Fine Arts
Schools in School District No. 73 offer many learning opportunities in the Fine and Performing Arts. Each of the fine arts has its own essential skills, techniques and processes that provide students with insights and ways of assimilating and expressing all learning. In the disciplines of visual art, drama, music and dance, the student is involved as a creator, performer, critic, and consumer. Because the arts draw on different kinds of intelligences or ways of thinking, the arts can also help students learn other subjects.
In our School District ,12 elementary schools have music specialists teaching music in a sequential program while other elementary schools have generalists who teach their own classroom music. Eight elementary schools have Band Programs and most elementary schools have choirs. Many elementary schools offer other music programs such as recorder, ukulele and Orff training. Through Young People’s Concerts all elementary students enjoy the experience of attending live concerts at a professional theatre.
Most of the secondary schools in our School District offer Band and Choral Programs, with the larger schools also offering Jazz Bands, Vocal Jazz Courses as well as guitar classes. Events such as the School District Honour Band and Choir Concert as well as the District Jazz Program ensure a rewarding and enjoyable experience for its participants while striving to attain excellence in music.
All of the secondary schools offer visual art programs to their students taught by an Art Specialist. Students work with many different mediums and are involved in exhibiting their work at both a school and a district level through various art shows such as the Arts in the High Country Festival. Elementary students have the opportunity to be involved in the Young Artists Conference.
Drama Teachers offer programs in all of the secondary schools in our School District with extra-curricular productions typically presented in the spring. The school district has an on-going partnership with the Western Canada Theatre Company. Drama is generally integrated into other subject areas at the elementary level, while some of our elementary schools are regularly involved in dramatic performances and choric presentations.
Dance is offered both as a major and minor subject area at Beattie School of the Arts. All other elementary schools generally integrate the dance learning outcomes in their core curricula or as part of their physical education programs, music programs or daily physical activity.
Beattie School of the Arts is a "Learning Through the Arts" school of choice. It provides parents and students in the School District No. 73 with a school where the art forms are integrated into instruction in the academic areas wherever possible. As well, the arts are taught separately to give students an opportunity to develop skills in dance, drama, music, singing and visual arts. Located on two campuses, the Beattie School of the Arts provides students from kindergarten through grade 12 with strong skills in the core curricular areas, as well as strong skills in the arts.
The School District No. 73 Strings Program is offered at 5 elementary schools throughout our district. This program gives students in grade 4 an opportunity to learn to play the violin and provides on-going instruction as students move through the program. An after-school String Orchestra gives all string players in our school district the opportunity to play in an ensemble.
The Kamloops Thompson Honour Choir and Kamloops Thompson Children’s Choir are unique opportunities for students to excel in music studies outside of their regular school timetable. The children’s choirs are an auditioned choir whose members range from grades 3 to 8. They rehearse weekly at the Henry Grube Education Center and represent our school district musically throughout the city, in festivals, and on tour around British Columbia. This program enjoys considerable additional support from the Kamloops Thompson Honour Choir Parent Society.
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