If you've been around the building the last two weeks, you might have noticed something a bit odd. Question marks have been sighted in the hallways in some very peculiar places. It even seems that they were multiplying up to last Friday.
It has been a fun experience to hear students and teachers come to me with the same question, "What are the question marks for?" Well, it's time for the big reveal! The seventh grade class is embarking on a new inquiry project in Drama. They will be creating a Festival of Wonder, or Wonder Fest if you will, in which the students seek out a thought provoking question that they need to know the answer to. Over the course of the next few weeks, the students will research their question, colloborate with their classmates in "hiring" others to help, and create a performance that helps the audience understand the importance of their question. So far, some of the questions they have been coming up with show such heart that I can't help but be proud of them. I've heard inquiries such as: what drives a person to become a bully, why do stars sparkle, why were/are african american mistreated... the list goes on. I can't wait to see how the students develop their projects and learn more about the topics that interest them. Seeing them take ownership of their own learning is amazing. Stay tuned for more updates!!
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What a great first rehearsal! I'm so excited to be working with our cast. This is going to be fun. Seems a little empty with all the students gone. Stay tuned for updates on the set.
The rehearsal schedule for the Spring Musical is now posted in menu bar as Rehearsal Calendar. While it might go through a few adjustments as the show progresses, it covers who needs to be at which rehearsals. Thanks again to all the students who auditioned and all the parents who were able to make it to the parents meeting.
I love seeing the students get really involved in something. Today a group a eight graders were experimenting with stage lighting by using a small model stage, cut-out actors, and our PAR16 lights that we got from last year's FORS fundraiser. Their task was to design a simple plot that would show where they wanted the lights to be place, the angle the lights would shine, and the color the lights would be in order to set a predetermined mood. Then the students would put that into practice, reflect on their work and try something else. Check out the pictures to see them in action!
Sara - Makayla Boyd
Matt- Jules Siler Merlin - Brigid Buist Young Arthur - Sydney Vasquez Morgan La Fey - Eva Beals Green Knight - Mackenzie Janes Sir Kay - Sergio Hernandez Dagonet - Chris Stewart, Madison Branski, Ashira Wilson Dynadan - Lily Padilla, Maggie Baker, Morgan Danowitz Ensemble Genna Evans, Lorelei(310), Annick Arnaud, Hope Boyd, Jake Kelly, Gabe(312), Zach Janes, Ashlei(312), Silvia Gramajo, Nate Dancer, Annie Hines, Shakyra(312), Abby(309), Elad(310), Dakayah(312), Savannah Ryan, Madeline Amato Ravenswood's Spring Musical production of "Adventures with Young King Arthur" will take place in the Drama Room starting on December 4th at 3:45pm. Auditions will continue to Wednesday at 7:45 am and then finish on Thursday at 3:45pm. There will be a sign up sheet posted on the door to the Drama Room.
In the audition, the students will perform a cold reading (unprepared) selection from the script and will be asked to sing 15 to 30 seconds of any song of their choosing(prepared). Sign up now!! After weeks and weeks of hard work, the cast and crew have successfully put up Ravenswood Elementary's first ever Fall One Act Play! It has been a daunting process putting everything together and we certainly could not have done it without a mountain of help from teachers, parents, and students. Every element of this play is a testament to the collaborative power of theatre. The set and puppets were built with the art teacher, Ms. Kitty, and a team of 6th graders. The costumes were made possible by parents, teachers and the skill of the students themselves. One of the parents, Larry Coble came in to save the day this week and helped us figure out our new sound technology that the gym teacher, Jeff Switzer, purchased with the help of parents and community members through Donors Choose. Being a part of a community that holds such high regard for the Arts is absolutely amazing. Stay tuned for more pictures of the process and final show. In just over a week the hard work and immense creativity of this entire school community will be presented on stage! I could not be more excited. The students have been working tirelessly to memorize their lines, choreograph their puppet movements, build the last pieces of the set... it is a rush to see how well they are all doing. Rehearsals have been going pretty well and I know it is all going to come together beautifully. I want to give a huge thanks to Marc Garcia who was able to fill in for my in my absence last Friday. He did a wonderful job of keeping the rehearsal process smooth and productive. Also, Molly Mehl, who you may recognize as the teacher of one of our Tuition Based Pre-K classes, has been present during the whole rehearsal process helping the students with the play and organizing the puppeteers.
Next week, we'll bring in all of the technical aspects and run the show until it is audience ready. We are almost there and I could not be more pleased with the amount of progress the students have made in such a short amount of time. Good job everyone!! What an exciting holiday! I have been enjoying seeing all of the creativity and craftsmanship in the students costumes. The teachers have also shown a lot of spirit in their holiday garb. Some of the highlights have to be Jeff Switzer's Kitty Cat, and Kitty Conde's Andy Warhol.
This is also the time of year that I love to bring out one of my favorite integration units. Under the guise of a campfire stories the 4th, 6th, and 8th grader have been doing a wonderful job creating persuasive stories using the first person narrative. As per their stories, I will no longer 1)enter abandoned buildings, 2)walk alone in alley ways at night, 3)Go into a cemetery at 2am, or 4)go anywhere near or think to hard about abandoned hospitals. I feel a little bit safer learning the lessons from the students even if it limits my "abandoned buildings" travel. Happy Halloween! While we are still waiting for the photography permission lists, here are a few photos on our progress with the Giant Snake Puppet. The art teacher and myself got started with the paper mache-ing while the set design crew scrounged for some recycled paper. Once the students came back, we got a lot done! The current state of the snake is hanging in the Drama Room. It has quite a visual impact. I can't wait to get this thing finished and see how it looks on stage. More to come! |
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October 2018
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