September 27, 28 – USM, Portland
The 2018 Maine State Teacher of the Year, Kaitlin Young, will provide an engaging keynote at the Arts Education Pre-Conference: At the HEART of Arts Education and provide seeds of inspiration to help you create action steps for your work at the school and/or community level. Attend as individuals or consider bringing a team from your school and/or community. The day will start and conclude with creative art and music making.
The Pre-MICA conference At the HEART of Arts Education will take place at the Abromson Center, USM, Portland on Thursday, September 27, 8:00 – 4:00. Registration is $50 and includes lunch and the opening session of the Maine International Conference on the Arts on Thursday evening in Hannaford Hall.
The Pre-MICA Arts Education conference participants will:
- learn skills to improve teaching and learning in the arts;
- collaborate among the arts disciplines: dance, media arts, music, theater, visual arts and creative writing;
- network with other educators and reconnect with old friends;
- make connections between school and community, including arts organizations, artists, and other arts education supporters.
The conference will be a joyous occasion to learn together and celebrate who we are! We are educating the future, the next generation of artists, arts educators, and appreciators of the arts. To do that we need to:
- Instill purpose/passion
- Ensure High Quality Instruction
- Provide relevant and real-world learning experiences
- Empower our students to become the teachers of their generation.
THURSDAY AGENDA
OPENING – Welcome
Story of the South Berwick Lantern Festival
Carol Trimble Award Presentation
MORNING SESSIONS
ART, MUSIC, and DANCE MAKING Attendees will select between Music/Dance session and Lantern making session.
If you choose the Music Making/Dance session participants will have the opportunity to learn:
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Basic African drumming and singing
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Simplified steps to an African dance
FOLI – The word used for rhythm by the Malinke tribe in West Africa. Foli is not only found in Malinke music, but in all parts of their daily lives. FOLI: there is no movement without rhythm
If you choose the Visual Art – Lantern session participants will have the opportunity to learn:
- How in some cultures light holds a symbolic meaning and is an integral part of traditions
- Using your imagination and creativity to create a unique lantern.
- Opportunities to learn from each other how to bring these experiences back to your classroom and or community.
Bon Festival – In Japan this annual festival honors deceased relatives while people spend time with their living family members. At the culmination of the festival families place lanterns on the river to be carried away symbolizing the peaceful return to the afterlife.
Both sessions will culminate in a cross cultural experience and open MICA 2018 with a celebratory processional.
KEYNOTE – The 2018 Maine Teacher of the Year is Kaitlin Young who teaches music at SeDoMoCha School in Dover Foxcroft
LUNCH – Midcoast Music Academy performance
View 15 version of the Ashley Bryan film
AFTERNOON SESSION
Choose Your Own Adventure – participants will be guided through creating a plan to use when they return to their schools and communities. There will an opportunity to share so participants can learn from each other and go back to their individual schools and communities with new ideas.
CLOSING
Participants will lead MICA processional using music/dance and lanterns made earlier in the day to the opening of the Maine International Conference on the Arts reception in Hannford Hall. The opening keynote will follow.
The $50 registration includes the arts ed conference, the opening reception, keynote and performances.
MICA CONFERENCE – FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 8:00 – 5:15
Opening
Maine Artists Idea Lab: Five speakers using the fast-paced and engaging pecha kucha-style format will knock your socks off with their newest innovations. Speakers include:
20 Professional Development Sessions in 5 Tracks Running Concurrently:
LEVERAGING INVESTMENT. Learn to attract and leverage greater investment through corporate sponsorships, development planning, capitalization and more.
BUILDING CAPACITY. All you need to know on strategies for sustainability and increased impact, from an intensive on strategic planning with Julie Richard to a session on The Role of the Arts in Communities in Crisis.
VISIBILITY OF THE ARTS & CULTURAL SECTOR. Discuss ways to increase awareness of creative opportunities, as well as their value to communities and local economies. Participate in a new, two-part workshop by MICA 2016 superstar Matt Lehrman, Opportunity Everywhere, Parts I & II. Or attend a dynamic session hosted by DataArts/The Cultural Data Project on ways to connect your data to stories about your mission and impact, for more effective communications with key stakeholders.
ARTS EDUCATION & LIFELONG LEARNING. Participate in sessions on fostering PK-12 arts education and lifelong learning programs, including Creative Aging and Traditional Arts.
