April 2015
Howdy Partner!
It takes a village? Well yes it does and here at Young Audiences of Virginia, we truly believe that! In fact, we live that philosophy. It does take a village, or two or three. We believe that the greater good can be accomplished with teamwork and friends and lots of them! Many may know that YAV shared two fundraisers with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra through the Virginia Symphony League over the last two years. Both events were successful for all, jointly honoring two of our strongest community supporters. In addition to events, we also share schools, programs and artists. We love our relationship with the VSO, and what you may not know is that our friend’s list goes beyond the Virginia Symphony.
Our most recent partnership with the Children’s Museum of Virginia brought together YAV’s yearly artist showcase and the museums goal to promote the arts. Together, the Celebration of the Arts was born, where YAV artists showcased their programs to families and teachers throughout the museum as well as two professional development sessions provided for educators. This partnership was such a success, that the second annual Celebration of the Arts is scheduled to take place in the Spring of 2016. YAV’s literacy awareness event, The Arts Are Wild! in partnership with the Virginia Zoo takes place on May 2nd from 10am-3pm. Partnering with the Zoo for the past three years has given YAV an opportunity to go beyond the school week and show parents and the community how we interact with students and correlate classroom subjects to the arts. Our relationship with Old Dominion University has led to a powerful summer teacher’s institute, “Inspiring Teachers Through The Arts,” taking place on June 25-26, 2015. Together we will produce a two-day professional development conference for educators to earn CEU credits. With ODU Professors, YAV Teaching artists and staff, the Darden College of Education and YAV have turned the word partnership into an amazing learning opportunity for educators. In addition, YAV and Roanoke College have joined forces on June 24th to showcase our impact of Early Childhood Learning and K-Readiness using the arts, as part of the prestigious Copenhaver Institute.
So what does a partnership need to develop and thrive?
1. Listening skills. Knowing the organizations needs, mission and outcomes is essential for success. Like-minded goals and initiatives help clarify the purpose for a partnership. Once clear communication is established, the road to success for both organizations is positive.
2. Equal Duties. A strong partnership requires both organizations to carry equal loads. Focus the work on your own expertise but allow for labor to be shared in an equal manner. Determine what both have to bring to the table.
3. Shared Resources. This connects to equal duties, but in truth it means opening up your own contacts and resources to accomplish the goals. All organizations have additional friends. It’s really okay to share them and trust the other organization to respect any boundaries.
4. Follow-up. Yes, this reverts back to communication and listening skills, but it also means that we can become comfortable with situations. Be diligent and stay focused on the goals and outcomes. Like any marriage, these relationships need to be attended to and not taken for granted.
So whether we’re teaching parents with the Norfolk Sheriff’s Department, designing projects with one of our many state-wide school districts, or exploring new ideas with one of our many arts partners, YAV develops relationships that can impact not only our mission but the mission of others with like-minded goals. Together our work can impact more students and educators than could ever be reached alone
Kelly Dee, Hampton City Schools Teacher Specialist for Music recognized as a Yale Distinguished Music Educator due to collaborative partnership with YAV
YAV’s Hampton Curriculum Plus Project, a collaborative project with Hampton City Schools bringing music programs to each elementary school in the district, has been recognized by the Yale School of Music and will honor Kelly Dee, Hampton City Schools Teacher Specialist for Music as a Yale Distinguished Music Educator! YAV’s Executive Director Michael Kerry Williams will also attend the symposium to represent the partnership.
The fifth annual symposium, which is taking place June 4-7, 2015, will focus on partnerships between professional music organizations and public school music programs. All participants who receive the Yale Distinguished Music Educator Award will participate in three days of strategic sessions and will hear from featured speakers including MacArthur Fellow Sebastian Ruth, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Lang, and author/journalist Joanne Lipman. The Symposium facilitates a high-level of discussion about the importance of music in young people’s lives and is an endowment of the Yale School of Music supported by the Yale College Class of 1957.
The Hampton Curriculum Plus Project has been provided to Hampton City Schools for nearly 10 years and has already served over 3,000 elementary school students in Hampton this year. Most music performances are provided to schools free of charge, with connected arts-integrated classroom activities are provided to each music and core teacher prior to the performance.
The Arts Are Wild! Saturday, May 2, 2015 at the Virginia Zoo!
