Students in BTSALP schools all over the state have been busy connecting curriculum to all four art forms. Click here to see our amazing students drawing, dancing, singing and acting in this month’s newsletter.

Wayne Geary, Visual Art Specialist at Rose Park Elementary School, and Louise Fischman, artist and therapeutic art educator, spent the summer of 2017 exploring and absorbing the culture and art of the Canadian First Nations along the Northwest coast of Canada. This trip was like a “master class” in the design process of totem poles and their meanings.

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Wayne and Louise collaborated with Robin Raine, school counselor, to develop a long term unit of study based on Wayne and Louise’s trip. 5th and 6th grade students reflected on their self-identities, families and ancestry. Students discussed the personality traits of animals and found their power animal – an animal that represented them. They created personalized totem poles in the spirit of native people.

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The 2nd graders designed mandala shields that reflected their identities. They used a variety of textile designs from different cultures, as well as power animals. They wrote stories on the back about what their shields meant to them and presented to their classmates.

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Hip Hop Strategies and Activities for the Classroom and Stage Presented by Paige Hernandez

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Paige Hernandez is a multidisciplinary artist who is critically acclaimed as a performer, director, choreographer and playwright. As an AEA equity actress, Paige has performed on many stages throughout the country. As a playwright, Paige has been commissioned by the National New Play Network, the Smithsonian’s Discovery Theatre, The Kennedy Center and the Glimmerglass Festival. She recently received an Individual Artist Award from the Maryland State Arts Council as well as two Helen Hayes nominations for choreography and performance. Paige has also been named a “classroom hero” by The Huffington Post, a “Citizen Artist Fellow” with the Kennedy Center and one of “Six Theatre Workers You Should Know” by American Theatre Magazine. With her company B-FLY ENTERTAINMENT, Paige continues to develop and tour original work internationally. www.paigehernandez.com

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Students from Salt Lake City and Granite School Districts, as well as their teachers and BTSALP specialists explored innovative hip hop teaching methods, activities, and how these exercises enhance other areas of the core curriculum. The workshop demonstrated how each hip hop element (Emcee, DJ, Graffiti and B-boy) could easily be transformed into creative exercises in the classroom or performance pieces.

Third Grade Students at Uintah Elementary School in Salt Lake City School District present

101 DALMATIANS

under the direction of BTSALP Drama Specialist, Rebecca Hess

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