Author: Tammy Lane • First Posted: Sunday, April 10, 2011

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Kindergarteners enjoyed making finger puppets on Arts Day. Other scenes around the school ...

For years, Dixie Magnet Elementary School has pulled out all the stops for a springtime arts extravaganza. 

The excitement starts to build when students sign up for arts enrichment clubs, which meet for six weeks.

“They’re really learning an art from the very basic beginning. It’s something they look forward to, and we rarely have anyone who misses a class,” said visual arts teacher Rachel Losch. “It’s such a tension-reliever from test preparations and the rigorous day they have. It’s a chance to release their energies and anxieties.”

The culmination is Arts Night, with diverse performances and exhibits for families and friends to enjoy. The following day during school, all the students participate in Arts Day activities.

“I really appreciate that it gives all our students another outlet for being successful. Some children may be more quiet or timid in academics, but you put on music and watch the hula hoops fly,” said first-year principal Tara Isaacs.

“We want school to be a place you want to be, not where you have to be,” she said, noting the emphasis on fun on the eve of spring break.

One highlight of Arts Night was examples from a new class called Art for the Earth and Art from the Earth, where the kids wove old T-shirt scraps onto hula hoops and made pencil cases out of big potato chip bags.

“Every project the students made was from items people would have thrown away,” Losch said.

Evening performances included a steel drum band, chorus and flag corps.

“The most amazing thing is watching a child taking flag or baton twirling learn a routine in six weeks and perform in front of an audience. You just see their growth, and their self-esteem blooms,” Losch said.

The action continued all day at school as volunteers and experts from the community shared their art with the children.

Lines of kids practiced Zumbatonic moves in a quick workout, while others tried their hand (ur, foot) at Shaolin-Do karate.

Down the hallway, a group of students gathered to hear how African drummers communicated between villages to celebrate harvests or weddings. Others practiced calligraphy, made finger puppets and stretched their imaginations in mini-dramas.

 “You can sort of feel the vibe around school,” Losch said beforehand. “It’s a long stretch from winter break to spring break, so it gives them something to look forward to.”