Elementary School Arts Program
CVCS Music Program:
 K-5: M.I.N.D. Institute Piano Lab
The M.I.N.D. Institute (Music Intelligence Neural Development Institute), founded as a research group on the UC campuses, develops programs to enhance interdisciplinary learning in young minds by creating a way to teach music that increases student’s abilities to excel in math. Partnered with the M.I.N.D. Math Computer Lab, our state of the art music classroom holds twenty-five electronic keyboards that each class uses at set times during the week. Each class comes twice a week for thirty minutes and is taught to play the piano not by ear, but by learning to read music as a mathematical chart (Trion Charts for K-1; Small Grand-Staff for 2-3, and Full Grand-Staff for 4-5) that gives both spatial and temporal training. Music is not just something that is printed, but it happens through time, while each measure presents a math problem because there are only so many beats in a measure and students have to determine what the missing value is to complete a measure. Through games and fun songs, the K-5 students learn to enjoy music as they unknowingly open their neural development to create better students. For more detailed information, please visit http://www.mindinst.org/, or e-mail the music teacher, Miss Amanda Strader (astrader@cvcs.org), for assistance.
JK: What is music?
The JK class has a visit from the music teacher about twice a month as they explore fun songs together that open their voices to understanding high versus low tones, or fast versus slow music. Each student is given the opportunity to sing for the class in a warm environment to learn about stage presence and body control. Beginning to put the spotlight on a child in a large group setting fosters a calmer understanding and lessening of stage fright as the child grows older.
6th Grade:
With the MIND Piano Lab developing musicianship for our K-5 students, the 6th graders begin to expand this onto the stage. We begin with a 6th grade Christmas Musical that worships the birth of our savior Jesus Christ. The students perform both in school (for all of the students), and in the evening for parents. Upon returning from Christmas vacation, the 6th grade becomes an elementary choir where the skills learned in reading notes and rhythms from the MIND Piano Lab come to life by learning Christian youth choral music. This choir practice directly helps students who wish to continue into the CVCS Junior High Honors Choir (an audition only group of 7th and 8th graders) called Dickens Carolers.
Elementary Art – Students in grades kindergarten through sixth grade participate monthly in our Art Masters program. This program, provided to CVCS students through Art Masters, delivers monthly lectures to children on topics from Ancient American, Native American, Pop, and African American Art to famous artists such as Joseph Raffael and Frank Lloyd Wright. Students then participate in classroom projects each month related to the lecture series, providing them exposure to a variety of art mediums.
Junior High School Arts Program
Dickens Carolers – Every May, current 6th and 7th graders audition for this Honor Choir Group that will meet in the following fall. The Dickens Carolers perform during the Christmas season around Southern California in both public and private settings. Their Victorian period costumes and four part harmony consisting of male and female students is highly regarded throughout Orange County. In 2006, in addition to an annual Christmas performance at CVCS, students participated in the San Clemente’s “Puttin’ on the Glitz” holiday street event, sang at holiday events in Newport Harbor, at CHOC Hospital, at private events for S.H.I.N.E. auction ‘Dickens’ Carolers Event winners, and have been invited to sing at Disneyland for two consecutive years. If your family is new to CVCS and your son or daughter would like the opportunity to join Dickens Carolers, please contact the director, Amanda Strader at astrader@cvcs.org for an audition time slot. We traditionally fill our allotment in the spring but will have a few drop due to sport or academic conflicts.
Art Elective – Our visual arts program is very popular among students. This elective is always in high demand. CVCS is fortunate to have one of the top art teachers in the nation. Student artwork is displayed throughout the campus and throughout the city of San Juan Capistrano in local businesses.
Musical Theater – Each year our Junior High Performing Arts Department puts on a major production in Musical Theater. Last year over half our student body participated in performances such as Beauty and the Beast, Seussical the Musical, and Cinderella. Students not only perform but help with technical, staging, costuming and more. The experience is highly valuable and appreciated throughout our school community. |
