COLUMBIA FingerPlay: Fort St. John By Heather Hannaford The November 7 to 28 FingerPlay show location has been changed to: Ecole Central Elementary 10215 99 Avenue, Fort St John, B.C. Phone: (250)785-4511, www.central.prn.be.ca Ecole Central Elementary School of the Arts is a K-7, Fine Arts, dual- track school located in the heart of down town Fort St. John, near the beautiful Peace River Valley. We enroll a current student population of 390; 250 students are in the French Immersion Program and 140 in the English Program. We offer an early French immersion program, which begins in kindergarten and a late immersion program which starts in Grade 6. Fourteen percent of our students are of First Nations ancestry. Our school has 17 teachers and eight support workers as well a principal, a half-time vice principal, a reading recovery teacher and a half-time librarian. Our school enjoys itinerant access to a range of services. We have a commitment to child-centred learning through integrating the fine arts throughout the curriculum to ensure that all students reach their potential in learning. We believe that the arts are essential to the core of a rich and meaningful education. Collaborative planning is key co what we do at Ecole Central! We have an active parent advisory committee and a very supportive parent community. This year our school will be focusing on developing the reading, writing and social responsibility skills of our students. We also dedicate much time to building teacher capacity in the fine arts; teachers are committed to our fine arts vision and, collectively, we are enjoying much success with these programs. We put on a large musical which involves about 80 students each year, and we have monthly fine arts assemblies, where classes perform for the school. Some exciting dimensions of our school are the fine arts strands that are being taught in primary grades by specialist teachers (dance, drama, music and visual arts.) Drama and visual arts are taught by specialists to the intermediate students. We celebrate diversity in both languages! North Peace Potters’ Guild: Revitalized Through ups and downs, the North Peace Potters’ Guild has been a fixture in this very vibrant community since 1969. It started as a very small group in Taylor, B.C., just south of Fort St. John. It then moved to an association with the City of Fort St. John and then with Northern Lights College at its various campuses. This affiliation dissolved in the early nineties when the art programme at the local campus was axed. There were several years when the guild supported itself, without a community studio, just through the interaction of a few individual members. Fort St. John is not considered a prime artist/craftsperson develop- ment area. Most people come here to work temporarily in the oil/ gas industry, or maybe they come as teachers, or to open a retail business. The area was originally sustained by the agriculture industry. Agriculture does still exist here, as does forestry. We are largely a resource-base community—one that is growing and becoming more diverse. However, the range of art work in the community does not go unnoticed. We have a publicly supported art gallery, Peace Gallery North, and one or two private galleries. (a) nan Greenbarn’s catalogue is now available online. effort to be move enwironmentally Si caae ie www.geeenbarn.com In 2005, the guild became associated in a more formal way with the Community Arts Council and opened a small teaching studio that year as part of that association. A year later, the guild moved into a larger space. Beginner classes are offered in hand-building, a bit of sculpture, wheel, glazes—all the basics for adults, as well as hand-building for children and teens, We raise funds, host workshops, are hosting the B.C. show this year, have raku days, etc. For the first time in 15 years, we are having a members’ sale in December. The guild is becoming alive again. FingerPlay opening night is Nov. 7. We plan a panel discussion around the pieces, with four to five local artists, community members and staff at Central School. There will also be a silent auction of some members’ work to defray costs. One of our members organises a clay studio in Central School, teaching the teachers on a volunteer basis. Another member is in a Fax: 604.888.4247 POTTERS SUPPLY LTD. greenbam@telus.net position of “visiting artist” and teaches clay modules twice a week to students in the 9548 192 Street, Tuesday-Friday 9-5 Surrey, B.C. VAN 3R9 QTC C |\ barn 8 Saturday 9-1] intermediate grades. So Central is an ideal Phone: 604.888.3411 Closed Long Weekends } place for FingerPlay. We think we have struck gold. Potters Guild of BC Newsletter - November 2008