Lex Cath Choir has CD's!

Above: The Lexington Catholic HS Combined Choir, in full, massive glory at the 2008 Christmas Concert

The recent LCHS Christmas Concert was a huge success. Choir Director Adam Beeken reminds all parents and music lovers that the choir has three different CD's (the best of each of the last three years) available for purchase - only $15 each! They make wonderful Christmas gifts, of course.

[Editor's aside: As a former choir/band parent, I say with all impartial enthusiasm that I am SO GLAD I bought my students' CD's back in the days of yore....]

And by way of a sneak preview, LCHS will present the Tony-award winning "Thoroughly Modern Millie" as its spring musical in 2009! More details to follow...

District 7 Middle Schools Honor Band

Above: Some of the Middle School Band Performers at the Spring 2008 Cartoons N Classics Concert at LCHS.


Over 270 students from the 8 surrounding counties auditioned for the District 7 Middle School Honor Band and we had 18 selected from the Diocese!

Students will attend a 2-day workshop on January 9th & 10th at Kentucky State University in Frankfort, where they will work with a guest conductor and present a concert on
Saturday afternoon.

Congratulations to the following students:

Hannah Martin - Flute - 7th Grade - Sts. Peter & Paul
Celene Steele - Flute - 7th Grade - Seton Catholic
Thomas Doering - Clarinet - 7th Grade - Sts. Peter & Paul
Emma King - Clarinet - 7th Grade - Mary Queen
Samantha Thomas - Alto sax - 7th grade - Sts. Peter & Paul
Emily Vance - Trumpet - 7th Grade - Sts. Peter & Paul
Connor Noonan - Trumpet - 7th Grade - Mary Queen
Matt Cervoni - Trumpet - 7th grade - Seton Catholic
Maxwell Leslie - Trombone - 7th Grade - Sts. Peter & Paul
Stephen Richie - Trombone - 7th Grade - Christ the King
Nicholas Norman - Trombone - 7th Grade - Christ the King
Ryan Garvey - Trombone - 7th Grade - Christ the King
Drew Hardy - Trombone - 7th Grade - Christ the King
Larson Gore - Trombone - 8th Grade - Christ the King
Willie Poe - Percussion - 7th Grade - Sts. Peter & Paul
Suzanne Miller - Percussion - 7th Grade - Sts. Peter & Paul
Eric Minion - Percussion - 8th Grade - Christ the King
Corey Wells - Percussion - 8th Grade - Sts. Peter & Paul

Good Luck with your rehearsals and performance!

Sounds of the Season

The Lexington Catholic High School and Band presented their Christmas program on December 8 (above, an action shot of some of the MidKnight M'Ladyes a capella ensemble).

The talented students at several of our Catholic elementary schools will present a whole bunch of wonderful programs this week and next.

Coming up are:

Thursday, Dec. 11

Christ the King School Christmas Program, 7 PM, in the Cathedral of CTK, Lexington.

Sts. Peter and Paul School, Christmas Program, 7 PM, LCHS Theater, Lexington

Tuesday, Dec. 16

Seton Catholic School Christmas Program, 6 PM, in St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church, Lexington

St. Agatha Academy Christmas Celebration, 6:30 PM Preshow, 7 PM Program, First United Methodist Church, South Main St., Winchester.

Wednesday, Dec. 17

Mary Queen of the Holy Rosary School 1st & 2nd Grade program, 6:30 PM, MQHR, Lexington (see post from 10/23!)

Sts. Peter and Paul School Band & Choir Christmas Concert, 7 PM, LCHS Theater, Lexington

Thursday, Dec. 18

MQHR Band Christmas Concert, 7 PM, LCHS Theater, Lexington

St. Leo School, "Music Machine," 6:30 PM, Versailles.

