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Everything Everywhere All at Once (Arts for Learning Style)

March 15, 2023 By Cindy Sherwood

No, we’re not talking about this year’s Best Picture winner (although we DID love it!) We’re talking about springtime at Arts for Learning where we have so much going on—new residencies, workshops, public performances, and more for students from Pre-K to 12th grade!

Residencies

Strings Impact kicks off at Lakeview Elementary in Portsmouth.
John Jenkins leads Strings Impact students at Lakeview Elementary.

Strings Impact: Fourth through sixth graders at three elementary schools in Portsmouth have the opportunity to learn the basics of playing the violin—without having to pay or rent an instrument. Strings Impact is one of our longstanding residencies, and we’re so happy students at Churchland, Lakeview, and Simonsdale are participating in this after-school opportunity. Students from all three schools will join together to perform a concert for family and friends in May.

Strings Impact at Churchland Elementary, led by teaching artist Tina Culver
Strings Impact at Churchland Elementary, led by teaching artist Tina Culver.

IDEAL, Intentional Designs of Expression in Artistic Languages: Older elementary students from three school divisions—Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Virginia Beach—are also busy after school in a new residency.

Teaching artist Jennifer Graham with students at Norfolk’s Lindenwood Elementary.
Lindenwood Elementary students getting started in their IDEAL residency.

Students are participating in year one of IDEAL where they’re exploring identity and community through poetry, movement, and visual art. Students are being led by A4L teaching artists Cindy Aitken, Gary Garlic, and Jennifer Graham at Lindenwood Elementary in Norfolk, Asiko-oluwa Aderin and Nathan  Richardson at Westhaven Elementary in Portsmouth, and Jackie Adonis and Valerie Davis at College Park Elementary.

In May, students will showcase performances and artwork at the Chrysler Museum, with their art pieces to be professionally hung in a gallery for a month for the public to view!

The Chrysler Museum’s Emily Clayton talks with students visiting from Virginia Beach’s College Park Elementary.

To bring students in the museum and show them it’s their place to have a voice is just an amazing opportunity,” says Anna Green, COO for Arts for Learning. “I can’t even bring words to how important that is, to make the museum accessible and for students to feel like they’re a part of a larger community.”

Students at Westhaven Elementary in Portsmouth work on an art project with Emily Clayton of the Chrysler Museum.

Arts + Learning Snacks: Tessellations

Third graders at Rosemont Elementary in Virginia Beach.
Third grade students at Virginia Beach’s Bayside Elementary say thanks for their new take-home arts kits.

Third-graders at seven elementary schools in Virginia Beach have a new (and so-not-boring) way to study for their math SOL testing in May. Thanks to free bilingual art kits, they’ll get a refresher on measuring perimeter and area by following instructions to design their own tessellations.  (A “tessellation” is an arrangement of shapes closely fitted together using a repeated pattern without gaps or overlapping.) Thanks to support from the Virginia Beach Arts and Humanities Commission and the Helen G. Gifford Foundation, we distributed 500 take-home kits to students in Title I schools in Virginia Beach.

And how nice to see these smiling faces!

Third grade students at Birdneck Elementary in Virginia Beach receive art kits from A4L Operations Coordinator Stephanie Jackson.

Public Performances and Workshops

Dino O’Dell gets kids hopping at Williamsburg Library.
Valerie Davis portrays Martha Ann Fields at the Downing-Gross Cultural Arts Center as part of our free performance series underwritten by the Virginia African American Cultural Arts Center.

There’s no excuse to be bored at home anymore—not when we’re offering so many different performances and workshops, certified family friendly, fun, and fabulous. offered throughout greater Hampton Roads.

With programs offered throughout greater Hampton Roads, there’s something for all ages. Click for the latest on our Events Calendar and make sure to check back often because we keep adding more programs. We’ve had some wonderful ones lately—from the “master of tricking kids into learning,” Dino O’Dell, on tour from Kansas City to Valerie Davis’s inspiring portrayals of courageous women in history.

We thank all of those who care about arts education and financially support these programs and more—we couldn’t do it without you! Check out the list of our supporters here.

