The Arts

At every turn, our students' lively engagement with the arts adds sparkle and a sense of wonder to school life. At Green Vale, we seem to live and breathe art...witness the many class trips to galleries, museums, and artists' studios; in halls that are showcases for student artwork; in concerts, recitals, musicals, and plays; in a hands-on curriculum which emphasizes the "making" of art and music.

Led by teachers who are working artists and musicians, students are exposed to a wide array of media and techniques. In fourth grade, students begin lessons on a musical instrument of their choice and later, have opportunities to perform in the chorus, large concert ensembles, and small chamber groups. In an ongoing dialogue with classroom teachers, the arts faculty often ties in projects with a class's lengthy study of a specific theme such as Africa or American history. Such study points up the program's strength in art and music history-an area that often goes unnoticed at this educational level, as well as its emphasis on cultivating aesthetic appreciation at an early age.

Many a Green Vale parent has stepped into our Woodworking Shop, and enviously eyed its impressive array of hand and power tools and materials. In Woodshop classes, students, grades second through ninth, acquire the skills to design and build projects, from jigsaw puzzles to model sailboats.