“Would I be better at chorus or dramatic arts?” “What exactly happens in filmmaking?” “How am I supposed to choose between painting and 3-D design?” “What if I pick the wrong discipline and I’m not good at it?”
For years, students have been asking these questions, trying to decide which type of Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) class they should take. And for years, it has been a ‘guess and check’ method, with the students knowing little to nothing about their choice of class before enrolling in it.
Now, thanks to the new Foundations in Visual Art and Design and Foundations in Performing Arts classes, students will get a little bit of everything in their first VAPA course, and can choose to take a more specific class if and when they discover a discipline they love.
Ms. Silvia Wiedmann, head of the art department at Cathedral Catholic High School, has found that many students choose their VAPA course based on what their friends recommend or what they think they like without having a clear understanding of each class.
“The Foundations courses are created for the students to really get a taste of all the other classes that they’ll get to choose from,” Ms. Wiedmann said.
As far as the Visual Arts courses go, students that take the Foundations in Visual Art and Design will have the opportunity to learn about drawing, painting, 3-D design, and even some filmmaking. After taking the general pre-requisite, students that fall in love with a specific discipline can choose to take another VAPA course that is specific to their art form, and, if they have enough room in their schedules, they can take an advanced or AP class in the following years.
In the Performing Arts department, a new Intermediate Chorus class has been added, along with the general Foundations in Performing Arts pre-requisite. Ms. Katie Wilson, Cathedral’s resident drama teacher and director, thinks the new classes will “open the possibility for people to be interested” in different Arts classes.
Miss Wilson hopes for the best: “Maybe a student will say, ‘I never thought I’d want to have anything to do with music, and now I do! If it wasn’t a requirement to cover the different disciplines, I wouldn’t have chosen that.’ And now they’ve opened their eyes up!”
One of the biggest changes in the Performing Arts area, though, is the loss of the Drama Tech and Guitar classes.
According to Ms. Weidmann, the tech curriculum will still be taught as a part of the Foundations and “can very easily be incorporated into the Dramatic Arts class,” so the CCHS techies need not worry.
The guitar players of the school can also calm down. They now have the opportunity to enroll in an instrumental Pep Band class which will welcome all talent levels and is set to support the athletic department.
Mr. Pat Robell, Campus Ministry Music teacher at Cathedral, refers to the new class as a “full-blown instrumental program for 9th through 12th graders.”
While few people really love change, the new and improved Visual and Performing Arts classes promise to expand Cathedral’s art department and build a successful program. Some possibilities for the next couple of years include an exciting new music theory class from Mr. Robell, a more all-encompassing music program, and an even stronger Visual and Performing Arts department.
LINK–PERFORMING ARTS FLOW CHART
LINK-VISUAL ARTS FLOW CHART
