Arts

Each spring the Sacred Heart theater program performs a terrific show written and directed by Carolyn Curran Slota. Some recent productions have been

• Into the Gym
• Grease
• Hello, Dolly
• Light Up The Dark
• Horray for Hollywood

Every spring the play is met with much anticipation as students from grades 5 - 12 audition. Once the characters are cast and the stage is set, students rehearse after school and on weekends. Other students work tirelessly as the crew allowing involvement for many students. Others will volunteer during show times to sell tickets, raffles and snacks.

Lower School students in grades 1 - 4 will take:

• one general music/singing class per cycle
• one violin class per cycle
• one meeting of lower school choir per cycle

Pre-Kindergarten students will have a general music/singing class, once per cycle.

Kindergarten students will have one general music/singing class a cycle, and one introduction to piano lab class, once per cycle.

Creative Hearts Club
In addition, all Lower School students in Pre-Kindergarten - 4^th grade may participate in Creative Hearts Club which meets every Monday after school (for an additional fee), and private lessons (arranged directly with teacher and scheduled after school.)

Les Petite Voix Choir
3^rd and 4^th Grade students have a special opportunity to join the Les Petite Voix choir. The choir meets after school on Thursdays from 3:30 - 4 (no additional fee), and the participants will have several opportunities during the year to perform with the Middle and Upper School choir(s) at school and outside events.

The Middle school music program serves as a 4 year comprehensive study of music. The general music courses will cover a variety of music, periods of music, music techniques, music theory as well as other topics. Students will also experience music as a performing art form through their participation in chorus.

Piano Lab

Every grade in the middle school meets once a week for piano instruction in our state of the art piano lab. The students work in pair according to ability. Each quarter the students set a goal for themselves. Every quarter ends with an all class recital in our performing arts center, where every student is required to play one of the pieces they have been working on. The purpose of this class is to become proficient in reading music, and basic music theory.

Choir

Students meet several times through out each quarter for middle school choir. Students learn to read music at an appropriate level and are introduced to basic vocal technique, including proper breathing, diction, and focus. Students work on preparing two, and three part choral pieces for the Christmas, and Spring concerts.

Ensemble

Middle school ensemble is a volunteer opportunity open to all middle school students. It is a chance for some of our instrumental students to come together and work on music that will be played in the Christmas, and spring concerts, and during various liturgies through out the year.

Guitar Club

Middle school guitar club is open to any student in the middle school that has basic guitar skills, and her own instrument. The group meets once a cycle and works on music for the Christmas, and the Spring concert, and for various liturgies through out the school year.

Private Music Lessons

Private music lessons are offered to all ages. Lessons are offered in voice, piano, guitar, violin, viola, cello, drums, music theory, and song writing. Lessons are generally scheduled with one of our instructors after school. Lessons are scheduled for a half hour, once a week, and the cost is $35.00 per lesson.

Concert Choir

Concert choir is open to all high school student. There is a sign up at the beginning of the year, and each student will have an audition to make sure they are familiar with basic sight reading, and vocal technique. The choir will meet once a cycle to prepare music for the Christmas, and Spring concert, and to prepare music for our First Friday liturgies each month. In addition to those performances the choir has various opportunities to sing outside the school, and to collaborate with other schools.

Select Choir

Select Choir is a smaller choir of students hand picked from within the concert choir to collaborate on more challenging and advanced choral music. All participants music be able to sight read, and should have a clear understanding of vocal technique.

Ensemble

Ensemble is made up of a collection of upper school instrumentalist, currently including piano, flute, violin, saxophone, and guitar. The students meet several times through out the year to collaborate on music for liturgies, and a variety of other events inside, and outside of school.

Private Lessons

Private music lessons are offered to all ages. Lessons are offered in voice, piano, guitar, violin, viola, cello, drums, music theory, and song writing. Lessons are generally scheduled with one of our instructors after school. Lessons are scheduled for a half hour, once a week, and the cost is $35.00 per lesson.

Lower School is the first place that creativity flows boundlessly with collective innocence, confidence and just pride. Every child has a natural sense of what they want to convey visually and often are willing to inform the teacher of an idea that they feel is in need of being expressed. The LS art curriculum embraces the Disciplined Based Art approach; the elements and principles of art are taught in combination with art history and technical skill development. The students experience a variety of book readings, print and/or movie visuals, artists’ biographies and technique demonstrations (drawing, painting, printmaking, pastel and clay demonstrations) in preparation for each topical lesson. While every project includes a variety of goals, the children’s artistic interpretations are always distinctive and delightful.

Middle School students are naturally energetic and look forward to being challenged; they can be surprisingly curious, quizzical, and enthusiastic about expressing themselves. Yet, in their quest for personal expression they often look for rules to follow - at least when it comes to making art! Thus, the Middle school art lessons are taught from a Fine Arts perspective. Experimenting with spontaneous and analytical line, scale and proportion, and light and shadow helps the students to understand the fundamental principles needed to create the illusion of three dimensions in their two dimensional works of art and increases their understanding of the forethought needed to develop actual three dimensional artworks. Giving our young students the tools and rules to draw and sculpt what they actually see is a stepping stone in giving them the confidence needed to make artworks that intentionally alter and/or exaggerate a subject for greater personal expression.

The Creative Process is linked to every field of study. Allowing all of our students the time to experience the visual arts process alongside their study of the humanities and sciences broadens their understanding of the cognitive, physical, and historical links that connect the disciplines and the shared impulse to create. The goal of the general Creative Arts curriculum is to provide ‘academic balance’ by giving our students the physical experience of various challenging artistic concepts, principles, and techniques within a studio environment. Each grade level has specific art related targets that embrace the following content areas in either particular and/or integrated lessons so that many will have an opportunity to realize their creative potential via their original artistic ideas and/or applications: Art Elements and Principles, Concept Development, Technique, Art Vocabulary and Critique, Art History, and Current Artistic Influences.

Additionally, the need to have all students experience the Creative Process is enhanced through the Integrated Humanities Curriculum. This course outline allows the students to learn about the relevant literature and art achievements of a time in an historical and congruent fashion. In Creative Arts, the students’ Humanities education is improved by periodic studio lesson integration.