PROMOTING CULTURAL TOURISM. Gather the information you need to enhance experiences and leverage cultural tourism. Hear from organizations on their successes creating experiences outside of traditional venues, or attend a Rural Community Arts Development session facilitated by Maryo Gard Ewell.
Pop-up performances throughout the day.
ARTS EDUCATION SESSIONS
How do teaching, learning and assessment work together in a positive, productive standards-based Visual and Performing Arts classroom?
The use of “standards” and “assessments” in visual and performing arts (VPA) education have been discussed, planned for, and developed over many years. A panel of educators will share the work they have underway. Participants are invited to join the conversation – bring your thoughts, questions, and curiosity on why standards and assessments are used in the arts.
Facilitator – Jeff Beaudry – Associate Professor, Educational Leadership, USM – Overview of Summative and Formative Assessment and Moderator
- Jen Etter – Music, York Middle School
- Kelly Hrenko – Visual Art, USM
- Michele Kaschub – Music, USM
- Holly Leighton – Visual Art, K-12, RSU 67
- John Morris – Dance, Teaching Artist
Brian Evans-Jones and Kris Bisson
When Teaching Artists and Arts Teachers Connect, Students Win
During the past 4 years, teaching artists and arts educators in the Maine Arts Leadership Initiative have collaborated to provide meaningful, purposeful and authentic learning opportunities for students. Educator collaborations provide opportunities for learners that can surpass what a teacher, working alone, can offer. Hear the stories from these collaborators, bring your questions, share your experiences and imagine the possibilities in more Maine schools and communities.
Facilitator: Kate Smith, Central School, South Berwick Music Educator
- Brian Evans-Jones, Writer Teaching Artist and Kris Bisson, Marshwood Middle School Music Educator
- Tim Christensen, Ceramic Teaching Artist and Lori Spruce, Brewer High School Visual Art Educator
- John Morris, Dancer Teaching Artist and Carmel Collins, Lake Region High School Dance Educator
Empowering Your Voice for Arts Education
We often underestimate the power of our passion and voice for arts education. Yet, we’ve seen students, educators, artists, arts organizations and community members find their voice, build their stories and messages, back them up with research and evidence, and become leaders and advocates for arts education in powerful ways. In this session, we will explore ways to empower our voices, use helpful resources that are just clicks away, and be on our way to making an impact with our hopes and dreams for the arts in education!
Presenter: Catherine Ring, Visual Art Educator, Arts Education Consultant, Co-Founder of the Maine Arts Leadership Initiative, Maine Art Education Association 2014 Maine Arts Advocate of the Year.
If you have any questions please email Argy Nestor, director of arts education, argy.nestor@maine.gov.
Barb Vinal (Packeles) taught music in Maine for many years before moving to North Carolina where she continues teaching and learning as the Instructional Technology Facilitator and Magnet School Coordinator for the Wake County Public School System in Raleigh, NC. She has been an educator for 30 years and holds a Masters in Technology Education from Lesley University, a Bachelors in Music Education from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell and holds a certificate in online instruction through the Carolina Online Teacher program (COLT) through LearnNC, a program of the UNC School of Education. Barb serves on the Maine Arts Leadership Initiative Leadership Team. She was a member of the Maine Department of Education Learning Results Review Committee in 2007, developing the Maine state standards in Visual and Performing Arts. 
Catherine Ring is Executive Director of the New England Institute for Teacher Education and teaches graduate level courses to educators across the state of Maine. She serves on the Leadership Team with the Maine Arts Leadership Initiative since 2010. Catherine has presented at the Maine Principals’ Association Conference as well as nationally at the National Art Education Conventions. Catherine has taught visual arts for 20 years, is a former K-8 Principal and is has her Assistant Superintendent certification. Catherine completed her Education Leadership studies at the University of Vermont and received her Master of Arts from Vermont College of Norwich University. For her thesis, entitled “Education and the Arts, Toward Creative Intelligences,” she researched the role of the arts in learning and has worked closely with classroom teachers, helping them to integrate the arts into their regular curricula. She assists school districts throughout Maine with differentiated instruction, arts integration, and gifted and talented programs. Catherine is the 2014 Maine Art Education Association Advocate of the Year. Catherine teachers visual arts one-day per week at Isle au Haut School.
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