Claude Watson School for the Arts
Encyclopedia
Claude Watson School for the Arts is both an intermediate school and an arts school located in Toronto
, Ontario
, Canada
.
The main campus of the school was originally known as Lansing Public School #4 (until 1934), and then later changed to Duke of Kent Public School (1934-1949) and also Spring Garden Public School (1949-1980). In 1981 the Claude Watson Arts Program was formed. Claude Watson is the only public arts intermediate school in Canada, and is governed by the Toronto District School Board
. Claude Watson celebrated its 25th Anniversary in 2007 instead of 2006 due to the construction and touch-ups of the new building. The school is unique in Canada, simultaneously providing arts and academic education to a total of about 300 students in grades 4 through 8, unlike other arts schools which begin at grade 9. Known across Canada, it has performed at Toronto's 2008 Olympic bid, TTC
's 50th Anniversary, the Opening Ceremonies of the 1997 Special Olympics
at the Sky Dome, and numerous cultural festivals around the world in addition to major production partnerships with professional companies like the Canadian Opera Company. Students of the school are often featured in Hollywood movies, TV series, television adverts, and major theatre productions.
The arts program includes various forms of dance
, drama
, music
, and visual arts
. http://www.todaysparent.com/education/general/article.jsp?content=20060803_143351_6480&page=7 All students are required to take multiple full-year courses in each of the following areas: national dance, jazz dance
(also incorporating tap
, ballet
, and hip-hop), modern dance
, musical theatre
, drama
, mime
, choral music, instrumental music, Orff
, and visual arts (sketching
, painting
, print making, weaving
, sculpture
, etc). In grades 5 through 8, students select an arts area in which to major. The major involves increased class time in the given area, and a major independent project. However, this does not excuse any student from participation in all the other subjects; they are all obligatory for all students. The school has a number of extracurricular groups including Jazz
stage band, Jazz Combo, Concert Band, String Orchestras, ensembles, solo groups, drama groups, marching band
, chamber orchestras, and choirs. However, due to new faculty, the student's academic excellence also becomes a determining factor on admission apart from the his/her artistic skills. This change of approach, have caused the school receiving extremely high academic achievements in recent years. http://www.tdsb.on.ca/profiles/EQAO/3241.pdf The school was also rated as one of the top 30 schools within Canada by To-day's Parent magazine. http://www.todaysparent.com/education/general/article.jsp?content=20060803_143351_6480&page=7
In 2006, the Claude Watson building was torn down and a new school was built on the same campus http://www.archidose.org/Oct07/01/dose.html.
Upon graduation from the school at the end of grade 8, the Claude Watson program is continued at Earl Haig Secondary School
for grades 9 through 12.
only. Unlike most arts schools, which require a single or very few short solo auditions in a single arts area, the Claude Watson audition requires demonstration of potential in all four major arts areas (dance, drama, music, and visual arts) over a period of several full days through performances and compositions, both individually and in groups. Evaluators include teachers at the school and professionals in applicable artistic fields. Applicants must also submit previous report cards, and letter of recommendation from a previous teacher.
The vast majority of applicants audition in Grade 3, for admission the following year. Applicants always greatly outnumber available places in the entering class, which has remained constant at 60 for the school's 30 year history. The school holds a separate audition process for students applying for admission to grades 5 through 8, although admission through this process is extremely uncommon as space is dependent on the number of students (very few, if any) who leave the program in the previous year.
There is a small application fee, but the school charges no tuition fees. These are thought to be contributors to the high number of applicants to the school each year, from a broad range of ethnic, religious, and socio-economic groups. 41% of Claude Watson students have a primary language that is not English.
Uniform was first just a light blue shirt with matching plaid ties. Then due to the lack of manufactured blue shirts, it was changed to white shirts. Later on, Ms. Heather Mitchell enforced a white shirt and black dress pants with the school logo and name embroidered into them. Hair accessories and tie are optional for girls.
