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ArtsSmarts is a national program that promotes learning through drama, dance, music and the visual arts. ArtsSmarts grants are given to schools that bring students, teachers and local artists together to learn provincial curricula through the arts.

This is the third year that Prince Edward Island has been involved in ArtsSmarts. During this time, the program has involved over 2,700 students, 75 teachers and 64 Prince Edward Island artists.

This year, funding of $40,000 has been provided to nine schools for 11 projects that involve 687 students.

Among the many unique projects is the Stonepark Intermediate School project, "Form, Expression and Content in Visual Art and Music." Stonepark music teacher Alison Peters and local artist Brenda Whiteway are working with 54 grade 9 students to create artwork based on the music, "Ancient Moon" by Elliote Del Borgo. The students will also develop a slide show to accompany the performance. By using visual art to learn music curriculum, students are delving more deeply into the study of form, expression and context.

The Westwood Primary School project, "Autoportrait," is coordinated by teacher Wanda Curry and artist Sylvie Bertrand. It involves 20 French Immersion students in Grade 3 who create a self-portrait on canvas and write a journal of their activities. The project is based on the Grade 3 language arts curriculum.

At École Évangéline, 37 students in grades 1 to 3 are participating in a project, entitled "Cirque des étoiles" where they are learning physical education through rhythmic dance and music. This ArtsSmarts project is led by teacher Velma Durant and artist Sylvie Toupin.

Education Minister Mildred Dover said schools have received a great deal of positive feedback about ArtsSmarts over the past three years. “People who have been involved in the program say it allows students to learn in new and creative ways and this increases their level of interest and engagement in learning,” she said. “The projects require students, teachers and artists to work as a team and to apply creative thinking to traditional methods of learning. These skills will serve students well in the future,” she said.

“The ArtsSmarts program has generated excitement among students, created a new teaching tool for teachers and helped local artists promote their work,” said Community and Cultural Affairs Minister Elmer MacFadyen. “Participating students develop an appreciation for the arts which can last a lifetime. We are proud to support arts education through the ArtSmarts program.”

The new projects are based at Three Oaks Senior High School, École Évangéline, École la Belle Cloche, Stonepark Intermediate School, Souris Consolidated School, Glen Stewart Elementary School, St. Jean Elementary School, Kensington Intermediate Senior High School and Westwood Primary School.

ArtsSmarts is administered by the Canadian Education Association. It is supported by the J. W. McConnell Foundation. In Prince Edward Island the program is a provincial partnership involving the Department of Education, Department of Community and Cultural affairs, Confederation Centre of the Arts, Commission Scolaire de Langue Française, Western School Board, Eastern School District, PEI Council of the Arts, PEI Crafts Council, University of Prince Edward Island, Capital Commission of PEI, Fédération culturelle de l'Î.-P.-É., Atlantic Technology Centre, Eptek Centre and several other partners.

For more information visit the ArtsSmarts website at www.artssmartspei.ca or contact Cécile Arsenault, ArtsSmarts coordinator at 902 854 7265 or ccarsenault@gov.pe.ca.

BACKGROUNDER

2007 ArtsSmarts Projects

Three Oaks Senior High School: Création collective

25 students in grades 11 and 12

Teacher: Veronica d’Entremont; Artist: Sylvie Toupin

Each student creates written text. Then they will bring all the text together and present it.

Learning outcomes include: oral expression, text delivery, pronunciation, public speaking and intonations.

École Évangéline: Les gens de par chez nous

19 students in grade 6

Teacher: Denise Millett-Caissie; Artist: Anne Gallant

Students will publish a book that describes the lifestyle of the Acadians of years gone by and compare this to today’s lifestyles. Students will sketch drawings and develop the text as part of their research.

Multiple outcomes are included in this project through Arts, Science and French.

École la Belle Cloche: Des contes et des légendes

50 students in grades 1 to 10

Teacher: Darlene Arsenault; Artists: Suzanne René, Ginette Turgeon

Students will create internationally inspired tales and stories. They will also create a work of art reflecting their text using media like tole painting, sculpture, cards and culinary arts.

Multiple outcomes are included in this project through Arts, Math, and French.

Stonepark Intermediate: Form, Expression, and Context in Visual Art and Music

54 students in grade 9

Teacher: Alison Peters; Artist: Brenda Whiteway

This project involves the creation of artworks using watercolors and pastels that will be inspired by a piece of music by Elliote Del Borgo, entitled Ancient Moon. Students will also develop a slide show that will be projected during the performance of Ancient Moon.

By using visual arts to learn music curriculum, students will delve more deeply, and in a creative way, into the study of form, expression and context.

Souris Consolidated: Our Community

194 students from grades 1 to 8

Teacher: Ann-Marie MacDonald and Gail MacInnis; Artists: Debra James Percival and Gini Deveau

Students create aluminum relief etching projects. From these plates they create prints. The etchings will be inspired by the student’s community.

Multiple outcomes are included in this project through Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, Visual Arts, Math, and Health.

École Évangéline: La vie des acadiens d'hier et aujourd'hui

12 students in grade 6

Teacher: Jenny Lavoie; Artist: Anne Gallant

This project involves the creation of a comic strip which describes the lifestyle of the Acadians of years gone by and makes comparison to life today. Through their drawings the students will demonstrate important events, people and the way of life.

Multiple outcomes are included in this project through Arts, Science, Communication, Personal Development, Public Spiritedness and French.

Glen Stewart Elementary School: Our Community, Our Home

43 students in grades 4 and 5

Teacher: Dianna Tutty; Artist: Alanna Jankov

Students will create a large collage depicting Stratford as seen through the eyes of the students. Students will keep a scrapbook where they will plan, paste and reflect on their choice of images. Each student will select one photo to be displayed.

Multiple outcomes are included in this project through Arts, Language Arts, Social Studies, Math and Communication and Technology.

St Jean Elementary School: St Jean School Reads - Off the page

138 Students from grades 1 to 6

Teachers: Marilyn Clark and Anne Ives; Artist: Terry Dunston Stevenson

This project involves the creation of a three dimensional representation of a piece of literature. Each grade will choose a literary selection based on a common theme.

Westwood Primary School: Autoportrait

20 students in grade 3 French Immersion

Teacher: Wanda Curry; Artist: Sylvie Bertrand

Each student will create a self-portrait on an 8 X 10 canvas and write a journal of this activity.

Outcomes included in this project are Language Arts related.

École Évangéline: Cirque des étoiles

37 students in grades 1 to 3

Teacher: Velma Durant; Artist: Sylvie Toupin

This project involves the presentation of a rhythmic dance with music presented by the students.

Multiple outcomes are included in this project: Physical Education and Music.

Kensington Intermediate Senior High School: Multimedia Adventures

95 Students from grades 10 to 12

Teacher: Sally MacDonald; Artists: Troy Little, Erwin Balderstone and Darlene Balderstone

Through the creation of a short animation or video, this cross-curricular project will allow students to explore the art of animation and film making.