From the President Jennifer Gorena

Hello all,
I hope everyone is enjoying the break and preparing for a successful 2011/2012 school year. The FOAS board has been busy. We are actively working on our SCAPA Back to School Picnic and will have our favorite attractions as well as some new ones. Please be sure to visit the silent auction while you're there and plan on a snack from concessions hosted by our incoming 8th grade class. We will be forwarding information as the school year begins. This is a fun social event for students and parents. It helps to get us started on a great year. Put it on your calendar, August 28th 2 -5pm - we hope to see everyone there!!

Also keep an eye out for the forms and fees dates which will be during the 2nd week of August. This is an opportunity to get all that paperwork out of the way so you can focus on your students when they come home from that first week of school!

New students be sure to look for our SCAPA Guides who will be there to help you find your way and answer any questions you may have on the first day of school. We hope to make your transition to SCAPA as friendly and easy as possible! Can't believe it's already time to head back to SCAPA - looking forward to an exciting and successful year.

Jennifer Gorena
gorenas@insightbb.com

From Beth Randolph, Bluegrass Principal

Dear SCAPA Families,

One of my favorite times of the year is right before us – the start of a new school year. I love this time of year, because the new beginning holds such promise for educational adventure and excellence. Just like our building with its pristine coat of paint, we all begin the year renewed, invigorated, and excited to see what the school year will bring. Even with the anticipation of beginning anew, this school year holds a special historical place because it is SCAPA’s twenty-fifth anniversary year. Marking this passing gives SCAPA a special opportunity to celebrate the silvery past and dream of our golden future. To start us off on a momentous year, Governor Beshear just announced that SCAPA is the 2011 recipient of a Governor’s Education Award, the Commonwealth’s highest honor in the arts. We are thrilled and honored to be recognized in this way, and look forward to representing our state this upcoming year as an innovator in the arts.

To help us carry out our school’s mission to its fullest, some new and familiar faces have been named to our vacated and new positions. First, Ms. Laurie Fields will be our new ballet teacher, instructing both elementary and middle school ballet majors. Having taught our high school ballet majors for years, Ms. Fields has fabulous technique and knows the curriculum well. Ms. Karyn Combs, with her ability to make all dance lively and enjoyable, will continue teaching the dance minors and dance core content class. Our new literacy specialist is our former language arts Edujobs coach, Rebekah Reeves. She brings a knowledge and passion for reading, writing, and the new common core content standards that will help ease the transition. Nell Line, our former long-term academic dean substitute and retired, outstanding LTMS teacher, will blaze the trail for our new 0.5 reading/math specialist position. These fine, experienced educators are well acquainted with SCAPA having worked in the school in other capacities. On the new front, Jennifer Thompson will begin her teaching career as our 0.2 visual art teacher and 0.5 academic dean. Ms. Thompson comes to us having just graduated Magna Cum Laude from the College of Mount St. Josephs in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her degrees are in art education and the fine arts with fabric design as her area of concentration. Her minor is art history. The entire SCAPA family extends its hand of congratulations, encouragement and gratitude as these people begin their new positions.

As our family joins hands for another wonderful year together, it is fitting that Disney’s Mulan, Jr. is our fall musical. This story celebrates honor, courage, and the importance of family – attributes that have sustained SCAPA through rough periods and times of greatest joy. Let’s draw on these qualities once again as we strive to take our students and school to the next level of educational adventure and excellence.

Sincerely,
Beth Randolph

• Feb 7 Edition
• Feb 21 Edition
• Feb 28 Edition
• Mar 14 Edition
  

From Vicki Ritchie, LHS Principal

Dear Friends of the Arts,

We are so excited for our new year to begin! Our incoming Class of 2015 will visit our building on August 3 for Freshman Orientation. Parents and families of incoming freshman can visit in the evening to get more information about the school year.

We are again hosting Pre-Registration for all of our families so that fee payments and forms can be turned in before school begins. This program gives parents a chance to fill out necessary forms before school starts and allows our teachers and students to begin their academic work on the first day.

This year we have a new state accountability and assessment system for our students and school. Students in 10th grade will still take the PLAN test and 11th graders will still take the ACT, but one change will be the added On-Demand Writing test for both 10th and 11th graders. Another new part of the system will be End of Course (EOC) Exams. Any student enrolled in Algebra II, Biology, English II, and/or US History, will take a state-wide EOC exam over the course material in the spring. This exam will count as part of the student’s course grade.

