Art and Music
One of Harbor's many charms is the presence of student art and student music throughout our school. In the hallways, we may find a display of First Grade "Jackson Pollocks" or Fourth Grade "Picassos." A long row of windows may be enhanced by Third Grade cellophane "stained glass." A display cabinet may show off Eighth Grade jewelry. Glance in the music room, and you may find Pre-Kindergarten students marching in a circle, learning about rhythm and music. Or you may find a class of budding clarinetists or a rehearsal of the Lower School Wind Ensemble.
Click here to see a slideshow of current Art Around Harbor.
Click here to see a slideshow of the Upper School production of Tom Sawyer.
Studio Art
At Harbor the art curriculum is designed to help young students grow in perception, appreciation and knowledge of the visual arts.
In order to produce expressive artwork themselves, children must learn to respond with pleasure and understanding to the beauty of nature and man-made creations. Critical examinations of their surroundings, and study and discussion of great paintings and sculptures, all provide opportunities to sharpen aesthetic awareness and sensitivity to beauty.
In order for this to occur, our program concerns itself with four major avenues of personal growth and development.
I. The growth of aesthetic awareness and sensitivity.
II. The acquisition of art skills.
III. Creative and critical thinking.
IV. Individual personal expression.
Essentially, art is both a process and a product. Physical, intellectual, and emotional activities come into play when the child manipulates art materials, and a product evolves which is visible and tangible.
Finally, our curriculum is designed to satisfy the many and diverse art interests, talents, and abilities found among our students.
Students have art classes twice a week in Grades K through 8. As students move up through the grades, they are exposed to an expanding range of materials and disciplines including drawing, painting, woodworking, sculpting, sewing and jewelry making. Displays of student work are exhibited throughout the school during the year, and an end-of-the-year art show features works by all students in Grades K through 8.
Music
Nursery through Kindergarten
Pre-K music classes expose children to musical ideas as well as helping build self esteem, self expression, socialization and pre-elementary school concepts such as colors, numbers, shapes, and nature. Each class encourages taking turns, playing cooperatively, being both a leader and a follower, joyfully using he voice, and playing rhythm instruments. The children learn to use their voices (whispering, speaking, calling and singing). They learn to differentiate loud and soft, fast and slow, high and low and to understand steady beat and pitch. They experience music through body movement and playing many unusual percussion instruments. Each week the children sing a song, dance or play rhythm instruments to music based on a theme. Most classes also include a literature element and/or dramatic play to help promote early reading skills . These stories also allow children to develop sense of rhyming and steady beat. Learning through music enhances a child's total development by strengthening physical, emotional, social and cognitive skills. Music classes also help to develop good listening skills in a classroom setting. Playing instruments and listening to music encourage young children to multi-task. Our broadest goal is to create a positive learning environment to build a lifelong love for learning.
Grades 1 through 4
Lower School students in Grades 1- 4 have music class two periods a week. Classes include movement, rhythm, pitch, voice quality and projection, dramatization, music appreciation, and identification of staff, clef and notes. Musical performances are presented with themes that are integrated with the classroom curriculum. All Lower School students participate in the Lower School chorus and perform in both the Holiday Concert and the Spring Concert.
An instrumental music program begins with the recorder in Grades 1 - 3. In fourth grade, students have the opportunity to choose a wind or percussion instrument to study. Each student receives a forty-minute instrument-specific lesson each week that focuses on the foundations of playing their instrument. In addition, students receive one period of band a week.
Grades 5 through 8
In the Upper School, Grades 5-8, students have two periods of music a week. Classes focus on music history and theory, as well as music composition and analysis. All students participate in the Upper School Chorus and perform at the Holiday Concert in December.
In addition, there is an optional instrumental program that provides one period of Wind Ensemble a week and one instrument-specific lesson per week in wind and/or percussion instruments. Upper School students develop skills in various instruments, gain a love and appreciation of music, and have the opportunity to perform in a spring concert and a musical.
