More class offerings and an apprenticeship program have been added to the annual Summer in the Arts program.
"Classes are filling quickly, very quickly," said Kerri Anne Quinlan-Zhou, Summer in the Arts coordinator. "It seems like people have registered a lot quicker than last year."
As of May 7, 200 people had registered, compared to 250 by the end of registration last year. Registration ends on June 6.
The 2003 Summer in the Arts program has an offering of 53 workshops, 13 more than the year before and 33 more than in 2001. The workshops range from beginner to advanced in painting, drama, choir, photography and a range of other arts and include offerings for multiple age groups and those specified to certain grade levels. For the first time, fifth-graders will be incorporated into the regular program, which is offered for students in grades five-11. A fifth-grade section was added as a pilot last summer.
The program will be offered from June 23 to July 11 with the Arts Explosion, a display of student arts, on July 12. Students can choose to take three workshop blocks and are not tracked into a certain discipline.
"Since there’s such a variety of offerings, they try different things," Quinlan-Zhou said.
This year, 10 students in grades 10-11 will be able to try the new apprenticeship program. The students will receive full tuition in exchange for assisting in a beginner-level workshop for younger students during one of their blocks. They will have a chance to learn job skills and to receive mentoring and coaching.
"We’re not only for the gifted and talented child. We create an environment of excitement in all genres," Quinlan-Zhou said. "We offer such high-quality workshops, all children will come out being an artist in some way. After three weeks, they’re amazed … here they are doing it."