Although some things are changing, the Lafayette expectations of quality and excellence will never change. We are seeing some great improvements in our student achievement data and we anticipate more great news as our fall reports come in!

Here is some information regarding our upcoming events and more info is available on our website at www.lafayette.fcps.net.
Welcome to a new school year!

Registration Times

• July 29th 12:00 – 6:00 and August 1st 8:00 – 2:00 Forms Pickup Only
  
• August 2nd 8:00 – 1:00 Student last name A-K only (no freshmen). Drop off completed forms, pay fees, pick up schedule
  
• August 3rd 8:00 – 1:00 ALL FRESHMEN (no upper classmen). Drop off completed forms, pay fees, pick up schedule
  
• August 4th 1:00 – 6:00 Student last name L-Z only (no freshmen). Drop off completed forms, pay fees, pick up schedule
  
• August 5th 9:00 – 12:00 and 3:00 – 6:00. All remaining students. Drop off completed forms, pay fees, pick up schedule
  
• August 3rd - Freshmen Orientation
  • 2:00 – 6:00 Orientation
    
  • 6:00 – 7:00 Open Tour and Activity Booths setup in café
    
  • 7:00 – 7:45 Freshman Parent meeting in Gym

Vicki Ritchie

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SCAPA Turns Silver

by Carolyn Waterbury-Tieman

The 2011-12 school year marks the 25th Anniversary of SCAPA in the Fayette County Public School system. How gratifying it feels to state that fact. And yet, it isn’t the number that is significant. It is what has been accomplished in those twenty-five years that makes this a milestone. If SCAPA were just the same now as it was when it started, then there would not be much worth celebrating. But it has not been stagnate.

SCAPA has grown into a top-ranking, award-winning educational and training program. In its first quarter of a century in existence, SCAPA has had 16 senior classes and can claim over 850 graduates. It has received awards, honors, prizes and recognition in virtually every discipline and at nearly every grade level. The most recent of these is the 2011 Governor’s Award for Education in the Arts. So with all these accolades to SCAPA’s credit, what does it mean to turn 25?
No longer in its infancy, SCAPA has come of age. Its ability to do so is the result of three main features: 1) the existence of a solid foundation, 2) the ability to evolve, and 3) the wisdom to recognize that excellence is its own reward.

A Solid Foundation. The three factors that have contributed most to creating SCAPA’s solid foundation are its clear mission, its sound philosophy, and its committed supporters. Over 25 years ago a visionary group of people recognized the need for a school where children and young people identified as gifted and talented in the arts could fully realize their potential, not only as artists, but as people. They intended to encourage young people to use their creative and intellectual powers to brighten and enrich the lives of their fellow human beings. They worked tirelessly until such a school was approved and established.

They further believed that students given the opportunity to participate in their art every day, (something in which they felt a level of competence), would be motivated to work harder and excel in other areas as well. This notion has consistently been borne out by the highest test scores in the state and millions of dollars in scholarships to seniors annually.

Since its inception, SCAPA has had the benefit of a core group of highly committed administrators, teachers, staff, parents and students. While there have been some stable members of this core group, other members have moved on, but fortunately, they have been replaced by equally committed individuals. SCAPA’s alumni base, both student and parent, continues to be its staunchest advocates. Additionally, the Lexington community has come to view SCAPA as a “go to” resource when performers are needed for special events, productions, and ceremonies. The Lexington arts community recognizes SCAPA’s vital role in preparing future generations of qualified artists. Each year hundreds of students audition to gain entry into SCAPA demonstrating the continued need, demand even, for an arts-focused education. For all these reasons, SCAPA has become firmly planted in the hearts and minds of the Lexington community and it is essential that it remain so.

Ability to Evolve. Let me remind you that to evolve does not mean to change completely. The process of evolution takes place in response to the changing demands of the environment in an effort to insure future success. Evolution recognizes that change is inevitable. It does not promote change for the sake of change, but neither does it allow fear of being disloyal to the past prevent making necessary modifications for the future.

SCAPA’s ability to evolve stems from an abiding commitment to continuously demonstrate excellence. This requires a willingness to accept that there is always room for improvement. It requires being open to trying new and different ways of doing things that have been shown to achieve better results. A note of caution: Seeking to do better can get confused with doing more. More is not always better. Sometimes it is just more. As SCAPA continues to evolve and mature, it is essential that the focus continue to be on quality rather than quantity.