PLUS THERE’S MORE! Our teaching artists love sharing the joy of the arts with children. Here’s James Cooper leading a Geometric MOSAIC workshop in Norfolk, Stephanie Lask teaching the graphic novel in Virginia Beach, and Amy Harbin guiding Rhythm and Me students in Portsmouth!

                                                     

Filed Under: ArtsEd, Donor Spotlight, News, Program Spotlight, Spring programs Tagged With: Norfolk Public Schools, Portsmouth Public Schools, spring programs, Strings Impact, teaching artists Arts for Learning Virginia, Virginia Beach City Public Schools

Arts for Learning Shares Stories of the African American Heritage Trail

November 24, 2021 By Cindy Sherwood

Screenshot from African American Heritage Trail video

Laced with compelling stories of the real-life triumphs and struggles of African-Americans, a new video produced by Arts for Learning (A4L) is set to debut in Norfolk Public Schools. The African American Heritage Trail highlights times of historical interest in the Lower Norfolk area, now part of modern-day Chesapeake, from the 1500s through the early 1900s.

Master storyteller Sheila Arnold, a longtime member of the Arts for Learning roster of professional artists, developed the program by researching the history of the area, writing the script, and working with an A4L production team to record the video. The project was underwritten by Bank of America.

Why did some African Americans fight for the British in the Revolutionary War? Why did slaves flee to the Great Dismal Swamp? And how did a unique ship design—and stripping down to her underwear—help one unforgettable slave escape to freedom? The answers are fascinating and can be found by watching the video, which includes stories related to the American Revolution, Underground Railroad, Civil War, and Reconstruction. The culturally responsive content is aligned with Virginia Standards of Learning for grade five.

Arnold, who goes by “Ms. Sheila” as a storyteller, believes the program is important even beyond telling stories of the African Americans who helped shape the history of the Tidewater area.

Bigger than that, it looks at a continuum, which is often not looked at in history, looking at what happens in a particular place over time.”

“Kids really don’t get a continuum, and that’s why they get confused and ask if Harriet Tubman knows Martin Luther King,” Arnold says. “I hope it will lead to teachers and students wanting to know what happened over time in their own areas and with other ethnic groups as well.”

For the 2021-2022 school year, NPS fifth grade teachers have exclusive access to the video, which is divided into five segments for easy classroom implementation. Teacher guides to facilitate discussion are included for each segment. A4L is providing the video at no charge to the thirty-one NPS elementary or combined elementary/middle schools, which have more than 2,100 fifth graders enrolled.

Arnold and the A4L staff designed the program in collaboration with Norfolk Public Schools’ history/social studies specialist Christopher Mathews, a former teacher of the year at Bay View Elementary School who is also on the A4L artist roster. The African American Heritage Trail features curricular connections to American history, character education, language arts, and reading.

Arts for Learning’s CEO, Christine Everly, calls Arnold’s program one of the best that the organization has ever offered. “We’re thrilled to offer stories few have ever heard before about the important contributions of African Americans with ties to our area. And we’re very grateful to our sponsor, Bank of America, for providing us the financial support to develop this important project.”

The Chesapeake Convention and Visitor’s Center has developed a driving tour and podcast along the African American Heritage Trail, as well as a brochure that describes the points of interest along the route. The Center is providing free brochures to all NPS students who view the video in their classes.

Watch the trailer of the video here:

https://arts4learningva.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Sheila-Arnold-The-African-American-Heritage-Trail-Trailer-3.mp4

 

 

Filed Under: Artist Spotlight, ArtsEd, Press Releases, Program Spotlight Tagged With: African American Heritage Trail, African American history, Black history, Civil War, history, Norfolk Public Schools, Revolutionary War, slavery, storyteller, storytelling, teachering artist, Virginia history

Arts + Learning Snacks: Meals for the Mind

May 6, 2021 By Cindy Sherwood

Take art supplies, mix them with heaping portions of creativity, and serve them to elementary-aged kids hungry for a break from screen time—that’s our winning recipe for Arts + Learning Snacks, which are now being delivered to area elementary schools. These art activity kits have the right ingredients for kids to use their hands and minds to make an art project by themselves or with their caregivers.

