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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.

Read the latest news from your Fine Arts Council Executive - November 2024. In this issue: Meet your Executive THANK YOU to our Outgoing Executive Members! Music Representative Update Dance Representative Update A Fine FACTA - New Issue Online! Drama Survey - Thank You to our Participants! Celebrate a Fine Arts Teacher (with a treat for you!) Community Connections

On Monday, October 28, dance educators from across Alberta gathered virtually for an enriching Professional Development Session: Dance Discourse: Perspectives & Practice. The event featured engaging discussions and valuable insights aimed at elevating dance education in Alberta, with guest speaker, Carrie Robins. For those who missed the live session, a recording is available on Soundcloud and can be listened to as a podcast - embedded above! This ensures everyone has the opportunity to benefit from the wealth of knowledge shared during the event. This session was a testament to the vibrant and supportive dance education community in Alberta. We look forward to more such enriching events in the future! As shared in the session, music is such an amazing way to bring joy and energy into the classroom, and as dance teachers we are always on the hunt for new music. So below are a few of my favourite artists right now. I hope you enjoy! -              Leon Bridges -              Stephen Day -              Wild Rivers -              James Vincent McMorrow Sincerely, Victoria Reid (Dance Rep)

Featuring: Winter Concert Talk, Drum Circle Event Review, AI Song Generator Resource Hello Friends,  Welcome to the winter concert season! I hope that all your planning and practices are going well! If there is anything I can do to support you in this please send me an email. I’m happy to help!  Winter Concert Talk This year I'm trying out a new concert schedule and I’m NOT doing a big winter concert. I'm down from seeing the students 3 times a week to 2 times a week. I don’t feel that is enough time to prepare a big concert and to be ready we would have been singing winter songs in October. So, this was my compromise:   A Christmas Caroling sing along and family event with hot chocolate and craft (This will include 2 songs featuring the Choir club and 2or 3 songs by the band club)  Smaller, more casual and classroom music based (sharing what we are learning in class) concerts for a couple grades at a time (k,1 & 2.  3 & 4.  5 & 6.) I’m spreading these out throughout the year too to give me more time to prepare for each. One in November, February, and end of March.   I’m hoping this will also help to solve the following problems we were having:  A whole school concert was giving us “fire code” problems with all the people who wanted to come watch. This way we have smaller groups of people for each concert.   Parents complaining that they couldn’t see their child on stage and/or only doing a couple songs.  All of the teachers need to be present for the concert to supervise the students in their class during the concert when they are not singing. With a smaller more casual concert everyone will stay on stage the whole time and I don’t need supervision.   I’ll let you know how this new adventure turns out. So far, I have only had good feedback from parents and staff.     Drum Circle Event Review We had an amazing time at our Drum Circle! Thank you to everyone who came out and participated- you made my time there so enjoyable! I felt so inspired and revived afterwards. For those who missed it, Lucas Coffey with “Rhythm, Rhythm, Rhythm”  offers drum circle events for your school.    Stay tuned for more networking events!   AI Song Generator Resource   While presenting at the Beginning teachers conference a fun new resource came up! Thank you to the teacher who shared it! Check it out:  https://suno.com/   This is an AI song generator and will create a fun song for you on the topic of your choice.  I was working with the grade 4 class teaching them about conjunctions so I used that as inspiration for trying out this tool. It came up with lyrics and a melody that an AI generated voice sings for you. A couple of other things to note:  Its downfall is that you can’t see a score to play along. You would have to learn it by rote.    The pictures on the site are not kid friendly so don’t share your screen with your students.   I had to add” make it kid friendly” to the prompt because it was giving me themes in the lyrics that were not appropriate.   It took me about 3 tries before I finally got something that I really liked but those 3 tries only took me about 5 min.   It auto-generates your display name so double check it... I found mine not to be appropriate.   There seems to be a lot of appropriateness issues but once I changed them it seems alright. Just be vigilant when you are using this site. That being said, the song output was worth the trouble to me because the kids loved it and started singing along immediately.     I gave it the following prompt:   a melodic song to sing about conjunctions: so, and, or, but, yet  include the definition of a conjunction  use appropriate words and themes for children  use pop style of music  include the score   And got the following output:   [Verse]  Conjunctions are the words we use to link  They glue our phrases strong like magic ink  They're short but mighty pieces of the chain  Helping sentences to clearly explain     [Verse]  Words like so  And  Or  But  And yet  They help create the best stories you've met  Tiny but they're key in what you say  Linking ideas in a smart way     [Chorus]  So let's sing about conjunctions now  And you'll see just how they wow  Or choose your words and join the fun  But don't forget  The job's just begun     [Verse]  So's for showing reasons oh so neat  And joins together words like friends on the street  Or gives you choices left or right  But says however  Not so bright     [Chorus]  So let's sing about conjunctions now  And you'll see just how they wow  Or choose your words and join the fun  But don't forget  The job's just begun     [Bridge]  Yet is like a twist in tales we tell  Shows contrast  Spinning stories well  Together they make language cool and tight  With conjunctions  Everything feels right

