Arts & Enrichment e-News

June 2009

Do You NYSSMA?     

Did you know that your NYSSMA fees, just like participation in any other BOCES Arts & Enrichment activity, are eligible for BOCES aid?   

For districts that participate in the Arts & Enrichment Service, any NYSSMA registration fee (excluding travel, food & lodging), paid through our service, will be eligible for BOCES aid the following year.  Look for NYSSMA forms on our website this summer.

New BOCES Arts & Enrichment Resources Directory       

The new BOCES Arts & Enrichment Resources Directory is close to being launched! (These things always seem to take longer than expected!) Look for an exciting new front page, easier entry and better search capabilities. We hope to have it up and running by the fall.

Spring Arts Successes!     

Even with the economy in recession, our arts events were enthusiastically attended:

·        Capital Region Media Arts 2009 Festival & Competition, March 26, 2009

 Two new districts joined this terrific event for students and their media arts teachers bringing the total to 15: Bethlehem , Burnt Hills Ballston Lake , Cairo Durham, Doane Stuart School , Emma Willard School , Greenville , Guilderland, Mohonasen, Niskayuna, North Colonie, Questar III, Schenectady , Scotia-Glenville, Shenendehowa, Troy City Schools and Voorheesville. There were over 200 students from the various schools in attendance to view their videos and hardcopy artwork in photography and computer-generated art, and to hear the original electronic music.

Ashley Velie, a New York based producer for the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric and Kevin Monahan, a New York based producer for NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams were the excellent keynote speakers talking about their current assignments and their many years covering the news abroad including in Iraq and Afghanistan .

·        The Arts Professional Development Day 2009, March 27, 2009  was another excellent day of professional development for arts specialists with 16 workshops attended by over 100 teachers and the Keynote Performance “Dancing Thru the Curriculum” presented by the American Dance Legacy Institute  

·        21st Annual BOCES Art Show, April 22 - May 21, 2009 was another wonderful show with artwork from 18 districts including:   Berne, Bethlehem, Burnt Hills, Capital Region BOCES Special Ed, Cobleskill-Richmondville, Cohoes, Green Island, Middleburgh, Mohonasen, Niskayuna, North Colonie, Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk, Schalmont, Schenectady, Scotia-Glenville, Shenendehowa, South Colonie, Voorheesville, Watervliet and BOCES Special Education.  276 pieces of artwork were on display.

·        Showcase, April 30, 2009 was attended by 89 people from 26 districts and over 66 artists, some performing for the Cohoes Middle School and Abrahm Lansing students!  Thank you to the amazing Cohoes Staff for their efforts to bring this together! 

21st Century Skills, Advocacy and Professional Development for next year

Arts-in-Education and arts education are making headlines with the push to teach 21^st Century Skills. At BOCES we are diligently planning professional development to meet the demand. Stay tuned for “21^st Century Skills in the Creative Classroom” coming this fall and note the articles below about new research and advocacy issues in support of the arts in schools:

From the Baltimore Sun:

Arts Appear to Play Role in Brain Development; Classes can change brain and the way people think. By Liz Bowie, May 18, 2009

“For years, school systems across the nation dropped the arts to concentrate on getting struggling students to pass tests in reading and math. Yet now, a growing body of brain research suggests that teaching the arts may be good for students across all disciplines.

Scientists are now looking at, for instance, whether students at an arts high school who study music or drawing have brains that allow them to focus more intensely or do better in the classroom…” (Please see the rest of the article http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/education/bal-md.arts18may18,0,1345340.story.)

Locally, Jeff  McClellan, Executive Director, CASDA is saying that the arts are an important method of conveying 21^st Century Skills in our classrooms: “The message is abundantly clear. Our school systems need to modify drastically their thinking on instruction, focusing not only on the core curricula but also on the creative age that is upon us with curriculum embedding arts in education and offering performing arts programs, K-12.” (newsletter, http://www.casdany.org/NEWSLETTERS/INSIGHTDirComment.htm)

More research and advocacy articles can be found from these links:

NYS Alliance for Arts Education advocacy page, http://www.nysaae.org/advocresource.htm  

Odyssey of the Mind       

Odyssey of the Mind is an international educational program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for students from kindergarten through college. Team members apply their creativity to solve problems that range from building mechanical devices to presenting their own interpretation of literary classics. They then bring their solutions to competition on the local, state, and World level. Thousands of teams from throughout the U.S. and from about 25 other countries participate in the program.  

Region 7’s Odyssey of the Mind Tournament was held on Saturday, February 28, 2009 at Mohonasen HS/MS. It was a terrific day with 90 teams competing!

 “The one constant thing is that we (kids and adults) learn from the experiences and grow as a result. That's what the Odyssey is about and that's why I put myself through it year after year.”  - Cathi Butryn - Paige Elementary School Coach

Two Region 7 teams earned the right to represent New York State at the Odyssey of The Mind World Finals May 27 - 30 at Iowa State University in Ames , Iowa ! They are:

Problem 3, division II - Voorheesville SCHS, coached by Jean Mackay.
Team members:  Matt Feller, Wolfie Gehring, Ben Mackay, Braeden Morrison,
Sarah Murray, Lydia Parker and Alex Relyea.
 and

Problem 3, division III - Cobleskill-Richmondville HS, coached by Scott Barton.
Team members:  Jared Barton, Maria Brown, Lauren Mule, Genie O'Donnell,
Michelle Pollizzi and Jessica Wilty.

This is the second trip to Worlds in two years for these teams and coaches!  

2010 Odyssey of the Mind is coming to Shenendehowa !

We are pleased to announce that the regional competition for Odyssey of the Mind (Region 7) will be held on the Shenendehowa Campus on Saturday, March 6, 2010. 

If you or any of your district’s families or teachers are interested in participating, please go to our website for more information.  

The national website is: www.odysseyofthemind.com   There’s a wealth of information here about Odyssey of the Mind, including 21^st century skills, program background etc. You can click 2010 Problem Synopses from this site, or just go to    http://www.odysseyofthemind.com/materials/2010problems.php  It’s hard to pick just one! 

Mindy Noxon Iannotti, Program Manager, 518-464-3910

Shelley Viola, Administrative Assistant, 518-464-3910

Catherine Newell, Odyssey of the Mind Coordinator, 518-464-3907

Sharon Siegel, Art Educators Network, 518-464-3929