Arts

Willowside Arts

All Willowside School students have the opportunity during the school day to participate in Visual Art, Drama, Dance and Multimedia. Willowside visual and performing arts electives are taught by our multi-talented teaching staff. The district and Oak Grove Education Partners (OGEP) fund integrated arts lessons and workshops taught by professional teaching artists and performers. Student accomplishment is demonstrated in the annual Art Exhibit & Showcase, as well in Drama productions, Dance performances, Poetry Readings, and Multimedia presentations. Choir and Band electives are open to students in grades six through eight, and are held before school. Students perform instrumental and vocal music at Winter and Spring Concerts, and various community and school events throughout the school year.

Our goal is for students to experience, understand and appreciate the visual and performing arts, as they simultaneously develop their abilities to collaborate, persevere and innovate.                             

Willowside recognizes the long-standing and current research on the valuable impact of Arts learning: ​

Creativity & Cognition: The Arts present alternate learning modalities to support academic success. Arts engagement fuels cognitive growth as students imagine, create, reflect, and revise.
Engagement: The Arts contribute to a climate where students and parents feel connected to the school community. In an inclusive culture all students have access to Arts learning.
Enrichment: The Arts lessons and experiences enrich students’ lives. Arts offer students a unique language to explore ideas, feelings, subject matter, and cultures.
Skills & Competencies:  The Arts teach Studio Habits of Mind such as Engage & Persist, Envision, Express, Observe & Reflect: skills that are transferable to the world of the student.