Date & Location: Saturday, November 02 2024 02:30 pm - 03:00 pm GMT-6 Click HERE for Zoom Link Annual General Meeting (AGM) 2024 The Fine Arts Council of the Alberta Teachers’ Association announces its Annual General Meeting to take place on Saturday, November 2, 2024 from 2:30pm-3:00pm virtually, to take place on Zoom ( AGM Zoom Link ). Positions up for election include: Secretary Web Manager Art Representative Dance Representative Generalist Representative If you would like to be nominated, or nominate someone, for one of these positions, you can do so by filling out the Fine Arts Council Nomination form . Nominations will also be accepted from the floor at the AGM. We are also looking to appoint a Social Media Manager. This is not an elected position and is an Annual term (1 year). If you are interested in this appointed position, please email president@fineartsata.ca . Come to our AGM and stay for some learning and prizes ! “The Art of Inclusive Communication”, starting at 3:00pm will focus on sharing creative and inclusive communication tools. These tools can be used to increase connection, communication and understanding of creative engagement tools, rooted in leadership theories and concepts. Click here for more information about this FREE VIRTUAL SESSION as well as the link to register. See you there!

What comes to mind when you hear the words Orff and school music? If you want to learn more about the Orff process and how it can be used in different settings, join us for a Taste of Orff. This session, "What's on Your Plate," will explore rhythm, melody, reading and writing, playing instruments, movement, and creativity using popular music, Chinese nursery songs, and children's literature. Come prepared to fill your plate with music, materials, and connections with other music colleagues! This session is geared toward music teachers and pre-service teachers and is being presented by Orff teacher educator, Kim Friesen Wiens. Cost: ATA Fine Arts Council Members: $5.00 University of Alberta Students: $5.00 Non-Members: $15.00 To register for this event, click here: A TASTE OF ORFF REGISTRATION LINK Venue: Collins Recital Hall, Northwestern Polytechnic, Grande Prairie Organizer: Kim Friesen Wiens editor@fineartsata.ca

October 2024 Drama Update by FAC Drama Rep, Molly Danko In early September I had the joy and privilege of hosting the Fine Arts Council’s first social event of the school year- a teacher's night out at Rapid Fire Theatre. We were so warmly welcomed in by Rapid Fire Theatre and got to chat with the cast and Executive Director, Matt Schurmann (after a hilarious double feature improv show) to learn about all the opportunities Rapid Fire has to offer us teachers and our students. See information below and look out for our next Teacher Night with Rapid Fire in the New Year!     Improv Leagues & Tournaments:    Northern Alberta Improv League (NAIL):     NAIL  occurs on Wednesday nights throughout the school year and features various Improv teams from high schools around Northern Alberta. It is a playfully competitive improv league where students get to show off their skills and learn from the other schools and students. Buy your tickets online through Rapid Fire Theatre, or inquire within to sign up your school Improv Team!   Wildfire Festival:     The Wildfire festival runs in February each year and is comprised of three different events: Wildfire Jr., CIG, and the Nosebowl:  Nosebowl  TheatreSports Tournament    February 3-9, 2025: High School Students get to compete in a Theatresports competition to win over the judges!    Wildfire Jr.   February 3-13, 2025:   Wildfire Jr. Is an introduction to the world of Improv for junior high students. A fun and friendly competition between schools that runs for two weeks in early February   Canadian Improv Games (C.I.G.)   February 10-16, 2025: Rapid Fire hosts the Alberta Regional competition of the Nation-wide Canadian Improv Games. The winning team from this high school improv event gets to represent Alberta at the C.I.G. in Ottawa!     Workshops, Performances, & Residencies:    Improv School Residencies     Residencies are available for your classes to help build strong improvising (and life) skills, while covering various outcomes from the Alberta Programs of Study. The Residencies take place at least four hours a day for 1-2 weeks, but Rapid Fire can be flexible with their time- just reach out and see what they can offer!    Performances   You can hire Rapid Fire Theatre to come perform at your school. This may be a whole school event, or a performance after a week-long residency with one of your classes. An innovative, engaging and easy way to get your whole school involved!   Abbynormal   An engaging and interactive improvised science performance and demonstration for grades 1-9    Teacher Opportunities:    Bring in Rapid Fire to play with your  staff  for your next PD Day!   Take a class  with Rapid Fire! Improve your own improv skills so you can confidently teach it to your students. Have some fun and take time to feed the artist inside the teacher.     Joleen Ballendine ( joleen@rapidfiretheatre.com ) and Dill Prusko ( dill@rapidfiretheatre.com ), two of the cast members we had the pleasure of talking with after the show, so happen to be the Director of Education and Youth Director with Rapid Fire Theatre respectively.  You may contact them with questions about programming or use the general inquiry form on the Rapid Fire Website.     I have a quick survey for you to complete to get some more information on what our members would like to see for Drama PD:  https://forms.office.com/r/BKvSX6wZq4

Click here to read the latest mailout and news from the ATA Fine Arts Council.