The Arts Are Wild! is back at the Virginia Zoo in Norfolk, May 2, 2015, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Join us for a day filled with YAV performing artists, activities at our “Literacy Exploration Stations”, and a meet and greet with Children’s Poet Laureate Kenn Nesbitt, all while enjoying the many exhibits the Zoo has to offer! So what is Arts Are Wild? This event was created to call attention to the importance of literacy and good reading habits at home through arts-integrated educational activities.
In its third year, the Arts Are Wild will include two stages of performing artists that range from puppets and African drumming to folk music and dance! Activity stations will include the “Poet Tree” where children will write and bring to life their own poems with the help of a YAV theatre artist, then hang the poems on the tree for all to see! Other stations will include a “Musical Petting Zoo,” mask making and a community mural. In addition, families will have the opportunity to meet award-winning Children’s Poet Laureate Kenn Nesbitt, author of “The Tighty-Whitey Spider,” “Big Foot is Missing!” and “MORE BEARS!” all while enjoying the many exhibits the Zoo has to offer! Join the event page here and mark your calendars! You don’t want to miss this!
PRA Group dancing math in Portsmouth!
YAV’s 60th Anniversary Celebration is sponsored by PRA Group. What better way to welcome PRA Group into the YAV family then to make them dance! Nancy Porter, VP of Corporate Communications and Laura White, Chief Compliance Officer from PRA Group danced math equations with students at the Dance for Life residency at Churchland Primary and Intermediate School in Portsmouth, Virginia.
Dance for Life isan 8-week after school dance residency that takes place in two schools over the course of one school year in Portsmouth, Virginia. Simonsdale Elementary and Churchland Primary and Intermediate School both completed the Dance for Life residency this year, with each residency culminating in a community performance. This year, Dance for Life was designed in collaboration with the Portsmouth Public School’s Math and PE Departments. The patterns and sequences were used to help students strengthen their math comprehension and improve understanding of healthy living principles.
YAV teaching artists, Sheena Jeffers and Bryant Anderson, presented YAV’s Dance for Life through tap and hip-hop dance forms. Funding for Dance for Life is provided in part by Portsmouth General Hospital Foundation, Portsmouth Museum & Fine Arts Commission, Portsmouth Service League, Virginia Commission For The Arts and Business Consortium for Arts Support.
Inspiring Teachers through the Arts Institute
The Inspiring Teachers Through The Arts Institute is a two-day intensive with presentations from multiple session leaders, guests and experts in their fields. The goal of this institute is to encourage teachers to utilize the arts as a tool to drive classroom learning in core curriculum. National Young Audiences Executive Director David Dik will serve as keynote speaker and attendees will hear from young author Adora Svitak who attributes her success to dedicated teachers. Young Audiences of Virginia Teaching Artist Curtis Blues will perform the Delta Blues, teach fractions through guitar and explore literacy through the Blues. An inspiring reception for attendees on June 25th will be open to the public to purchase tickets to support arts in education. The Inspiring Teachers through the Arts Institute will prove to be a refreshing, motivational and powerful experience for any educator serving Pre-K through 12. For more information or to register, visit www.teachthrougharts.com.
Arts for Learning in Virginia Beach
Teaching Artist, Sarah Osburn Brady, presents YAV’s Arts for Learning Unit 1: Character Clues in Action! residency as part of the extended day program at Seatack Elementary School, An Achievable Dream Academy in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Arts for Learning (A4L) is a groundbreaking literacy curriculum that blends the creativity and discipline of the arts with learning science to support student achievement in reading and writing and to develop young people’s learning and life skills.
A4L provides a strategy to engage students in literacy and the arts, as well as utilize specific skills that are important for life‐long learning. Findings from independently conducted, national evaluations show significant student gains in developing key literacy skills, including English language learners, students with special needs and those who perform below grade level. Each of the A4L Units of instruction focuses on a particular art form and is built around connections to one or more core curriculum subjects.
YAV goes to Kansas City!
This April, the YAV program staff will head to Kansas City, Missouri for the Young Audiences Arts for Learning National Conference. YAV will join other YA affiliates and arts in education professionals from around the country for a three day conference filled with hands-on break out sessions, keynote speeches by leaders in the arts in education community and many more inspiring and educational opportunities. This conference, Building Partnerships through Community Connections, will allow participants the opportunity to attend engaging panel discussions, travel to arts infused site visits and more!
