In honor of the great Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. today is a day of reflection and reinforcing his message of peaceful social protest. His words and actions seem just as significant today as they did 50 years ago. For our students, please familiarize yourself with not only his words but how he delivered them. His oratory skills came from practicing his craft and speaking from the one place that all true speeches should come from, his heart. His heart and drive was unmatched. His fight was and still is our fight. Remember his words and strive for more!
Search for your mountaintop and do not let anyone stop you from reaching it!
Happy 2016 everyone!!! We know it's been a minute since our last blog post!! Chalk it up to many amazing things going down on the North side! First, allow me to take a second to direct you to our Go Fund Me page located at this link! We still have some pretty awesome incentives especially for our Wolf Pack, Alpha, and Angel levels!! Next, we have already started prepping for our spring musical Disney's Alice in Wonderland Jr. which follows Alice through her curious journey through WONDERLAND! For those that enjoyed Lewis Carroll's work in novel form, this musical will not disappoint! Be on the lookout for updates on our journey, it's sure to be wonderful! Keep checking back every so often as we hope to post more updates about the amazing things the arts are doing at Harding! 2016 looks to be a GREAT year to be a Timber Wolf!
First, a huge shout out to all the families that stopped by the Fine Arts Hall during conferences!! We cannot stress enough how important it is for you to take the time out of your schedule to visit with your student's teachers. Conferences is a time for us as teachers to not only brag about the amazing progress your student has been making, but give some constructive feedback on how we can all get on the same page to make sure that your student is successful! Ultimately, that is the main goal, to create a learning environment that every student can be successful in!
We have some amazing things coming up! We are starting to enter the theatre arts season with all 5 DMPS high schools putting on productions that will demonstrate the amazing talent DMPS has to offer! If your drama student would like a free ticket to North High School's production of Peter Pan please see Mr. Williams!
Harding will also be presenting The Crazy, Mixed-Up Island of Dr. Moreau and Improvapalooza! November 13th and 14th! Tickets are ONLY $3 for adults and $1 for students. If you enjoyed the improv group from Fine Art Night, just wait! We have even more tricks up our sleeve!
Finally, if you or your student is interested in buying a T-shirt promoting the shows, we have them available for sale. They are $15, the nice thing about the shirt is, your student can wear it any day and still align with Harding's dress code!! See Mr. Williams for more details!!
First and most important, a HUUUUUGE thank you to all of our volunteers for Fine Arts Night! This was our second year putting on a night showcasing the talented students at Harding and what a night it was!
Our students had the opportunity to perform for an audience of 400+... wait! WHAT?!! That's right, over 400 people came together to create an atmosphere promoting the arts!! Audience members were able to get a sample of the amazing work that is going at Harding. From band to choir to orchestra to visual arts to even some improvisation, all arts disciplines were showcased to promote of culture of creativity! Audience members were even given the opportunity to listen to Mr. Williams do some atrocious stand up. Sorry about that y'all!
Being a Turnaround Arts school is not just about using art strategies to enhance the learning environment, being a Turnaround Arts school (or any school that places importance on the arts) is about creating a environment that encourages creativity, community, and support. I hope that message was conveyed to our audience tonight!
Thank you again to all that attended, we would not be able to do the things we do if it weren't for you taking the time to show some love to these young performers! Make sure to take a second to thank/hug your student for their amazing work!
In case you haven't been told this today, YOU are important!! Here's some reasons why:
You inspire people to be better! You are intelligent and have SOOOO much knowledge to share with this world! You are caring and kind and can offer a smile or helping hand to someone that truly needs it! You are creative and that is a gift that must be shared with the world! You are a friend and we know that friendship/companionship is a basic human need! You are innovative! In this world, we need innovative people to address the future! You are compassionate! We can lose sight of the bigger picture but your compassion for others reminds us that we are all in this together! You are special!! Why? Because you are you!
Spread love! It is a priceless gift that does not cost a thing! And yet, it can mean the world to someone!
Things are booming over on the Northside!! Band, orchestra, and choir are seeing INCREDIBLE increases in their numbers ensuring that ALL students have access to music education. Research has shown that students that engage in music not only perform better on assessments (both standardized and formative) but we also see a drastic reduction in dropout rates. The arts can give a student that might struggle in a traditional classroom a reason to come to school.
With the growth that we are seeing in the arts at Harding, we would like to cordially invite you to our first BIG event of the year, Harding Fine Arts Night! This night will showcase all of Harding's fine arts programs so that we can create a culture of creativity. It will surely be an electric night filled with vibrant young performers demonstrating their hard work and talent.
HARDING FINE ARTS NIGHT TAKES PLACE THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15th! Mark it on your calendars now!!
In other exciting news, the Northside had the incredible honor to have a very special guest visit us this past week. President Barack Obama visited North High School on Monday, September 14th. He discussed his college accessibility initiative, but also took some time to address the importance of the arts in our schools. Below is video from his visit:
Fast forward to the 55 minute mark to hear what President Obama has to say about the arts!
Here is a photo of some of our students getting ready to listen to the words of our President:
We are also excited to announce that our Turnaround Arts Artist Mr. Kal Penn will be joining us September 28th and 29th! We have some really awesome things planned with Mr. Penn, so please be on the look out!!
The school year is off to a crazy fast start and at Harding we have some AMAZING things going on! To stay up to date with all the things going on be sure to check out the Calendar tab on the home page of this blog!!
We had a fantastic turn out to our auditions for The Crazy Mixed Up Island of Dr. Moreau as well as our Improv Showcase. It's going to be a couple of great nights in November, make sure to clear those dates now! ;o )
In addition to the wonderful things going on in the theatre arts, our band and orchestra departments have the wonderful problem of seeing their numbers boom! With that said, we're having a difficult time keeping up with student demands. Please take a second to consider visiting their Go Fund Me page at THIS LINK Any size donation would be greatly appreciated in order to make sure ALL kids have access to the happiness music brings!
It's so amazing to work in an environment that is positive and uplifting. In conversations I've had with fellow teachers, we all feel that there is something special in the air this year! Harding will continue to grow and blossom into one of the elite middle schools in the state!! Keep looking out for more information, but to end this blog, enjoy a little video to demonstrate how we're feeling!
