Fine Arts Pep Rally

If you read last year's Yearbook Dedication Day posts (Anticipation and Dedication), you know that a big part of our tradition is a Fine Arts Pep Rally.  Your school doesn't have one of those?  You are missing out.  We just had our fifth one.  In a time when many schools are slashing their arts programs to ribbons, this pep rally shows GRACE's fine arts to be growing, diverse, and dynamic.

As soon as the yearbook is finished in early March, I start doing two things - the graduation slide show and organizing for this pep rally.  Our visual arts teachers send me photos of much of the year's artwork.  The theater teacher sends me cast lists.  Our music teachers tell me what groups they want to perform and what songs they will be doing.  I put together a slide show, and we do some planning in a shared document (thanks, Google).  This all culminates in a big event that involves every one of our students and teachers.

Our school is one K-12 school, but it is on two campuses.  While they are only a quarter of a mile apart, the other campus sometimes feels very far away.  We don't get to see the elementary students as often as we would like, and this is one of only two times that were are all together in one place each year.  The first is the homecoming parade.  I love that the thing bringing us all together is a celebration of the fine arts.

As students enter the gym, a slideshow containing photographs of visual art made by our students is playing.  High school students get to feel nostalgia about art project from their childhood when they see elementary projects, and kindergarten students get to see the kind of work they can one day aspire to make.  Our middle and high school combined chorus sings the national anthem, and our sixth grade chaplain opens us in prayer.  Our visual arts teachers then recognize those who have won awards in art competitions this year (several dozen students have excelled in some competition).  Some of those kids are also athletes, and some are scholars.  Some will also be performing during the rally.  I love how well rounded our kids are.

Our performance arts are well represented.  The elementary chorus sings, and 6th-12th grade bands play.  This year, they played a Star Wars medley, so a couple of drama students had a light saber battle.  The crowd loved it.  Our dance team performs, and our strings group plays a jazz number.  The sixth grade theater class performs a short number.  This year was "Step in Time" from Mary Poppins.

The rally leads up to the unveiling of the yearbook dedication.  This year, it was for our middle and high school visual arts teacher and my friend, Elizabeth Walters.  She is an amazing woman, capable of pulling talent out of students that they don't know they have.  Her students' work covers our hallways.  Without that artwork, our school is just a building.  She is a friend, mentor, and inspiration.  It was the perfect way to end this celebration of the arts.

Look, I know academic, fact-based disciplines are important.  I teach science, for heaven's sake.  I believe, however, the God created us in His image.  Part of that image is creative, and we should all reflect that.  As a Christian school, GRACE knows that students are created with diverse talents - from math to music, from science to dance, from writing to sculpting, from Latin to theater.  We strive to help students to discover them.  The list of names on each of our fine arts rosters makes me happy.  Our students are finding their God-given talents, and we get to be part of that.  Today's pep rally was a great reminder of that.

Thank you to our band, chorus, theater, strings, dance, and art teachers.  Your work is inspiring.