Spring 2017 at the Corey Academy

Greetings Corey Family !

This spring has been a wonderful exploration further into our A+ Arts integration and Dual Language Immersion.  Our first group of dual language students are in first grade and moving along wonderfully.  They recently had a wonderful informance where they researched famous Americans and presented their presentations to lots of parents and visiting students.  Many of those students presented in both English and Spanish.  Check out these videos of some of our famous Americans.  (You can check out our Facebook and Twitter pages to see all of them)

    

 100th Day

Kindergarteners presented their 100^th day of school parade and had a great time.

We were so proud of our kindergarteners who also presented their spring showcase.  One of the most wonderful hidden perks of our programming is the amount of confidence that kids acquire.  They are completely comfortable in front of audiences and it is such a joy to see them grow in their self-esteem.

DESTINATION IMAGINATION

We have taken our first steps at Destination Imagination this year.  Our Rising Stars team recently performed this year’s show and they did a fantastic job.  We look forward to our growth with this program.  A special thank you to Ms. Barton for taking the reins with our Rising Stars group.

OPEN HOUSE

Open House this year was also a great success.  We had the opportunity to showcase lots of theatre and informance presentations that happened inside classrooms.  Teachers are embracing the A+ Arts Integration framework and they are excelling.  Kids love to show their learning in unique ways.  It is so very refreshing to see kids engaged deeply in the content and process.  I am so proud of our teachers for finding creative ways for kids to show their learning.  These risks are paying off.  Keep up the great work team !

LEVITT PERFORMANCE - APRIL 25th

Stay tuned for our campus-wide performance at the Levitt Pavillion in downtown Arlington.  Corey will be taking over the Levitt on April 25^th.  We hope you can join us !

Passing the Baton

The start of school has been a busy one.  Teachers were not able to get into their classrooms until 48 hours before students arrived.  If you have been in that situation, you know how challenging it is.  If you haven't been in that situation, I don't recommend it.  Fortunately, we have a fabulous community who showed up in force and we made it to the first day of school.

A+ Training

A few days before the start of the 2016-2017 school year, we began our partnership with the A+ schools network.  The A+ schools network began in North Carolina and is largely regarded as the premier organization for the integration of the fine arts and academics.  Our staff loved the training and it is truly adding to the culture of our building.  Students are enjoying the integration and parents have received the new integration with excitement and a positive energy.

The A+ model has its roots in Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligence Theory.  

Under this theory, we appreciate that all children learn differently.  

Instead of asking "How smart are you?", we ask "How are you smart?"

An Arts Integration lesson is different because teachers include a 

specific arts objective and a specific academic objective.  

Check out the results of our first implementation cycle here.

Dual Language Training

Dr. Varnell and Mr. Trevino also attended the Delaware Institute for Immersion Principals.  This is an initiative started by the state of Delaware to support Dual Language Immersion (DLI) in schools.  Half of the 50 participants were from Delaware and the other half were from outside of Delaware.  Mr. Trevino and Dr. Varnell were honored to be included.  This training along with the Arlington ISD support staff training helped to launch our dual language improvements for this year.

Celebrating 30 Years

Dean P. Corey Elementary has been around 30 years and has a wonderful tradition of excellence over that time.  Dean Corey was the Director of Fine Arts in Arlington ISD, so it is fitting that our campus embraces the transition to a Fine Arts and Dual Language Academy.  We had the honor of celebrating our 30 years with friends, family, alumni, and prospective families.  Below are two slideshows celebrating the history (special thanks to John Padilla, Clay Starr, and Rick Higgins), and a slideshow of the happenings from that day.  The slideshow from the days events can give you a deep look at the transition of the building now that construction is almost finished.

You can watch the 30th Anniversary Celebration here.

Dean P. Corey

30th Anniversary Program

History of Corey Elementary (1)

History of Corey Elementary (2)

30th Anniversary Celebration & Open House

Finally, we were honored and privileged to welcome Dr. Vistasp Karbhari, the President of the University of Texas at Arlington.  We are pursuing partnerships with the language department and with the arts department that will increase opportunities for our students.  Dr. Karbhari spoke with our fifth and sixth graders about the importance of college and how they can become a UTA student in the future.

August Construction Update

It seems impossible that it is already August.  Construction is still going on and we appreciate all of your patience.  For those who didn't see the recent SMORE version of the Corey Times, this has some back to school information for you.  Registration will be at Boles this year since the building isn't quite ready.  More info to come on that.  Enjoy today's construction updates...

