I am very proud to share some great news with you. One of our students at Sunrise Elementary had his slogan chosen by the Westmoreland County Music Educators Association to be used in a public relations drive for music education in public schools. I congratulate Joey Basista for a great job. I also want to congratulate Joey's teacher, Mrs. Patty Kearns, for encouraging her music classes to participate in the contest. Music and the Arts are an essential part of any education for children as we prepare them to excel in the 21st Century. No longer do we look upon the Arts and Music as a “soft” skill that is “nice to have” for our students. Rather, the act of creating something (whether it is a piece of music, an art object or designing a robot) is an essential skill for citizens as we strive to thrive in the 21st Century. Congratulations to Mrs. Kearns for allowing her students the opportunity to create. The following is an email that Mrs. Kearns sent concerning the contest and our winner:
The Westmoreland County Music Educators Association (WCMEA) is planning to design a billboard to advocate music education in Westmoreland County. This billboard will be in Mt. Pleasant and is being donated by Olympus Media. The design is also going to be featured on an LED billboard in the Irwin/Greensburg area. The music students throughout Westmoreland County were challenged to create a slogan consisting of around five words advocating music education. I am pleased to announce that the winning slogan “Music is Medicine for the Mind” was created by Joey Basista a fourth grader from Sunrise Elementary School. Joey will now meet to assist with developing the artwork and his picture will also be included on the billboard. Congratulations Joey, we look forward to seeing you as we drive Route 30 in the future!
I could not agree with you more! The 21st century workplace is going to need workers that are innovative and able to solve problems, which arts education excels at teaching. The arts also demand excellence, build confidence and can stress teamwork. Thank you for taking the time to point out the importance of the arts in 21st century learning!
ReplyDeleteHow refreshing it is to see an administrator who understands the importance of the Arts in our schools! I think that this part of your blog says it all.
ReplyDeleteNo longer do we look upon the Arts and Music as a “soft” skill that is “nice to have” for our students. Rather, the act of creating something (whether it is a piece of music, an art object or designing a robot) is an essential skill for citizens as we strive to thrive in the 21st Century.
Thank you for sharing. I am EXTREMELY excited about the future of Penn-Trafford School District with you at the helm!
Thanks so much for recognizing the importance of Art & Music in our schools. We need young people who can use their creativity to find solutions to the complex problems of our world today and in the future. To encourage them to tap their inner resources and passions, to find beauty in this world and reject destruction is the best gift a well rounded education can give them.
ReplyDeleteAmen! Now, what about allowing the middle school students to select their "special" courses that they take each nine weeks? This would allow them to select band and chorus as an option instead of having to sacrifice study halls to participate in these activities. My daughter is very musically and artistically inclined, and because she chooses to be in both band and chorus she has NO study halls during school at all. With the (ridiculous)amount of homework that the teachers assign every day, it really hurts her not to have any study halls and she ends up doing 3 hours of homework every night. (Some parents have complained to Mrs. Garner about this to no avail.) Just something to consider. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI think the previous comment is a great idea! It seems a lot of students are stuck with the decision of band/chorus or study hall. It would be a great idea to offer an "arts period" or exploratory type period (non core classes) during this time. My middle school had a three day rotation where we could choose band, choir, and exploratory (like golf or computer type classes). It worked out really well. I know there are only so many hours in the day, but I believe an option like this would reinforce the idea of the "well-rounded" student and make our children more versatile for life.
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