Northeastern Ontario Regional Arts Conference & Community Choral Concert

Educators from Rainbow Schools and beyond will take part in the Northeastern Ontario Regional Arts Conference (NORAC) on Wednesday, November 2, 2011 in the new arts studios at Sudbury Secondary School. Over 100 educators, student teachers and community artists from across Northeastern Ontario are expected to attend.

“Sudbury Secondary School is once again proud to host this arts extravaganza for elementary and secondary educators from across Northeastern Ontario,” said Ralph McIntosh, Arts Education Co-ordinator for Rainbow District School Board and Chair of the Conference Committee. “Participants will gain practical strategies they can introduce in their classrooms to expose students to dance, drama, music, visual arts and media arts.”

McIntosh commended the various sponsors for coming together to make this annual conference possible, now in its seventh year. “This is a wonderful example of partnerships in action for the benefit of arts education and students in our schools,” he said.

Workshops will be presented in dance, drama, music, visual arts and media arts for all teaching divisions.


Conference Schedule:

3:30 pm – Registration and trade fair (cafeteria)
4:00 pm – Welcome and musical entertainment
4:30 pm – Workshops: Session 1
5:45 pm – Dinner and trade fair
6:45 pm – Workshops: Session 2
8:30 pm – Elmer Iseler Singers (Toronto) and Octatonic Decadence (Sudbury) Concert, St. Anne des Pins Church, 14 Beech Street

The Northeastern Ontario Regional Arts Conference is sponsored by Rainbow District School Board, Sudbury Catholic District School Board, Near North District School Board, Laurentian University, Nipissing University, the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO), the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF), the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA), the Council of Ontario Drama and Dance Educators (CODE), the Ontario Music Educators’ Association (OMEA), the Ontario Society for Education through Art (OSEA) and Prologue to the Performing Arts.

Special guest clinicians include: Dr. Katharine Smithrim, co-author of The Arts as Meaning Makers; Kim Snider and Brooke Charlebois, President and Vice-President of CODE; and Ashlie Corcoran, a director with the Canadian Opera Company who will be touring Greater Sudbury schools with “Isis and the Seven Scorpions”, a one-act opera written specifically for young children.

The cost to register is $40 for teachers or community artists and $50 for those outside of the Greater Sudbury area. Conference registration is open until Friday, October 21st, 2011. To register, contact Ralph McIntosh at [email protected] or call 705.523.3308 ext. 8250.

Choral Concert

Following the conference, the community is invited to attend a concert featuring The Elmer Iseler Singers, one of Canada’s premiere choral ensembles. The concert will be held in L’Église Ste-Anne des Pins, 14 Beech Street, from 8:30 pm to 10:00 pm. The Iseler Singers will be joined by Sudbury’s award-winning a cappella choral ensemble, Octatonic Decadence, for several selections.

Tickets are $25 for adults, $20 for students, and $10 for children. Tickets are available at Black Cat, Jett Landry and Laurentian University’s Information Booth. NORAC participants will receive a $5 discount.

This concert is made possible in part by generous support from The Jan Oystrick Team of Realtors and the Ontario Arts Council touring grants program.  

For more information about the concert, please call 705-675-1151, ext. 4389 or email [email protected].


NORAC WORKSHOPS



EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION and the ARTS


“The Arts as Meaning Makers” – The Importance of the Arts in the Early Years
Plenary address by Dr. Katharine Smithrim, Queen’s University

Making Meaning Musically
Dr. David Buley, Laurentian University

Drama as the Meaning Medium – Infusing it Everywhere!
Dr. Jan Buley, Laurentian University

VISUAL ARTS

Aboriginal Pedagogy – The Art of Learning
Will Morin, Laurentian University

Teaching the Elements and Principles of Design through Scrapbooking
Liz Ashworth, Nipissing University – sponsored by OSEA

Pressing Issues (Printmaking)
Patti Hannila and Sue Bechard, Rainbow District School Board

Flash Animation
Birgitta Pollanen, Cambrian College

DANCE


Learning Through Dance – How to Integrate Dance into Other Subjects
Brooke Charlebois, Peel District School Board – sponsored by CODE

Stretching our Minds: Dance in the Classroom, Learning Through Movement
Emily Caruso Parnell, Rainbow District School Board

MUSIC and DRAMA

Teaching Beginning Band Students
Jack Gordon, Algoma District School Board – sponsored by OMEA

Music for Young Children
Heather Parker, ARCT

Opera in the Classroom
Ashlie Corcoran, Canadian Opera Company – sponsored by Prologue to the Performing Arts

Heroes: Using Drama to Explore History, Story and Myth
Kim Snider, Toronto District School Board – sponsored by CODE

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Media Contact:
Ralph McIntosh, Arts Education Co-ordinator,
Rainbow District School Board, 705.523.3308 ext. 8250