Noemy Hernandez is a passionate arts in education administrator, choreographer and artistic director. She has worked extensively in New York and Los Angeles. Noemy has been the Los Angeles Program Coordinator for Everyday Arts for Special Education—a program that coaches teachers in how to integrate the arts into their curriculum to increase student engagement. She also served as Professional Development Workshop Facilitator for LAUSD teachers and Teaching Artist. She has helped develop curriculum and implementation of a multi-million dollar i3 grant for the program Every Day Arts for Special Education (E.A.S.E.), working with special needs students and their teachers at the NYC Department of Education. She facilitated workshops, coordinated logistics with LAUSD district members and principals, and trained teachers to integrate the arts into their everyday curriculum to increase student engagement.
Artistically, Noemy served as Artistic Director of Calpulli Mexican Dance Company in New York City. Among other projects, she choreographed for The Brooklyn Philharmonic, the Grammy Award-winning artist Arturo O’Farrill & his Jazz Orchestra, the New York Metropolitan Museum, and the Brooklyn Museum. Her choreography has been presented at the Bahrain Grand Prix in the Kingdom of Bahrain, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, and NYC’s Shakespeare in the Park. As a Teaching Artist, she coached finalists for YoungArts (the only path to becoming a Presidential Scholar in the Arts), and has been bringing the arts to children in Los Angeles and New York for over 15 years. To find out more about Noemy Hernandez go to: https://www.everydayarts.org/.
TK, Kindergarten and 1st Grade Curriculum Laura Walter - Music
Education Through Music is a language-based program in which song, movement and interactive play promote emotional, social, cognitive and musical developments. It is the study of artful teaching and the process of learning. Based on English language songs, it is designed to promote the study of sound and the acquisition of language. Together with movement, these build the imagaic system and symbolization processes, thereby laying the foundation for the building of intelligence.
Laura Walter received a Master of Music degree in Flute Performance from the University of Kentucky. She studied flute with various members of the Cincinnati Symphony, New York Philharmonic and the London Symphony. She serves on the faculty of Westmont College and also performs with the Santa Barbara Symphony, Opera Santa Barbara, as well as local choral societies. Laura has performed with several orchestras across the country, is active as a clinician and competition adjudicator, and has established and conducted flute choirs at colleges and festivals across the country.
Andrew Grueschow is a LA based percussionist with an interest in music the world over. He has traveled to Ghana, West Africa several times. Studying the music of the Ewe and the Dagombas, and recording traditional drumming for Zadonu Records. Andrew is a faculty member at California Institute of Arts, where he teaches in the African Music and Dance department and the World Percussion department. For the last 20 years Andrew has been teaching percussion based workshops. Often focusing on the music of Ghana and composition/performance of original works, in schools throughout Southern California for the Music Center Education Division, Segerstorm Center for the Performing Arts, LA County Office of Education, and Los Angeles Philharmonic.
He has been actively involved in curriculum and lesson plan development for all of the arts institutions he is affiliated with. Andrew has extensive experience leading teacher professional development with the Music Center, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and special projects such as the Music Learning National Consortium LLSN & Technology Enhanced Arts Learning TEAL. https://www.musiccenter.org/education/Professional-Development/Our-Teaching-Artists/Teaching-Artist-Faculty/Andrew-Grueschow/.
Music & Dance of Ghana These student workshops focus on the music and dance of Ghana, West Africa. Students will play traditional instruments, and work on repertoire of the Ewe speaking people of Ghana West Africa. Along with practicing various traditional drumming patterns, students will also work on the dances that accompany each piece of drumming they learn. Exploring the culture of Ghana, and the role of music and dance in their society, will give context to the student’s music making and dancing. Several aspects of student’s social personal development such as: focus, teamwork, listening, perseverance, and self-awareness will be highlighted and discussed with students throughout our residency. The workshops align to California VAPA standards, and common core is supported throughout the residency.
