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Daemen, Musicalfare Collaborate on New Summer Theatre Camp for Elementary School Students
The Thomas Reynolds Center for Special Education and After-School Programs at Daemen College, together with the Daemen Visual and Performing Arts Department and Musicalfare Theatre, are collaborating on a new four week academic summer camp titled "Spotlight on English Language Arts Performance." The camp is a unique opportunity, developed for students entering grades 2 through grade 5. Students from many area school districts, including some in Niagara County, have enrolled in the camp. "Spotlight on ELA Performance" camp dates are July 21, 2008, through August 14, 2008, Monday – Thursday from 8:30am until 12:00pm.
The theatre campers are at The Thomas Reynolds Center on the Daemen campus from 8:30 – 10:20 a.m., working on strengthening reading and writing skills. The students then apply their knowledge in the theatre setting at Musicalfare, also on the Daemen campus, from 10:30 a.m.-12:00 noon. Graduate assistants from The Thomas Reynolds Center are providing instruction.
“A central goal of programming at The Thomas Reynolds Center is to improve struggling students' educational performance,” said Elizabeth R. Wright, J.D., M.S.W., Executive Director of the Thomas Reynolds Center for Special Education and After-School Programs.
“The Thomas Reynolds strives to improve educational outcomes for both students at risk academically and students with disabilities,” Wright added. “Spotlight on ELA Performance is an innovative program, designed to strengthen students’ English Language Arts (ELA) skills in conjunction with exposure to theater. The performance aspect of the program will work to strengthen student's comprehension of text while simultaneously building participant confidence. The students can't wait to get into Musicalfare everyday! It is a lot of fun, which is keeping the students motivated to learn while they have fun.
“We are very pleased to have the Daemen Visual and Performing Arts Department and Musicalfare as partners in this program.”
Daemen Assistant Professor of Art Education Garnell E. Washington worked to help create the Visual and Performing Arts Department collaboration with The Thomas Reynolds Center, to create a four week academic summer camp. The academic portion of the day boasts a 4:2 student teacher ratio at each grade level, allowing for individualized remediation and skill building.
Lesson plans are designed to focus on one story for a two day period. During the first 90 minutes, students focus on reading the story, defining important vocabulary, concentrating on comprehension, as well as utilizing RAVE-O and Step Up to Writing curricula to reinforce reading and writing skills. During the second 90 minute period, participating students are walked over to Musicalfare through a second collaboration with Randy Kramer, Artistic Director. Once at Musicalfare, students work with Daemen Assistant Professor of Theatre Christian Brandjes to enhance their knowledge of narrative text structures and story content through improvisation and group activities.