As we hustle back into the school year, the Fine Arts Council encourages you to take an evening to relax and socialize with colleagues and friends. Come on out to watch Rapid Fire Theatre's Double Feature improv show on September 13th! All FAC members will enjoy a free drink and discounted tickets! There will be a chance to gather before the show, and there will be a quick talk back after about education events and opportunities with Rapid Fire Theatre. This is a social event, so bring along your friends and colleagues!  Event Details:  When : Friday September 13th, Doors @ 6:15 PM, Show @ 7:00 PM Where:  Rapid Fire Exchange, 10437 83 Ave, EDMONTON  How:  Register for the event here: https://forms.office.com/r/HNN297iS6t   Cost:  $15 +tax  Who:  Any educators, family and friends, can join us for this event! If you are a FAC member you will receive a free drink Contact: If you have any questions, please contact your FAC Drama Representative, Molly Danko, at drama@fineartsata.ca

Attention ALL FINE ARTS COUNCIL MEMBERS!   Join us in the beautiful Edmonton River Valley on Thursday, October 10, 6:30 – 8:30 PM for an evening of improvisational music making and socializing. This event will feature a one-hour drum circle facilitated by the amazing Lucas Coffey of Rhythm, Rhythm, Rhythm and is the perfect way to connect with fellow arts educators in a fun and supportive environment!  A Wine and Cheese reception will follow. No prior drumming experience is necessary—just bring your enthusiasm and willingness to connect through music. The cost is $15.00 and pre-registration is required.  REGISTER HERE   For further information please email us at treasurer@fineartsata.ca   For more information on our featured Drum Facilitator, Lucas Coffey, click here Rhythm, Rhythm, Rhythm.

Attention Dance Educators of Alberta! Join us on Monday, October 28 at 7 PM for an exciting virtual Professional Development Session: Dance Discourse: Perspectives & Practice . This event will feature engaging discussions and valuable insights aimed at elevating dance education in Alberta, including a Q&A session with the esteemed dance educator, Carrie Robins. Don’t miss out on this fantastic opportunity! To register for this free PD event, please fill out this form   The virtual video link will be emailed to you prior to the session. For any questions, feel free to email us at: dance@fineartsata.ca For more information on our featured dance educator, Carrie Robins, click here www.carrierobins.com

2025 Call for Papers (DUE DATE: October 31, 2024) A Fine FACTA Journal of the Fine Arts Council The Alberta Teachers Association Theme: Building and Growing Community Community is such an integral aspect of the Fine Arts. For our 2025 issues of A Fine Facta, we will be exploring what does it mean or look like to belong in community within the Fine Arts? How do we build and grow our communities and how do we ensure that there is a meaningful space for everyone? In what ways do we advocate for or promote the Fine Arts community? We will be offering two publishing opportunities to submit articles, papers, etc. Our first journal will be focused on practical application (what are you doing). For this issue, we are looking specifically for lesson plans, book reviews, and overviews of what you are doing in your classroom. Our second issue will be focused on how we are thinking about regarding building, growing, and/or advocating for the arts community. We invite scholarly articles, opinion pieces, and big picture ideas for this issue. There is an opportunity to have your manuscripts peer-reviewed for this issue. Due Date: October 31, 2024 About A Fine FACTA: A Fine FACTA is published for the Fine Arts Council by The Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) to help the council achieve its objective of improved education in and through the fine arts. Articles of general interest or on theoretical, experimental, or methodological topics are invited. For Journal information, including submission requests, please contact the Journal Editor, Kim Friesen Wiens. Email: editor@fineartsata.ca Submission Information: A Fine FACTA welcomes authors to submit manuscripts for consideration in our 2025 publications. Both peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed articles will be considered. To be considered for peer-review, please indicate as such in the email. Submissions must include the following: Be written in a clear and concise style, avoiding technical jargon as possible. Lesson plans, book/conference reviews, and brief columns will be considered (approx. 1000 words) Submissions are not to exceed 4000 words, although exceptions may be granted. Photos and pictures are welcome, but must be submitted in a high-quality format. If the photos/pictures are not accompanying an article, a brief description of the photo/picture is required (50-150 words) Submissions must be submitted via email and in MS Word using Chicago format. Submissions may be edited. All submissions must be accompanied by a brief (50 words) author biography. Authors wishing to have their manuscripts peer-reviewed must indicate that in the email sent to the editor and must be received by October 31, 2024. Manuscripts will be reviewed by a panel of recognized leaders in the fine arts. All submissions must be sent via email to the editor, Kim Friesen Wiens at editor@fineartsata.ca for consideration in the 2025 publications. All submissions will receive an email confirming that the submission has been received. If you do not receive an email receipt after 1 week, please follow up with the editor. Addition Formatting Information for Submissions: Use single space for the body of the paper (do not double space). Use single space after each sentence. Use Chicago format throughout the text and in the reference list. Use NO running heads. Use endnotes as opposed to footnotes Click here for a PDF copy of this Call for Papers