SPPS Students Experience Petting Zoo

Nanci Barnhart, Arts Coordinator at Sts. Peter and Paul School in Lexington, sends this update about the collaborative arts effort at SPPS:

Recently, the students at St. Peter & Paul school were treated to a visit from the Lexington Philharmonic’s Instrument Petting Zoo. Mr. Joe Tackett, Education Director of the orchestra, brought instruments of every family, size, and shape. He introduced the instruments and demonstrated the proper techniques for playing them. Afterward, the students were able to experiment with violins, trumpets, trombones, woodwinds, and various percussion instruments. We are beginning a partnership with the Philharmonic this fall. Each month will bring a new experience for our students. In December we will hear a performance by the Niles Quartet, followed by a visit from different Philharmonic musicians. Each class will “adopt” a member of the orchestra, who will visit their classroom and play for them, helping to engage them in classical music. We will attend the orchestra’s Discovery Concert in March, where we will get a backstage pass to view the inner workings of the orchestra.

The Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade students will begin “Breakfast with the Arts” the first week of December. They will meet with Mrs. Barnhart to discuss and share their experiences with the Art-to-Go bags, have a snack, and enjoy an Arts enrichment activity. The Art-to-Go bags are a parent/child activity in Art or Music. Drama bags are being made for distribution in January with our 3rd grade students.

Advent Art at St. Leo

Students in the Art Club at St. Leo School in Versailles recently started work on a huge Advent calendar to use for morning prayer at the school this season.

Art teacher Rosie Fedorchuk sent some photos of the artists in action!

Diocesan Schools at the CKMEA Choral Festival

Above: Choir One performs at the Central Kentucky Music Educators Association Festival

The CKMEA Festival featured the talented honor choir students from several schools in the Diocese of Lexington: St. Agatha Academy, Christ the King, Mary Queen of the Holy Rosary, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, and Sts. Peter and Paul. Under the direction of John Stenger, the students performed a variety of classical and modern songs, inlcuding Laudate Pueri, Shady Grove, Shine on Me, and The Kazoo Koncerto (!). After some full days of rehearsal, the choir performed for family and friends at Eastern KY University's auditorium on Nov. 7.

Congratulations to our choir students on their excellent performance!

Our Lady of the Mountains hosts an Artist in Residence

Above: Kindergarten students enjoyed learning a traditional folk song with Ms. Jennifer Rose and teacher Christy Terry.

Sue Miller from Our Lady of the Mountains School sent us this report. OLM has had great success in obtaining grant funding from the Kentucky Arts Council and other sources to bring artists into the classroom and then incorporating parents and the wider community into the arts program.

Our Lady of the Mountains School in Paintsville recently welcomed Ms. Jennifer Rose, an internationally known instructor of Appalachian Dance and Music, for an intensive, week-long Artist in Residence Program. The program was funded by a grant from the Kentucky Arts Council and was designed to provide an intensive study and experience in Appalachian culture.
Matching funds for the grant were provided by Citizens National Bank, The Highlands Foundation, and the Perrin family.

Students and teachers received instruction in a variety of Appalachian dance styles, including square, circle, and longways dances. In addition, the students learned a variety of folk songs and participated in discussions related to the unique ethnic heritage of the Eastern Kentucky Mountains. Multiple cross-curricular activities were incorporated into the week-long program, including a traditional Appalachian lunch, arts and crafts, and games.

As part of the program, Ms. Rose also conducted a Professional Development Seminar attended by teachers from the Johnson and Magoffin County school systems on incorporating Appalachian culture into standard classroom curriculum. Ms. Rose also provided a presentation to school parents on the value of arts education and exploring traditional Appalachian culture in the home environment. The program culminated in a dance and singing recital for family and friends in the school's third floor ballroom.

Our Lady of the Mountains School continues to aggressively pursue grant opportunities to supplement the art and music programs offered to students in grades pre-school through
eight. For more information, please contact the school office at 606-789-3661.

LCHS Choir Members at the Honors Choir in Morehead

Twenty-seven members of Lexington Catholic's choir traveled to Morehead State University on Monday, Nov. 10 to participate in the State Honor Choir event held on the campus.

Students practiced hard all day Monday and Tuesday with Dr. Andre Thomas from Florida State University and Dr. Andrew Larsen from Stetson University (FL), finishing up with a wonderful concert on Tuesday night. LCHS Senior Catherine Gorrell wowed the crowd with her rendition of "God Help the Outcasts" from Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame and was named the winner of the solo competition.

