Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Engaging Electives - Matthew J. Kuss Middle School - 0
Engaging Electives - Matthew J. Kuss Middle School - 0
This considerable array of choices enables students to discover new interests and to develop their existing talents. Many of the electives including band, art, video production, and theaterare offered at different levels, or over several semesters or years, allowing students to move toward mastery. Students who are interested in the performing arts, for instance, can participate in the schools award-winning theater arts program for all three years of middle school. Being involved in the Kuss theater program helped me find something I want for my major in college and my future career. I think more people are coming to our school because they know that there is at least one thing that will make their middle school years memorable, explains Xavielys Perez, a Kuss student. In fact, the schools theater program has become so popular, it has been expanded to include acting workshops, technical theater (set and lighting design), and costume design. Each year, Kuss sends a delegation of students to the Massachusetts Middle School Drama Festival, where the school won a gold medal in 2009. Like many of the electives Kuss offers, this program reinforces what students are learning in their core academic classes. By producing Macbeth and Little Shop of Horrors, the program exposes students to literature that is traditionally a part of the high school English curriculum. Before students can perform, they must do a deep analysis of the text, learn advanced vocabulary, and discuss key concepts such as theme, character, and plot development. Many of the schools elective courses culminate in a final product, performance, or presentation, allowing students to demonstrate what they have learned for their peers, families, and the community at the end of a semester. The video production class, for example, created a music video to get students excited about the MCAS (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment Systemthe states standardized test). These talented young producers were responsible for the writing, acting/dancing, filming, and editing that went into the music video.
50
TI M E WEL L S PENT