into the

ARTSat Presbyterian School

Spring

(noun) :an institution devoted to the procurement, care , study and d is play of objects of p e rmanent value .

What do a school and a museum have in common? By definition - everything! Presbyterian School lives in the heart of Houston’s Museum District, and we are passionately devoted to the care and study of our most significant acquisitions - our students. Upon entering our doors, students are embraced for who they are, nutured to share their potential, and celebrated for the value they contribute to our community.

This Spring, I invite you to journey into Presbyterian School: The Museum. Celebrate with us our most prized possessions - our students - in exhibits in every grade level Prekindergarten through Eighth Grade. On the walls and in the performance halls, you will see courage at play, industry on display, and personal expression as well as esprit de corps, values worth preserving.

The interplay of many disciplines weaves throughout our exhibitions, collections, and highlights. Stitched together are Arthurian legend in medieval England with Rogers and Hammerstein on Broadway or one’s literary voice and one’s speaking voice in Reader’s Theater. Elements of Art + Design fuse with Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (elevating STEM to STEAM) because the arts expand our repertoire of problem solving skills. Dynamic learning happens when students gather information on a subject through multiple sensory pathways. Just as museums are storehouses of knowledge, our classrooms are storehouses of interdisciplinary wonder.

In every exhibition, students aim to communicate clearly and present themselves with composure and poise. From Kindergarten Circus announcers and Texas Museum docents to the speeches of Great People in History and the leads in the 8th grade musical, Presbyterian School students are asserting themselves, and they have something valuable to share with you.

Engendered by students secure enough to take risks and teachers with faith in the outcome, Presbyterian School exhibits Confidence in every Child.

Courtney Daniell-Knapp Director of Fine Arts

mu •se •um

PreK A i r lines Parade May 1 • 2:45 p.m. • School Hallway

PreK Airlines continues to travel around the world, taking in all the sights, smells, and wonders of different cultures. Students began their trip in Houston, and after a quick layover in New York City, visited both France and Italy. They traveled to Ancient Egypt, building pyramids and learning the process of mummification. India, Australia, and Greece will be the last three stops on their world journey. The curriculum ends with a “Passport Parade,” where students dress as someone from their favorite country. Expect to see Degas ballerinas, King Tut, and Zeus. Let your learning and creativity take flight with PreK Airlines!

K indergarten C i rcusMay 6 • 1:00 p.m. • Grand Hall

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages...welcome to the Kindergarten Circus! This main event includes (daredevil) performers, risky animal acts, live entertainment, laughter, and suspense. Each kindergarten student will perform an act in the circus. Drawing from digital and print sources, students will also research and gather historical facts on their act from past circus performances. Finally, students create dioramas of their acts for the circus museum exhibit. This exhibit will be open for viewing before the circus begins. Come one, come all to the Main Event...The Presbyterian School Kindergarten Circus!

Exhibitionson Campus

1 st Grade D inosaur MuseumApril 1 - April 2 • All day • Palm Court

First Grade is going back in time for a month-long study of dinosaurs, paleontology, and prehistory. Each student will choose a dinosaur to research, making use of iPads and “Dino” apps, and learning how to differentiate between fact and fiction as they discover more about their chosen dinosaur. The study will culminate in individual creations of a “dino-rama” to be put on exhibit. Each dino-rama will feature a dinosaur in its natural habitat. Be sure to check out the Dinosaur Museum-you’ll have a roaring good time!

2nd Grade Back Forty MuseumApril 22 • All day • LC181

Mosey on down to the Back Forty Museum, where second grade students will present their knowledge of the ways natural resources are harvested, stored, processed, packaged, sold, and consumed. Throughout the year, students have learned about the local and global communities in which they live and their roles as citizens in those communities. By studying farming, second grade will learn about managing natural resources and how individuals and businesses contribute to a community. Y’all come visit soon, ya hear?

3rd Grade Wax MuseumMarch 11 - 12 • 10:30 a.m • Fellowship Hall

Third grade students have expanded their knowledge of famous historical events and figures. Students are asked to choose one great person from history to research and bring to life. Whether it’s a famous athlete, civil rights activist, author, explorer, or chef, students work hard to personify these individuals in appearance, speech, and form. Stop by the Wax Museum to meet our famous characters and learn about their lives and accomplishments. This is one great moment you can’t miss!

