Welcome to the December 2024 edition of our Renaissance Newsletter! As we embrace the holiday season, this issue is brimming with inspiring stories and innovative ideas from our vibrant arts education community. From heartfelt Veterans Day programs that showcase student talents to powerful performances, our educators continue to illuminate the transformative power of the arts in our schools.

In this newsletter, you'll find practical strategies for educator wellness, insights into managing holiday stress, and highlights of the remarkable work being done across our grant.

Thank you for your unwavering dedication to fostering creativity and excellence in arts education. We hope this edition provides you with inspiration, support, and a sense of community as we conclude another successful year together.

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On Monday, November 11th, Jesse D. Lay Elementary celebrated our annual Veteran’s Day program. Each year, our school hosts a tribute program to honor the veterans in our Trojan family and community, featuring many facets of the arts. The day starts with a special catered luncheon for our veterans. Following the luncheon, the hour-long program begins in the gym.

Each grade level performs a song for the veterans to say thank you. In addition, each grade level also creates a patriotic-themed craft to display in the gym during the program. Our fifth graders serve as the speakers to introduce each performance. We usually have a special speaker who is our very own veteran and principal, Mr. Keith Broughton (currently deployed, so he spoke through a recorded video this year). The program ends with a special Veteran’s Day slideshow tribute filled with pictures of our Trojan family veterans that have been submitted by staff and students. The slideshow features the veterans’ pictures, title, and years of service set to music.

While this program, crafts, and decorations are a schoolwide effort, our library media specialist and Renaissance leader, Rebecca Partin, heads this program every year. She plans the program and teaches the songs and dances to the students during their special class time, rehearsing with them to get their performances polished and ready. In addition, she takes care of sending out notes, keeping track of RSVPs for the luncheon, and receiving and compiling veteran pictures to create the slideshow.

This program is very special for our school every year, but it was especially touching this year because Jesse D. Lay Elementary received the first Kentucky Purple Star Award in our region for our dedication to supporting Kentucky’s military youth. This award was presented to our school and accepted by the students of military parents and siblings during the program. The media was present for this event, and there were many emotional tears shed throughout the program.

This program is an honor to host each year because, not only does it honor those who serve us, but it also gives our school a chance to showcase our students’ many talents through their arts and crafts, singing, and dancing.

I recently completed a lesson on The Elements of Art and the emotions art can bring to the surface with 3-5 grades. They are LOVING the lesson and have learned a tremendous amount. I am using 6 prints I purchased from one of the galleries we attended during a Cadre session this summer. I used classical piano music in the background and asked students to thoughtfully, and slowly, view each print looking for each of the 7 elements. I have received a range of emotions from students from crying to laughing. They are developing a love of studying different artworks and want to do this exercise more often.

Have you ever been preparing to give the lecture of your life when something disrupts you, rattles you or stops you in your tracks? Maybe even a little of your evil side showed up and you briefly lost your composure. I have! I think we all have. This is why I wrote this article on educator wellness: we need to support each other and learn to self-regulate.

Social-emotional learning (SEL) is a process through which individuals, particularly students, develop the skills to manage their emotions, establish positive relationships, and make responsible decisions. SEL encompasses five key competencies: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. By fostering these skills, SEL helps students navigate their social environments more effectively, enhances their ability to cope with challenges, and promotes a positive school climate. We, as teachers, also need SEL strategies, and I feel like this should be promoted more within all schools. Promoting this to teachers will ultimately benefit students.

Educators have a plethora of reasons to be well in our jobs. We are role models, need enhanced focus at all times, a positive environment, joy in our job and physical well being. If any of those are imbalanced we cannot give 110% to our students. With this in mind I have gathered some wellness strategies to share with you. Some are unusual and some you may recognize. Try the ones that resonate with you or that seem fun. Here are some effective wellness strategies to try.

Regulating Spirals

Years ago I attended the most fabulous session with comic author and artist Lynda Barry. Lynda did an activity that I know regulated us as well as tapping into our creativity core. We would look at a blank page, start our pencil in the middle and draw a spiral. As we drew, Lynda said relaxing phrases. We would spiral and relax. Once our page was full she gave us a prompt, usually a noun, and we began to write. It was an amazing way to release tension and write creatively! Upon some research I realized that this creative writing activity could also be a way to regulate for those who love writing! You won’t have Lynda but as you spiral say relaxing phrases to yourself in your mind then have an envelope of random nouns nearby. Once you are completely relaxed, and your paper has a big spiral, reach in, grab a noun and write about the first thing that noun brings to your mind.

