The Arts

  • Date created

    May 7, 2018

  • Last updated

    May 11, 2020

Arts in the Curriculum

All of our students, beginning with our preschoolers in the early childhood center, experience a robust Arts programming integrated into the curriculum. The overall goal of our arts program is to provide an environment that nurtures a child’s innate artistic ability, stimulates creative problem solving, and fosters a life-long love and appreciation of the visual arts.

Music

Our youngest students in Early Childhood enjoy music in both formal and informal settings, with singing, rhythm, and creative movement all integrated into their weekly and daily schedule.

Formal music classes begin in the first grade. As our students progress through the Lower School, they learn more advanced songs, learn about instruments, and musicians, and are given opportunities to perform throughout the school year.  By the third grade, recorders and reading printed music are introduced.

Art and Ceramics

Starting in Pre-kindergarten, students have formal art classes in our specially designed arts spaces which includes a clay room, but even as young as Preschool our students are experiencing shape, color, line, space, and other elements of art throughout their day. As the students progress through the Early Childhood and Lower School grades, art is both integrated into their units of study, such as with the fourth grade’s Africa project, as well as being its own area of focus.

Drama Class

Starting in first grade, lower school students are further exposed to arts education through drama classes once a week.  Our drama department is founded on the goal of enriching the students’ learning and appreciation of theatre through play, improvisation, theatre games, character study, design, and performance. The curriculum builds on children’s natural desire to playact and imagine stories, and is based on strengthening the actors’ three tools – voices, bodies, and imaginations. Young actors and actresses create characters and scenes, culminating in a play by each of the lower school classes.  These class plays are performed for an audience of lower school students as well as family and friends. Students also gain performance experiences during the Grandparents/Special Friends assembly, the Holiday assembly, and ArtsFest.

In keeping with our integrated curriculum, much of drama class subject material also ties into the themes that the students are exploring in the classroom, and makes use of technology that is available in the school. For example, fourth grade students perform African folktales and create African prints while studying Africa in their social studies classes.  The third grade classes produce video commercials; students collaborate to write and act their script, use HD cameras to film their commercials, and use iMovie to edit their final work.

We came to St. Michael’s for two reasons - the incredible arts programs that the school has, and for Phil...

Prekindergarten, 5th, and 7th Grade Parent

St. Michael's Country Day School
5.0
2017-03-13T11:54:16-04:00

Prekindergarten, 5th, and 7th Grade Parent

Jeff Gerring We came to St. Michael’s for two reasons - the incredible arts programs that the school has, and for Phil Tutino.  Too many schools are cutting back on their arts programs, but St. Michael’s understands the value of balancing rigorous academic study with a foundation in the arts. 
The concept of a St. Michael’s community is a big draw for me. It’s not just a place to drop...

1st and 4th Grade Parent

St. Michael's Country Day School
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Jeff Judson The concept of a St. Michael’s community is a big draw for me. It’s not just a place to drop off your kids for the day, it’s also the center of the social universe for our family. 1st and 4th Grade Parent St. Michael's Country Day School 5 
My youngest son just joined the PK, and my favorite memory to date is a picture of him balancing on...

Prekindergarten and 2nd Grade Parent

St. Michael's Country Day School
5.0
2019-10-25T09:06:05-04:00

Prekindergarten and 2nd Grade Parent

Lucy Darragh My youngest son just joined the PK, and my favorite memory to date is a picture of him balancing on a tree stump while doing a tree pose with his eyes closed – love that he’s already learning to “center” himself and grateful for the PK teachers for 
SMS has an extremely supportive and accessible staff and incredibly talented teachers. As a new family in Newport, the school...

Prekindergarten and 2nd Grade Parent

St. Michael's Country Day School
5.0
2019-10-25T09:06:54-04:00

Prekindergarten and 2nd Grade Parent

Lucy Darragh SMS has an extremely supportive and accessible staff and incredibly talented teachers. As a new family in Newport, the school welcomed up with open arms and made the transition of my then 1st grader seamless. There was also a community of support for him over the summer when 
From the first day of school to the last day of school, my child is HAPPY to go to school....

7th Grade Parent

St. Michael's Country Day School
5.0
2019-10-25T09:07:36-04:00

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7th Grade Parent From the first day of school to the last day of school, my child is HAPPY to go to school. I can remember a project they did in 5th grade about food trucks. The class was presenting in early June, and my son bounced out of bed 
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