4th Grade Texas MuseumMay 4 - May 7 • All day • Palm Court

Fourth grade students focus on a year-long study of Texas history, beginning their studies in the Paleoamerican time period and continuing to current day events in their home state. In the spring, students pick individual research topics about a person, place, or event that helped shape Texas. They learn the steps of researching, taking notes, outlining, and writing a research paper. Students also create an accompanying visual representation of their choice. Drawing upon the experience of museum experts, including faculty and staff from the Glassell School and Museum of Fine Arts, students learn how to put together and curate their own museum to showcase their visual projects. From determining the layout and design of their museum to serving as docents, 4th grade students create a true Texan experience through and through! A special Texas program will highlight the industry of the fourth grade on May 8 at 10:15 a.m. in Fellowship Hall.

5th Grade “The Ele phant Ch i ld”May 19 • 2:15 p.m. • Fellowship Hall

To complete their study of folk tales, the fifth grade will present a charming musical adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s The Elephant’s Child, a beloved story of how the elephant got its trunk. The songs preserve much of Kipling’s clever text with fascinating word rhythms and oral imagery, capturing the mystery and humor of exciting adventure down the Great Grey-Green Greasy Limpopo River.

6th Grade Reader ’ s TheaterApril 21 • 8:30 a.m. (last name A-L) • 10:00 a.m. (last name J-Z) • FH259

This year sixth grade students have explored different writing techniques such as imagery, personification, point of view, dialogue, and metaphors by examining professional literary works. Our sixth grade writers have expanded their writing portfolio by using these techniques in stream-of-consciousness or free-write form. From there, students have learned to revise their writing based on peer and teacher feedback to produce a more polished final copy. The Reader’s Theater celebrates each student’s growth as a confident writer as they proudly share one piece of meaningful writing during the theater esperience.

7th Grade Drama Showcase May 7 • 12:00 p.m. • Grand Hall

Seventh grade students in drama and musical theater electives will present a short performance for students and their families. The showcase will include the seventh grade’s first experience of musical theater with songs from the musical, Camelot, which ties into their study of Arthurian legends, as well as the staging of a one-act play by students who have studied drama for two or three quarters this year.

8th Grade phys ics “ steam” museumApril 17 • 9 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. • Fellowship Hall

Consider the words of Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, investor, and philanthropist , “The best museums and museum exhibits about science or technology give you the feeling that, hey, this is interesting, but maybe I could do something here, too.” The eighth grade will work to create a museum that allows younger students to interact with scientific principles in physics, biology, chemistry, and earth science. The visual appeal of the museum will elevate this from a science fair to a thoughtful display of museum design which invites engagement with the works on display.

Art at the Heart of Learn ingFebruary 8 • 2:00 p.m. Kinder Gallery, MFAH • 3:00 p.m. Presbyterian School

The great 20th century American Realist painter, Edward Hopper, once declared, “If I could say it in words, there would be no reason to paint.”

Lower School Art Teacher, Jacqui Chaltain, challenged her 3rd and 4th grade students to choose one work of art from the Museum of Fine Arts exhibition, Selections from the Museum’s Collection: Modern and Contemporary Art, to respond to and articulate what they felt the artist was trying to say, and how they said it through composition, scale, brushwork, or other materials.

The students visited the MFAH three times during the Fall semester to view the exhibition, make sketches, and take photographs which they then used as references to create their own works of art back in their classroom.

In a world bombarded by digital information and images, studying original works of art and creating works of art allows students to slow down, access their own thoughts and feelings, and interpret what they see—skills they will need to exceed in school and throughout life. The individuality of each student’s response is reflected in their statement.

Two Lower School art exhibits will open Sunday February 8 and will include a reception for families

collectionsart on exh ibit

celebrating the artists and their teacher, Jacqui Chaltain. One exhibit, Art at the Heart of Learning, will be featured at the Kinder Foundation Education Center Gallery at the MFAH through June 28, 2015. The second exhibit, Art at the Heart of Learning Refusés Salon, will be featured in Palm Court at Presbyterian School. Both exhibits will include third and fourth grade paintings created as personal responses to works in the Museum of Fine Arts’ permanent collection.

