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Hello Friends! Happy Spring?! Fake Spring? Real Spring? Who knows! Thanks to everyone who came out to my sessions at Teachers’ Conventions. If you have any questions that weren’t answered, email me at: amanda.clark@fineartsata.ca I’ve created a site to collect speaker proposals for the Fine Arts Council. If you are interested in presenting, please follow this link to submit a proposal . These presentations would be for the 2025-2026 school year. Most would be online so that even teachers in remote areas can attend but if your session is better in person we can discuss that possibility. Selections will be made and speakers notified by the end of October 2025. I’m going to be starting some mini units on composing soon. I thought I would share them. Feel free to make a copy and adjust as you wish. We will be composing using: simple melodic patterns: stepping up and down, skips, jumps rhythmic patterns: each grade using the rhythm for that curriculum Form: ABA, ABACA compositional techniques: motive, retrograde, inversion, rhythmic shift LINKS: 1.        Rhythm composing 2.        Melodic Composing slides 3.        Boomwacker ABA Colour and Compose

Do you have a session you think other Fine Arts teachers would benefit from? Apply now to present a session in the 2025-2026 school year for the fine arts council. These sessions will be online, although the possibility of an in-person session will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Selections will be made and speakers will be notified by the end of October 2025.

Register now for Arts Unleashed 2025. Download a poster and put it in your staff room! Click here for a full a high resolution PDF to print . Let your staff and colleagues know about our amazing conference!

Download a poster and put it in your staff room! Click on the poster full a high resolution PDF to print. Let your staff and colleagues know about our amazing conference!

This time of year always excites and inspires me as a teacher. The joy of spring, with its longer, sunnier days, is always a welcome change, and for many of us fine arts teachers, it also means the thrill of upcoming productions! What truly inspires me, however, is the learning that happens during this season—not just for me, but for all of us teachers. In February, I had the pleasure of participating in three Teachers Conventions! I presented sessions at NCTCA and CCTCA, and of course, I attended my own teachers’ convention at the end of the month. Taking time out of our busy schedules to learn, grow, and explore as teachers is incredibly important. February, in particular, is often a time when I need it the most. I was fortunate to present two different sessions at the teachers’ conventions: "Ensemble Building in the Drama Classroom" and "Theatrical Design Activities." If you weren’t able to join in for the sessions, you can find the activities on Theatrical Design below! If you have any activities you love in your classroom, feel free to share them with me ( molly.danko@fineartsata.ca ) and I will include them in our next Mailout! Theatrical Design Activities

Check out our February newsletter .

Michael Shain: Visual Art Representative In the spirit of the Season (Convention Season that is) I thought it might be fun to share province-wide the five Art Project Ideas that I am presenting at this year’s Palliser District Teachers Convention. This is my home convention and I always love to do something for teachers who find themselves (perhaps reluctantly) teaching Art (I'm looking at you, Junior High teachers). For this Convention I am hosting a Drop-in Maker-space spread over two session periods. I’ll have five stations populated with Art project ideas for teachers at all levels. I like to think of the projects as ideas because, while I give teachers copies of the lesson outline, it’s up to each of us to tailor the lessons to fit our students’ ages and abilities so that we provide enough challenge for growth without frustrating students with difficult techniques and, as professionals, we all have different styles of teaching.  The five project ideas are: Gesture Drawing (I’m using water-soluble graphite for an added technical twist). Formalist Sculpture maquettes (a scaled-down exploration of large formalist public Art). Beginning Caligraphy (with felt-nibbed calligraphy pens because I don’t need that mess). Eight Watercolour Techniques (a pretty standard introduction to using different watercolour methods). Plastic Plate Intaglio printmaking (geared more to High School and very process-oriented). These files can be found in a shared Google Drive folder here: https://shorturl.at/g3S0P The files are in a Google Doc format but anybody can download a copy of the files and convert them to a useful format. I am making these five project ideas available to any Art Teacher in Alberta for use in their classrooms (for other uses, please email me). If you have any questions or need any help with an Art Project I’ve been teaching Art for a few (ahem - 32) years now and I’ve built a pretty good repertoire of techniques, strategies and ideas. I’m here for you, seriously, just send me an email, we can chat : michael.shain@fineartsata.ca . Have fun, make more Art! Mike

