2.  Background › Pittsburgh Rules!  Education › BA History/English › BA Music(Vocal) › Elementary (K-8) certification › MAT Education › AIG Certification › Thesis-Writing and music › Experience all over the country and grade level spectrum  Presentations › Local, State and National conferences (organized MRSA conference) › Classics, Drama, Science, Science and LA  Performance › Shows every year…Matthews, Ft Mill, Davidson, Albemarle, Concord, Charlotte Symphony, Chamber, Ballet › OCT Board of Directors

3.  Performance › Maria- Sound Of Music › Mrs Lovett- Sweeney Todd › Domina- A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum › Ida- Honk › Chorus- Ragtime › Lucille- Parade › Arlene- Baby:The Musical › Irene- Hello, Dolly! › Anna Held-Tintypes › Cindy Lou- The Marvelous Wonderettes › Glinda- The Wizard of Oz › Additional Experience › Director-Annie › OCT Board of Directors

4.  Our Mission  We are a non-discriminatory, K-8 public charter school that provides a differentiated, challenging education for children of high intellectual ability. WE are a learning community that strives to meet the intellectual, social and emotional needs of our students in a safe environment where they develop relationships with intellectual peers. Our goal is to prepare our graduates to become independent, productive, responsible and creative individuals capable of making positive contributions to society.  Goals › Learning should have some connection to real-world endeavors › The fundamental activity of a scholar is problem-solving › The instructional program is designed for the needs of highly gifted children › Integration of concepts, processes and products of each discipline

5.  High Engagement  Increased Attendance  Inspire Passion  Inspire Industriousness  Improved Scores  All children come to school with the ability to make art(10)  The desire to make art has to be ruined. (12)

6.  Highly gifted students need › Abstraction and a nuanced understanding of what it is to learn and to understand the world (Dewey) › Connections to the world and other subjects › Sensitivity to the self and others › Confidence to see beyond the obvious › Fairness and a sense of rightness › Possibilities that assert personal potential and power › Ownership of the ultimate product › A sense of importance and value › Trust in each other, the process and the product › Honesty with the self and others › Empathy and a deliberate focus on emotion › Guided risks to empower and shape › Self reflection

7.  The skills to question and explore and the confidence to pursue the quest (56)  Purposeful reflection-the idea that a mistake is a place to begin (71)  Abstraction for those intellectually ready for the abstract thinking inspired by the arts (21)….  Ambiguity…the meaning of a work of art is always negotiable (51)  Interpretation of text and situation as well as a respect for the process of thought and those involved  Importance in participation, discussion, as well as connection to others and the process  A way to unite through a shared experience  Deliberate focus on emotions(33) › It is through the expression of our own emotions and the experience of empathy for the feelings of others that personal identity is shaped (36)

8.  Theater is a living tangible thing that requires imagination and an understanding of self capacity  It requires TRUST and the willingness to take RISKS!  It is FUN!

9.  Theater in the classroom › Kitty wants a Corner › Museum Guard › Silent Locations › Group Juggling Control Your mind Your body Your voice

10.  We played silent locations today in LA. I loved it because it was interesting and fun! I think we do this activity to get people to be patient and to think. What this game has to do with school is it shows us to be clear and how important being clear is. Also…think before you act.- Sophie  Museum Guard is a fun game to practice taking smart risks and concentrating. At school we have to try new things, take risks, and concentrate, just like in this game!- Claire  Kitty Wants a Corner-This game was very fun. I liked it because I use my mind and see others laughing. I even learned that I am very careful about my decisions. I think Miss H plays this game to find out how many of us are in control of our bodies and our minds. I feel I meet both of those objectives.-Claire

11. First Graders and Shakespeare  The one thing they all remember…  Visits from the Charlotte Shakespeare Company  Stage combat  Costumes

12.  The Auditions-a fair process  The Boy  The Money  The Process  The Challenges › The set  The Results

13.  The pillars  My dream role  That shaved head!  Uncle Tom’s Cabin

14.  The Cast (yikes!)  The space  The Crisis!!!

15. › “So much like me” › The decision that changed my life › Everyone was surprised…nobody knew what I could do › I learned a life lesson from being Gertrude McFuzz. I wouldn’t trade my experience in that musical for the whole world! I still wear my clip-on, one feathered tail sometimes. It’s my personal reminder to never change myself for anyone else because I’m perfect in my own unusual way.

16.  The Stage and set  The Vocabulary  The Life Lessons  The Fund  The Goodbyes

17.  All those forks! › Costumes and costume mom  The machine  The Stage Crew  The notes

18.  The technical components › Let’s Get Creative!  Extra lights  The stage crew (again)  The jar

19.  The switcheroo…  The leads  The stick dance and MTI  https://scholarsacademy.smugmug.com/SA-Musicals/Peter-Pan/4714-MTI-Showcase/i-4P8hG6Q

20.  1001 Tap shoes and MTI  https://scholarsacademy.smugmug.com/SA-Musicals/Thoroughly-Modern-Millie/TMM-MTI-Showcase/  The agony and the ecstasy of the eighth grade voice  The journey

21.  Drama Club › Veteran’s Day › They just want to be with you  And do theater › Shakespeare Competition

22.  Who Said Athletes Can’t Be Actors?  They simply didn’t understand the joy of performing on stage, working with fellow actors to tell a story, and competing for championships in theater. I refused to give up my passions for reasons that I didn’t understand, so I continued to focus on my goals…As I move onto college, I will join the baseball team as well as find a place where music lives on campus…

23.  Rehearsal time—We rehearse for three months for 2 ½ hours a day )not everyone shows up to every rehearsal…except ME!  I do all producing, buying, music direction, choreography, directing etc. I do not do anything with costumes. I have an awesome costume mom!  The art teacher always says that the show is the perfect place for a misfit in a school of “misfits”! Kids come alive and do things we never thought we’d see! She loves it!  I try to incorporate theater into al l areas. When I taught pre-algebra, I did a scale model set design project, my first graders wrote books about Shakespeare (either his life or his work…their choice), my sixth graders read Pygmalion and do a series of theater activities from a Maker model assignment. Fourth graders are performing short versions of Oz stories. I have done silent film PSAs on environmental issues with science classes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGhnSqb_3SM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGhnSqb_3SM  I do this on a strictly volunteer basis. It takes about 400 hours per show.  BUT…It is worth it! It has created a place of trust, expression, empathy, creativity, artistry and general awesomeness.  Find a way to do shows with your students, either on a small or a grander scale! It fulfills their needs as gifted learners and thinkers! They will never forget it and it will change their lives (and yours)!

24.  Any questions?  Feel free to contact me at: chinkelman@scholarsacademy.org