Excellence is its Own Reward. When awards, recognition, and praise become a regular occurrence, it is very tempting to sit back and think, "We've arrived!" But anyone who has ever experienced success knows that with success comes more work, increased responsibility, and higher expectations. SCAPA recognizes that it is in everyone's best interest to always do your best and embraces the notion that excellence is its own reward. Awards, trophies, plaques, etc. do not mean that you have reached your destination. They merely confirm that you are headed in the right direction.

There is a spiraling relationship between these three features - a solid foundation, ability to evolve, and recognizing excellence as its own reward - that can continue to propel SCAPA forward. Its solid foundation provides the confidence to evolve, seeking always to become the best version possible at any given time, which increases the likelihood of achieving excellence which further strengthens the foundation and so on. Since we (the administrators, faculty, staff, parents, students and alumni) are SCAPA, it is my wish throughout this 25th Anniversary Year and all the years to come, that we have the courage to continue in this great tradition that has made SCAPA all that it is and will make it all that it can be.

Happy Anniversary Everyone!

Prior to her role as SCAPA Arts Facilitator, Carolyn Waterbury-Tieman was a Parent/Family Life Educator and licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. She was the author of The Parents’ Toolbox for The Lexington Family Magazine as well as Pastoral Parenting for the Church of the Resurrection newsletter.

Calendar of Upcoming Events

(Please check the SCAPA Calendar regularly for updates)

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Announcements and Reminders

SCAPA Receives Governor's Award

Congratulations to SCAPA and the entire SCAPA community upon being selected as the 2011 recipient of the Governor's Education Award for SCAPA's contributions to the arts! Please see below the letter from Governor Beshear and the link to the announcement of this honor on Fayette County’s webpage.

• Governor’s Education Award goes to SCAPA (Sourse: fcps.net)
• Letter from Governor Beshear (PDF)
  

Thanks to our past and present administrators, teachers, staff, parents and students for making our school outstanding and for being continuously committed to making SCAPA the best it can be.

Attention 6th, 7th and 8th Graders

General auditions for the Bluegrass SCAPA production of “Disney’s Mulan, Jr.” will take place Monday, August 22 from 4-7pm and Wednesday, August 24 from 4-7pm in the MPR. Be prepared to read from the script, sing from the score and demonstrate dance and movement. Callbacks will be Thursday, August 25 from 4-7pm in the MPR. This is going to be a terrific show. Hope to see you at auditions!

LHS Gets New Orchestra Conductor

We are pleased to welcome Mr. Phil Kent to the faculty at LHS!

• Phil Kent Bio

Calling All SCAPA Parents - FOAS Meetings During Fall Semester

As a SCAPA Parent, you are automatically a member of the Friends of the Arts School (FOAS). We meet each month and our work is vital to SCAPA. We need everyone of you to become and active member of FOAS! You can start by attending the following meetings at 6:30pm in Room 146:

• August 25
  
• September 22
  
• October 20
  
• November 15
  
• December 13

If you want to be in the know and have a say, this is the place to be.

Downhill From Here

Come see Garett Wilson, Miles Conger, Will Swisher and Andrew Wiemann in their first performance as SCAPA alumni and their final performance before heading off to college. “Downhill From Here” (their title) is a unique collection of skits directed by Mr. Paul Thomas. Performances are Friday, August 12 @ 7:30pm; Saturday, August 13 @ 2:00pm and 7:30pm; and Sunday, August 14 @ 2:00pm at ArtsPlace, 161 N. Mill Street. For tickets call 225-0370 or go to lexarts.tix.com. Hope to see you there!

SCAPA Celebrates 25th Anniversary in 2011-12

The 2011-12 academic year is SCAPA's 25th Anniversary! This is certainly a milestone worth celebrating. If you would like to be a part of the planning and organization of this silver event, please contact Carolyn Waterbury-Tieman, carolyn.tieman@fayette.kyschools.us, 536-1313. A steering committee will be created and begin meeting in September, 2011. Help make this a celebration to remember!

SCAPA Directory Updates

If you have had any changes to your contact information, ie. change of address, phone number, email address, please send those to Mary Kay Rayens, mkrayens@uky.edu, as soon as possible. We would like to have the SCPAPA Directory available as close to the beginning of school as possible. Thank you for your cooperation!