Hello everyone! As a new member of the Fine Arts Council, I’d like to take a moment to introduce myself and share a bit about my program. My name is Aimee Alger, and I am a junior high Fine Arts teacher. I teach both visual arts and drama as part of a required course for all students in grades 7-9. In addition to teaching 18 homeroom classes, I also run our extracurricular drama program and the school's Dungeons & Dragons (DND) club, so I keep quite busy! Our extracurricular drama program is one of my greatest accomplishments in my time at my school. When I first started at the school in 2022, we struggled to put on a winter play due to a lack of student commitment and interest. The school had gone several years without a theatre program, and it was difficult to garner the enthusiasm we needed. However, I didn’t give up, and in January 2023, I successfully managed to put on a show with a cast of 16 students and 5 backstage crew members. That production felt like a turning point—suddenly, students were excited and asking how they could get involved. By the following fall, we performed a play with 24 cast members and 9 backstage crew, and we even managed to put on two shows that year, thanks to the dedication of our students. This school year has been an especially exciting one for our extracurricular drama program. The first play we staged in December was ambitious both in terms of content and technical elements, and it involved the most students ever—31 cast members and 18 backstage crew. I learned to step back and trust my students, and they exceeded all expectations. I am incredibly proud of them. Our spring production is a month in, and we’ve grown even further, with 46 actors and 17 backstage crew members. Many backstage students have transitioned into acting, while new students have joined our crew, expanding our reach even more. I believe this growth is a direct result of the supportive, welcoming environment my co-director and I have cultivated. Drama has become a safe space for many students at our school—it's fun, inclusive, and a place where students can take pride in their work. This shift in the school’s culture toward a greater acceptance of theatre has always been my goal. As the program continues to expand, I may need to reevaluate how I run it, but for now, I feel that the systems we’ve developed are working well for both the students and me, allowing us to produce high-quality productions. In addition to the extracurricular drama program, I start every year with a drama unit as part of my Fine Arts curriculum. In grade 7, we dive into improvisational theatre, which helps students get to know one another and work together in new and unfamiliar ways. In grade 8, we build on the foundation of improv, focusing more on idea development and long-form improvisation. By grade 9, students are introduced to script work and performance. While teaching drama as a mandatory course can be a unique challenge, I’ve seen firsthand how beneficial it is for students. Theatre and improv teach invaluable life skills such as creativity, adaptability, collaboration, and confidence. I’ve watched shy students transform—one of my first lessons involved students making eye contact with one another, and the nervousness was palpable. By the end of the unit, however, they were engaging confidently with each other and me. It’s truly remarkable to witness this growth. From my perspective, the benefits of drama cannot be overstated. Students become more social, improve their public speaking skills, and express themselves more clearly after participating in drama. After our drama unit in Fine Arts, we switched gears into visual arts. I’ve spent the past two years developing a visual arts curriculum for grades 7 and 8 that students enjoy and feel proud of. I focus on projects that have a low skill requirement but high payoff, which I’ve found keeps students engaged and motivated. Since I only see my students for one or two 40-minute blocks in a five-day cycle, I avoid projects that are overly skill-intensive. Instead, I focus on making sure that students can complete their work with a sense of accomplishment. This approach has resulted in excellent student engagement, project completion, and overall satisfaction with their finished work. This year, my grade 9 students, who were the first group I taught when I started at the school, are getting to experience my new visual arts curriculum. They’ve been fantastic as my test group, offering valuable feedback as I fine-tune my lessons. Based on the successes and challenges of the previous years, I’ve developed five new projects for them, and the first one is off to a fantastic start! While I’m always taking risks when trying out new ideas, that’s part of the excitement and joy of teaching—I get to see what works and what doesn’t, and adapt for the next year. I’m excited to continue to grow the arts in my school, and I’m very proud of the Fine Arts program I have been able to build. The growth I’ve seen in both our drama and visual arts offerings is a testament to the desire and passion the students have for the arts, and I’m grateful I can help offer that outlet. I look forward to continuing to build on this momentum and create even more opportunities for our students to thrive creatively and personally

