{"id":23458,"date":"2019-04-04T19:46:33","date_gmt":"2019-04-04T23:46:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=23458"},"modified":"2019-04-04T19:46:43","modified_gmt":"2019-04-04T23:46:43","slug":"kaleidoscope-project-will-bring-cultural-centre-into-aurora-schools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/kaleidoscope-project-will-bring-cultural-centre-into-aurora-schools\/","title":{"rendered":"Kaleidoscope project will bring Cultural Centre into Aurora schools"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By\nBrock Weir<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since its inception, the Aurora Cultural Centre\nhas been delivering arts to Aurora within the walls of the historic Church\nStreet School, but now, through a collaboration with the Town, local school\nboards and local private donors, they\u2019re preparing to take the show on the\nroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last week, Council approved the 2019 Operating\nBudget and, within it, is a $100,000 infusion, which will be phased in over two\nyears, to bring the Kaleidoscope in the School project to fruition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cKaleidoscope in the School is a new initiative\nto bring live performing arts to Aurora kids in Junior Kindergarten to Grade 4\nat public schools at no cost to parents,\u201d said Suzanne Haines, Executive\nDirector of the Aurora Cultural Centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Kaleidoscope in the Schools project is made\npossible, in part, by Aurora couple Isobel Ralston and Jan Oudenes who were\nlooking to get more involved in the work of the Cultural Centre. They made a\ncommitment to fund 50 per cent of the program in 2019 if the Centre could find\nmatching funds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From these early seeds, excitement has\ngerminated \u2013 gaining traction from both the York Region District School Board\nand the York Catholic District School Board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis program brings professional arts to Aurora\nchildren with long-standing and impactful outcomes to make them better humans,\u201d\nsaid Ms. Haines. \u201cHowever, it also has a ripple effect on our organization\nwhere we have gained our first major donor from the community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that the funding is in place, the Cultural\nCentre can move forward with the program, which includes a performance from Red\nSky, a leading company of contemporary indigenous performing arts in Canada,\nwith their theatrical show Mistatim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs two children search for ways to connect with\nthe adults in their lives, some of whom have been affected by Residential\nSchools, they also learn to connect with each other as friends,\u201d said Ms.\nHaines. \u201cAt the heart of the story is the horse Mistatim, powerfully played by\nan athletic dancer who memorably inhabits the character of the horse. Working\ntogether, the children find respect for each other, discover the tools they\nneed to cope with their family lives and, most of all, how to find and nurture\ntrust.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also part of the program is the string trio\nInfinitus, which offers an \u201cupbeat performance style featuring a mix of\nclassical standards\u201d and additional components that range from classic rock to\nbeat boxing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTheir shows and workshops focus on the skills\nand value around collaboration between peers as they listen, discover and join\nin on the performing aspects of music.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Le Choses Bercantes (Sisters, the Warm Embrace),\nis billed as a \u201cbeautiful theatrical presentation\u201d that can be performed in\neither English or French that \u201cexplores two sisters, one in sorrow and the\nother gently unravelling her sister\u2019s feelings through a series of funny, kind\nand caring gestures.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is a wonderful validation of a child\u2019s\nemotions,\u201d said Ms. Haines. \u201cThe gentle show for two endearing actresses whispers\nin our ears that time heals all wounds, and even the deepest sorrows because,\nin the end, tears make the flowers grow and spring will come again. By offering\nthe production in French, if requested, children in French language or\nimmersion programs experience French as a living language and enjoy the visual\nelements that enhance language-learning through theatrical presentation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Programming choices, she added, will hit on\nseveral [themes] in Ontario\u2019s education curriculum, including conflict\nresolution, survival, emotions, feelings, communications and language barriers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBy bringing the program into the schools, we\u2019re\nremoving the barriers to participation for all students, regardless of their\nsituation,\u201d she said. \u201cStudents with exceptionalities do not have to leave\ntheir home school and known environment to participate. Schools don\u2019t have to\nwork out the logistics of busing and there is no cost, so no economic barriers\nfor kids. No one is left behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOnce the show is over, the artist will stay at\nthe school through the afternoon for an interactive activity or workshop with\nthe kids. Not all children will be able to attend the special workshops, so\nage-appropriate activities will be available for teachers to use in the\nclassroom, also. We\u2019re also supporting educators with advance workshops to help\nthem deepen child engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cElementary school teachers are generalists and\nthe school boards are very excited about the professional development\napplications of our program to help teachers who may not have an arts\nbackground in their studies but are still expected to deliver on the arts\ncurriculum in the school. Our workshop will help to bridge that gap and help\neducators to use the tools associated with each of the shows to bring creative\nelements into the classroom before and after the production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe full journey for the children is to have an\nactivity in the classroom before the show, go and see the show, participate in\nan artist workshop or classroom activity after the show, go home and show their\ncompleted art project, talk as a family about their experience and hopefully\nthe family adopts an interest in supporting the children in their creativity by\nattending an arts event. This teaches the child that the arts is important and\nthey have a voice in their family life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The program for the 2019\/2020 school year will\nbe funded to the tune of $75,000 by the private donation, and $100,000 by the\nTown through money drawn from the Town\u2019s tax rate stabilization reserves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Councillor Michael Thompson voted against the\ngrant funding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The balance, an estimated $25,000, will be covered by the school boards\nthrough grants, corporate gifts and other donors.<\/p>\n\r\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Since its inception, the Aurora Cultural Centre has been delivering arts to Aurora within the walls of the historic Church Street School, but now, through a collaboration with the Town, local school boards and local private donors, they\u2019re preparing to take the show on the road.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[27,4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23458","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-arts-and-culture","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-66m","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-15 18:03:59","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23458","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23458"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23458\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}