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Introduction
Arts
Library
Technology
Athletics
Community Service
Social Competency
After School
Sharing & Enrichment
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Fostering Creative Expression
The arts are a part of daily life at Belmont Day School. Student art work is
prominently displayed throughout the building, classroom teachers integrate
the arts in their homerooms, cross-graded activities are frequently based on
an art form, and group sing-alongs and student performances are part of our
Friday sharing assemblies. More formal artistic presentations include the
winter concert, class plays, the orchestra and chorus concert,
instrumental music assemblies, an annual artist-in-residence program,
annual school arts excursions, and enrichment assemblies.
The goal of the arts program is to educate children in the various artistic disciplines and to promote life-long appreciation for and involvement in the arts.
Visual Arts
At Belmont Day School, we encourage individual expression from the earliest years.
We recognize students' inherent impulse to create, and we provide a supportive
environment that fosters imagination, experimentation, and discovery.
In our art studios students explore many materials and processes. They sculpt, print,
paint, draw, paste, weave, photograph, and videotape. Using slides, videos, fine art
reproductions, computers, and visits to museums, students learn about major artists,
art history, and art from many cultures.
Music
Each child comes to the music room with a unique set of musical experiences;
therefore meeting the needs of individuals while attending to the group is a
main objective of Belmont Day School's music program. Some students might play
rhythm instruments alone in class or for a Friday sharing assembly. Others might
work on research projects, sing solos in a school concert or musical, perform
choral pieces in two-part harmony, create symphonic works for the orchestra,
or join the school's string ensemble.
All students learn about music theory, notation, and history. They listen to music from
various countries and cultures, strengthen their singing voices, and are introduced to
Orff instruments, recorder, bells, and keyboard. All students perform in the winter concert, and all,
regardless of their level of expertise, are given many opportunities to have enriching,
enjoyable musical experiences.
Drama
Our drama program, which begins in first grade, stimulates imagination, encourages
cooperation, and offers challenging opportunities for decision making and problem
solving. Students work individually and in groups, developing greater confidence
in themselves and their ability to express their ideas. Drama classes expose
students to different cultures and are an integral part of the social studies
curriculum. Drama activities also reinforce language arts skills through word games,
play reading, and listening and speaking techniques. Through a wide variety of movement
exercises, students learn to use their bodies as tools of self-expression.
Every year each class presents a play to the school community. Students learn to take
responsibility for their own performances as well as for all other aspects of their
theatrical production from creating costumes, designing playbills, and managing props
to building sets and manipulating sound and light effects.
Woodworking
Beginning in pre-k, students design and complete their own woodworking projects with
instruction and support from the teacher. Just as in the rest of the curriculum,
the types of projects done at each grade level are appropriate to students' motor
and cognitive development. Every choice that is made in the woodworking room begins
with considering its safety, so students use hand tools only after individual
instruction.
Woodworking blends creativity and precision. Younger students learn how to work with
wood by building imaginative sculptural pieces that do not require detailed plans or
meticulous measuring. As students progress, their projects become more functional,
and they learn such skills as sawing, measuring, and painting in order to
successfully construct their designs.
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