Registration

August Intro

Cafeteria

Courtyard

Extended Learning Area

Library

Art Room Windows

Quick Construction Update

A little quick July construction update.  

Big update ahead in another week or two.

Enjoy.  #oldguyusingaselfiestick

Update 1

Update 2

Update 3

Construction Update - We're not in Kansas anymore !

A Great First Year

Happy summer everyone.  I hope you are enjoying a well-deserved break.  As we finish the first year of the Corey Fine Arts & Dual Language Academy, I want to say a special thank you to everyone who was a part of the visioning committee that inspired this idea.  I want to thank all of the Corey staff for embracing this new opportunity with an open mind and launching us through a great first year.  I want to thank all of the continuing Corey families for believing in the system and trusting the leadership to make sure your children had the highest quality education possible.  ...And finally, thanks to all of the families who agreed to share your Kindergartener with us and be the inaugural class of the Corey Academy.

To help future families understand exactly what the academy model looks like, I recorded an "elevator speech".  This two-minute video describes the instructional programming for our Corey students.  This update from the AISD communications office is a more in-depth look at the instructional programming.  We look forward to welcoming the incoming Kindergarten class !

CONSTRUCTION UPDATE

Well Change is here.  Thanks to all of the parents, staff, and students who helped us get the building interior moved and ready for construction.  These pictures give you an idea of how far the crew has come in just a few days, but you won't believe the video updates !  Enjoy!!

VIDEOS

These video updates will give you a better idea off how much has changed since June 1st.

Front Entrance

Library 1

Library Panoramic

Sixth Grade Area

Cafeteria

Office

Follow the Blog to keep updated !

Dual Language on the National Level

This article published by The American Institutes for Research highlights the current state policies and practices of dual language education at the national level.  There is a short video clip that summarizes dual language across the country and (for those of you who want some intense reading), a December 2015 publication by the Unites States Department of Education Dual Language Education Programs: Current State Policies and Practices. 

The conclusion to this report reference the benefits to students and society.


"Benefits to Students and Society
          There are, without doubt, many benefits—for students and society—that come from having command of more than one language, and from the interaction between cultures that language learning brings. Developing proficiency in more than one language enhances career opportunities, promotes cross-cultural understanding, and improves communication skills (Tochon, 2009; Rumbaut, 2014). Students benefit cognitively as well; numerous studies have shown the cognitive benefits associated with bilingualism (Esposito & Baker-Ward, 2013; Ball, 2010; Espinosa, 2013; Sandhofer & Uchikoshi, 2013; Barac et al., 2014).
          Research also shows that English learners (ELs) benefit from continuing to learn in their native language (Ball, 2010; Lindholm-Leary & Genesee, 2014). Oral proficiency and literacy in a student’s first language, for example, can facilitate English literacy development (August & Shanahan, 2006). Moreover, ELs are less likely to fall behind in core subject areas if they are able to continue learning grade-level content in their home language while acquiring proficiency in English (Lindholm-Leary & Genesee, 2014).
          In our country, we have a valuable yet untapped resource within the estimated 4.6 million students who come to school already speaking a variety of home languages, most commonly Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, Arabic, or Hmong. These languages are significant not only to our economic competitiveness, but also to our nation’s security (Duncan & Gil, 2014)."
          United States Department of Education, December 2015,  
          Dual Language Education Programs Current State Policies
          and Practices, retrieved from 
          http://www.air.org/sites/default/files/downloads/report/
          Dual-Language-Education-Programs-Current-
          State-Policies-April-2015.pdf
 

Spring Break Construction Update

I hope you had a wonderful Spring Break.  Welcome back to the home stretch.  I wanted to give you a brief update on how construction is coming, but before I show you that, I am excited to let you know that The Van Cliburn Foundation visited Corey Academy and provided a wonderful musical and visual tour through their Musical Awakenings program. The program, for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders, focused on how to listen to music, interpret music, and paint a mental picture. It was a great time. This clip is kids listening to 'The Great Gate of Kiev' from Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition". Thanks to the foundation for a wonderful event.  Check out the video.

Construction is coming along.  The theatre is getting texture on the walls and they are beginning to paint.  Lots of sheetrock is up in the music and dance spaces.  Check out these video updates....

Piano

Theatre                                                                Art

Orchestra

Music (Instrumental)                                        Music (Vocal) & Dance

Stay tuned to this blog for the latest updates....

Dr. V.

Update: Kindergarten Dual Language progression

We made it to 100 days of school!  We had a great 100th day parade and the kids displayed their collections of 100 on their t-shirts.  Thanks to moms and dads for helping this be the cutest parade ever!  Teachers even used an aging app to show kids what they might look like when they are 100.  Check out that video here. 