With the new shipment of uniforms, the students had new shipments of dance wear and gym wear. This consisted of blue or orange t-shirts with the Claude Watson logo printed on it, with jazz pants with the same logo. There were also requirements of black dazzle shorts and black t shirts with the school logo printed on them. This addition of uniform was to identify which student was in the school and easily spot trespassers. However uniforms aren't worn all the time, solely on the two large performances (Celebrations and Reflections)and on field-trips. Students at the Seneca campus are gifted young athletes who frequently need time off school to compete at the provincial, national or international level. http://www.senecac.on.ca/cms/community/sportseneca.jsp
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
The main campus of the school was originally known as Lansing Public School #4 (until 1934), and then later changed to Duke of Kent Public School (1934-1949) and also Spring Garden Public School (1949-1980). In 1981 the Claude Watson Arts Program was formed. Claude Watson is the only public arts intermediate school in Canada, and is governed by the Toronto District School Board
Toronto District School Board
Toronto District School Board, also known by the acronym TDSB, is the English-language public school board for Toronto, Ontario, Canada...
. Claude Watson celebrated its 25th Anniversary in 2007 instead of 2006 due to the construction and touch-ups of the new building. The school is unique in Canada, simultaneously providing arts and academic education to a total of about 300 students in grades 4 through 8, unlike other arts schools which begin at grade 9. Known across Canada, it has performed at Toronto's 2008 Olympic bid, TTC
Toronto Transit Commission
-Island Ferry:The ferry service to the Toronto Islands was operated by the TTC from 1927 until 1962, when it was transferred to the Metro Parks and Culture department. Since 1998, the ferry service is run by Toronto Parks and Recreation.-Gray Coach:...
's 50th Anniversary, the Opening Ceremonies of the 1997 Special Olympics
Special Olympics
Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and competitions to more than 3.1 million athletes in 175 countries....
at the Sky Dome, and numerous cultural festivals around the world in addition to major production partnerships with professional companies like the Canadian Opera Company. Students of the school are often featured in Hollywood movies, TV series, television adverts, and major theatre productions.
Program
The Claude Watson program consists of academic and artistic study. In academics, the standard curriculum for each grade level is covered, but in half the time it takes at a normal school. This is because only half of each school day is devoted to academics; the other half is for arts subjects. In spite of this, Claude Watson students consistently score far above the national and school board averages on standardized tests like the EQAO for reading, writing, and math.The arts program includes various forms of dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
, drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
, music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, and visual arts
Visual arts
The visual arts are art forms that create works which are primarily visual in nature, such as ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, design, crafts, and often modern visual arts and architecture...
. http://www.todaysparent.com/education/general/article.jsp?content=20060803_143351_6480&page=7 All students are required to take multiple full-year courses in each of the following areas: national dance, jazz dance
Jazz dance
Jazz dance is a classification shared by a broad range of dance styles. Before the 1950s, jazz dance referred to dance styles that originated from African American vernacular dance. In the 1950s, a new genre of jazz dance—modern jazz dance—emerged, with roots in Caribbean traditional dance...
(also incorporating tap
Tap dance
Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sound of one's tap shoes hitting the floor as a percussive instrument. As such, it is also commonly considered to be a form of music. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses more on the...
, ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
, and hip-hop), modern dance
Modern dance
Modern dance is a dance form developed in the early 20th century. Although the term Modern dance has also been applied to a category of 20th Century ballroom dances, Modern dance as a term usually refers to 20th century concert dance.-Intro:...
, musical theatre
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
, drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
, mime
Mime
The word mime is used to refer to a mime artist who uses a theatrical medium or performance art involving the acting out of a story through body motions without use of speech.Mime may also refer to:* Mime, an alternative word for lip sync...
, choral music, instrumental music, Orff
Orff Schulwerk
The Orff Schulwerk, or simply the Orff Approach, is one of several developmental approaches including the Kodaly Method, Simply Music and Suzuki Method used to teach music education to students. It combines music, movement, drama, and speech into lessons that are similar to child's world of play...
