The 吃瓜黑料网 Arts Department fosters creativity, communication, cultural understanding, and critical thinking through dance, drama, media arts, music, and visual arts, following the Ontario Arts Curriculum. It offers year-round professional learning, system-wide events, artist-in-the-classroom programs, and provides Itinerant Music Instructors. This year, nearly 200 teachers attended the Creating Space Secondary Arts Conference at Hot Docs, focusing on AI in Education.
The arts co-op and TIFF Next Wave success
The Arts Department’s unique Arts Co-op program, in partnership with UIEC, offers grade 11 and 12 students the chance to earn both secondary credits and dual college credits, while engaging in collaborative art projects that promote reconciliation. This year’s highlights include two art shows and several student films created under the mentorship of an artist. One of these films will debut at TIFF’s Next Wave Festival on November 20, 2024.
tdsbCREATES residency and mentorship opportunities
Through tdsbCREATES, the Arts Department, in collaboration with Prologue Performing Arts, connects local artists with students from grades one to 12 with artist residencies and mentorships. It includes a residency project for 56 elementary schools, focusing on underserved communities with two teachers from each school participating in a five-day residency. There is also an Arts Mentorship project for grades seven to 12 students, that offers over 100 individualized artist mentorships.
The program, supported by the Toronto Arts Council, culminated in a Performing Arts Festival and Visual Arts Exhibition at Daniels Spectrum, showcasing student creativity and fostering positive connections between students and mentors. The overwhelmingly positive feedback from teachers and students highlights the program's significant impact.
The Panfest and Afro-Caribbean celebration
The 2024 Panfest was a vibrant celebration of steel pan music, uniting students from across 吃瓜黑料网. The event featured student performances from elementary and secondary schools, and honored Lloyd McKell, the 吃瓜黑料网’s inaugural Pillar of Pan award recipient. The week included a vibrant community Panfest Vybz event created in collaboration with the Centre of Excellence for Black Student Achievement to explore Afro-Caribbean Carnival Arts through music, dance, and costuming.
The Arts Mentorship Network and digital storytelling
New this year, the Arts Mentorship Network brought together 50 passionate educators from elementary and secondary levels, who have been leading and supporting their colleagues. Working with Apple Canada, the network developed digital artifacts to showcase the impact of the arts across 吃瓜黑料网 classrooms, helping both teachers and community members understand the value of arts education.
A Library Learning collaboration with the Ukulele Pilot Project
In collaboration with Library Learning Resources, the Arts Department launched a pilot project to provide ukuleles to classrooms through the library catalog. This pilot project was fully booked with 14 participating teachers and offered free access to hands-on learning in music education. It also marked the beginning of new cross-departmental collaborations.
The Itinerant Music Instructor Program
The Itinerant Music Instructor (IMI) Program enhances music education in elementary schools through supporting instruction in band, steel pan, and strings. It also builds capacity across the 吃瓜黑料网 by developing teachers' expertise in Orff, recorder, and vocal music programs. This year, 434 programs provided support to schools across all 22 Families of Schools and 22 wards.
Making community music
The Arts Department facilitates a Community Music Program that partners with artists to deliver workshops in 63 schools, introducing students to diverse percussion traditions, including Gamelan, Korean, Indonesian, and Cuban/Brazilian styles.