This activity encourages mindfulness, self expression, creativity and confidence.

Emotional Aliens

This is an SEL activity that I created and my students love it. Sometimes, once we have moved on to other projects, they will bring me new aliens and say they just needed to relax for a few minutes. I love that it helps them so much they repeat the activity! This is very, very simple. Draw any alien you desire, look one up if you want, but draw it in a way that shows how to feel in the moment. It can be as simple or complex as you want! Use markers, pens, pencils….whatever you have handy to fill in the colors. Use the color to help signify how you feel. Red if you are angry, blue if you are sad, yellow for cheerfulness…you get the idea. This activity gives you empowerment, focus, relaxation, empathy, self reflection and helps you to normalize your emotions.

Look up

During professional development in my district we had a session on how to handle challenging students. A video showed us how when we look up at the ceiling our brains seem to shut off. It was an activity to share with students when their brains go haywire and they get out of control. I know we, as educators, never get out of control but this could be useful to us as well. Have you ever looked up because a tear was welling up in your eye and it seemed to help keep you from bursting out into tears? That is because when you looked up your brain seemingly shut off and thoughts go away.

Use this strategy when you feel overwhelmed. It gives you a physical release which helps ease tension in your neck and shoulders, it gives you a perspective shift and encourages deeper breathing.

Other Strategies

Other ways to regulate are through the old tried and true breathing technique. There are many, many versions of this, but the one I use is to breathe in while counting to four then breath out while counting to four. I have also said the word in while breathing in and the word out while breathing out.

There are apps that you can download to your phone that offer visually stimulating images to help with relaxation. Two popular apps I can think of are Calm and Headspace.

In conclusion, prioritizing wellness is essential for educators to thrive both personally and professionally. By incorporating strategies like the “Regulating Spirals,” “Emotional Aliens,” and simple mindfulness techniques, we can create a supportive environment that not only enhances our own well-being but also positively impacts our students. Remember, taking time to self-regulate and express our emotions is not a luxury—it’s a necessity. Let’s commit to nurturing ourselves so we can continue to inspire and uplift those we teach. Together, we can foster a community where well-being is at the forefront of our educational mission.

Nurturing a love for writing and illustrating is a key priority for me as the elementary library media specialist. I hope to see many of our students shine as authors or illustrators in the future! To ignite that inspiration, I sought to invite a real-life author to share their journey. We were fortunate to host Dr. James Kirby Easterling from Richmond, and it was truly a fantastic experience! He read his story about Chester, a weiner dog, that made his home complete. He has seven dogs, each one sparkling like a star in the story! The narrative is genuinely heartwarming and remarkably relatable! Our students have been checking out the Chester books daily since he shared the tale! He answered questions after the reading and was thrilled to connect with our students about the writing journey. Right now, he is crafting his second story featuring Chester! We are excitedly anticipating the release of the next book! He is willing to visit your school and share his tale with your students as well! Feel free to reach out to Dr. Easterling regarding a visit to your school!

His contact information is:

Dr. James Kirby Easterling

James.Kirby.Easterling@eku.edu

859-622-7893

Mental Health Minutes -This newsletter is sent to all Guidance Counselors district-wide to share with staff, students and parents for resources for student mental health.

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The fourth grade students at Hopkins Elementary School held a Veteran’s Day Assembly for students in the first through fourth grades and their veterans. Students in fourth grade worked for several months during music class and after school preparing songs, skits, and sign language to share with the active and retired military they had invited to the program.

Students began with a skit that shared the meaning behind Veteran’s Day. After that, they performed sign language as they sang the well known tune, “God Bless America.” All of the veterans enjoyed hearing every student in fourth grade sing a medley of each of the songs of the armed forces. This was followed by a powerful tableau set to music of students acting out the scenes of the military going to service, tending to the wounded, and providing peace for our world. Our fourth grade students finished the program by singing a song we learned from our MusicPlay website, “Soldier, This Song I sing for You.” While students sang, each veteran’s name was shown on screen, reminding them how important they were to our students and our community. Our program concluded with powerful testimony from parent and retired Marine, Jay Picard.

Many of the veterans were very thankful for a moment to be thanked and remembered. Students were not sure how to feel about performing on the stage at first, but after the program, many of the students said they were proud of their effort and they enjoyed singing the patriotic songs. Community and staff members were all so appreciative of all of their hard work and effort!

This school-wide event that UNITE club promoted help support community agency Volunteers Of America. VOA helped recovered addicts and released inmates get back on their feet to be their best self for their family and community.

Fifth grade students worked so hard preparing for our Veterans’ Day program. Each grade level sang a song and students volunteered to learn speaking parts for this special program.

Foley Middle School Band is also excited to announce that our annual Halloween Concert was a spooky success! The 7th and 8th grade band students dressed up in costumes and performed many eerie tunes that put everyone in an ominous mood. Students enjoy this concert because they not only get to perform music on their instruments, but these musical selections usually include many sound effects that the students love to do.

The annual Holiday Concert has been scheduled for Tuesday, December 17th. The 6th grade band will make their first debut performance. The 7th and 8th grade bands will follow up with several Holiday favorites that will put the audience in a joyful spirit ready for the holidays. There will also be a special appearance from Santa Claus while he narrates one of the musical selections. We are excited to showcase the many skills and concepts at the upcoming concert!

Earlier this month, returning KEDC grant member Lynn Przygoda had the pleasure of guest conducting the Floyd County High School Honor Choir. It was a truly special experience to return to the mountains and make music with such a talented, kind, and hardworking group of students. Their dedication and enthusiasm made the opportunity even more rewarding.

Lynn shared the experience with fellow grant members Jonathan Wyatt, who conducted the middle school choir, and Barbara Kelley, who worked with the elementary singers. The event was expertly coordinated by Grant Member Greta Gilbert.

A heartfelt thank you goes to Greta for the invitation and to the wonderful music teachers who made Lynn feel so welcome. As a bonus, being so close to home meant Lynn’s parents could attend the concert, adding a personal touch to an already meaningful event. It was a week filled with music, connection, and gratitude—a memorable experience for all involved.

The Rockcastle County Castle Choirs performed their fall concert on October 24! The combined honors and general choirs performed various classic and new Disney songs for the RCHS students and the public. They dazzled the audiences with their harmonies and choreography. Five students were also recognized for being accepted into the 2024 SKMA All Festival Choir!

RCHS Honors Choir students also participated in the first annual showcase night at RCHS. They performed by themselves and with the RCHS band. Many different groups were showcased to show all that RCHS has to offer students.

Montgomery County High School Orchestra participated in the annual Veteran’s Day performance and provided special music during the ceremony.

On Fridays, my 4th and 5th grade classes transform from general music classes to a unique experience: Glow in the Dark Bucket Drumming! These are students who have chosen to take this class on Fridays and already had their general music class earlier in the week. This is a fun way for students to enjoy music, participate in music as a group, and learn the basics of playing bucket drums. We love using Trans-Siberian Orchestra Christmas songs to play along with for our Winter Concert. In the Spring, we use a song the students like and create a routine to that. We’ve done Wellerman (Sea Shanty), and NSYNC’s Better Place.

If this is something you are interested in doing at your school, it is very affordable. Once you purchase what you need, there is not much upkeep. I wrote a letter to Lowe’s to ask for a donation of 25 buckets and they accepted. I found large mouse pads that fit the top of the drums perfectly. I bought a bulk pack of cheap drumsticks and wrapped them with glow in the dark tape. I also purchased 5-6 black lights for a very reasonable price. Students do not need to read notation whatsoever to participate in bucket drumming. It is a wonderful way to bring students together using engaging music and the power of glow in the dark fun! Offering something like this is also beneficial to your program beyond student enjoyment. Parents and administration are extra supportive of our music program because they see how much the students are enjoying themselves and how COOL it is to watch! It is a hit at every concert and the smiles across everyone’s faces are the very best part.

Hello! My name is Brittany Johnson and I am the Music & Band Teacher at Science Hill Independent School in Science Hill, KY! Our school is unique because we serve students from Preschool through 8th grade. For me this makes my job fun because I get to teach students at different age levels! I could teach middle school students in the morning and transition to elementary students in the afternoon. As our 1st nine weeks are almost over, I wanted to share something about every class I am currently teaching! Something I love about Science Hill is that we expose students to various forms of the arts!

Middle School Piano Class - Students are preparing for their final performance! Many of these students did not know anything about music or the piano before this class and now they are able to play every note of the musical alphabet: A,B,C,D,E,F & G.

Advanced Band - This class is composed of both 7th & 8th grade students. They have had band class for approximately 1 - 2 years now. We are preparing for our upcoming performances which includes Veterans Day & our yearly Christmas Concert!

2nd Grade Elementary Music - These students have got to experience music in numerous ways! I have been collecting instruments and other instrument-like items over the years to make sure that elementary students do not just hear about music, but actually get to experience it! So far these students have made music through Bucket Percussion, Steel Drums, Boomwhackers, Hand Held Percussion Instruments & Singing! I love that they get to use so many different musical instruments.

Kindergarten Elementary Music - My Kindergarten students absolutely love coming to music class. A big way that we experience and learn music is through movement! Everyday we make sure to add some type of movement to our song of the day! Some examples are feeling a steady beat or adding meaningful motions to the lyrics of our song.

6th Grade Band - At Science Hill band starts in 6th grade, so these students were super excited to learn how to play a “big kid” instrument as they call it. We are currently learning the first 3 notes on our instruments!

Earlier this month, students from Leestown Middle School participated in the ACDA All State Choir event at the UK Singletary Center for the Performing Arts in Lexington, KY. To earn their placements, students prepared a rigorous audition, competing with singers from 5th to 9th grade across the Bluegrass state. Two hundred singers were selected for this honor choir.

After two days of intensive rehearsals, the event culminated in a stunning concert on the evening of Saturday, November 2. Nineteen students from Leestown Middle School earned spots in the prestigious choirs, showcasing their hard work and exceptional talent. Special congratulations go to Arodginay Blakey, who was selected to perform a solo in Give Us Hope. Included are performances of Give Us Hope and Laudamus Te that demonstrated not only vocal skills but also the spirit of teamwork and commitment. These accomplishments are a testament to the hard work of our students, and we couldn’t be more proud of their achievements.

A special thanks goes to returning KEDC grant member Lynn Przygoda, Leestown’s choral director, whose expertise and dedication continue to inspire excellence in music education. The arts are alive and thriving in Kentucky!

8th grade students at Tates Creek Middle School have been working with a new medium, oil pastels! We have been practicing a variety of skills from grid drawing to color intensity to scale factor working with 5x5 inch photos and scaling up to 10 inch by 10 inch art pieces!

Meanwhile, 7th grade students have been working on colored pencil blending and grid drawing, creating the three dimensional effects given by balloon animals.

Let me introduce myself. I am Kristy Rice (Salley). I have taught in Pulaski County for the past 20 years. The first four in elementary special education, the last sixteen in middle school Visual Art. I have changed my teaching styles many times and have since settled on Teaching Artist Behavior, also known as TAB. It is a very choice based art program and it was difficult getting started, but it served well especially after Covid. And just like any other creative soul, when you get things the way you like or need them, something changes. That change happened to be me. I relocated to a new district, new school, new age group. I now teach in Perry County, where I was born and raised, at Perry County Central High School, grades 9-12.

I wasn’t sure how I was going to let my staff know what was going on in the ‘new’ art teacher’s classroom. See, they have had the same teacher for around 30 years, and they knew what to expect. But I am the new kid on the block, with 20 years experience 2 hours west. I finally decided on an email to the entire staff. I titled it the Commodore Artists and ever so often I would email the staff with what we were doing in each class and invite them to come check out the wonderful work I had on display in my gallery, glass showcase outside of our auditorium. I’m not quite sure if they really do, but the very first one, I am probably the most proud of. Here is an excerpt from that email:

“Happy Friday everyone! I just wanted to update you as promised on some wonderful artwork. In the display case you will find new additions from Art 2 mainly, a couple from Art 3/4. Art ¾ are working diligently so those will be added next week. So, Symbolic Self-Portraits have been amazing. The conversations we have had in class about how they can properly represent a person, a memory, a feeling, far exceeds anything you will find elsewhere! The creativeness and thought process that occurs when students are given freedom to make, create, and build is mind blowing! Then... Yes, there's more. Then I read artist statements that my students wrote that go with their artworks. WOW! I learned so much about my students from this one assignment! There is so much heartbreak and loss in my students, in our students. It weighs heavy on me, on us. But, for me, part of my WHY is this. Providing my students an outlet. A place to create, to mourn, to celebrate, to be themselves, to grow, to fail, to succeed, to experiment, to design, to create, to collaborate, to perfect, to turn their ideas into beautiful art! I have attached a doc that has some excerpts from some of my artist statements. I did not provide names, just parts... And as always please come and enjoy the new artwork as it will be changing out and being rearranged this week. Here are some of those artist statements:

” the reason I made this is I cope with dark humor.”,

“This piece depicts how I coped and healed with her loss.”,

“My look into this project was to show what helps guide me. What's helped me in my lowest points. On your right you see the Perry football field which what helped me stay active and to be loud and glad and have friends in my life not only that people who I would call brothers. Now on your left you see guitar pics falling slowly which shows my love for music mainly the guitar which three showing the most that being Nirvana, Green day, and Metallica being three of my top and favorite bands. Lastly in the middle and some off the page is the somewhat 3D guitar which of course is my number one instrument and the one I know to play and what has helped me through arguments break ups and plenty more.”

“My inspiration came from everything that happens in my life as a teenage girl. The head obviously represents the inside of my head, the books' how much I care about my academic career, the Bible, my relationship with God, the key is my first car that I worked hard to buy myself…”

“The art piece above is what I consider myself. The eye is to represent a glimpse into what I love about life. The butterflies in this drawing are a representation of life and hope. The flowers in my eyes symbolize growth…”

“I also wanted to add in the cross because religion was hard for me at this time. I wondered why God had "cursed" my mother with this cancer. I wanted the blood on it to show how I was angry at that time.”,

“But, the ground fades into one another because even as time passes, grieving doesn't.” “This is all for my self portrait box. I hope that whoever is dealing with grief and loss, there are rough times, but there is always light at the end of the road.”,

“...for the doll, it's because someday's I just don't feel like a person I just feel like a doll doing things out of my control or at least feel that way.”

“The piece revolves around how the person who lives in this room left their mark, and who the person is. It represents me as a person and where I wake up every day. Who I am.”

“The things inside the jar are things I keep to myself and the things out of the jar represent what I let people know about me. “

“The reason behind this piece was to show how I visualize myself in the environment I'm most familiar with…”

“This is because it represents me who is an ordinary man. Everything in this box has a purpose and represents me. The green box represents the biggest inspiration in my life which is my grandpa who passed away…”

“The peace sign represents how I'm a peaceful person who strives for peace and doesn't believe in violence…”

"Box of My Life" because I wanted it to represent things I consider my hobbies- for example, I wanted the magazine cutout collages to symbolize my love of reading, or for the butterflies to represent my enjoyment of art and nature…”

There is nothing more to say after reading those. I continue to send emails regarding what we are working on, and now the Arts Department is working on our Winter Fine Arts Night, December 19th.

At MVES, we STICK together! So, creating some public art to express our value of community was a fitting way to start the new school year. As each student came to the art room this year, our welcome back to art class activity was an unconventional self portrait on a tongue depressor! Students were asked to draw a portrait of themselves in their first day outfit, favorite shirt, or the “ideal” outfit that would show off their unique personality best.

From August through October, new classes created the cutest tongue depressor portraits while discussing public art and what collaboration in art can look like. They were excited to hear that this installment, the MVES Stick Together Project, would be travelling to our high school this coming spring to be displayed during the District Arts Showcase. As I was working on painting the background, students were able to observe my progress. They like seeing how the big artwork was made out of four panels placed together.

The project was very low cost! One large box of tongue depressors covered my 1st through 5th grades (about 500 students) and I re-used the back side of vinyl yard signs as the backdrop for this masterpiece. The students used Crayola markers for the portraits and the background was painted with inexpensive acrylic paints. To finish the panels off, I glued quarter round pieces to the back of the sign for sturdiness and installed hanging hooks and wire. (As a side note, I plan to seal the panels with a clear coating when weather permits.)

Voila! Just in time for a thankful November, the project panels were finally complete. Teachers have complemented how beautifully it all came together and the students have been so excited to see the finished panels on display. Their smiles are tremendous and I have been surprised how quickly they are able to find their personal portraits. Hmmm, maybe I should have hidden Waldo in there somewhere!

