Congratulations to Visual Art Faculty Sharing at NAEA

Congratulations to Round Rock ISD Visual Art faculty who had accepted for inclusion in the program for the 2011 NAEA (National Art Education Association) National Convention in Seattle, Washington, March 17-20, 2011. Tiffany Asha (Deerpark MS) will be presenting Coming to an Understanding:The Role of Art Education in Teaching about Islam.  Kara Hallmark (Union Hill ES) will be presenting E-Portfolios and Process under Best Practices.  Tim Lowke (Cedar Ridge HS) will be presenting PowerArt – Integrating Art and Math.  We are proud of these three faculty members on this prestigious, national accomplishment and their commitments to applying and sharing best visual art education practice with students, peers and the national association.

Live Oak Students Reaching Out Around the World

Live Oak art teacher, Gayle Clark, received an invitation for Live Oak Elementary to participate in providing artwork for the Miracle Foundation. This non-profit organization supports orphanages in India. Live Oak is sending student artwork to decorate the walls of an orphanage in Ranchi, India.  All artwork completed in the art club will be hand delivered to this small village.  Later our new friends in Ranchi, India will be sending their artwork to decorate the hallways at Live Oak Elementary School.   Way to go Gayle! 

TDEA Honors Marla Valk and Denise Cochran!

We have just learned that Marla Valk, Dance Director at Westwood High School, is a finalist for the Texas Dance Educators Association Dance Educator of the Year! The announcement of the winner will be in January at the TDEA Convention in Houston.

We also learned that Denise Cochran, Dance Curriculum Specialist for the district, and also dance instructor at Grisham Middle School, has been named a finalist for the TDEA Lifetime Achievement Award. This was also be announced at the TDEA convention in January.

Congratulations to both Marla and Denise!

Marching Band Success

This has been a “banner” year for our high school marching bands! I truly believe that all of our high school bands are performing to higher musical and visual standards than ever before. The artistic concepts of drill design, use of auxiliaries, body visuals, and the sophistication of the music arrangements are at the highest levels. And all five of our groups have received outstanding audience response at both football games and competition performances.

Cedar Ridge Raider Band:
This is our newest high school, with freshmen and sophomores only. The show “The Game Within” is visually and musically complex, and the students have exceeded all expectations in terms of quality of execution. Cedar Ridge entered UIL Marching Contest in AAAA Non-Varsity, and received first division ratings from all judges. Band directors are Mark Calima, Ryan Brittain, and Rick Rodriguez

Stony Point Tiger Band and Tiger Dancers:
The Tiger Band’s show was called “Wonderland,” and used classical and jazz music to visually and musically depict the story line from “Alice in Wonderland.” Music themes were from works by Beethoven, Prokofiev, Cole Porter, Elgar, and Mussorgsky. The Tiger Dancers added a special touch in playing roles and enhancing the entire presentation. This group won Outstanding Band, Outstanding Percussion, and Outstanding Auxiliary at the Central Texas Marching Showcase, and earned first division awards from all judges at the UIL Region 26 contest. This qualified them for the Area D UIL Contest at Heroes Stadium in San Antonio. The performance at this event was outstanding. The directors are Brian Sedatole, Matt Greene, and Cathy Benford. The director of the Tiger Dancer unit is Abbe Goertz.

McNeil Maverick Band:
The Maverick Band’s show is “If I Only Had,” with visual and musical pageantry depicting the story line of “The Wizard of Oz.” McNeil was a finalist at the Capital City Marching Festival and at the Bands of America Contest in Houston. At the Region 26 UIL Contest, the band earned all first division ratings from the judges, qualifying then for the Area Contest in San Antonio. At the Area Contest, the Mav Band was a finalist, coming very close to qualifying for the State Marching Contest. The directors are Travis Ancelet, Jason Dimiceli, and Ian Smith.

Westwood Warrior Band:
Westwood’s show is entitled, “The Force of Destiny.” The show explores the age old question of Fate vs. Destiny, through the powerful music of Verdi, Orff, Tchaikovsky, and Shostakovich. The Warrior Band scored high at the Capital City Marching Festival and also placed in the Finals at the Westlake Marching Festival. By earning all first divisions at the UIL Region Marching Contest, the Westwood Band earned the right to compete at the Area UIL Contest in San Antonio. At Area, the band qualified to compete in Finals, and came very close to qualifying for the State Marching Contest. Directors are Jack Green, David Jennison, Thomas Turpin, and Sarah Santa Cruz.


Round Rock Dragon Band:
The Dragon Band’s show is called “The Dragon.” The music includes “The Future of Fire” by Zhou Long and “The Way of Life” by Hans Zimmer. This show earned the band first place awards at both the Capital City Music Festival and the Westlake Marching Festival. The color guard and drumline also earned first place at these events. At the Region 26 UIL Contest, the band received first division awards from all judges, qualifying then for Area. At the Area D contest in San Antonio, the Dragon Band earned the right to compete in Finals. Round Rock was one of the top six bands in Finals, qualifying to advance to the State Marching Contest at the Alamodome on November 2.

2010 TAEA Middle School Art Educator of the Year

It is my pleasure to announce to our district that Cecelia Pichini, Visual Art Faculty at Walsh Middle School has been selected the Texas Art Education Association Outstanding Middle School Division Art Educator for 2010. 

Cecelia was chosen from a statewide slate of nominees that the TAEA awards committee found powerful and thus presented an enduring challenge to the committee for their final determinations. 

Ms. Pichini is a model art educator who throughout her career has challenged and inspired students to achieve, create, think and produce to their fullest potential.  Cecelia continually shares resources and ideas with her visual art colleagues, presents professional development both on the local and state levels, has published in art education journals and hosts student teachers / observers extending her model practices beyond her art room and into the larger, visual community.  In addition, Cecelia continues to produce art of her own --- you can see her latest work in our current RRISD Faculty Show (www.rrisdfacultyshow.wordpress.com).

Please join me in congratulating Cecelia Pichini on being honored for her role and dedication to promoting quality visual arts education not only in Round Rock ISD, but in the State of Texas!

Texas Art Education Association will celebrate our 2010 Award Recipients at the Opening First General Session of the 49th Annual TAEA Fall Conference entitled Nurturing the Creative Spirit; Keep Art Weird at the Austin Convention Center, Friday, November 12, 2010, 2-4pm.

The RRISD Visual Art Faculty is EXTREMELY proud of Cecelia and this accomplishment in her career! 

For additional information on the Conference or TAEA, visit www.taea.org