Five Norfolk public elementary schools have received the first batch of Learning Snacks, which feature instructions in English and Spanish on how to create a mini-comic. A4L’s comic artist Matt Harrison designed the curriculum, which includes supplies and calls for students to invent characters, plots, and settings as they write and draw their own comic adventures.

A number of artists and board members have stepped up to help assemble the snacks, following all COVID-19 safety precautions.

A4L board member La-Neka Brown helped assemble the snacks at our Norfolk office.
Rainbow Puppets’ Wesley Huff and David Messick were hard at work putting together the snack bags.

Storyteller Via Goode and board member Diane Gibson had the honor of delivering the first snacks to five Norfolk elementary schools: Jacox, James Monroe, Lindenwood, Tidewater Park, and Richard Bowling.

Another Learning Snack, the “Zen of ‘Za,” will be distributed soon. The snack is custom designed for students with a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), tying movement of the body with lines in art; activities include students stretching to “make a pizza” and creating a decorative “pizza” out of the art materials supplied. A4L dancer Jae P Renee is creating supplemental videos with visual instructions for students. Two hundred of these snacks are headed to the Portsmouth Autism Resource Team (PART) for distribution. The Zen of ‘Za will also be provided to a number of schools for use by kids in kindergarten through third grade who don’t have an ASD diagnosis.

The two current Learning Snacks—with a new one now being developed—will be distributed for free to more students via additional elementary schools in Norfolk and Portsmouth, Virginia Beach Public Libraries, the Newport News FACE office, and community sites in Portsmouth.

There’s a little added bonus for Norfolk’s PB Young Elementary School from the Snacks’ initiative. Thanks to Office Depot’s “Give Back to Schools” program, the school has received $115 in rewards from the money we’ve spent to purchase supplies for the kits.

The snack kits give under-resourced students a break from screen time and the challenge of a hands-on arts project that aligns with Virginia’s fine arts and literacy Standards of Learning. Would you like to help bring more Learning Snacks to children in economically disadvantaged areas of Hampton Roads? Click here to donate.

Do you want to learn how you can bring Learning Snacks to your school, library, or community center? Start by clicking here for more info!

We’re grateful to our partners who are underwriting the cost of these “meals for the mind”—thanks to Aldi Smart Kids, the E.C. Wareheim Foundation, the Hampton Roads Community Foundation, the Portsmouth Service League, and the Virginia Beach Arts and Humanities Commission for their major support of this new initiative.

 

 

 

Filed Under: ArtsEd, ArtsED for Exceptional Students, News Tagged With: art activity kits, art kits, arts education, arts integration, autism spectrum disorder, Covid-19, hands-on learning, learning snacks, mini-comic, Norfolk Public Schools, Portsmouth Public Schools, Rainbow Puppets, Root Beer Comics, screen time, Via Goode, Virginia Beach Public Libraries

#BecauseOfArtsEd: Celebrating National Arts in Education Week

September 16, 2020 By Cindy Sherwood

It’s a week to celebrate the transformative power of the arts in education. Here at Arts for Learning Virginia, we served more than 78,000 students during 2019/2020. We’ve collected thoughts from some of those we’ve impacted plus from some of our talented artists. Enjoy!

Strings Impact

Teaching artist Tina Culver leads the Strings Impact violin program in Portsmouth Public Schools.
Teaching Artist Tina Culver leads the Strings Impact violin program in Portsmouth Public Schools.

Mila Stith, student violinist, Portsmouth Public Schools: “I liked when we got to play in front of our family and friends. Sometimes my teachers would come and support us too. It made me feel good so I could show them what I could do. My mom would be so happy and proud of me and my brother.”

Jamita Stith, parent of two student violinists: “Teachers come, teachers go, but the fact that every spring they had violin coming, it gave the kids something to look forward to. And music is very, very, very important. My kids practiced twice a week and they got to take a violin home if they needed it.”

Tina Culver, Teaching Artist for Strings Impact:  “If there hadn’t had been programs like this available for me, my childhood would have been so much different. It’s important for me to feel that I can pay it forward and be a part of growing positivity in the community.”

After-School Creative Enrichment (ACE) Theater Residency in Norfolk

Christian Osho and Harmony Riddick participated in the ACE theater residency program at Norfolk’s Bay View Elementary School.

