Category Archives: Divisional Meeting/Update

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Department Meeting Notes For Performing Arts

Submitted by: Joanne Magee

April 2020 REMOTE PERFORMANCES:

MS Majors teachers have been discussing how we can create a “performance” for Performing Arts Night now that we are not  in school. We have been “meeting” via email and will meet with Ana Chaney April 21st to talk through expectations and logistics. We are challenged by many technical aspects as well as the true nature of group work, rehearsal and performance. We are also reduced to one class a week now so we find this to be an additional challenge as rehearsals usually pick up speed and intensity before performance. There are technical pressures that are hard to overcome and this is something we are trying to get to grips with as we go.

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Department Meeting Notes For Performing Arts

Submitted by: Joanne Magee

DEC 2019 – JAN 2020

The HS team were addressing practical concerns and items that impact us.

We discussed the way the summer Camp had left the set room and costumes. We need to ensure that the summer camp does not disrupt, destroy or leave our items disorganized. Joanne has contacted the summer camp folks.

We have a running spreadsheet of events and continue to work through the challenges of sharing the PAC and needing technical support for so much. We still feel we are not staffed with a theatre tech person to handle our needs or the many school events that tend to overlap in production times.

Standards Based Grading came up as the HS moves to an all school commitment to this method of grading. The MS have been doing this for years. We shared our standards with the HS teachers to give them the basis for the spiral system of skills within our disciplines.

The rotation of the 9th Grade Arts classes was discussed and we continue to look for opportunities to change this in the near future. A good idea put forth was the suggestion of making the rotation just 1st two trimesters with choice for 9th graders in 3rd trimester. To be continued! 

The organization of the props and costumes came up – we continue to need regular re-organization, culling and adding, with a record of where everything is. This is done somewhat effectively but we still need to re-organize each year and this needs to be budgeted for. Ana Nivelo has a good system but it needs re-doing each year. The costumes also need an overhaul after the four shows are complete. this is problematic as the summer camp arrives and we have no time to re-organize. Summer camp were also part of the disorganized state of things in September.

There was a mid- year hire for set work. The job description is somewhat unknown. We will follow up again for 2020 hiring.

 

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The Continuum of Literacy Learning

Submitted by: Faith Hunter

Tomorrow’s faculty meeting is a Department Meeting that will include our learning specialists. We will meet in Elizabeth and Maria’s room promptly at 3:30.
If you are up for a little bit of foundational reading we have attached an article. It would be helpful if you can read even just the first and last two pages prior to the meeting. We will have copies at our meetings and can spend the first 10 minutes debriefing.
Topic:
This meeting is the first in a series of meetings on the topic of Coherence that the curriculum coordinators and I have planned together.
  • We will begin with a focus on literacy.
  • We will examine a description of competencies of effective readers and writers from four year olds to fourth graders.
  • We will introduce a particular tool, The Continuum of Literacy Learning, to ensure consistency and coherence in our approach.
  • We will consider how this tool can help us meet the differentiated needs of our students while ensuring a consistent experience.

We look forward to a productive meeting.

Warm regards,

Beth, Sarah, Charissa, and Faith

 

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Lower School SeeSaw Pilot

Submitted by: Faith Hunter

Seesaw Study Group

Here is the email Celeste sent:

We are looking for a few volunteers to form as a “study group” and to “re-pilot” this online resource called Seesaw with your students. Seesaw is an application that documents students’ learning and understanding and we think that it could be a useful tool for documenting students’ work. In short, it’s like a portfolio, but a digital version.
We would work closely together to learn and explore the various ways it could be used (including the option to a visit to a neighboring school that is using Seesaw) and then after a trial period, come together to see if this is something we could use with our students as they move through Lower School and into Middle School.
Here are two videos (one from Seesaw, the other from a teacher who uses Seesaw) describing it more.
Please reply directly to me here if you would like to learn more and thank YOU for considering!
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Department Meeting Notes For Performing Arts

Submitted by: Joanne Magee

OCT 2019 – JAN 2020 The HS music teachers have been in discussions about examining our HS program as it exists now and seeing how we can make some changes to improve the program for the benefit of our current students, and utilizing the skills of the current music faculty. 

Meetings are held at convenient times for the team as we often have rehearsals after school and many of our faculty are part time which requires flexibility in schedules.

We discussed:

  • Requirements for Band students in HS and MS such as a degree of proficiency before joining. 
  • Ideal scenario/infrastructure (10th-12th grade specific)
  • Lessons: Individual / Small Group for HS students in school day
  • 9th grade rotation system-  possibilities  to review and alter

Mark Silberberg weighed in with his support and we are continuing conversations to look at areas where a prerequisite of proficiency is acceptable for advanced classes and that “beginner” classes can be factored in so to continue access for all students at any level.

We discussed how the 9th grade rotation can leave a student behind in a subject they had already shown great interest in in 8th grade. That some students have to wait until almost the end of the year before they take the class they love and had been taking frequently in middle school. We have been in discussion with the Visual Arts department about other models that might serve the students better.

This is to be a continued conversation as we strive for the best classes offered for our students and groups that are required to perform to have a degree of proficiency before playing in our ensembles.