3rd Grade Curriculum Gorilla Art Studios - Visual Arts
4th Grade Curriculum Gustavo Alberto Garcia Vaca - Filmmaking
As an Educator and Community Leader, Gustavo develops and directs community-based art projects, creating positive, collaborative environments that engage diverse communities of all ages/economic backgrounds to expand communication/work/life skills. He has created art-making workshops, classes, curriculum and community-based public art installations and exhibitions for LACMA, MOCA, MOLAA, USC Pacific Asia Museum, the Skirball Cultural Center and the California African American Museum. Along with his wife Alma Villegas, Gustavo has established chamanvision, an arts studio that produces art books, directs/curates art/music exhibitions/events nationally and internationally, and whose clients include Apple Computer Inc., Capitol Records, Disney, Union Bank and Warner Bros. Through this expansive multidisciplinary approach, Gustavo has created an artistic practice that is cross-cultural and global in scope.
5th Grade Curriculum Andrew Grueschow - “Scoring a Story”
These student workshops will empower students to score a story. Students will create their own patterns, and make choices about the elements of music to create their own original music that will pair with a story that is appropriate for their grade level. We will work as a large group to practice ideas, and then do independent creative work in small groups, scoring individual parts of the story. The small group work gives us a chance to engage many of the speaking and listening aspects of common core, and as students are making choices about their musical elements, they will be asked to show evidence in the text of their story to drive their musical choices. All aspects of the VAPA music standards are covered, as students engage the playing of music, but also the literacy of music (reading and writing their own patterns). Along with the focus of building student’s musical skill, teachers will also gain understanding of the social-personal development that music making can facilitate (focus, teamwork, listening, etc.), and integrating through parallel processes between music and other curriculum areas (tracking, decoding…).
Digital Literacy Program
Teaching Digital Natives Students aren’t born with digital literacy skills. They may be able to play video games and use cell phones, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they understand basic uses, best practices, and safety risks when it comes to technology. So, what is digital literacy? It’s the ability to understand, use and safely interact with technology, media and digital resources in real-world situations.
Give your students the opportunity to excel in our digital world by equipping them with these critical skills – starting as early as kindergarten.
Drama Education Network provides standards-based curriculum products, teacher training services, and school residencies in arts and literacy for grades preschool through college. Our mission is to empower educators to use creative drama and theatre arts to create an optimal learning environment in any classroom. We specialize in theatre education, literacy development, and arts integration across the curriculum. Our products and services have been developed and refined through years of research, classroom experience, and feedback from fellow educators.
Drama Education Network has four educational purposes. The first is to use creative drama to enhance the social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development of children of all ages. We show educators how creative drama can be used to make learning fun and meaningful in all school subjects while developing 21st Century skills such as creativity and collaboration. Our second purpose is to teach theatre as an art form to students of all ages. Our third purpose is to develop literacy and enhance the language arts program. Our fourth purpose is arts integration: a) integrating the arts together (e.g., drama and dance or media and theatre); and b) integrating the arts across the curriculum (e.g., pantomiming math terms such as area/perimeter, or dancing the water cycle).
Please consider donating to the Family Giving Campaign so we can keep programs like these at our school. Click below to get information on this campaign, including our benefit levels.
All of the following programs and events for the 2019-20 school were funded by your contributions to Families For Stevenson… including a unique arts curriculum for EVERY grade.
In School Arts Education Classes
Dance for ALL grades (12 Weeks)
Music for TK, Kindergarten and 1st grade (12 Weeks)
Drumming for 2nd Grade (10 Weeks)
Visual Arts for 3rd Grade (10 Weeks)
Film for 4th Grade (12 Weeks)
Musical Scoring for 5th Grade (12 Weeks)
Technology Programs
Digital Literacy Program (basic computer skill curriculum)
Drama Works! Teaching Program (using drama to teach every day subjects)
New iPad Cart
Auditorium Sound Equipment
Arts & Technology focused Professional Development
FFS Events
Back to School Blues Picnic
Snow Glow Dance Party
4th Grade Film Festival
Winter Dance Performance
Winter Gala and Auction
Student Talent Show
Stevenson Rocks! (Spring Carnival)
Volunteer Appreciation Event in conjunction with PTA
