Put Harding Fine Arts Night on Your Calendar NOW!

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!!

Welcome to the Harding Fine Arts Blog!

It's an exciting time for the Harding Fine Arts team!! We are on year 2 of our Turnaround Arts initiative which allowed us to give our roughly 780 middle school students access to arts focused learning. This has not been the only benefit of Turnaround Arts. Every student was given the opportunity to see at least one live theatrical production, whether it be the fluid dancing of Diavolo, the truth of the Mayhem Poets, or even the breathtaking event that was The Lion King. Plus, the students and faculty got to meet with our very special Turnaround Arts Artist, Kal Penn!

 

 

 

 

 

Group Photo! Kal Penn meets with Harding's Creative Council

It is important to reflect on the past, but I find that I am more excited for what the future holds. Our instrumental music programs are finding that their numbers are skyrocketing! Both vocal music and drama are building programs that will be the envy of every middle school in the state! Our visual arts program continues to produce high quality artists across several different mediums. Even our core teachers are embracing the arts!! From ELL to science, students are engaging in new learning processes that enrich the overall educational experience. 

This blog will serve the purpose of keeping you informed about all the amazing arts adventures going on at Harding Middle School. Buckle your seat belt because this train moves fast!