Joy Osho, Parent: “My kids both participated in an Arts for Learning program, and they loved it. Now all they want to do is sing, dance, act, and make people laugh!! Chris has found his love for comedy. Harmony has really grown into a young artist since participating in this program.”

Christopher Mathews, Norfolk Public Schools’ educator: “We put them in a place that said your story matters even if it’s a hard story to tell and you telling it can be therapeutic for you. But it can also be something that brightens the world through the creativity you bring.”

Brittany Cottrill, Parent: “I could see my daughter’s confidence and understanding of emotions greatly increase during this program. She helped out behind the scenes and was very proud of herself. She showed compassion at home toward me in ways I hadn’t seen before.”

ACE theater residency final performance
Everyone in the ACE residency pitched in to create a performance celebrating the power of kindness.

Mikayla Cottrill, Student: “I really liked the activities that we got to do, especially the ones that helped us with the acting part. And I liked that the (teaching artists) were fine, even when we were still learning how to do everything. During the performance, people on stage were helping each other. I liked the performance because people were able to see the scenes that we’d put together.”

Instructors help a student with a yoga pose during Rhythm and Me
Instructor Natasha Leshanski helps a student with a yoga pose, while supported by instructor Jasmine Marshall.

Rhythm and Me Adaptive Dance Residency in Portsmouth

Natasha Leshanski, Teaching Artist: “We want the kids to feel confident, we want them to be moving their bodies, and we want them to enjoy themselves. So everything else takes a back seat to those things. We’re constantly telling them, ‘Of course you can do more things. That feeling you’re feeling is discomfort because you’re trying something new.’ So as long as they’re willing to put themselves out there, it’s success day after day.”

Monica Morgan, Parent: “The number one benefit for Naomi was social, meeting new peers. Learning to follow instructions, step-by-step, was also very positive. The instructors did marvelous. They came down to their level and they were very patient with each and every one of the children.”

Naomi Morgan, Student: (Favorite part of program): “Dancing DJ! Doing dance moves!”

A4L Teaching and Performing Artists

Dancer Joel Casanova
Dancer Joel Casanova

Joel Casanova, Dancer: Arts for Learning helps me support myself in a way that’s also meaningful. I don’t have to sacrifice making ends meet with supporting kids and doing what I love. The thing that pays my bills is also affecting children for the rest of their lives.”

Storyteller Via Goode
Storyteller Via Goode

Via Goode, Storyteller: “I was fortunate enough when I was growing up to take clarinet lessons, and I lived in a school district where I was able to take field trips and I know what a difference it made to me. And so being on the other end where you’re giving it to the schools so that the children can experience that is just very, very rewarding for me.” 

Musician Jennifer Gammill
Musician Jennifer Gammill

Jennifer Gammill, Singer/Musician: “I feel like Arts for Learning is on my team, and they’re like, ‘Hey, we want you to be an artist. You can make money doing what you do.’ I feel super supported.”

 

 

Storyteller Sheila Arnold
Storyteller Sheila Arnold

Sheila Arnold, Storyteller: “I love watching kids’ engagement whether it’s laughter or just seeing the look on their face. They’re deep into the story and they can’t find themselves out. They’re cool middle-schoolers and all of a sudden they’re wrapped around my finger and they didn’t know they were going to do that.”

“People say, ‘They’re kindergarteners— they sat for an hour! How did you do that?’ I love it when teachers ask me how I did that, and I say, ‘I kept it interesting and they learned.’”

We want to keep making an impact on children’s lives. We’ve shown that we can adapt and continue our mission despite the challenges of COVID-19, but we need your support so that we can keep moving forward. Please click here to make a tax-deductible contribution—any amount helps.

National Arts in Education Week celebrates the transformative power of the arts in education. Passed by Congress in 2010 through House Resolution 275, the week is designated to bring attention to this cause for elected officials and educational decision makers across the country and to support equitable access to the arts for all students. For more information, visit Americans for the Arts, a national advocacy group.

