St. Pat’s Learning Through Arts Festival to share student talents

By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on March 23, 2023.

Herald photo by Alejandra Pulido-Guzman Students from Grade 4 to Grade 6 run through a musical theatre piece for their upcoming performance as part of the Learning Through Arts Festival at St. Patrick Fine Arts Elementary School.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com

St. Patrick Fine Arts Elementary School is gearing up to host their Learning Through Arts Festival to highlight the ways in which the arts are integrated into all types of learning at the school.

The festival will feature works from students from Kindergarten to Grade 6 who will showcase pieces including oral storytelling, masks, poetry, choral speech, dance, animation, photography, singing, sculpture, live performances, recorded pieces of music and theatre.

Principal, Kathy Jones-Husch said they are ready to welcome everyone from the community, not just parents, and said they are making flyers to distribute to the school’s neighbours.

“The kids here at St. Pat’s have been working on everything from musical theatre numbers, to dance numbers, choir chimes, oral speech, lots of visual art and lots of those pieces being very cross curricular in nature,” she said.

Jones-Husch said it is very important not only coming out of COVID, but in the spirit of what the arts mean, it is important for students to have the opportunity to perform, to share their work and being creative and being themselves.

“When they have that goal, something to look forward to, it really helps with their buy in and their ability to envision the ability to just send a message and to share that with anyone that comes to take that in.”

She said it has been quite some time since they have been able to have a very open showcase and big public learning performance and are looking forward to putting on the event.

Grade 6 student Tanay Sawa has been rehearsing a hip-hop dance for the Learning Through Arts Festival.

“We’re super excited and it’s going to be really cool. I’m actually super excited, I love performing so I am very excited,” said Sawa.

Jones-Husch said utilizing arts within their curriculum grants students more opportunity to express themselves, to be okay with making mistakes, to understand that there is a lot of value in just sharing their gifts and talents with the world.

“Without those pieces in place, they can just get a little bit of tunnel vision I think, so by sharing their work and by seeing that the process is really worth it, and sometimes the process even being more valuable than the product,” said Jones-Husch.

The showcase will be held at the school located at 80 Rivergreen Road West from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, March 30.

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