It's that time of year when you might be midway through the year and feeling a dip in motivation, or you're gearing up for the second term and seeking new, innovative ways to start your class to energize your students! Here are five fresh ways to start your class and warm up your students. These methods shift from traditional teacher-led warmups to more holistic, student-centered activities. They change the class formation and encourage students to move in new ways, energizing both body and mind. These warmups are also great for theatre rehearsals, drama classes, or even dance lessons in physical education. Feel free to adapt, change, and share these ideas with colleagues! Each warmup can be tailored to your specific group, discipline, and age group. I've also included some fresh playlists from my Spotify, ready for use in class. Since I teach high school, the music is generally aligned with what my students enjoy and is appropriate for that age group.   1. Circle Warm Up Circle Warm Up ( Image Source ) Standing in a circle, facing into the center of the circle. Each student one by one leads one warm-up movement. An example could be the first student goes into a pigeon position on the floor, holding for 20 seconds on each side, and the next student goes into a butterfly position with a flat back for 20 seconds. I encourage students to speak through and “teach” their stretch the group, explaining the movements, adding in commentary about safety and alignment, where we should feel the stretch etc. I love this warm up, because it takes the ownness off the teacher to lead and gives an opportunity for each student to be a leader for one short moment. Over time students really come to enjoy this warm up, they are excited about sharing a new stretch or movement they love from their studio classes or from other extra curriculars they do. This is also a great opportunity for commentary on safety, alignment and proper order of exercises, eg: not going right into the splits, but instead what are some ways we can warm up the body first before dropping into the splits.    Extension: Could add more directions or rules to the Circle Warm Up when students are more familiar with it. Some examples of this are: Let's start with movements that stretch or warm up our bodies from the top of our heads through to our feet as we go around the circle. Every alternating student has to lead either a stretch or a cardio focused movement, like one student does a lunging stretch and the next student does 20 jumping backs etc. Music: I suggest this playlist for this warmup - Fresh Starts: Slow & Steady If it is more of a stretch, I would choose something that isn't too fast and on the more chill side of music, acoustic, singer-songwriter works well here. If you want to energize, choose something that has a good vibe, but again not too loud or fast, so everyone can hear the leader.   2. Paired Warm Up Students love warming up with a partner, so my students always love this one! Pair everyone off, I always encourage students to find someone they haven't worked with this week. Assign students either “A” or “B”. “A” students are the cardio partner and B students are the stretching partner. I like to start with increasing the heart rate, so partner A starts, they lead an on the spot 1-song in length cardio workout for their partner, usually something including jumping jacks, squats, lunges, plank, crunches etc. Their partner mimics and follow their cardio workout for the duration of one song. Partner B follows by leading a one-song stretch, can extend to 2 songs or more if needed. I often find students love to chat and catch up during stretching, and I usually don't let them during full class warm ups, but when they are partnered up, I allow them to chat and share while warming up, it gives a great opportunity for students to connect and get to know someone new better. Music: For this I usually choose something upbeat for Partner A, and something slower for Partner B. Partner A Playlist: Fresh Starts: Cardio Energizer   Partner B Playlist: Fresh Starts: Slow & Steady   3. Student Warm Up This one takes a bit more planning, but I assign every student to plan and lead a 15-minute warm-up. I do this as a solo project, where students present and lead a warmup individually, but this could be done in pairs or small groups as well. I assess this as well using a rubric, as a summative assessment, assessing the following outcomes: the use of specific warm up components safe dance practices relationship between music and movement correct alignment and posture. Attached is my assignment for you to adapt or use if this is something you want to integrate into your classroom! Student Warm-Up Assignment   4. Mirroring & Flocking Mirroring Traditional mirroring exercise, in groups of 2, usually partners who are the same height. Students face one another and make eye contact, one leads the other in basic and slow movements, beginning with hands and arms. As they become more comfortable, encourage movements with legs, using the floor and travelling around the space. Encourage focus, commitment and eye contact. I do this a lot in drama and musical theatre classes as well to get students to move their bodies more freely. In these classes, I choose Broadway tracks or movie soundtracks to introduce more characterization into the movement too. Usually, with movie soundtracks by Hans Zimmer, or movies like Star Wars, Harry Potter, Finding Nemo etc., students start to take on physicality and movement that matches the characters' movements in the films. Students don't even notice they are doing improvised creative dance movement; that's a win! Extension: Could be adapted to be across the floor mirroring. Option to join another group and continue mirroring, based on dancer’s impulse. Flocking An extension of mirroring, but generally in groups of 4. Groups of 4, make a diamond shape, facing downstage. Most downstage people lead movements to begin and the group behind the leader follows. When they want someone else to take over and lead, they transition their body to stage right or left and the new most front leader takes over. I encourage students to reduce the break between leaders and instead transition through to the new leader. Continue to encourage students to copy exactly, adding in movements inspired by legs and floor movement. Here is a video  of how flocking works in action. Extension:  It could extend to a whole class flock, making a large filled in diamond shape and encouraging other students to step in and take the lead. Could be adapted to be across the floor, more focus on travelling movement Option to join another group and continue flocking in larger group, based on dancer impulse.       Music: Film Scores Mirroring Fresh Starts: Fresh & Funky New Sounds  - A playlist of sounds from Indigenous Artists This is a great opportunity to play music students are not used to or familiar with. Music that pushes them to move and groove in new and different ways.   5. Walking and Greeting Warm Up Students walk around the space, placing whatever directions you want on this, speeding up, slowing down, neutralizing the body etc. When students walk up to another person, make eye contact and stop, students face one another and each individually lead a greeting gesture with their body – some sort of “hello” with their body in movement. Continue this exercise as students meet someone new, they do a new improvised greeting. Do this until every student has greeted every member of the class. Extension: Have students use impulse to stay longer with each greeting and turn it into an opportunity for improvised dance between students, either mirroring or just improvising across from each other, students conclude the improvisation and move on walking to greet another person. Music: Fresh Starts: Fresh & Funky I hope these five fresh starts for your classes provide you and your students with exciting new ways to warm up and energize. If you have any questions or successfully use these or other methods to extend these exercises, share with me at victoria.reid@fineartsata.ca . Keep shining! Victoria Reid