Filed Under: ArtsEd Tagged With: 747 nonprofit, 757 arts, ACE theater residency, Americans for the Arts, Arts Ed, arts education, Arts in Education Week, BecauseofArtsEd, Norfolk Public Schools, performing artists, Portsmouth Public Schools, Rhythm and Me, storytellers, Strings Impact, teaching artists

Open Norfolk Hits the Spot for Safe Community Gatherings

July 27, 2020 By Cindy Sherwood

The need for safe, outdoor places for people to gather and a desire to have the arts play an important role in those spaces have come together in two innovative “neighborhood spots” in Norfolk.

As part of the Open Norfolk initiative, Arts for Learning artists are offering free workshops in dance, hip hop, scat singing, and more at the spots located in the Norview and Broad Creek neighborhoods. Today from nine a.m. until noon, drop in for a workshop in African Fusion dance by Jasmine Marshall at the Broad Creek spot, 1200 Roberts Road. At the Five Points spot at 6123 Sewells Point Road, you can enjoy Joél Casanova’s hip hop workshop today, also happening from nine until noon.

Hanging out at the Broad Creek spot with Joel Casanova (left), Open Norfolk volunteers, and Hillary Gentry (right).

“Each and every one of the instructors that have been on site has been very engaged with the community and really knowledgeable about what they’re doing,” says Hillary Gentry, project manager for Open Norfolk. “Arts for Learning has a variety of different programming, which is really fantastic because it meets the needs of various people.”

Open Norfolk began as a way to help businesses adapt to Virginia’s COVID-19 rules that allowed restaurants to offer outdoor dining. With funding from Cincinnati-based YARD & Company, Open Norfolk helped map the outdoor areas that could be utilized and provided signage and seating to restaurants. The program then moved to its next phase of creating neighborhood spots, based on the growing evidence that outdoor spaces are much safer environments in this COVID-19 crisis.

Joppa Whitehead leads a Dance FUNdamentals workshop.

The neighborhood spots offer resources and programming in four areas: health and wellness, recreation and fitness, education, and arts and culture. Pop-up food pantries, a mobile barber, an educational program on bees, and fitness boot camps are all part of the services offered at the neighborhood spots, free for the community to enjoy. The Arts for Learning workshops are a vital part of that programming.

It’s more than just food and beverage that fill our soul,” Gentry says. “Having a well-rounded experience in our spaces is something that we really value. We recognize that arts and culture is something that our brains need to fully develop.”

So what’s next for Open Norfolk? With the news that Norfolk Public Schools will be virtual learning only for the first nine weeks of the fall, the neighborhood spots may have a role to offer children and youth who will be missing in-person interactions. If funding permits, Open Norfolk could provide safe spaces for students to gather and have fun, whether it’s enjoying the arts or playing kickball. Gentry notes that staff members at the neighborhood spots are careful to follow all CDC guidelines for safety and adults are always on site to supervise.

For a schedule of upcoming Arts for Learning workshops and other events, visit the Open Norfolk website. And enjoy this snippet of A4L’s Joél Casanova from last week’s Broad Creek spot.

https://arts4learningva.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/joined_video_13f67551408e4bf4bb58ca7ee7b895c01.mp4

Filed Under: Artist Spotlight, COVID-19, News Tagged With: arts education, city of Norfolk, Covid-19, neighborhood spots, Norfolk Public Schools, Open Norfolk, outdoor spaces, teaching artists

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420 North Center Drive
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Norfolk, Virginia 23502
Phone: 757-466-7555
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Main Office

Arts for Learning
420 North Center Drive
Suite 239
Norfolk, Virginia 23502
Phone: 757-466-7555
Fax: 757-455-9859

Everything Everywhere All at Once (Arts for Learning Style)

No, we’re not talking about this year’s Best Picture winner (although we DID love it!) We’re talking about springtime at Arts for Learning where we have so much going on—new residencies, workshops, public performances, and more for students from Pre-K to 12th grade! Residencies Strings Impact: Fourth through sixth graders at three elementary schools in […]

Join the A4L Mailing List!

Sign up to receive the latest news on arts integration from Arts for Learning! Thank you for supporting arts-in-education.

Select list(s) to subscribe to


By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: Arts for Learning, http://www.arts4learningva.org. You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact

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