Building Partnerships takes place over three days, April 23-25, and attracts many of the major arts education organizations including Americans for the Arts (AftA), National Coalition for Core Arts Standards (NCCAS), National Association of Music Merchants Foundation (NAMM), State Education Agency Directors of Arts Education (SEADAE),National Association for Music Education (NAfME), and others. The conference keynote speaker is Jane Chu, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. Keynote addresses will also be given by Amanda Cebula, Director of Project Development, Kansas Leadership Center and Julia Fabris McBride, Vice President, Kansas Leadership Center.
The YAV program staff will be able to partake in sessions that touch on leadership, communication, institutional advancement and program development. Sessions will share the latest research and impact the arts has on education, as well as highlights of best practices in the arts-in-education field.
Early Childhood programming through the Hampton Roads Community Foundation
Teaching Artist, Via Goode, presents YAV’s Between the Lions® What’s In A Name? residency at the YMCA’s Early Discoveries program at Kempsville Elementary in Virginia Beach, Virginia as part of YAV’s three year grant from the Hampton Roads Community Foundation to increase literacy gains, such as phonological awareness, to facilitate Kindergarten Readiness. The Between the Lions® (BTL) residencies use arts-based activities, incorporating brief segments of BTL episodes to bring the show’s curriculum of phonemic awareness and phonics to life while building vocabulary, comprehension, and fluency in reading. The residencies include a sequence of learning stages that foster creativity: Explore (brainstorm, experiment), Organize (select, sequence, edit), Produce (rehearse, revise, assemble), Present (inform, perform or present artwork), and Reflect/Celebrate (affirm, assess).
Young Audiences of Virginia Science Fair Award
The Tidewater Science and Engineering Fair was held on March 14, 2015 at the Web Center at Old Dominion University. Young Audiences of Virginia’s Board of Directors proudly sponsored the “Young Audiences of Virginia Science Fair Award.”
Three certificates and cash awards were presented at the Senior Level (grades 9-12) for students who applied the scientific method to an investigation of an arts related project in any of 16 categories. Winners were selected based on the best explanation of the hypothesis, the results and the project’s application to everyday life.
Meredith Young, First Place – Tabb High School, York County Public Schools “The Effect of Alto Saxophone Reed Saturation of Various Substances on the Resistance According to Pitch of a Sustained Note.” Meredith’s marching band competition was coming up in a week and it takes two weeks to break in a new reed. She decided to test different liquids to help get the reed ready to play in time for the competition. The liquid that worked the best was vodka! It worked in about a week and her band teacher tested the reed on his saxophone based on a sustained note.
Gabrielle Guill, Second Place – Governors School for Science and Technology, Isle of Wight Public Schools “How Different Music Genres Affect Information Retention in High School Students.” Student volunteers read chapter seven from Lewis Carroll’s “Through the Looking Glass”. While the students were reading, Gabrielle played different genres of music. She then tested each group on comprehension and retention. The highest scoring group was the one who listened to classical music.
Rhyan Downing, Third Place – Bayside High School, Virginia Beach Public Schools
“The Effect of Vibration on Bacterial Growth.” Rhyan read about a sewage treatment plant in Europe that played Mozart to promote the growth of beneficial bacterial. She set an experiment to test common bacteria such as that found on a remote control or a cell phone. Vibrations were from music that was played for 17 hours a day for the test group and the control group was away from the music vibrations. She used a song by alternative music group Death Cab for Cutie and it was clear that the bacteria exposed to the music grew bigger, healthier bacteria colonies.
Thank you Kiwanis Club of Roanoke!
Thank you to the Kiwanis Club of Roanoke for sponsoring visual arts programs focused on character development in Roanoke, Va. Thanks to their funding, the entire fourth grade at Glen Cove Elementary School participated in mask making workshops with YAV teaching and visual artist Katherine Devine.
In this workshop the students were encouraged to choose colors, symbols and mixed media materials to define and design what they see as their personal or private side on one side of the mask. They then used different choices to illustrate their public side, or the part of their personality that they share with everyone. The finished masks were then laminated and can be used for further exploration in role-playing and drama, or displayed as lasting works of art. The workshop also introduces students to the traditional role of masks in history, theater and in holiday celebrations. The concepts explored in this workshop are learning to share what is private with only trusted friends and family, and to share what they see as their public persona openly. This workshop is useful for students at all grade levels, helping students reflect on their own personalities and interests and to make good choices in what they share with others.
