Theater

Grades K-5

A Holy Child education includes the performing arts. Boys and girls attend dance class and perform in shows. In addition, to develop respect for other cultures, we teach music and folk dances from around the world.

The purpose of the dance program in the Lower School is to encourage students to engage in creative movement, to learn folk dances, and to create choreography. The annual goal is to produce Lower School musical shows. First through fourth grades participate in a spring performance and the fifth grade is featured in a Christmas pageant with music.

Once a week boys and girls participate in movement classes where specific dance steps and patterns are taught. Different from the activity of a physical education class, dance is deliberate and requires closer focus on the teacher. Children can express themselves in diverse ways through this medium.

The dance curriculum is developmentally structured to give boys and girls experiences in creative movement and simple folk dances at the early stages. The program then expands to include tap, liturgical dancing, and ballet.

The dance/theater and music teachers plan musical performances each year with the division heads.

Grades 5-8

Theater is a cooperative and interdisciplinary endeavor that enriches the lives of our students. At Holy Child, we believe that a theater program contributes to the integral human development of our children. Therefore, this class is not block scheduled nor is it an elective; all students in grades 5 through 8 take theater twice a week throughout the school year. The goals of the program include improvement of public speaking skills, as well as the development of self-confidence. In this class, students must engage in the give and take of creating a work of art in time and space with their peers or at the direction of an instructor.

In the Middle School, theater studies are divided into three experiences. In the fall, the class participates in the spontaneous open-ended activities of theater games. The students engage in improv, write skits, and perform them. They write and/or perform monologues. Students create a character study and apply it to a performance. The discipline and self-confidence required to plan, rehearse, and perform even a short skit are valuable skills that are key to the goals of this program. The most valuable ability we look to expand is the use of imagination.

In December, students in grades 6 through 8 begin preparations for the Middle School musical. At this time, the eighth graders who are the stars of the show learn to create a character and apply that characterization in performance. Students in the sixth and seventh grades learn movement and choreography. All are learning about public speaking and performance. The confidence of every student grows with each yearly performance.

In the spring, the theater teacher coordinates her class content with academic subjects. She assists eighth grade students in the performance of their parts in the social studies mock trial or the creation of skits based on their research of each decade of the twentieth century. Sixth and seventh grade students engage in skit writing and performance.

This class is very responsive to the ideas of the students and, consequently, the activities may change every year. The teacher makes those decisions within the stated goals of the program, although she is in constant contact with the administrator to be sure that all of the activities are appropriate.

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