Google Slides Link Music Teachers - here is a sneak preview of a resource that will be featured in an upcoming Fine Arts Council publication. Enjoy!

Welcome to 2025! I wanted to give you a little review of how changing my concerts and not doing a Christmas/Winter concert went. As you may remember from last month’s newsletter, I decided to do 3 smaller concerts throughout the year to showcase 2 grades at each instead of doing a winter concert. So far so good. Only a few parents complained (that I know of). Thanks to another couple of teachers who organized a family Christmas evening with crafts and activities I don’t think the families felt like they were missing the spirit of the season. My grade 5 and 6 concert was in November and that went well too. Now I’m preparing for grade 1, 2 and kindergarten concert that will be in February.  It is nice to be able to choose songs from any theme. I’ve chosen some classics like “Skinnamarink” and "If You're Happy and You Know It". I’ve created French verses for each song, too. I also have some new songs from music K-8: “Bright Happy Days” and “Forever Learning”. These will also feature some French verses. My grade 3 and 4 concert will be at the end of March. The trick as I move forward is to not always be in concert planning mode. Wish me luck. As I’m working on the concert with the div 1s I will be doing other units with the upper grades as we finish the term and get report cards finished. ·      Grade 3s  are going to be starting to prepare for the Leduc music festival (I take the grade 3’s every year). This year I chose 3 songs from the music that was presented at the Long and McQuade choir reading session in August. It was my first time going this year and I’m so glad I did. Getting to hear the music with its harmonies and singing along was great fun and insightful. ·      Grade 4s  are going to review the instruments and families with the book “The composer is dead” by Lemony Snicket. ·      Grade 5s  are going to start an intensive unit learning the recorders- We will be doing a condensed version of my normal recorder karate as we bought a class set of alto recorders this year and I’m excited to try some duets following the recorder karate.   ·      Grade 6s  are doing “The History of Rock and Roll”. This is a unit that came with my classroom resources when I started many moons ago. Over the years I’ve changed and added activities to the original information to include composing in 12 bar blues, dancing and creating a “family tree” of sorts to show how Rock and Roll came to be. If any of these units sound intriguing or if you have any questions feel free to email me at amanda.clark@fineartsata.ca . Look forward to hearing from you! I’m always happy to talk resources and concert planning among all the other aspects of teaching music. Don’t forget to check out our virtual events coming up in January and February!