Congratulations to Catherine and all the Honor Choir students, shown in the photo above!

Upcoming Music Events at MQHR

Music Teacher Mark Flannery sent along these notes about the wintry music scene at Mary Queen of the Holy Rosary School in Lexington:

The First and Second Graders of MQHR will present "Melton the Warm Hearted Snowman" on Dec. 17 at 6:30 PM at MQHR. The school/church choir will also be on the performance bill.

In other news,

The following students from MQ were selected through an audition process to attend the Central Kentucky Music Educator’s Association’s Elementary Choral Event at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, KY:

Bethany Reynolds, Mary Crocetti, Grace Banahan, Anna McAvoy, Grant Peck, Matthew Hayes, Jacob Roberts and Parker Wells

These students will be performing in Choir 1 under the direction of John Stegner, conductor. Students rehearse at MQ weekly on Thursday afternoons. The performance will be at Brock Auditorium on EKU’s campus Friday, November 7, 2008, at 7PM. If anyone is interested in attending, arriving by 6:30 for seating would probably be to your advantage due to the popularity of the concert. The concert is FREE and open to the public.

This is the first time that MQ has been represented at CKMEA choir!!!

3D Arts Academy in Full Swing at SPPS

Here is a report from Nanci Barnhart, Fine Arts Coordinator at Sts. Peter and Paul School in downtown Lexington about the latest happenings at the school's "3D Arts Academy."

The 3D Arts Academy is off to a great start! Forty-seven 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students, as well as nine from Harrison Elementary, are participating. We have class offerings in steel drums, guitar, contemporary dance, drama, “green” art, jewelry making, cultural dance, and African/Latin drumming.

Our art teacher, Beth Ettensohn, is teaching the Art City Club, which will feature field trips to local art galleries, as well as creating art for the community. Instructors for the program come from the downtown arts organizations: Lexington Children’s Theater, Living Arts & Science Center, Lexington Ballet, Central Music Academy, and the UK School of Music. We also have a class, jewelry making, being taught by one of our parents, Jessica Ragland. The classes will run for six weeks, with a culminating performance on Wednesday, Nov. 5, from 6:30 – 7:30 P.M. We would love to see you there! A special “thank you” goes to our parent helpers, Mrs. Mize, Mrs. Wilhite, Mrs. Barton, and Mrs. Beach.

We are initiating a partnership with the Lexington Philharmonic in November. A feature of the partnership will be a visit from the instrument “petting zoo” for the younger students. They will be visiting SPPS on Nov, 11 and 13. The Niles and Verdi Quartets will play for us and then visit individual classrooms. In March, we will take our students to the Singletary Center for the orchestra’s “Discovery Series” concert.

The UK Opera Theater has been scheduled for a school performance on November 24 at 1 P.M. They will present “The Billy Goats Gruff”, which features classical operatic literature with a modern twist on the story. The story line centers on bullying, and a teachers’ guide will be available to incorporate the lessons from the opera into the classroom.

Performing & Visual Arts College Night at LCHS!

Lexington Catholic High School will host representatives from over 20 colleges and universities at the LCHS Performing and Visual Arts College Night on Tuesday, Oct. 21, from 7-9 PM. Visiting colleges include UK, UofL, EKU, Ohio University, University of Dayton, Xavier University, Savannah College of Art and Design, and the Art Academy of Cincinnati.

Students will have the opportunity to speak with reps about their schools' fine arts programs, scholarship programs, internships, and career placement opportunities. Students may also make appointments for portfolio reviews and performance auditions with select schools.

Check out more details at the LCHS web site at

http://www.lexingtoncatholic.com/

Art at FrancisFest 2008

The Franciscan Peace Center held its annual FrancisFest on October 5, 2008, at ArtsPlace in Leixngton. FrancisFest is an active, peace education event for all ages. This year's theme was "Making Peace..Mending Seams," noting that "it is possible to create something beautiful and to begin anew using the 'broken pieces.' We can always start over."

