From celebrating National Arts in Education Week in September to taking a field trip to the Indiana Repertory Theatre in February, Clarence Farrington School 61 has had a busy, arts-filled school year. Most recently, the school’s choir performed in the annual IPS Songfest, a district-wide celebration of excellence in music education. The choir performed 10 songs which included partner songs, instrumental accompaniments, and choreography.

In March, the school held a spring music performance titled “The Jungle!” inspired by the book Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andrae. The gym was decorated to look like a jungle, and students were able to get their faces painted. Kindergarten and 1st grade students performed three songs, one of which was in Spanish; then 2nd thru 6th grade students sang, danced, and played percussive instruments.

In February, many students enjoyed a field trip to the Indiana Repertory Theatre as a result of the Any Given Child initiative. After the field trip, students were anxious to show off the materials that the theatre gave them to help them understand the play “The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse.” Students had fun completing a worksheet describing their trip and drawing pictures to represent what they enjoyed most about the field trip.

This school year also marked the first time in three years that students from Clarence Farrington contributed art work for the annual IPS Holiday Art Contest. A fourth grade student from School 61 won honorable mention and was able to attend a reception in her honor with her teacher.

In September, Clarence Farrington celebrated National Arts in Education Week with special music performances for parents during “Muffins With Mom and Donuts With Dad.”