One of the things I love most about teaching Drama is the opportunity it gives students to connect and understand the different perspectives and experiences that shape each person. However, this does not innately come with the class, and often we must work hard at fostering the relationships and support a Drama class can bring. In a world where kids are so connected to their devices and social media and struggle to build authentic connections with others, we must support the students and give them the tools to be able to do so.  As teachers, it often feels like we don’t have the time to build this into our lessons, but Drama uniquely lends itself to building empathy, conflict resolution skills, and emotional awareness through our program of studies. If you’re looking for a reset with your students or want to start the new year off on the right foot, I’ve gathered some Social-Emotional Learning activities that can be used in the Drama classroom and beyond. These activities come from my experience as a teacher, as well as insights I’ve gathered from other educators and online resources. 1. Character Walk Objective: Develop empathy by exploring how characters react to challenges. Instructions: Introduction: Start by discussing empathy —being able to understand and share the feelings of others. This is a key skill in both life and Drama, which allows us to step into someone else's shoes. Character Creation: Provide students with a brief character description (A 14-year-old student who just moved to a new city and doesn’t know anyone, or A young athlete who just got cut from their sports team). You can also let students create their own character with an emotional challenge (e.g., they did poorly on an assignment they worked so hard on, or feeling excluded from their friend group). Character Journey: Have students walk around the room while embodying their character. Ask them to focus on how their character would move, speak, and express emotions based on their backstory. Offer prompts like: “Your character just had a difficult conversation with a friend. How do they feel?” or “Your character is facing a big decision. What emotions are they experiencing?” Reflection: After a few minutes of walking, gather the students and ask them to reflect on their experiences. Prompt them with questions like: ·      How did it feel to "be" your character? ·      What new perspectives did you gain from stepping into someone else’s shoes? ·      Can you relate to your character’s feelings or experiences in any way? Debrief: Discuss how empathy helps us understand others in real life and leads to improved communication and relationships. Reflect on the importance of considering other people’s perspectives in their everyday lives. 2. Emotional Entrances & Exits Objective: Recognize and express emotions through body language and movement, improving emotional awareness and nonverbal communication skills. Materials: ·      A list of emotions (e.g., joy, frustration, nervousness, pride, sadness, hope, etc.) o   There are many emotion generators online to help prep for this activity. Instructions: Introduction: Discuss how emotions are often communicated through body language—posture, facial expressions, and movement can indicate how or what we’re feeling-often better than words can. Emotional Entrance/Exit:  Students will take turns selecting an emotion and performing it physically, without using words. They should "enter the space," take a moment to embody the emotion, and then "exit" the space. Encourage them to use facial expressions, gestures, posture, and movement to convey the emotion. After each performance, the class will guess what emotion was displayed. Afterward, ask the performer questions like: How did you choose to express that emotion? Why did you use certain movements or expressions? How does body language change how we understand emotions? Group Reflection: After a few rounds hold a group discussion about the different emotions that were performed. Explore how different people might interpret the same emotion based on their own experiences, cultural backgrounds, or body language. Extension: As a follow-up, students can work in pairs or small groups to create short scenes based on a specific emotion. These scenes can then be performed for the class, emphasizing how emotion shapes both verbal and physical actions. 