March 24th, 2023

Ismael Alves when I told him (and his long time Special Education teacher, Rebecca Greenwell) that he won the NATIONAL SCHOLASTIC GOLD KEY.  He will be going to Carnegie Hall in NYC in June to attend the awards ceremony and walking across that stage!

Super proud of Heather Pereira for being that artistic voice and push in Ismael's life.  She could have had many reasons to explain why Ismael "couldn't", but instead she focused on the one reason why he could.  And he DID. 

On Wednesday and Thursday evenings- 6:30 PM at Durfee, our Band and Orchestra teachers will be collectively leading students of all ages as they perform in a variety of groups and together in our annual ALL CITY CONCERTS!  Please come support our young musicians!  This event is such a treat to see- every year, I am humbled by the mentoring that innately happens within these groups.  High schoolers help middle, middle help 5th.. such a great thing to see.

In The News This Week

• Budget Time- Requests
• Fashion Collab
• Art Collab
• Symphony Collab
• School House Rock Jr.
• ELA MCAS is Up Next
• Learning Walk
• Last Week of March Madness

Budget Time- Requests:

  Every year, I sit with Superintendent Pontes and Asst Super Curley and advocate for our programming.  This year, I submitted the following slide deck with a few requests.  This was acknowledged by our central admin team and now it is in the hands of the school committee with the district budget.  In addition, I am asking for additional funding for fine arts.  I will let you know later in the spring if all requests are approved.  

Fashion Collab:

  This year, Ana Arsenio is working with Jae Lavoie, Fall River Native and fashion designer in NYC to design garments that synthesize the style of J. Lavoie.  Our students will be redesigning the Durfee hoodie, and 25 of these will be on display (and for sale!) at the K-12 Arts Expo in May.  Last week, students met with Jae online, and he will be here in person on Wednesday! 

Art Collab:

  Heather Pereira and Ike Dodge will be working on a mixed media project in collaboration with Barney Zeitz.  They will be making portraits using buttons.  Thousands of buttons.  These portraits will be sewn together to make a huge piece that (fingers crossed) will be unveiled at the Expo.  The unifying theme/concept is "Grief is love with no place to go" and this is a memento mori piece. 

Symphony Collab:

  Ray Daniels has been working with the Durfee Band and Orchestra students biweekly.  He will be back in the house on Friday to continue work on the selection for the spring concert.  

School House Rock Jr.:

  Enjoy a blast from the past with songs like Just a Bill, Unpack Your Adjectives, Conjunction Junction and more! Nostalgia abounds when you come to see School House Rock Live Jr.! Kuss Drama club has been hard at work to bring these old saturday cartoon favorites to life right before your eyes! Shows are March 31 at 7 pm and April 1 at 2 pm. Tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for students! Come enjoy some timeless tunes!

ELA MCAS:

  As you know, we will ALL be affected by MCAS ELA happening in buildings across the district.  I hear you.  It will cause moves, no classes, missing kids in mixed classes, ect... UGH!!!  Please, if you need assistance with anything, reach out to either me or your building clerk/admin if you need help.

Learning Walk:

  Wrapped up the K-12 walk today- thank you!  If you were absent, I missed you.  See you the next time!  I will share out all of the tasks, summary, findings, pics and next steps next week.  Thank you!

March Madness PPT:

  I hope that you have been enjoying my daily 2 artists- have you enjoyed learning about new people in the world of art and music?  Hope so!  I just wanted to find a way to make March a little more fun.

And did you know that our own Ms. Carina Nunes, Art Teacher at Kuss is a TikTik DYNAMO?  Her handle is @msnunes_draws

Have a great week!

-Jackie