This past year has been filled with many fine arts outreach opportunities and artist-in-residencies throughout the district. Just to mention a few:

• Kanopy Dance presenting a combination residency/performance with Kennedy, Midvale, and Muir,
• Artist Wyland visited with Cherokee Middle School in a collaborative project between the science and fine arts departments
• Folklorico Mexico de los Hermanos Avila sharing Mexican culture through the arts with Gompers
• world music performances presented by the WI Union Theater at Muir and Kennedy
• Stuart Stotts leading songwriting at Hawthorne
• Katahdin's Edge jazz group performance at West High School
• Madison Repertory Theater sponsoring a young playwrights residency at East High School
• Imani Gonzalez at Emerson, Lincoln, Lindbergh, Allis, and Mendota.

The majority of these experiences have been supported through the generosity of the Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission and the PTO's at several of the schools. A special thanks to the people coordinating these events and for the arts advocates who have helped seek ways to keep students engaged and connected.

Outreach and artist-in-residencies provide an important connection between the schools and community. These experiences help enhance students development in the arts by extending fine arts knowledge and skills. Students are able to work directly with the artists and are encouraged to investigate the various art forms being explored.

Several of the staff involved with these fine arts residencies have provided classroom extension activities to further develop student skills and knowledge in the arts. Many of these activities have had natural connections to other content areas such as social studies and science.

Within the Imani Gonzalez residencies, students and staff were able to explore a variety of cultures through the songs, dances, and stories of each country visited. At Cherokee, students continued to explore aspects of sea life preservation and protecting our planet through their art class.

I encourage our staff to look for artist-in-residency and outreach opportunities in order to further develop our students' knowledge of not only what their community has to offer, but the world around them. These opportunities provide a wealth of connections for students, staff, and community.

Imani Gonzalez, musician, visited with Allis/Nuestro Mundo, Emerson, Lincoln, Lindbergh, and Mendota Schools. She presented school assemblies and classroom sessions, exploring various world cultures through song, dance, and stories.

WI Union Theater sponsored two world music performances, the Aleav Family (shown above) and Forro for All. Performances were held at Kennedy and Muir Elementary Schools.

Artist Wyland visited with Cherokee students. This event was a collaboration between the district science and fine arts department. Students explored preservation effort to protect sea life through their art class.