3. The Empathy Web Objective: Strengthen empathy by connecting students’ personal experiences and emotions to those of others. Materials: ·      A ball of yarn or string ·      A list of scenarios or questions related to emotions (optional) Instructions: Introduction: Explain the concept of empathy—feeling with someone, not just for them. Empathy helps us understand each other better and build supportive relationships. Starting the Web: Have students sit in a circle. One student will begin by holding the ball of yarn and sharing something that makes them feel a particular emotion (e.g., "I feel nervous before a big test" or "I feel happy when I spend time with my friends"). They will then hold the end of the yarn and toss the ball to another student who shares a similar experience or emotion. This process will continue until the yarn has passed through the whole group, creating a "web" of emotional connections. Building Connections: As the yarn is passed around, students must make connections between their emotions and those shared by others. For example, if a student shares that they feel anxious about speaking in front of the class, others who feel similarly can respond, "I’ve felt that too," and pass the yarn on. This helps build a sense of community. Discussion: Once the web is complete, step back and observe how interconnected everyone is. Ask questions like: How does it feel to realize others share similar emotions? What does this web tell us about how we are all connected through our feelings? How can we use empathy to support each other when we feel a certain way? Wrap-Up: End by discussing how understanding and validating each other’s emotions helps create a more compassionate, connected community. 4. The Apology Game Objective: Practice conflict resolution, accountability, and reconciliation through role-playing apologies. Instructions: Introduction: Discuss the power of a sincere apology. Explain that an apology is more than just saying “sorry”; it’s about understanding the impact of your actions, taking responsibility, and working to repair relationships. Scenario Setup: Have students create their own scenarios that might require an apology (made-up or real-life) or have a list of scenarios for the class (e.g., "You hurt a friend’s feelings by making a joke about them," "You missed an important group project deadline," "You broke something that wasn’t yours"). Role Play: In pairs or small groups, students will role-play the scenario. One student will play the person who needs to apologize, while the other plays the person who was hurt or affected. The student apologizing should include key components of a meaningful apology, such as: Acknowledging the behavior ("I realize I hurt your feelings when I said that...") Taking responsibility ("I shouldn’t have said that. It was wrong of me...") Offering a way to make it right ("Next time, I’ll be more mindful of how I speak to you...") Reflection: After each round, have students reflect on the experience with questions like: What made the apology feel sincere? What was it like to both give and receive an apology? How did it feel to offer a solution or promise to change your behavior? Class Discussion: Discuss how apologies can help rebuild trust and mend relationships. Emphasize that a sincere apology isn’t just about words—it’s about demonstrating that you understand the other person’s feelings and are committed to making amends. Extension: You can use this as a scene extension from a play you’re studying or as a character development exercise. Students can create a conflict for their character and write a scene that includes an apology. Closing Reflection for All Activities: At the end of each activity, gather the students for a brief reflection circle. Ask them to share: One thing they learned about themselves through the activity. One new way they can apply what they’ve learned in their personal lives. This helps deepen the connection between Drama and social-emotional learning (SEL), reinforcing the idea that the skills learned in class can be transferred to real-life situations. It also validates students’ emotional experiences and helps them see how their peers process similar situations.