This blog update will take a look at how the Kindergarteners are progressing in their dual language development.  Remember, that our students have 100% of their Language Arts and Social Studies in English and 100% of their math and science in Spanish.  We are very proud of their skill development and their language development.

In this video, you can see a student using manipulative letters to spell sight words.  When students are working independently in stations, the focus is on skill development.  Clearly, working on sightwords is an isolated skill, but nonetheless an important one.

In Language Arts, we are promoting independence and fostering responsibility for students' own learning.  In this video you can see students working on a foldable about hummingbirds.  These types of activities are allowing the kids to apply their skills in real-world applications and increasing authenticity in their writing.

The same focus on skill development is present in both classrooms.  The language development focuses on four primary domains of language acquisition:  Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing.  This short clip shows one way teachers are helping to promote reading in Spanish.  While is is a bit difficult to see, students use RAZ kids in Spanish to listen and read along with the story.

Again working on independent skills in the math classroom, in this video, one of our teaching assistants, Ms. Cruz, works with kids on number recognition and ten frames in a station.

In this math video, Ms. Ramirez teaches addition and subtraction with fact families using fish.  Notice that the students enjoy the lesson and participate in the language development as well as the content development.

In this video, Ms. Guido works with students to be able to express their reasoning in Spanish.  Teachers develop the reasoning skills as well as the language development.

In this video a student identifies the number of objects from 10 frames.  Notice the speed at which she does this.  This is called subitizing.  The goal is to recognize quickly without counting.  After identifying several values, Ms. Sanchez asks her “Why?” she knows how many there are.  She replies in Spanish, “twenty minus eight equals twelve.”  She is forming sentences and using her reasoning in her second language.

We are proud of how much our students are accomplishing.  Stay tuned to see how they progress.  One thing is for certain, students are moving forward in their language acquisition and their academic knowledge.  We are blessed to have wonderful teachers who are working very diligently to meet students' needs.  Corey Academy is a great place to be.

Making the turn at the first semester

A GREAT WINTER PERFORMANCE

 We were able to wrap up the first semester of our program with a fantastic Kindergarten fine arts showcase.  The students performed theatrical responses to Ms. Gibson's narrated story, "Grandma's Closet".  They acted out the scenes with their bodies, motions, facial expressions, and voice.

Ms. Gibson's theatre class acting to the story "Grandma's Closet"

The students have also been learning to connect the movement of their body with emotion words and with sound.  In dance class, the kids have been using the music from the movie "Inside Out" to talk about feelings and learn how to communicate those feelings with their movements.  They wrote their own dance movements to accompany different emotions and music and in art class they used different colors to create art pieces of those same emotions.  (You can see examples of the artwork in the background.)

Ms. Evans' dance class performing their own choreography to "Inside Out".   In the background, you can see the artwork from Ms. Airhart's class as they connected the emotions and colors. 

HD videos of the performance will be available from the school office.

NEW HIGHLIGHTS FROM RESEARCH

As we build the Dual Language and Fine Arts program, it is essential that the academics, language development, and creative development of our students are all important.  Some recent articles and research continue to highlight the benefits of integrated curricula.  A recent report was published by the National Endowment for the Arts entitled "The Arts in Early Childhood: Social and Emotional Benefits of Arts Participation: A Literature Review and Gap-Analysis (2000-2015).  This report looks at the social-emotional development of students in relation to arts instruction and suggests next steps for further research.

                            

Highlights from the report include...

• Children who participated in a drama-based program saw decreases in disruptive behavior and improvements in self-regulations.
• Children who participate in music-education programs have improved social skills according to teachers.
• Research is referenced in which even toddlers who participate in daily music, creative movement (dance), and visual arts benefit from emotional regulation over the course of a school year.
• Visual and performing arts can improve social skills.

RESEARCH VIDEOS

Nina Kraus explains how the neuroscience of sound, language and music shapes human communication at the Falling Walls Conference in Berlin, November 9, 2015.

Bobby McFerrin demonstrates global connections using sound.

CONSTRUCTION IS UNDER WAY

After a patient and slow start, construction on our remodel is under way.  The first phase of construction is focusing on the renovation of the fine arts spaces.  These videos show some of the renovation in process.

January 2016 Construction - Theatre

January 2016 Construction - Piano, Mandarin, Strings, & Choir

January 2016 Construction - Music & Dance

January 2016 Construction - Art Studios