Forms and Fees Sessions

Parents! Please mark these days on your calendar to go to Bluegrass SCAPA and complete all the necessary paperwork and pay next year’s fees. If you have more than one child attending Bluegrass SCAPA you may take care of all of them in one visit. This process saves everyone time in the long run. See you there!
4th & 5th Grade - Monday, August 8 from 4-7pm
6th Grade - Tuesday, August 9 from 4-5:30pm
7th Grade - Wednesday, August 10 from 3-5pm
8th Grade - Wednesday, August 10 from 5-6:30pm
If you can volunteer to help with the Forms and Fees Sessions, please contact Sylvia Aldrich, 381-3332 ext. 1106, sylvia.aldrich@fayette.kyschools.us for more details.

From Ms. Erbe, Counseling Office

• August 9: New student/parent orientation 5:20-5:50 Conference Room. This is for anyone who has not met with me prior to Aug 9.
  
• August 9: 6th Gd Final Orientation 6:00-7:15 w/homeroom teachers
  
• August 12: New Middle School Student Luncheon w/ Mrs. Erbe, Conference Room 10:45-11:30
  
• August 22: Middle School Harassment Training
  
• September 20, 8:15-11:00 = EXPLORE test for all 8th grade students.

SCAPA Application Window Changed

If you know someone planning to apply to SCAPA for the 2012-13 school year, please let them know that the application window has been changed to August 15th through October 7th. The new deadline for application is now Friday, October 7th, 2011. The audition dates will remain the same.

Announcing the 2011-12 Production Season!

• Disney’s Mulan, Jr., November 10 – 12, 2011
• As It Is In Heaven, November 17 – 20, 2011
• Dance SCAPA, March 16 & 17, 2012
• Into the Woods, March 29 – 31, 2012
• Hamlet or Does Father Really Know Best?, April 19 – 21, 2012
  

Friends of the Arts School (FOAS) Meetings

Meeting Minutes

• April 2011
• March 2011
• February 2011
• January 2011
• November 2010
• October 2010
• September 2010
• August, 2010
• July, 2010
• June, 2010
• May 2010 (TBP)
• April 2010 (TBP)
• March 2010
• February 2010
• January 2010
• December 2009
• November 2009
• October 2009
• September 2009
• August 2009
• June 2009
• May 2009
• April 2009

SBDM Meeting Minutes

• September 2009

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Recent Events

SCAPA in the Community

SCAPA Folks in LCT's Production of "Annie"

Congratulations to the following SCAPA folks for their involvement in the successful LCT production of "Annie":

Alaina Broderson - 2011 Alum (Grace Farrell)
Will Swisher - 2011 Alum (Fred McKracken/ Dog Catcher/ Claus)
Cassady Gorrell - Rising Junior (Pepper)
Joseph Wrightson - Rising Junior (Lt. Ward)
Megan Peterson - Rising Sophomore (Bonnie Boylan/ Star to Be)

And for crew- Meredith Peterson- Rising Freshman (Assistant Mic Coordinator/ Deck Hand)

And Parents
Bob Swisher - father of Will Swisher (President Roosevelt)
Debbie Swisher - mother of Will Swisher (Morganthau/ Mrs. Greer)
Steve Wrightson - father of Joseph Wrightson (Drake/ Artie)
Grace Gorrell - mother of Cassady Gorrell (Perkins/ Mrs. Pugh)
Rick Peterson - father of Megan and Meredith Peterson (Cordell Hull)
Kerri Peterson - mother of Megan and Meredith Peterson (Peggy)

SCAPA Spotlights

This section is reserved for recognizing accomplishments by SCAPA students, parents, faculty and staff. Please send arts accomplishments to Carolyn Waterbury-Tieman (carolyn.tieman@fayette.kyschools.us). Space limitations will determine how many we can include in any given month.

Students of the Month Congratulations to the following students of the month for exhibiting outstanding character values! Be sure to read their individual profiles on the wall in the Bluegrass SCAPA foyer. Grade 4 – Will have one next month Grade 5 – Victoria Knight Grade 6 – Annamarie Bryan Grade 7 – Gabrielle Petersen Grade 8 – Will have one next month

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Academic News

Table of Contents

Arts News

BG Band

• Band News
  

LHS Orchestra

• Lafayette Orchestra News

LHS Band

• Lafayette Band News
  

LHS Vocal

• LHS Vocal Newsletters
  

Table of Contents

Club and Team News

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Alumni News

Alumni! We Want To Know What You Are Doing!

We would like to make plaques to hang outside each of the arts rooms with the names of graduates and what they are doing professionally. Mr. Love has one on the wall just outside his door. Every year he takes his new 4th graders out in the hall, reads the names of past students and what they are doing, and tells the current students that if they dedicate themselves to their work, someday their name will be on the plaque. This is a great motivator! We want every arts teacher to have the opportunity to do the same thing. Please send me your name, year you graduated, major and what you are doing professionally so that we can expand and maintain this tradition. My address is carolyn.tieman@fayette.kyschools.us. We are looking forward to hearing from you and celebrating your success.

