 622 Arlington Avenue, Westfield, NJ 07090 Please cut and include the portion below with your payment. .
NAME: (as you would like it listed in the program) ___________________________________________________
EMAIL: _____________________________________________PHONE:___________________________________
NAME OF WESTFIELD SCHOOL THAT YOUR YOUNGEST CHILD ATTENDS: _____________________________
YES, I/we are interested in volunteering for the WCA _________________________________________________
. (first & last name, and email address, if not listed above)
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
Yes, I/we would like to donate! Please check one:
Benefactor $500.00_____ Angel $200.00_____ Patron $100.00_____
Sponsor $75.00_____ Supporter $50.00_____ Donation $_____
In appreciation of your gift of $75.00 or more, your name will be printed in the concert programs. Please provide: