Inspiring video
PS22 is a school located on Staten Island. They performed a Tori Amos song that is on YouTube. PS22 videos have been viewed by 9,000,000 since August 30, 2009. Below you can view the chorus during their final rehearsal of “Pictures of You” by The Cure. Thank you to Barbara Greenstone, MLTI teacher, for sharing this link. She first heard about PS22 on National Public Radio.
Fostering innovation, creativity, active participation, and collaboration
The American Association of School Librarians website has listed the 25 best websites for teaching and learning.
The topics include:
I think this is an interesting list of topics and suggest you check it out and judge for yourself. Hopefully you will find useful information.
Thank you Shalimar Poulin, Gardiner Area High School art teacher, for passing this on to me. You can access it by clicking here.
Nana Yaw Kwakye
I spoke to Nana recently and he shared the offerings that Adinkra has for music and dance. They brings Elephant horns, Flutes, Balaphones, African Violins, Fontomfrom Drums and other instruments to share authentic culture in Maine schools.
ADINKRA’s music is a qualitatively new system of making African music that utilizes characteristics from diverse indigenous society on the continent. The result is unlike the music of any particular African society, but contains elements identifiable within individual musical cultures in Africa. It is with the system that ADINKRA explores fundamentally new directions in African music composition.
The instrumentation of the ensemble comprises two atenteben (seven holed vertical bamboo flutes); two gyile (anhemitonic pentatonic xylophones); a set of atsimevu drums (comprising one master drum and four supporting drums); a set of fontomfrom drums (comprising two master drums and five supporting drums); four djembe palm drums; it also includes four highly spirited dancers who are also singers that will electrify, excite and thrill students during this tour. “Music is the universal message and our first love,” says Nana Yaw Kwakye. “It is our desire to share our culture and heritage as well as share its timely message of unity…nothing unifies people like music and dance.”
You can learn more by visiting their website at or by contacting Nana at 248-747-2141 or nkwakye2@hotmail. You can visit their website by clicking here. See more in the video below.
Keynote speaker is educator, producer, media artist
October 15 and 16 the Association of Computer Technology Educators of Maine (ACTEM) will host their annual MAINEducation Technology conference at the Augusta Civic Center. This is their 22nd annual called The Way Learning Should Be where Marco Torres will be the keynote speaker and do two breakout sessions.
Marco teaches Media in a public California high school outside of Los Angeles. Whenever Torres asks students, “What is one of the most influential things in your life?”, it’s always something they’ve seen, heard, or experienced. Digital storytelling brings it all together: text, images, moving art, emotion, experience.
Taken from the ACTEM website:
For Marco “learning is not just how you receive information but how you produce it.” He teaches his students how to celebrate their culture, build communities, and how (and why) to use multimedia tools to share their very special stories and ideas with the world. “It’s not about technology, it’s about creativity,” Marco emphasizes.
It should be fascinating to see and hear Marco in action, we are fortunate to have someone of his gifts to share at the ACTEM conference.
To learn more about the conference, how to register and more about ACTEM please click here.
I see that arts teachers Roger Whitney, Sarah Sutter, and Ann Marie Quirion Hutton are presenting workshops at the conference as well!
ACTEM has great learning opportunities
The mission of ACTEM is to enhance and influence education in Maine through the use of technology. I find that ACTEM does an incredibly wonderful job of fulfilling their mission year after year!
The cost of an individual ACTEM membership is $10.00. and an Institutional membership is $25.00. The benefits include:
ACTEM has made a financial donation to support our The Arts Connect! conference being held on October 8 and 9th at Point Lookout. Thank you ACTEM for your support!
Please click here for ACTEM’s website to learn more about their opportunities.
WORLDS AFIRE in Rockland by Maine poet Paul B. Janeczko
Maine Alliance for Arts Education (MAAE) is having a fund raiser on September 26th at the Lincoln Street Center for Arts in Rockland at 7:30. Tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for students, seniors or MAAE members. The center is a charming place that was originally Rockland High School and Rockland Middle School.
Open Book Players will perform Paul Janeczko’s WORLDS AFIRE. The literary work is based on a tragic fire during a July 1944 performance of the Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus in Hartford, Connecticut. On that fateful day a fire broke out in the Big Top, and in a matter of minutes 168 people lost their lives and over 500 more were injured. Janeczko’s powerful and moving collection of poems about the event has been turned into an award-winning performance by the Open Book Players under the direction of Artist Director Lucy Rioux. Bob McIntire, from the Department, will be performing with the Open Book Players.
Paul will be on hand to answer questions about that fateful circus fire. Tickets include a reception with the artist and refreshments following the performance there will be refreshments.
For further information on tickets please contact Rita Daggett at 268-4071.
Support the Maine Alliance for Arts Education, the only statewide nonprofit organization that works to strengthen education in all of the arts for all Maine students.
Integrating core skills, arts improves at DV school – an article from The Arizona Republic, 9-13-09, written by Jeffrey Javier
My colleague in Arizona, Lynn Tuttle, explains the importance of an integrated education. “Kids that are artistically motivated to incorporate those talents into different core-learning areas that help them go deeper in their learning and make more connections, is a beneficial pairing.”
The article is about the school called Renaissance Gifted Academy and Music Academy at Esperanza Elementary School in north Phoenix. To read the entire article please click here. And, comment below.
Closing ceremony
Mark Harrington's sculpture, Franklin, ME
It was a delight to return to visit the sculptures again this summer before they leave Schoodic. On the afternoon I recently visited, many of the other visitors there were retired. I couldn’t think of a better way to spend a beautiful Maine September day! The sky was blue and the sculptures were all but complete. I enjoyed looking at the art but also watching and listening to the visitors as they interacted with the sculptures and each other about the work.
And again, I returned for the closing ceremony that was attended by (my guess) 200 people. It was a wonderful event. Lisa Blanchette, who teaches music at the Ella Lewis School in Steuben and Peninsula School in Gouldsboro, and three of her students sang as part of the celebration. The artists each said a few words and the children presented them with beautiful flowers.
Songul Telek from Turkey, sculpture will be in Bar Harbor
The conference planners, many volunteers, and visitors that came over and over were thrilled to be there to applaud and appreciate the artists one last time before they depart.
The sun was not shining but the smiles on everyone’s faces brought much bright light everywhere I looked. The visitors were around, in between and on the sculptures.
As the symposium came to a close I wondered about the next one
Lisa Blanchette with students at closing
planned for 2011. I look forward to returning to watch the creation of several more sculptures. If you weren’t able to visit during the symposium the sculptures will remain until the end of the month and some maybe longer. They will be installed in the towns of Franklin, Machias, Gouldsboro, Deer Isle/Stonington, Bar Harbor, and Lamoine. If you’d like to read and learn more about the symposium please click here. You can tour the region to see the sculptures from 2007 and 2009 (when completed).
Closing ceremony
November 13 and 14, Camden
The 2009 Juice Conference that takes place on November 13 and 14 in Downtown Camden, will bring together over 500 of Maine’s most creative entrepreneurs, artists, innovators and statewide leaders at the intersection of technology, tradition and design for the purpose of charting the future of Maine’s economy.
This conference, “Building Maine’s Innovation Networks,” asks participants from across the state to come together to explore the power of creativity and innovation in protecting Maine’s quality of place while transforming Maine’s economy. Connecting our history with the future, investing in technology and design, introducing young and established leaders, fostering art and culture, and protecting and promoting our natural resources; these are elements of the creative economy and these are themes that will carry throughout the conference.
“Juice 2.0 – Building Maine’s Innovation Networks” will connect leaders of the creative economy which will help foster growth and prosperity,” said Skip Bates, President of the Midcoast Magnet Board and VP of Business Banking for Bangor Savings, which is the conference’s lead sponsor. “Our programs committee has woven together the arts, technology, and entrepreneurship to present the interrelated tapestry that is Maine’s economy. Juice inspires innovation by bringing talented people together from widely different backgrounds to build on Maine’s traditions. The conference is a forum for the exchange of ideas, the sharing of success stories, and the development of strategies for Maine’s future.”
To allow attendees the chance to give their critically important insight on the themes of the conference, over forty breakout sessions have been created that will take place throughout downtown Camden over the two days. The sessions were developed by a strong creative partnership that includes Midcoast Magnet, The Maine Arts Commission, Realize! Maine, Build Green Maine and the Maine Innovation Economy Advisory Board, as well as collaboration by Waterfall Arts Conflux and MEBSR. There will also be ample opportunity to socialize during various functions and entertainment breaks.
Entertainment at the conference will include performances by world class performers, such as The Liz Lerman Dance Exchange who will perform on Saturday evening (tickets available through Bay Chamber Concerts) and Aniruddha Knight who will be performing during the conference. Other entertainment includes the ever popular Pecha Kucha on Friday night, which will be followed by a party in downtown Camden.
Conference tickets cost $175 if purchased before October 15, and $225 thereafter. Special rates are available for volunteers, speakers and for groups with 4 or more attendees. To find out more about what the conference offers, and to register, set up a group rate, or for more information on volunteering or the event in general go to: http://www.juiceconference.org or email info@juiceconference.org.
To become a part of the Juice social network you can visit the recently launched Juice blog that is linked to the Juice Facebook and Juice Twitter accounts.
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