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Arts Roundtable

The Arts Roundtable is a place where we can share valuable information about the essential role of the arts in our lives and the lives of our children. (Please submit items to Carolyn Waterbury-Tieman, carolyn.tieman@fayette.kyschools.us, by the 20th of each month.)

White House Panel Calls for 'Reinvesting' in Arts Education

• Read the complete article

President's Committee Tackles Arts Education

With First Lady Michelle Obama and such celebrities as Sarah Jessica Parker lending support, the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities issues a report aiming to encourage a buildup of arts education in the U.S.

By Mike Boehm, Los Angeles Times, May 11 2011

Hoping to reverse a decades-long decline in arts education in American elementary and secondary schools, the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities has issued a report intended to help advocates press for more money, better teaching approaches and a fresh mind-set that doesn't treat arts learning as a frill or an afterthought, readily cut when school budgets grow tight.

• President's Committee tackles arts education (Source: Los Angeles Times)
  

Submit information to Carolyn Waterbury-Tieman (carolyn.tieman@fayette.kyschools.us)

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Arts Bookbag

The Arts Bookbag is a place where we can recommend books about the arts that we have found to be informative and inspiring. (Please submit titles to Carolyn Waterbury-Tieman, carolyn.tieman@fayette.kyschools.us, by the 20th of each month.)

• My Reading Life by Pat Conroy
• My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok
• Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. Daniel Pink, 2009
• Keepers of the Children. Laura M. Ramirez, 2004
• The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life. Twyla Tharp. Simon & Schuster, 2005.
• The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity by Julia Cameron
• Cracking Creativity: The Secrets of Creative Genius by Michael Michalko
• A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future. Daniel H. Pink. (2005, 2006). Riverhead Books, 375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014.
• The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything. Ken Robinson. (2009). Viking, 375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014.
• Out of Our Minds: Learning to Be Creative, Ken Robinson, Capstone, 2001
  
• 5 Minds for the Future, Howard Gardner, Harvard Business School Press, 2009
  
• Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, Malcolm Gladwell, Back Bay Books, 2007
  
• Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcolm Gladwell, Little, Brown & Company, 2008

Children

• The Art Lesson by Tomie DePaola
  
• Little Smudge by L. LeNeouanic
  

SCAPA FUNdraising Opportunities

Continuous SCAPA FUNdraisers

There are 3 ways that you can financially support SCAPA all year long with minimal effort!

• When you shop at Amazon.com, use the icon on the front page of the FOAS website, www.friends-scapa.org, and SCAPA gets money for every order you make!
• Purchase a SCAPA Kroger card from Miranda Hines, 351-4931, mhines@email.uky.edu. Use your SCAPA Kroger card!
• Put a sandwich-sized baggy on your refrigerator door. Clip Box Tops for Education and put them in the bag. Turn your bag of Box Tops into your child’s homeroom each month!

Remember that when you contribute to SCAPA it benefits every student, grades 4-12, in every arts area. You can make a difference!

Box Tops For Education

General Mills Corporation, sponsor of the Box Tops For Education program, has been involved in giving to educational programs since 1996. Over the past 13 years, participating schools have earned over $300 million dollars in funding. The Box Tops program is a simple way for our school to receive money without having to write grants, sell products, work hours, or buy things we don’t want or need. As a parent, relative, or friend of SCAPA, all you have to do is clip the “Official Box Top Coupon” off of the products you already buy and use. A complete list of these products can be found at boxtops4education.com. After clipping, send the box tops to school with your student. Each homeroom teacher has a container in their classroom for collection. Each month, the box tops are collected and counted, with the top collecting homeroom earning a prize. Come on SCAPA Penguins, keep clipping and collecting those box tops. Let’s make this an awesome box tops year.

Volunteer Opportunities

Please download a copy for each of the FCPS approved volunteers in your family. Completed forms may be turned in to Ms. Barbara Talbert at the front office of Bluegrass SCAPA. Thank you so much for your commitment to making SCAPA great!

• Bluegrass Volunteer Form
• LHS Volunteer Form

Please be aware that a records check is required in order to participate in volunteer activities in the Fayette County School system.

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FOAS Board Officers and Representatives

• Officers and Representatives

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