With the gust of chilling January winds in the early morning air, Francis Lewis faculty and student volunteers began preparing for the Festival of the Arts event on January 29 throughout the school. Several fun and engaging activities were prepared for the elementary school students in the auditorium, student cafeteria and gymnasium as giant stands of creative artwork decorated the school lobby and hallways.
“The goal is just to have a collaboration between elementary school students and high school students and to expose the kids in our elementary schools to our wonderful high school,” AP English Ms. Huggins said. “We chose 4th graders because they’re close enough to getting into middle school but not quite there yet. It gives them more to think about.”
“We spoke to many people after, including the superintendent, and the feedback that we received was that the 4th graders all want to come to Francis Lewis now,” Ms. Huggins said. “They thought it was so cool, the kids were so nice. They had such a great day.”
In preparation for the day, choir, band, and orchestra students practiced and rehearsed their pieces diligently.
“We practice everyday and have been working on this piece for a while,” orchestra student Amber Lai said. “I believe that this event was a unique experience for the children because this isn’t something you get to experience everyday in a classroom. I feel it is important for these children to explore and be exposed to the arts to be able to appreciate it. I hope it is an experience and opportunity that they will always remember and that it made some kind of impact for them.”
After the performances, students were released from the auditorium to one of their assigned activities such as drama, dance, art, or races, with much coordination involved among the student volunteers and adult supervisors.
“We had an arts and craft thing going on in the cafeteria, drama workshop in the auditorium, and we had a little basketball game with them in the gym,” S.O. President Claire Grumbach said. “It was fun, but it was a lot of coordination and a lot of work, especially on our supervisors.”
As the event continued with the sounds of children’s enjoyment being heard throughout the halls, Lai believes it was important to make kids explore their minds and engage with the arts.
“I feel it is important for these children to explore and be exposed to the arts [and] to be able to appreciate it,” Lai said. “I hope it is an experience and opportunity that they will always remember and that it made some kind of impact for them.”
According to the The National Endowment of Arts, the arts spark creativity and encourage empathy and understanding within people.
“It was a huge success and I want to make sure that I give credit to Ms. Grskovic and Ms. Palogou, who really helped put everything together, and also all the different teachers and students,” Ms. Huggins said. “Even though it was not a school day, we had so many kids come in and volunteer their time and teachers who helped get the kids in and just seeing the smiles. The smiles on their faces, the kids dancing on stage when they were doing the drama and performances, they just had a blast.”
