Sierra Arts and Washoe County School District offer professional development workshops for teachers

SIERRA ARTS FOUNDATION NEWS RELEASE – The Sierra Arts Foundation and Washoe County School District are pleased to announce the second workshop for the 2012-13 Professional Development cycle called “Mindful Music.” The instructors for this workshop, being held March 16, 19 and 21, will be Kay Judson and Dawn Roskelley. The focus will be on re-introducing music back into the classroom for all ages.

Spark your enthusiasm by learning how to use music to more effectively teach your curriculum. Energize your teaching with songs, games, and movements that help teach common core standards and enhance depth of knowledge. Put the musical fun back into classroom fundamentals by learning strategies that develop comprehension and engage all learners. These strategies can be adapted for older students as well.

The session, available to all teachers, will be 15 hours in length split over three days and will count as one continuing education credit through the Nevada Department of Education. Fees for credit are waived for the 2012 – 2013 workshops. Evening sessions will be from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., and snacks and drinks will be served. Saturday sessions will be from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with lunch served from Noon to 1:00 p.m. Food and drinks are being provided by Sierra Arts Foundation. To sign up, or for more information, contact Martha O’Neill at [email protected].

There will be four sessions offered through the Arts Infusion Project funding from the U.S. Department of Education Professional Development for Arts Educators (PDAE) grant. These four sessions will introduce arts integration and will be offered to all teachers (all grade levels) across WCSD. Teaching artists from Sierra Arts Foundation and music specialists from WCSD who have been involved from the beginning of the grant cycle in 2009 will run these workshops. In addition to these four workshops, there will be two Kennedy Center Workshop Leaders presenting workshops for teachers K-8 in the late spring. All workshops will be held at the McKinley Arts and Culture Center. There will be a cap of 40 teachers in each workshop.