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My name is Heather Foister and I am the Musical Theatre teacher at Somerset High School. I began my teaching career in 2013 and have done a mural project with my students each year since starting teaching. Each class is given a list of Musical Theatre songs to choose from to create their own visual representation for. Samples of each song are played for the class and then students vote as a class which song they want to use for their mural project. Once the song is chosen, students are provided with blank sheets of paper of the same size to create their artistic representation on. They are encouraged to listen to the lyrics but also to choose their colors based on the timbre of the instrumentation and voices heard in the piece of music. Timbre is defined as the quality of a sound. It is how we, as listeners, can distinguish the difference between a flute and a bassoon. Timbre qualities are often described as light and bright, dark and heavy, or somewhere in between. Students are not required to have their artwork match the timbre of the song, (Example: a bright sound could be represented by the color yellow) but can use it as direction for choosing their color palette should they want to. Once the individual artworks are completed, they are connected together to create a mural. This year, my Musical Theatre classes chose the following songs: Breaking Free from Disney’s High School Musical, Friend Like Me from Disney’s Aladdin, and Circle of Life from Disney’s The Lion King (for those who know my love of Disney, I promise I provided options outside of Disney!). These murals are currently available for viewing in the hallway outside of my classroom and serve as unique interpretations of the songs. What I love about this year’s results is how colorful they are! For years, we used the colored pencils I had available in my classroom alone. This year, we were able to use paint sticks and specialty markers provided by KEDC to enrich the outcome of this activity! I even had a teacher comment on how vibrant the drawings were in comparison to past years. Thank you KEDC for providing these new mediums for my students to use in their creations this school year!

After viewing art pieces such as The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci and Handcart Pioneer and The Loop by William Henry Jackson, students created drawings focused on one-point perspective.

Motivated by the virtual presentation “Arts and History Integration with the New-York Historical Society” with Molly DePippo, 2nd through 6th graders discussed cross-curricular concepts such as foreground, background, and perspective. The lesson emphasized how these concepts have similar meanings in both art and language arts. For their artwork, students designed a desert setting with a road leading to a vanishing point, incorporating cacti in the foreground, middleground, and background to demonstrate how scenery changes with distance.

Students enjoyed exploring how art connects with other subjects and created impressive pieces for their spring art show.

Corbin High School students attended Eastern Kentucky University’s Open Studio Day in November, where they engaged in hands-on workshops taught by EKU professors. The group of students are members of Corbin’s National Art Honor Society.

Students began their day in a Graphic Design workshop where they were introduced to EKU’s graphic design program and learned about prospective career opportunities in this field. Students were then challenged with an activity of choosing a random object at their table, tracing it on paper, and then incorporating that object into a new drawing.

Our next workshop was Ceramics, where students created a mask from air dryer clay and incorporated relief qualities. They were excited to be able to take the masks home with them.

The art history professor challenged students in a competitive game of art history trivia using Kahoot. After this, we spent some time in maker spaces in the Printmaking studio. The stations ranged from paper-making, eraser carvings, scratchboards, and shrinky dinks.

The benefits of this trip are immeasurable for students. Not only is it an excellent recruitment opportunity for EKU’s Art Department, but this trip also exposes students to college art studios, working with college art professors, and encourages creativity through a variety of art making and creative challenges.

During spooky season, students enjoy planning their costumes, while I look forward to one of my favorite lessons: movie makeup. Each October, fifth and sixth-graders explore this interesting artistic career, considering professional zombie examples from film and television. Together, we glue ruffled toilet tissue to our arms, blend foundation colors to match skin tones, and apply a mix of corn syrup and food coloring to create our gruesome faux wounds. I love connecting lessons to real-world professions, and I have to smile when even the primmest students hesitate to wash off their masterpieces. Students, who are as passionate as I am about this medium, often take their knowledge outside the classroom to enhance their own death-defying looks for a ghoulish night of Trick-or-treating. I am so proud to see these children, using their creative brains…BRAINS!

I had the pleasure of leading an Arts Immersion with the faculty and staff at Foley Middle School during a professional development day. As part of a team-building exercise, we explored ceramics with a textural slab ware lesson. Many of the adults had not worked with clay before and truly enjoyed the experience. They each learned how to roll out the clay to a specific thickness, then used a variety of tools, stamps, and trinkets to create a textural effect on the surface. Once that was completed, they cut the clay slab into a circular shape and smoothed out the edges to prepare it for a drape. The ceramic pieces were fired, then an underglaze applied and the exterior surface was wiped off to leave a colorant in the textural grooves, and a clear glaze applied for the finishing. There were laughs, fun stories, teamwork as the adults assisted each other, and each person successfully created a ceramic bowl.

