The IDEAL Creative

SPRING 2014

Did the Winter Blues linger a little longer than usual this time around? Well, the Creative Arts Department is chasing after the Spring Season with our events inside of the classroom and throughout our community! It’s that time of year when everything is made new, the sun is shining a little longer, and we’re able to go outside of the boxes that we’ve had more than enough time to hibernate inside of during the brisk and blustery season (hopefully) past. The word exciting pales in comparison to the experiences that we are having in our department with our IDEALists. We like to think of it being more like…TRIUMPHANT. Yes!!! THAT’S the word. Triumphantly, we are getting close to that finish line for our school year, but there is still so much to share and experience. From our yearly ArtBeat to the buzz about Talent Shows, we are moving forward…excitedly…bravely…earnestly…victoriously. Our students are ready to give IDEAL their view on what a “Spring Awakening” truly is!

The Spring Is Alive!

The Visual Art Team continues to keep IDEAL’s visual senses alive through tactile experiences with common and uncommon elements!

Highlights…

To MOVE and CREATE is to LIVE and our Performing Arts Department celebrates the new season by making connections to works of the past and present while creating works of the future.

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“Vivamus porta est sed est.”

SPRING IS A DANCE

By Suzanne Grégoire

“Life is the dancer and you are

the dance.”

-Eckhart Tolle, A new earth: Awakening to your life’s purpose

At the

beginning of March, the Kindergarten A and B classes brought us a breath of Spring with their nature dances about Bees, Flowers, Sunrise, Sky and Butterflies. This was their first dance performance at a Morning Assembly. Congratulations Kindergarten! Currently, all the Upper School Homeroom classes created a dance video, for the April 25th Upper School EarthFest 2014 Assembly. The choreography is a mix of compositions by guest teacher, Julien Kanor, and myself, as well as the students’ own routines and improvisations. In the first weeks, they are learning how to string all the elements together in rehearsal, and then will be working with a cameraperson for the filming. They are learning how different the process of creating a dance for film is, versus a live performance.

Coming up soon, the 2nd Grade will begin studying Israeli dances and performing at the Grandparents and Special Friends Assembly in May. The 3rd Grade will also dance at this assembly, and will be exploring Latin as well as Fad dances from the 1950’s and 60’s. Some of these include the Twist, the Mashed Potato, and the Frug (pronounced “froog”). The Dance Elective Classes are learning how to create Choreography Maps and beginning to compose their own dances. Coming out of this, a few 4th Graders have chosen to work on a special project, and are collaborating on choreography that they hope to perform at an upcoming assembly. In addition to drawing simple maps, the Kindergarten Elective groups are exploring how to create multi-leveled statues with their bodies.

Romae demonstrates poise and balance

Kaidan and Sianne strike a pose during their dance

rehearsal

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ART STUDIO SPRING NEWS

By Viorica Morris-Stan & Tim Lomas

“The essence of all beautiful art, all great art, is gratitude.”

-Friedrich Nietzsche

1st Grade artists embarked on a fish study project creating 3-Dimensional clay fish mosaics displayed on

the first floor and painting detailed mixed media fish on poster paper.

For the past few months our IDEAL student artists have been busy creating magic in the Art Studio. In the Lower School, the Kindergarten classes finished their “Shapes Compositions’’ project building with colors, shapes, and patterns displayed outside their classes. They also began painting their colorful wings for the “Magic Butterflies” for our IDEAL Earth Day celebration (EarthFest).

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2nd Grade artists are finishing their Calder inspired 3-Dimensional mixed media ”Mobiles”.

3rd Graders recently completed their 3-Dimensional Drawings on display on the 1st floor and are currently working on “Pop Art Can Posters” inspired by Andy Warhol.

The 4th Grade artists finished their “Sunset Silhouettes” on display in the stairwell and are currently

sailing in uncharted oceanic territories creating their own quill and ink maps on antiqued canvases. They are learning to draw compass roses to navigate the islands, continents, and seas with the possibility of

finding a hidden treasure!

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In the Upper School, H206 has been working on creating their unique ceremonial Buffalo Robes inspired by the Native American-Indian ceremonial art work.

Also, H208 Art students have continued their study in portraiture with the creation of their own interpretation cubist style portraits inspired by Picasso.

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H212 has been studying drawing from observation fruits and vegetables making their watercolors and color pencil compositions on display in the Assembly Room.

In the Art Portfolio, we have been studying gradation in color pencil and tempera paint with

“Introduction to Abstraction” compositions using the undulating shape of PringlesTM as a jumping off point.

Our Art Club has been studying the art of Henna hand designs in creating their intricate 3-Dimensional

clay hand imprints soon to be displayed throughout the school.