Students in grades K-12 were invited to diplay their art, made entirely from broken pieces, as part of the celebration. Students from several Catholic schools did just that, submitting 51 pieces in all. The Franciscan Peace Center plans to post all the artwork on their web pages. In the meantime, here are some photos of the art created by students from St. Leo School in Versailles, KY.

Above at left - the appropriately named composition "Peace" by Nick F, 8th grade, created from torn tissue paper. Below, at right, "White Rose Bush" by Audrey B, 5th grade, created from a ripped sweater and tissue paper.

Below at left, "Scented Candle" by Raley S, 7th grade, created from broken sea glass, and below at right, "Bird" by Monica W., 8th grade, created from a broken CD.

At left, "Stars" by Trayce F., 6th grade

LCHS Band Director is district Music Teacher of the Year!

Allison Weitkamp, Band Director at Lexington Catholic High School (and also band director at MQHR and SPPS) was selected as the KMEA District 7/11 High School Music Teacher of the Year. This award was voted on by all of the music teachers in the District, and Allison is now in the running for the state award.

Congratulations to Allison, and good luck in the state selection round!!!

Below, Allison directs the 8th graders (in front there) from all our area Catholic school bands at the 2008 "Cartoons and Classics" concert at LCHS.

Sts. Peter & Paul School is "Artfully" Improving

Here is a note from the field from Mrs. Nanci Barnhart, Fine Arts Coordinator at Sts Peter & Paul School in downtown Lexington. Above: the site plan for the renovations at SPPS

Exciting things are happening at Sts. Peter & Paul School in downtown Lexington! Our first ever “3D Arts Academy” is scheduled to begin on Sept. 23. After-school classes will be offered to our 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students in Music, Art, Dance, and Drama. The classes will be held on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 3-4 PM. Instructors from the Lexington Ballet, Lexington Children’s Theater, Music Institute of Lexington, the University of Kentucky School of Music and Central Music Academy will be on staff, as well as some of our own talented parents and teachers. Examples of class offerings are jewelry making, drama improvisation, contemporary and multi-cultural dance, guitar, Latin and African drumming, and Art City club. Students from nearby Harrison Elementary have also been invited to attend. A showcase to highlight the children’s accomplishments will be held on Nov. 5. The Academy is made possible by a grant from the Paul and Lucille Little Foundation.

Our middle school students are excited about their upcoming production, “Treasure Island.” Under the direction of Ms. Stephanie Wier, the performances will be held on Nov. 14 & 15, 2008. Due to the construction going on at our new facility, the performances will be held at Lexington Christian Academy.

In other SPPS news, the K-2 students will be introduced to “Arts to Go” backpacks in Art and Music. These backpacks feature lesson plans, centered around the National Standards for Art and Music Education, which will be completed by parent and child. A “Breakfast with the Arts” will be held once a week to give the children a chance to discuss their projects with each other and Mrs. Barnhart, the Fine Arts Coordinator.

The KAEA Fall Conference is Coming Up

Cornelia Nash, art teacher at MQHR in Lexington (and avid participant in the DOL Arts Consortium!), passes along this timely information about the Kentucky Art Education Association (KAEA) upcoming fall conference.

When: Oct 24 (Fri) and 25 (Sat), 2008

Where: Bernheim Middle School, Shepherdsville KY

Cost: 1 day - $75

2 day - $125 by Sept. 15, costs go up after that

Accommodations: The Country Inn & Suites in Shepherdsville, $79.99 per night with KAEA mention

All the fine details are at the KAEA website at http://www.kyaea.org/Conference.html

Cornelia, shown above as she worked away at "The Mathematics of Perspectives," also shares:

"I have attended this conference for 10 years and have always left renewed and recharged with new information and ideas. I recommend this conference to all of our visual arts people."

So be sure to check it out!

Lex Cath Choir Performed in Europe

The Lexington Catholic High School Choir, shown above, traveled to Rome and Paris this past June to perform their heavenly music!

The link to the article in the Lexington Herald-Leader is currently available at:

http://www.kentucky.com/141/story/495672.html

Congratulations to the LCHS Choir on a successful "tour of the continent!"

Welcome Back!

We're now into the 2008-09 school year - hope everyone is primed for another great year of teaching and learning in all subject areas!

