Thanksgiving Week Blog!

We made it!!!!  Happy Thanksgiving, EVERYONE!!!!!

 Above: Durfee Performing Arts Teacher Squad      Below: Viveiros: Keith Haring inspired artwork

I am inspired this week by Chelsea Bolton, FRPS Art Teacher who has created a partnership at the Stone Therapeutic Day School with a local Animal Shelter Program. They just wrapped things up this past week. The Stone School had a furry guest visitor from Forever Paws come in with a member of the shelter, and read a story about homeless animals, followed by a Q&A about the animal shelter with the students. She also brought along her two Therapy Dogs, Tigger and Pax! The students got a chance to give the dogs a treat and walk them around the room. For the following weeks, the students worked hard at learning sewing and braiding techniques to make cat and dog toys to donate to the animal shelter.  Kudos to Chelsea for putting this together!  Here are some pics from the event..

Thanksgiving Thinking (One or two to chew on):

• Music and Performing Arts: Check out this super "to the point" article on &Tips to Engage ESL Students in Music."  These concepts apply to all of us- music, art and performance.  Good stuff to think about when you plan and scaffold for ELL, or special populations.  http://exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/7-tips-for-engaging-esl-students-in-music-education/education
• Art: Check out this article I found on the School Arts Twitter page- It's called "What Artists can Learn from Teaching."  Powerful read, and I bet it will bring you back to last year's text, "A Whole New Mind." Again, this article, like the one above, resonates with me as something all of us reflect upon as we work, planning tasks for our students. https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-what-artists-can-learn-from-teaching

Summing these articles up, your work takes Collaboration, Curiosity and COURAGE to get it right for All of Our Kids.  You, the Fall River Fine and Performing Arts Team, teachers of art, music and theater, model these qualities daily, and I THANK YOU FOR THIS. 

On the Calendar...

• Monday, 11/28: Kuss CPT, Morton visits Amazon Fulfillment Center
• Tuesday, 11/29: Morton CPT
• Wednesday, 11/30: School visits
• Thursday, 12/1: Durfee CPT (content specific) and Release Time Day- Meet at Durfee in room 82 after dismissal (allow for travel time) 
• Friday, 12/2: Itinerant CPT
• Saturday, 12/3: FALL RIVER CHRISTMAS PARADE at Kennedy Park!
• Polar Express night at Durfee!  Friday, December 16th!
• Durfee Faculty Meeting- 12/13
• Durfee Department Meeting- 12/21
• K-8 Arts Department Meeting- 12/1 (after release time day) at Durfee

Dismissal Times for students on 12/1/16 are as follows:

• 11:00 a.m.: Durfee
• 11:30 a.m.: Doran, Letourneau, Silvia, Stone, Watson, Kuss, Viveiros, Morton, Talbot, RPS
• 12:30 p.m.: Fonseca, Greene, Henry Lord, Spencer Borden, Tansey

Thank you and have a wonderful break.

Jackie Francisco
Director