, and visual arts (sketching
Sketch (drawing)
A sketch is a rapidly executed freehand drawing that is not usually intended as a finished work...
, painting
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, print making, weaving
Weaving
Weaving is a method of fabric production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. The other methods are knitting, lace making and felting. The longitudinal threads are called the warp and the lateral threads are the weft or filling...
, sculpture
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
, etc). In grades 5 through 8, students select an arts area in which to major. The major involves increased class time in the given area, and a major independent project. However, this does not excuse any student from participation in all the other subjects; they are all obligatory for all students. The school has a number of extracurricular groups including Jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
stage band, Jazz Combo, Concert Band, String Orchestras, ensembles, solo groups, drama groups, marching band
Marching band
Marching band is a physical activity in which a group of instrumental musicians generally perform outdoors and incorporate some type of marching with their musical performance. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwinds, and percussion instruments...
, chamber orchestras, and choirs. However, due to new faculty, the student's academic excellence also becomes a determining factor on admission apart from the his/her artistic skills. This change of approach, have caused the school receiving extremely high academic achievements in recent years. http://www.tdsb.on.ca/profiles/EQAO/3241.pdf The school was also rated as one of the top 30 schools within Canada by To-day's Parent magazine. http://www.todaysparent.com/education/general/article.jsp?content=20060803_143351_6480&page=7
In 2006, the Claude Watson building was torn down and a new school was built on the same campus http://www.archidose.org/Oct07/01/dose.html.
Upon graduation from the school at the end of grade 8, the Claude Watson program is continued at Earl Haig Secondary School
Earl Haig Secondary School
Earl Haig Secondary School is a public high school with a student body of about 2,300 students in Willowdale, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school's principal is Renata Gonsalves.-History:...
for grades 9 through 12.
Admission
Although it is a public school, admission to Claude Watson is by auditionAudition
An audition is a sample performance by an actor, singer, musician, dancer or other performing artist.Audition may also refer to:* The sense of hearing* Adobe Audition, audio editing software...
only. Unlike most arts schools, which require a single or very few short solo auditions in a single arts area, the Claude Watson audition requires demonstration of potential in all four major arts areas (dance, drama, music, and visual arts) over a period of several full days through performances and compositions, both individually and in groups. Evaluators include teachers at the school and professionals in applicable artistic fields. Applicants must also submit previous report cards, and letter of recommendation from a previous teacher.
The vast majority of applicants audition in Grade 3, for admission the following year. Applicants always greatly outnumber available places in the entering class, which has remained constant at 60 for the school's 30 year history. The school holds a separate audition process for students applying for admission to grades 5 through 8, although admission through this process is extremely uncommon as space is dependent on the number of students (very few, if any) who leave the program in the previous year.
There is a small application fee, but the school charges no tuition fees. These are thought to be contributors to the high number of applicants to the school each year, from a broad range of ethnic, religious, and socio-economic groups. 41% of Claude Watson students have a primary language that is not English.
Uniform was first just a light blue shirt with matching plaid ties. Then due to the lack of manufactured blue shirts, it was changed to white shirts. Later on, Ms. Heather Mitchell enforced a white shirt and black dress pants with the school logo and name embroidered into them. Hair accessories and tie are optional for girls.
With the new shipment of uniforms, the students had new shipments of dance wear and gym wear. This consisted of blue or orange t-shirts with the Claude Watson logo printed on it, with jazz pants with the same logo. There were also requirements of black dazzle shorts and black t shirts with the school logo printed on them. This addition of uniform was to identify which student was in the school and easily spot trespassers. However uniforms aren't worn all the time, solely on the two large performances (Celebrations and Reflections)and on field-trips. Students at the Seneca campus are gifted young athletes who frequently need time off school to compete at the provincial, national or international level. http://www.senecac.on.ca/cms/community/sportseneca.jsp