There were a number of summer "camps" and workshops at several of our diocesan schools. Please send along your recaps, photos, etc. and we will post them here.

For starters, Broadway star and Lexington Catholic alumna Laura Bell Bundy (above) returned to LCHS to lead a "Take It From the Top!" theater workshop. Along with Patrick Canaan, her co-star from the hit musical "Legally Blonde," Laura B B led some 200 middle school and high school students in activities and exercises to help them hone not only their performing skills, but their audition skills as well. The full article published in the Lexington Herald-Leader is curently available at

http://www.kentucky.com/701/story/476205.html

St. Agatha Invites all to Discover and Explore Their School

St. Agatha Academy in Winchester has uploaded a wonderful video about their school on their new website. Check it out at

http://discoverstagatha.net

Lex Fam Scholar-Athlete Also Enjoys the Arts!

Haley Ramsey, a 2008 graduate of Mary Queen of the Holy Rosary in Lexington, is the featured Scholar Athlete in the June 2008 issue of Lexington Family Magazine. Here is the link to the full story:

http://www.lexingtonfamily.com/current%20month/scholarathlete.htm

Along with swimming an awesome backstroke and butterfly and doing well in all her academic subjects, Haley played clarinet in the MQHR band, even qualifying for the state Honors band. She even joined the MQHR after-school art club, since band class was held at the same time as the school art class.

Congratulations to Haley, and best wishes as she continues her academic-athletic-artistic career at Lexington Catholic High School next year!

Seton Catholic Presents the Scientific Arts

Ms. Kathleen Thompson sends the following invitation to all:

The 4th and 5th grades proudly present our 3rd annual science fair, “Exceptional Experiments.”

We will be open for viewing next Thursday, May 22nd, from 12:30-2:30 PM in the main hallway.

Come and view our projects and listen to student presentations!

Great Music and Food on the Way at Picnic with the Knights!

Above, the 2007 Picnic with the Knights packed 'em into the Alumni Gym at LCHS

Tuesday, May 13, 2008, is the date for the wonderful "Picnic with the Knights" Pops Concert at Lexington Catholic High School, featuring the fabulous student musicians of the LCHS Band & Choir Program. Even better, those musicians and their families will host a Potluck Dinner along with the Concert!

This year's theme is "Music of the 1970's" so it promises to be a fond look back at some fun and catchy tunes. To make things even more exciting, there will be a split the pot raffle, so bring your lucky dollars and be ready to try your luck.

The evening starts at 6:00pm in the Alumni Gym (i.e, Older Gym) - everyone is invited!!

MQHR Expo Blends Art, Science, History, and More!

Photo above: The Puppet Show enthralled the audience at the MQHR School Expo

Mary Queen of the Holy Rosary School displayed the wide range of student learning and activities in the classrooms during the MQHR Expo on May 1, 2008. Students pulled out all the stops in demonstrating their knowledge of math, science, history and more with posters, interactive models, projects, shows, etc.

At left, two creative characters discuss whether the dragon could really turn someone into a crispy pop tart.

At right, two students prepare to launch a can on a fine example of a catapult, one of many complex machines built by students and set up in the Science Lab

At left, students loaded up the Art Room tables and walls with their fun and fancy projects.

Teachers Brush Up Their Perspective

Photo above: Arts Consortium Facilitator Beth E. welcomes teachers to the first AC Professional Development workshop

Fourteen teachers attended the pilot workshop in the Art Wing of Lexington Catholic High School for the Diocese of Lexington's Arts Consortium Professional Development series. LCHS teachers Stephen Dorsett (art) and Anne Bradford (math) combined their expertise to present "The Perspectives of Mathematics."

Stephen started things off with a brief power point display that showed reproductions of paintings that do not use perspective and paintings that do use perspective, such as da Vinci's The Last Supper, a true masterpiece of the Renaissance perspective tradition.

After a discussion about some elements of perspective ("horizon line," "vanishing point," "two dimensional space," etc.) and some elements of geometry ("point," "parallel lines," "surface area," etc.), participants got right to work on creating their own one-point perspective street scene, using their nifty drawing kits.