On Thursday, November 21st, Arts and Humanities students had a special opportunity to create a stained glass ornament. Craig Combs, our Full Service Community Service Director, was able to schedule artist, Jill Robertson to come in and work with our students. Jill introduced the students to the procedure and the tools that they would be using. Then the students began creating their masterpieces. Students were excited to create Christmas tree ornaments from beginning to end. They marked and cut the glass, cleaned the glass, taped the glass, applied the fusing adhesive and soldered the pieces together. This is a challenging and unique art form and we are thankful for the opportunity provided that allowed our students to experience this special art form with a full hands-on approach. They students thoroughly enjoyed the craft and were proud of their final products.

Carla Prather's students in Fleming County recently performed Elf The Musical, Jr.

We are thrilled to announce that the Foley Middle School Band Program has been selected as a recipient of the Peter R. Marsh Foundation Grant! This funding will provide support to our band program, alleviating some of the financial challenges that come with providing a high-quality music education to our students.

The grant will be used to help cover the costs of instruments, music, and other necessary resources, ensuring that all students, regardless of financial background, have the opportunity to participate in and enjoy the band program. In addition, the Peter R. Marsh Foundation Grant will allow our talented students to perform at local senior living facilities, while also giving them an opportunity to visit with the residents. Our upcoming performance has been scheduled for December 10th at the Dominion Senior Living Facility in Richmond where the students will perform Christmas Carols and give out handmade Christmas cards to the residents. We are incredibly grateful to the Peter R. Marsh Foundation for their support, and we look forward to seeing how this grant will empower our students to grow, perform, and contribute to the local community.

Hopkins Elementary School has won a national award, the ESEA Distinguished Schools Award! This prestigious accolade highlights schools that demonstrate outstanding achievement and significant improvement in student performance. At most, two schools from every state are selected each year for the ESEA Distinguished Schools Award. The award highlights the dedication of the teachers, staff, and the entire school community in providing a high-quality education and fostering an inclusive environment for all students. This recognition showcases Hopkins Elementary's commitment to excellence and our ability to inspire students to reach their full potential. This award reflects the school’s deep-rooted values of growing the whole child and high academic achievement.

To meet the needs of our ELL population, Hopkins Elementary has a dedicated English Language teacher, interventionist, and instructional assistant who provides services in students’ native language when possible. Recently, we hired multiple bilingual staff members, and our regular education teachers frequently use translators to augment tier-1 instruction and communicate with ELL parents. Our teachers have received professional development tailored to the needs of our ELL population so they can differentiate instruction, and the interventionist helps provide oral native language support. We believe in and demonstrate that quality education stems from intentional partnerships with our families and community stakeholders. One of our yearly highlights is Multicultural Day, where we showcase various cultures worldwide with in-person speakers and a parade of nations. Also, we are proud that our students attend the annual International Festival hosted by Somerset Community College. Our Parent-Teacher Organization holds concurrent English/Spanish PTO meetings so our ELL families can have a stronger voice. Hopkins Elementary provides a rich learning culture for ALL students and gives them access to a quality education in a loving environment. We are honored to receive the National ESEA Distinguished Schools Award for excellence in serving English Language Learner students. Go Jumpers!

Mrs. Metcalf from Foley Middle School, Berea, 7th grade class used Finch Robots to create Abstract Art. They worked with the micro-bit computer chip and used block-based coding to create different shapes, using a mathematical equation. Students used the Crayola Paint Brush Pens placed in the Finch Robots to draw the shapes. Once the students had shapes with 3 through 8 sides, they colored the shapes using Abstract Art; art that does not attempt to represent reality, but seeks to achieve its effect using shapes, forms, colors, and textures.

My 5th grade students recently learned how to explore Canva and AI Image generators to make their own Christmas bookmark.

Fourth grade students navigating how to use Storyboard That to create a Digital Citizenship Superhero during Digital Citizenship Week in October.

On November 6, 2024, Rowan County Middle School held its inaugural Family Engagement Night, offering a fantastic opportunity to showcase the impressive projects students have been working on.

