Demopolis High School Update

Demopolis High School students have been hard at work. Posted above are photos from our annual talent show held on Feb 1, 2007, during which students entertained a sold-out audience. Winners will perform at our spring community audit on April 3, 2007. Congratulations to all performers! The level of talent gets higher each year. Our drama department is now preparing for its spring musical, School House Rock. We will publish those performance dates soon.

Music on Our Schools Month/Youth Art Month

March is both "Music in Our Schools Month" and "Youth Art Month." There is no better time to promote your programs to the media (not to mention post your activities here!).

CSAT Participates in Black History Programs

The Camden School of Arts and Technology's student Magnificient Melodies Choir, Inspirational dance team and guest performer, Ms. Rose Vivian Powe traveled to Monroeville, Alabama to the Monroe County Heritage Museum to participate on its Annual Black History Program sponsored by Ms. Denise Ware, a teacher at Beatrice Elementary School. The choir performed "I am Free" and "This Little Light of Mine" and the dance group did an African dance. Ms. Powe performed a tribute to the late Mahalia Jackson with a biography with songs. These same perfomances were done at the school's own program days earlier.

CSAT--334-682-4514

Mrs. Shernita Andrews, Art Education Teacher

Mr. Andre' Saulsberry, Principal

Ms. Lashonda Dear, Asst. Principal

Dr. Rosie Shamburger, Superintendent

CSAT Students Artwork at Black Belt Treasures

Camden School of Arts & Technology's art students have works displayed at local business, "Black Belt Treasures" in Camden, Alabama. Black Belt Treasures features artists from the Black Belt area's products and artworks. Many include: Charlie Lucas, Gees Bend quilters, literary authors: Mary Ward Brown, Hank Sanders and many, many more. The student's works are on display until February 28th, then they will travel to local businesses for display and finally to the school for permanent display.

CSAT Quilts on Display in Auburn

Two of three student-made quilts will be on display in the Auburn University Museum in Auburn, Alabama. The quilts were inspired by the Gees Bend quilters who are from the area of the students in Mrs. Shernita Andrews' class. The students hand-sewed the blocks using scrap materials from school and at home. This quilt and the one that was on display at ASF will be there for about two weeks beginning the weekend of February 25th. The students are excited once again to share with the rest of the world, their own unique designs using a familiar technique.

Camden School of Arts & Technology

334-682-4514

Mrs. Shernita Andrews, Art Education Teacher

Mr. Andre' Saulsberry, Principal

Ms. Lashonda Dear, Asst. Principal

Dr. Rosie Shamburger, Superintendent

CSAT Quilt on Display at ASF

The first of three student-made quilts was on display at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival in Montgomery, Alabama. The quilt was one of several student quilts displayed in the lobby during the production of the "Gees Bend" play. All of the blocks were designed, cut and sewn by Mrs. Shernita Andrews' students at Camden School of Arts and Technology in Wilcox, Alabama under the direction of Gees Bend former resident, Mrs. Marlene Bennett-Jones during a artist-in-residency project.

Camden School of Art & Technology

334-682-4515

Mrs. Shernita Andrews, Art Education Teacher

Mr. Andre' Saulsberry, Principal

Ms. Lashonda Dear, Asst. Principal

Dr. Rosie Shamburger, Superintendent

CSAT Quilting Project

CSAT Students Quilting Project

The students of Camden School of Arts and Technology’s recently created quilts, under the direction of art education teacher Mrs. Andrews and artist-in-resident, Mrs. Marlene Bennett-Jones. The result is the first ever student-made quilts from Camden. The idea for this project was inspired by a workshop sponsored by the Alabama Humanities Foundation under the direction of Tom Bryant and Professor Nancy Anderson at Auburn University of Montgomery entitled: Prisms of Place that was attended by Mrs. Shernita Andrews, Art Education teacher and other teachers from across the state of Alabama last summer. This workshop taught and enlightened the teachers on taking pride and becoming aware of the Black Belt area along with its rich history and resources. Creating quilts by the students was a way for them to not only gain a sense of pride in the skill that the women of Gees Bend did, but to also learn the skill that was passed down from generation to generation. Marlene Bennett-Jones was raised in Gees Bend and learned how to quilt from her mother, Agatha Bennett. She picked the trade back up after coming home from Atlanta, Georgia to take care of her ailing mother. As a result, she has rekindled a love for quilting that she shared with the art students during a two week stay. The students learned how to thread needles, pin material, stitch pieces of fabrics and clothing from home, into the blocks that are seen in the quilts. They even “Stitched in a ditch” on a wooden horse to get the full affect of putting all the components of a top, batting and backing together to make a quilt. This process keeps the quilt together with the many hand-sewn stitching. The over 100 students enjoyed this project along with Mrs. Andrews, Mrs. Jones and parent volunteer, Mrs. Audrey Pettway.
The quilt was created for viewing by everyone to see the skills of the students in expressing their talents. Mrs. Andrews is very proud of the students’ efforts and the outcome is EXCELLENT! She gives thanks to Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Pettway for their time and energy to help this project to become a success. The students have now experienced not only learning a part of their heritage in quilting, but get to share in the gratification of showing it to the rest of the world.


CAMDEN SCHOOL OF ARTS & TECHNOLOGY
334-682-4514 phone
334-682-5934 fax
Superintendent: Dr. Rosie Shamburger
Principal: Mr. Andre’ Saulsberry
Art Teacher: Mrs. Shernita Andrews
Quilting Artist: Mrs. Marlene Bennett-Jones

Reader's Theatre Scripts and Plays

This link will take you to a set of Reader's Theatre Scripts and Plays. Each is a free download. The dialogue in the plays helps build reading fluency and helps place emphasis on giving meaning to the spoken words instead of simply calling words. Some of the links appear to be dead, but on the whole, teachers will find useable material, and it's all free.

The Guntersville High School production of “Annie” is February 22, 23 and 24 at 7:00 PM at the GHS auditorium.

This is an all student driven production – students do lighting, sound, play in the orchestra, assist with costuming, make-up, set design, stage crew, t- shirt design, program, publicity, choreography, etc. Grades 6 through 12 are represented in this production.

If any schools are interested in seeing the production, back stage tour, or meeting with the choir teacher (Christi Painter) and myself (Val Jones) - we would be more than happy to go over the local grant funding, our scheduling and what and how this is put together. Please contact me
in advance. [ mailto:vjones1211@charter.net ]vjones1211@charter.net or call 256-582-2046 pr cell phone 256-293-0991.

******** WE ARE ALSO PERFORMANCE FOR THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ON FEB. 22 AT
8:00 AM

Request for Site Visit Date

Arts coordinators,
I am in the process of organizing my site visit calendar. The purpose of my visit will be to review your arts pilot plan, including professional development opportunities, and review your budget. If time permits, I would like to have an opportunity to randomly visit with some of the teachers.

Please send me the dates that WILL NOT work for you to meet with me, including your spring break and testing dates.
Also, if you have not held your Community Audit, please contact Donna Russell (334-269-1435) to set a time for her to come to your school.

I look forward to hearing from you with this information. As always, feel free to contact me with your questions and concerns.

Have a nice day,

Sara Wright
334-242-8059
swright@alsde.edu

Request for Site Visit Date

Arts coordinators,
I am in the process of organizing my site visit calendar. The purpose of my visit will be to review your arts pilot plan, including professional development opportunities, and review your budget. If time permits, I would like to have an opportunity to randomly visit with some of the teachers.

Please send me the dates that WILL NOT work for you to meet with me, including your spring break and testing dates.
Also, if you have not held your Community Audit, please contact Donna Russell (334-269-1435) to set a time for her to come to your school.

I look forward to hearing from you with this information. As always, feel free to contact me with your questions and concerns.

Have a nice day,

Sara Wright
334-242-8059
swright@alsde.edu

New Blogger account

For those who are posting to this blog, you will see something a little new the next time you go to post.

The blog has been moved over to what Blogger calls the "New Blogger." You will be asked to establish a Google account. You will fill in your e-mail address and create a password. From then on, when you log in, it will be with the e-mail password instead of your present username and password.

Lula Elzy dancers perform at Auburn University

On January 22, 2007, four schools from the Black Belt Arts Education Initiative attended a dance concert and master class sponsored by the Auburn University Department of Theatre. About 120 students, led by teachers Beth Taylor, Byrd Elementary, Selma; Jody White, Demopolis High, Demopolis; Kathy Capps, South Highlands Middle, Bullock County; and Adrian Cambridge, Uniontown Elementary, Perry County, were among the 300 students who traveled to Auburn for the performance by the Lula Elzy New Orleans Dance Theatre. Elzy, an award-winning choreographer and dancer, and her troupe have been described as "a company that strives to present multicultural interpretations of dance and music."

above: Kevin Gaudin dances to the spiritual "I Got a Robe."

below: Dancer Kevin Gaudin leads student participants.

bottom: The Lula Elzy Dance Theatre ensemble onstage at Auburn University.


photos: Melissa Humble, Auburn University Photographic Services

What if can't find a music teacher…

That's exactly the question I was asking myself in the summer of 1999. When my music teacher resigned with less than a month to go before the first day of school, I found out very quickly that every possible candidate had already been hired. We were looking at the very real possibility of a year with no music teacher. We were determined that it would not be a year with no music. The good news is that we did find a music teacher, one who is still at that school today. Thank goodness we did not have to resort to "Plan B," but the thought process that went into "Plan B" may be helpful to those who do not have a music teacher now.

Education Week had run a short piece some years prior that listed 26 songs that everyone should know. As we tried to piece together something that would be doable within the classroom, establishing a common repertoire of songs was not a bad start. That list of 26 songs was part of an initiative called "Get America Singing…Again." The materials for the project are still available, and all of the information can be found here.

At $16.95 for the teacher's guide and $3.95 for a student book ($34.95 for a pack of 10 student books), this may be something that would you want to examine.