Anne referred teachers to the activities/sequence guide in the lesson plan handout that suggested all sorts of math exercises for all ages of students - from identifying shapes and measuring the different angles seen in a perspective drawing to calculating the area of the buildings (and windows!) in the drawing. In the meantime, Stephen continued to whip up some good-looking skyscrapers (with lots of windows!).

Teachers then had some time to continue working on their drawings and get some pointers on other fun things to do with their artwork.

Thanks to all the attendees at this first workshop for making it such a big success. The Arts Consortium plans on offering PD workshops on a regular basis from now on. The AC invites teachers to share and present their ideas for workshops to help all our teachers use the arts more fully in service of all curriculum subjects!

Dancing with the Seton Stars

Julie White of Seton Catholic sends this report from the field:

Seton Catholic School brought the famous TV show “Dancing with the Stars” right here to their school. We didn’t need famous celebrities; we had our own Seton dancers to compete. The first “Dancing with the Seton Stars” was held in the Seton Gym on April 18th. It was planned by a group of 8th graders along with the help of Mrs. Julie White, the PE teacher at Seton Catholic School.

The middle school students were able to compete in this competition with the rest of the school coming to watch. The students learned the dances in PE and then signed up for the dances that they would like to compete in. Above left, the "Dance Like There's No Tomorrow" team even made their own T-shirt for their big number.

We had celebrity judges (above right) to judge our dancers. They were Diana Evans, owner of Diana Evans school of Dance, Father Norman Fischer, an accomplished singer, dancer and artist, and Traci Steele, who is a celebrity at our school with a dance background. The judges chose the top three dancers in each category. These students were awarded prizes by the judges.

Some teachers also showed their steps. At left, Mr. Campbell kept the beat and made his team proud!

Fun was had by all and the students are looking forward to the event next year!

LCHS Band Plays a Distinguished Part at KMEA

Congratulations to the LCHS Band for earning a DISTINGUISHED rating
at the KMEA District Concert Band Festival! The festival was held at Scott County High School on April 25.

A Distinguished rating is the highest rating category and represents a "Superior" performance. The Band played Court Festival by William Latham and Bravura by C.E. Duble.

The photo above shows the band in action under the direction of Assistant Director Brad Kerns, and the photo at left shows the band being conducted by Director Allison Weitkamp.

First Arts Consortium Workshop Coming on April 29!

LCHS Art Teacher Stephen Dorsett and LCHS Math Teacher Anne Bradford will present the first in a series of Professional Development mini-workshops, sponsored by the DOL Arts Consortium. The workshop will be held Tuesday, April 29, in the Lexington Catholic Art Room (go in the big glass door entrance, turn right, go past the concession stand, and turn right into the art room). A box supper will be served at 5:30 PM, with the presentation from 6- 7PM.

Stephen and and Anne will discuss "The Perspectives of Mathematics," a fun exploration of how math concepts and art concepts come together and provide useful tools for a wide variety of applications, including art, architecture, and engineering.

The presentation is geared toward teachers of 4th to 8th grade students, but any teacher who is interested in the subject is most welcome to attend. All registered participants will receive a lesson plan and drawing tools - and registration is sponsored by the NCEA grant, so attendance is free!

The deadline for registration is noon on Monday, April 28. E-mail Jill at jheink@cdlex.org or call her at 253-1993, x252.

(The illustration above is a classic one-pont perspective study by Jan Vredeman de Vries, from his Perspective, Leiden, 1604.)

LCHS Students Open Up the Gallery Hop at CC

Lexington Catholic High School students opened up the April 18 Gallery Hop festivities at the Carnegie Center in downtown Lexington. The beautiful late afternoon spring sunshine showed off the students' beautiful paintings, sketches and photography in the very best light, as they say.

The artwork is on display at the Carnegie Center
until May 9th. The Carnegie Center is located at 251 W Second St in Gratz Park.

Gallery hours are 9:00 am to 7:30 pm Monday through Thursday,
9:00 am to 5:00 pm Friday, Saturday 10:00 am to 2:00 pm, and Sunday is closed.