Art at the Heart of Learning Refusés Salon gets its name from the infamous Salon des Refusés of 1863 where the establishment, the jury of the official Paris Salon, rejected two-thirds of the paintings presented for submission. Edouard Manet’s Déjeuner sur l’herbe, James McNeill Whistler’s Symphony in White, No. 1: The White Girl as well as the work of Camille Pissaro were among the rejected works. Because the artists and their friends staged such a protest, the Emperor Napoleon III, sensitive to public opinion, allowed the rejected works to be displayed in another part of the Palace of Industry. The Salon des Refusés received thousands of visitors and the critical attention legitimized the emerging avant-garde movement in painting. What began as a rejection turned out to be the dawn of Impressionism and more widespread acceptance of new ideas and techniques.

Personal Impress ions March 12 • 2:00 p.m. • Glassell Junior School of Art, MFAH

Personal Impressions is a collection of middle school art that encompasses student work from a year in which they have brushed up against great art and artists and built skill in line, value, and perspective. Students experienced a broad range of techniques based on existing masterpieces and methods. Many of the projects center on identity and display an array of personal choices. Occasionally, relevant trends were used to enliven the young imagination. In every case, the artists have provided imprints of their ideas, abilities, and industry.

The handiwork of our 4th grade will also be on display. The Personal Impressions collection will be installed by the entire 4th grade, in conjunction with their study of the principles of installation, under the guidance of Glassell Junior School faculty.

The exhibit will be on display from March 12 to April 2, 2015.

Pop Concert : Beatles, BE ETLE and Supremes March 6 • 2:00 p.m. • Grand Hall

1960’s popular music comes to Presbyterian School. Middle school students will perform songs from The Beatles and The Supremes, accompanied by Houston’s best Beatles’ cover band, Beetle. (On vocals and guitar for Beetle is 8th Grade History teacher, Jamie Adams.)

Easter Chapel April 2 • 2:30 p.m. • Sanctuary

Gathering as a community, we will reflect on the story of Jesus’ resurrection and celebrate His forgiveness offered to us all. Through song, Scripture, and a meditation, we remember, “He is risen indeed.”

Grandparents and spec ial f r i ends Day / book fa i rApril 10 • Early Childhood Bring a Book to Life • 9:30 a.m. • Fellowship Hall April 10 • Lower School Poetry Program • 10:30 a.m. • Grand Hall April 10 • All School Book Fair • 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. • Barnes & Noble

Grandparents and Special Friends of Early Childhood and Lower School students are invited on campus for a day to “Paws for Reading.” Early Childhood students will Bring a Book to Life in a short music program, and Lower School students will share recitations in a Poetry Program. The Poetry Program follows the natural progression of a student’s knowledge of poetry from nursery rhymes and nonsense poems to the works of our most beloved classical poets. All families are encouraged to grab lunch at one of our community restaurants and stop by the School Book Fair at Barnes & Noble in the afternoon. Catch a sneak preview of our Bye Bye Birdie musical at the Book Fair at 1:30 p.m.

highlightsspec ial events

Cho i r Concert for Fam i li esApril 15 • 7:30 a.m. • Sanctuary

The Lower School and 5th & 6th on Main Choirs will present a short concert for families. The Concert is a program of secular music including whimsical pieces and show tunes.

Bye Bye B i rd i e mus icalApril 30 • 10:00 a.m. & 7:00 p.m. • Grand Hall May 1 • 7:00 p.m. • Grand Hall

Bye Bye Birdie is a musical inspired by the phenomenon of Elvis Presley and his draft notice into the Army. Set in 1958, it tells the story of Rock n’ Roll singer, Conrad Birdie, who has been drafted into the Army. Before leaving, he plans to appear on the Ed Sullivan Show and give one specially selected girl from Sweet Apple, Ohio “one last kiss.” A commentary on teenage life in the 1950’s, the musical is told with great affection as well as memorable music. It will be a night of good old-fashioned fun and old timey rock n’ roll.

Clos ing ChapelMay 22 • Early Childhood • 8:30 a.m. • Sanctuary May 22 • Lower and Middle School • 11:30 a.m. • Sanctuary

Early Childhood Closing Chapel honors Prekindergarten students as they graduate from Early Childhood and prepare to begin Lower School. Lower and Middle School Closing Chapel celebrates the closing of the school year with shared memories..

WITS META-FOUR Slam Poetry April 1 • Middle School • Sanctuary

Visiting Author, Layne Johnson April 7 • Kindergarten-5th Grade • CE240

just for students

Presbyterian School 5300 Main Street Houston, Texas 77004

713.520.0284 www.pshouston.orgconfidence in every child