Digital Literacy students proudly presented their projects, demonstrating not only their hard work but also how these projects incorporated their Valiant Viking skills—an essential part of their learning journey. Their engaging presentations underscored the valuable lessons and teamwork they’ve embraced throughout the semester.

The evening also shined a spotlight on STLP Creative Digital Arts projects.

To top it all off, the STLP Tech Team was on hand to assist parents and students with any technology issues!

Family Engagement Night was a great success, fostering connections between the school, students, and their families while celebrating the remarkable achievements of RCMS students.

Checkout the link below for the Fine Arts November Newsletter for FCPS

Title of the Book “Listen for the Lie” by Amy Tintera

Genre - Suspense, Mystery, Dark Comedy

“Listen for the Lie” by Amy Tintera was recommended to me by a colleague and friend. I purchased the book for the High School Media Center and had the pleasure of reading the title over the Thanksgiving break. The title is catchy and interesting and that is what first drew my attention. The book is set in a small town where everyone knows everyone including Lucy and her BFF Savvy. The book centers around these two main characters even though one is dead. Lucy is found wandering the streets with her best friend’s blood on her and is accused but not convicted of murdering Savvy. A podcast reporter is determined to catch the real killer (even though it may very well be Lucy). He convinces Lucy to help him with his podcast and she agrees to be interviewed on air. The story centers around a series of interviews by the podcaster in which everyone in town participates in listening. The book is therefore written like a play manuscript in which each character shares their story on air while the podcaster is asking questions. I have to admit I had a difficult time remembering and following this writing style. Even though the book was a good read, I think it would be best enjoyed as an auditory book. In the end, the mystery is solved and everyone in town exhales a sigh of relief now that the mystery is solved and the murderer has to pay for their actions. I give it 4 stars because it held my attention but not to a 5 star review because of the writing style. If you enjoy light suspense with a hit of comedy, this book is for you.

Mrs. Worrell and the 8th grade band along with Mrs. Strunk’s leadership class, Gifted and Talented students, and Ms. Murrey’s 8th grade Language Arts class, lead a school-wide assembly in honor of Veterans Day. The program was student-lead and narrated by students. The 8th grade band performed patriotic musical selections, a student read a poem they wrote, we had a guest speaker, and Veterans of family members were honored through a slideshow and invited to the program. Afterwards, Veterans and guests of honor enjoyed refreshments with their students, thanks to donations and the service of the leadership class. Many students had decorated and created special cards for our guests as well. (Photos by fellow Renaissance leader, Rebecca Isaacs.)

This year, our school hosted its very first Thanksgiving parade, and it was an event unlike any other. Instead of taking place outdoors, the parade moved through the school’s hallways, transforming our usual academic environment into a lively and festive space. One of the most exciting and unique elements of the parade was the use of balloons made entirely out of aluminum foil. This choice of material brought a fresh artistic twist to the event and highlighted the creativity and teamwork of the students involved.

As the day of the parade approached, excitement filled the air. The hallways, typically quiet and bustling with the sound of students between classes, were decorated with vibrant, homemade artwork, festive banners, and autumn-themed decorations. Teachers and students had worked together to create an inviting, celebratory atmosphere. When the parade began, there were no floats or large outdoor displays—just a procession of students walking proudly down the hallways, showcasing their artistic creations.

The highlight of the parade was the stunning aluminum foil balloons. These were unlike any balloons traditionally seen in parades. Instead of being made of rubber or Mylar, these balloons were carefully constructed using wire frames that were wrapped with shimmering aluminum foil. The reflective nature of the foil gave the balloons a magical appearance, catching the light as they floated through the halls. This was an amazing event and I can’t wait to do it again next year!

📅 Event Date: Saturday, January 11 (Virtual)This is your chance to inspire peers, build connections, and share innovative tech strategies!

• Theme: Technology/Strategies for All Contents & Classrooms
• Presentation Length: 45 minutes (including Q&A)
• Why Present? Recognition, professional development, and a stipend!

💰 Deadline: QUICKLY Approaching

Request $100–$1,000 to support civic engagement projects in one of three areas:

• Planning (e.g., project design, curriculum prep)
• Enacting (e.g., field trips, guest speakers, student activities)
• Showcasing (e.g., events, digital presentations)
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This is a great way to bring civic learning to life and empower students to create real-world impact.