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Music Is In The Air

By Terry Campbell

As the year keeps rolling along, Mr. Robinson and I continue to be impressed with the budding musicianship happening at IDEAL. So much has been happening in the Lower School! Recently, David Rosenmeyer (Lev's dad in KA), graciously invited Kindergarten to a performance at Symphony Space, where they had the chance to see the NYU Symphony Orchestra perform works from West Side Story, Aaron Copland, and Porgy and Bess. Mr. Rosenmeyer conducted the orchestra, and even invited KA and KB up to the stage after the performance! 3rd Grade also took a trip to the New Victory Theater, where they saw Bello Mania.

In class, 4th Graders have been critically listening and responding to a wide variety of genres, as well as working on being present. For example, during a listening exercise, 4th Graders were able to list almost 30 different sounds they could identify simply by listening silently in the room. Recently, 2nd Grade officially became the

first class (in the entire school!) to memorize all of the words to a song, "Turn the World Around" (a tricky song in 5/4 time which we have been learning in honor of the Earth Day celebration).

3rd Graders are improving every week on recorders, and have been memorizing notes and positions very well. Mr. Robinson and I are looking forward to introducing rounds and harmony in the coming weeks, and can't wait for 3rd Grade to perform for the school! 1st Grade has been rocking solfege identification (do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, and do), and has also been identifying musical intervals better than most adults. They also have been extremely imaginative at describing "mystery sounds" in class, as well as creatively coming up with hand symbols for "Turn the World Around".

We can't wait to see everyone for all of the upcoming events (ArtBeat, Grandparents’ & Special Friends’ Day, the Talent Show...), and are looking forward to the warming

weather (the kids need it as much as we do!).

Happy Spring!

Mr. Campbell

Above, David (Lev’s Dad in KA) gives the Kindergarteners and Teachers a preview about his job as a conductor for the field trip to the concert the following day at Symphony Space! Below, we see David holding his baton and cuing the instrumentalists in concert.

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X Marks The Goal!!!! The IDEAL School of Manhattan welcomes LABEL X to its Creative Arts Department!!! Our Music Team will be partnering with LABEL X, an independent subsidiary of the DUO LIVE Independent Recording Group, to provide students with experiences that will prepare them for different fields in the music and entertainment businesses. LABEL X, founded and instructed by Justin Cozier & Sidda (Sid) Phillip of DUO LIVE, focuses on quality music education presented in a format that is relevant to current and popular practices in media and entertainment, while retaining its focus on Common Core competencies, fostering entrepreneurship, and boosting confidence and morale within students. During the remaining weeks of the 2013-2014 School Year, our H212 class will become an independent recording label. The students have chosen to name the label I.D.E.A.L. Entertainment. The new IDEAL acronym (for the label, of course) will be announced at a later date. As part of a recording label, students took the first school week of April 2014 to choose their roles. The job titles include: CEOs, Recording Artists, Music Producers, Legal & Accounting, and the Art & Advertising Department. During the second week, students presented slogans for the label. This is a project that has been in the making since Late Fall 2013 and H212 is extremely excited to be the first class at IDEAL to begin what we hope to become a yearly tradition for all of our Upper School students!

Mr. Sid (of Label X) works with the Producers’ Group of H212 In our H206 & H208 classes, we have been learning the Harry Belafonte song, "Turn The World Around" (as a piece for EarthFest 2014). Recently, one of our students met Mr. Belafonte, a renowned activist and performer, and was able to share their story. We also are honing our listening ears by taking Nature Walks around our neighborhood during Music time to actively listen and consider how important sound is in our lives. In addition, we will have a weekly musical ICON that students will experience in an interactive setting. These icons will be pioneers in the world of music and humanity that have performed unique works within their discipline. We look forward to presenting a Talent Show for both Lower and Upper Schools during the final week of May 2014! We want to give our students opportunities to display their gifts that they may or may not have shared during the School Year for our entire IDEAL Community. Mr. Campbell and I are so appreciative of all of the support that we constantly receive from the IDEAL Family. Being a part of the important and wonderful journey that IDEAL has been on for almost a decade is not only an honor, but also fulfilling and life-changing for us both.

CHANGING THINGS UP BY ANWAR ROBINSON

A quick laugh can go a long way…

Stop To Smell The Flowers… It seems like this year has flown by with a swiftness that I’ve never experienced in my 10+ years as an educator. IDEAL is a place where everyone is working so diligently and fervently towards

their goals. Sometimes, though, we need to take a breath and absorb all of the joys that surround and can even positively overwhelm us. During our Town Meetings in March, Mrs. Bergeson gave us something important to

think about: the need to be PRESENT. Whatever or whenever the moment and/or task, we should take the time to give ourselves fully to it, especially when we are so fortunate to guide and share experiences with our students. Every single moment at IDEAL contains a unique and fresh perspective that adds meaning to our lives. One blink of an eye, and that moment passes by…rarely, if ever to be captured again. We wish you all the best moments of Spring and in life. It is a true joy to behold what happens daily with you at IDEAL. Always, Anwar Robinson Music Educator & Creative Arts Director

The IDEAL School of Manhattan 314 West 91st Street New York, NY 10024 212.769.1699 www.theidealschool.org