THE CHATEAUGUAY VALLEY REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

PERFORMING ARTS DEPARTMENT  

WHO ARE WE?

Chateauguay Valley Regional High School (C.V.R.) is situated in rural Quebec approximately one hour south of Montreal.  The school houses a population of 960 students, in Grades seven to eleven.  A bilingual program serves a majority of students.  There are also academic programs designed to accommodate students with differentiated learning and social needs. 

            Students come from a wide variety of socio-economic backgrounds, with several municipalities being designated as “regions defavorisées” by the Quebec government.  This economic depression was recently further enflamed by the closure of local textile mills and the loss of many jobs.

In recent history Music, Dance, Visual Arts and Drama (when available) were taught in isolation. The Arts disciplines received little attention and the majority of artistic expression was conducted by students on their own time. There has been no integrated arts program in the high school for over twenty years.  At the end of the 2003 – 2004 school year, the Administration and Governing Board made the “Arts” a school success priority for the next year.  Specialists were sought out and plans were set in motion for 2004 – 2005. 

Annick Hebert (Dance) has been a teacher for over 15 years, spending much of that time creating and running the “Six Plus” program at Ormstown Elementary School. This was a one-year language immersion project-based program that students could opt to take between Elementary and High School. When the government cancelled this program, CVR quickly recruited her to create a dance and movement program at the high school level. Annick has her Masters of Education with a specialization in “Pedagogie de Project”. Annick also runs a local figure-skating school. She has been doing this for twenty years. She designs all the chorography for her skaters and subsequently they are rarely missing from the podium at provincial competitions. She has being running the Dance Program at CVR since 2002- 2003.

Lynn Harper (Music) has also been teaching for over 15 years.  As a graduate of CVR she clearly recalls glory days of musicals, band concerts, guest soloists, Provincial competitions, and cabarets that the school used to offer. She is very happy to be back at “her” school to return to students the pleasure and confidence she received from her experiences at CVR. Lynn trained as professional musician at Marianopolis College in Montreal, and received a Bachelor of Music (with honours in school music), a Licentiate in Music (vocal performance) and a Bachelor of Education (music education).   Following graduation at she accepted a post teaching music at the elementary level where she cultivated a successful performing arts program, while also maintaining a busy performing schedule, with credits which include various recitals, musical theatre, radio and television appearances. She is currently working on her Master’s Degree in Education. The newest member of the Department, she has being running the Music Program at CVR since 2004- 2005.

Tina Bye (Drama) is the third member of the Department. Having gotten her Bachelor of Theatre Design from Concordia University and her Bachelor of Education (Art/ Drama) from Queen’s University, Tina taught drama and technical theatre overseas in Caracas, Venezuela and Vienna, Austria, in the International Baccalaureate Program. Upon returning to Canada, she decided to specialize in the use of drama to help adolescents work on psychological goals. She received her Master’s Degree in Creative Arts Therapies and went on to work at The Montreal Children’s Hospital as a Drama Therapist. Tina has professional theatre credits from The National Arts Centre, and Arts Court in her native city, Ottawa. She has also worked at the Centaur Theatre, The Upper Canada Playhouse and The Saidye Bronfman Centre.  In 2003-2004, deciding to focus on the needs of local youth, Tina accepted the post of drama teacher at CVR.

 

What have we accomplished?  

THE THIRD YEAR  2006- 2007

 

THE SECOND YEAR  2005-2006


THE INAUGURAL YEAR  2004-2005

Music and Dance are a part of grade 7 curriculum, as are Drama and Visual Arts in grade 8.  Students in grade 9 must choose one Arts option, while students in grades 10 and 11 are free to choose from a variety of options, including the Arts.  The Grade 11 fall term in the Performing Arts Option is exclusively dedicated to the production of a major Broadway musical which we as a department teach in collaboration. In the spring term, we offer the grade 11’s more subject specific specialization as preparation for those interested in pursuing music, dance or drama at the CEGEP or post-secondary level. This term also ends with a large scale, theme-based, performance.

            The new Performing Arts Program, designed according to current curricular reforms, attempts to acquaint students with a wide variety of performance styles and experiences.  This program gives students the opportunity to explore their potential and gives voice to creative abilities and interests.  It fosters self-esteem, self-discipline and communication skills.

Approximately 3500 tickets were sold to performances a year. At least 3500 people come and see CVR and its students in light they can be fiercely proud of.

Our theatre is receiving more and more use and its facilities are becoming less and less adequate. To this end, with money raised from student shows (Talent-Fest), we replaced 12 lighting instruments that were ancient when the school was built almost 40 years ago. This added enough light that actors could be positioned on the apron of the stage and still be well lit. This was a huge accomplishment and has been used to great advantage to those using the theatre.

Given that we use a lot of media through in our teaching methods, we were able to purchase TV/ VCR/ DVD and a computer for the department. This allows us to watch footage of other performances, as well as our own, as part of our critical-thought curriculum.

 The Dance Department also purchased stereo equipment that greatly enhanced the sound quality and the dancer’s ability to follow the rhythm of the music. The dance studio has been refitted with mirrors and flooring.

We have purchased a domain name and are in the process of building a website that will be part of both of our advertising our future events and our teaching strategies in the coming years. (www.cvrperformingarts.com)

We have made an application for a $10,000 to $ 20,000 grant from Band Aid (CARAS) to purchase some new band instruments and to refurbish the existing ones. We received this grant. Congratulations Mrs. Harper!

We have had numerous donations from the theatre community of Montreal; especially the National Theatre School. They have donated a dimmer rack and computerized lighting board. The Technical production students have made it a project to upgrade our theatre to a modern facility. We thank their efforts greatly.

With proceeds from our shows we have purchased a mini-cam for classroom work and new rehearsal sound system for the theatre.

 

What’s Next?

Our Goals are two fold. The first is to create a level of comfort and familiarity in each of the disciplines of Drama, Music and Dance. This in turn will lead to students who are prepared for life’s challenges in a way that the arts are uniquely suited to do. The Arts cultivate and create students who are self-motivated, self-disciplined, who can creatively solve problems and communicate effectively. The Arts encourage teamwork and collaboration. The sense of pride, accomplishment, and self-esteem the students feel, after all their hard work, as the audience rises to its feet in ovation is second to hardly any other feeling in the world. The Arts prepare future citizens for the workplace and world.

Our second goal is to hone our program to the point that any of our graduates can step from our door to that of a professional training program with confidence and the skills to back up that confidence. Maybe even eventually becoming a destination high school, were talented students can receive enrichment in the field of their choice. Given the limited potential for careers in our area, our second aim is to create students of the calibre necessary that post secondary training is a viable and realistic alternative.

Our school and our Performing Arts Department has crest of energy and positive enthusiasm built out of sheer will and determination. We are very proud of what we have accomplished and what our students have also achieved. Any resources that could be made available to us would be gratefully received. We thank you for your consideration.

 

 

Tina Bye

Drama Teacher

Chateauguay Valley Regional High School