The latest from PCPS

1) PCPS breathes new life into fine arts tradition 2) Petersburg City Public Schools gifted students stretch their minds in annual competition 3) Citie of Henricus teaches students about James River 1) PCPS breathes new life into fine arts tradition In April, with a pageant of poetry, song, dance and visual art, the Petersburg City Public Schools rekindled a […]

May 7, 2009; 7:57 PM • by john h

1) PCPS breathes new life into fine arts tradition
2) Petersburg City Public Schools gifted students stretch their minds in annual competition
3) Citie of Henricus teaches students about James River

1) PCPS breathes new life into fine arts tradition

In April, with a pageant of poetry, song, dance and visual art, the Petersburg City Public Schools rekindled a special tradition.

It has been at least four years since the last district-wide fine arts show in the city, according to Dr. Alvera Parrish, PCPS Assistant Superintendent of Schools. April’s extravaganza, entitled “Spring Arts Fling,” set a high mark for next year’s students to beat.

The PHS cafeteria walls abounded in artwork by the students of the PCPS’ eight art teachers, Mary Lou Clinton, Carrie Evans, Dewey Cashwell, Helen Donnelly, Myesha Archie, Gilmore McCoy, Danielle Newman and Russell Kvasnicka.

A capacity crowd filled the adjacent Petersburg High School Auditorium, where the piquant notes of flutophones, aka recorders, launched the show. The JEB Stuart Elementary School students, taught by Sharon Lewis, didn’t just play the little plastic instrument familiar to every beginning music student, they also told of its ancient history.

Students from Peabody Middle, Vernon Johns Junior High (VJJHS) and Petersburg High School (PHS) joined for the first time in one District Wide Symphonic Band and blasted the musical action into high gear with “Thunder Rock,” followed up by classical compositions by the Russian Mussorgsky, “Pictures at an Exhibition,” then the stirring “Jubilation,” which had even the youngest members of the audience moving to the beat.

Poetry stepped onstage next, an ode to a “Beautiful Piano Player,” followed, naturally, by a piano solo at the skilled fingers of Jefferson Herriott, from Petersburg High School.

After another round of poetry, in praise of music, came the obvious crowd-favorites: Vocal selections by the tots from Westview, led by teacher Fadrina Hill, then choral groups from A.P Hill, R.E. Lee and Walnut Hill Elementary schools, followed by VJJHS and PHS.

Robert Gray, A. P. Hill’s beloved, guitar-strumming music teacher, led his group in “Save America,” his own composition, and then the light-hearted “Scratch My Back.”

Lee, directed by Trikia Clayborne, brought the audience to a roar of approval with “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” Change is Gonna Come,” “Yes We Can” and the dance number, “Get Up.”

WHES students, dressed in green and directed by Audra Aversa, sang a timely tune about saving the planet, “Earthlings,” followed by “Agents of Change” and, together with PHS, “Tomorrow Needs Us.”

Donna Lundy led VJJHS in the sweet harmonies of “A Distant Shore,” and “That’s What Friends Are For,” then took charge of the PHS Choir for the Latin lilt of “Cantate Domino, and then, “Grateful.”

All of the schools joined together, with principals standing up front, for an unforgettable Grand Finale, singing “We Are the 21st Century.”

“Music feeds the soul and warms the heart. We need it in our lives,” said Dr. Kenneth Lewis, Ward 5 representative for the Board of the Petersburg City Public Schools.

JEB Stuart Elementary students, led by music teacher Sharon Lewis, kicked off the musical and poetic portion of the 2009 Spring Fling fine art celebration, held at Petersburg High School in April.

Strumming his familiar guitar, music teacher Robert Gray led A.P. Hill students in a selection of songs ranging from serious to silly.

2) Petersburg City Public Schools gifted students stretch their minds in annual competition

The Petersburg City Public Schools Department of Gifted and Talented Education held its celebrated, annual Mind Games competition on April 22, this time on the campus of Virginia State University.

Students from all four PCPS elementary schools took part in this day of challenges, which focused on four areas: General knowledge, logic, productive thinking and construction. In the latter area, teams of students competed to build the tallest freestanding tower of newspaper and tape, with just 15 minutes to get it done – and a required three minutes for it to stay standing.

In this year’s competition, the winners included:
1st Place, Stuart School Team 1: Chris Hart, Alphonso Gonzales, Daniel Adkins, Nathaniel Davis and Shakya Gray;
2nd Place, Stuart Team 3: Treyvion Hall, Aaryn Davis, Moises Machado-Sarabia, Trishina Crawley, and Cleveland Cunningham; and
3rd Place, A. P. Hill Team 1: Jasmine Fobbs, Janesha Bradshaw, Eric Young, Marceja Johnson, and Shariff Harrell.

Trishina Crawley (standing), a student from JEB Stuart, steadies her team’s tower while her teammates scramble to add more material.

3) Citie of Henricus teaches students about James River

Staff from the Henricus Historical Park in Chesterfield, site of one of the earliest colonial settlements in Virginia, visited R.E. Lee Elementary in Petersburg, in April, to work with fourth grade students. They shared a lesson on “Mapping the James River” – the famed waterway that carried the settlers of Henricus from their Jamestown launch-point in the 17th century.
 
Henricus Park is about 10 miles from Petersburg.

Pictured are R.E. Lee students Raheem Hargrave and Areana Larquier.
 

May 7, 2009 7:57 PM 0