October 2004 Newsletter

SMARTS: BRING BACK THE ARTS

CALIFORNIA STATE PTA ONLINE NEWSLETTER

October 2004

SMARTS is California State PTA's program to encourage arts education. The California State PTA wants to create advocates for quality arts education at every school in California. We hope you will spread the word about the benefits of arts education. Please e-mail this newsletter to PTA district, council and unit members.

In this issue:

1) Advocacy for the Arts

Supporting Music Advocacy Toolkit
California Music Education Crisis: The Sound of Silence
SupportMusic.com, a New Allied Agency
Advocacy Resources on the SMARTS Website

2) Interactive Websites for Parents, Teachers, and Students

The Living Room Candidate: Presidential Campaign Commercials 1952-2004
Storyline Online: Children’s Books and Illustrations
The Renaissance Connection
From Cave Art to Your Art

3) Announcements

Art and Essay Competition Encourages Students to Demonstrate Creative Use of Technology
National Gallery of Art Interactive Site for Teachers and Students (and moms and dads)
Art Resources from the National PTA Website

1) Advocacy for the Arts

Supporting Music Advocacy Toolkit
As part of the American Music Conference’s response to the school music crisis in California, this tool kit is offered FREE to all California residents. The 2004 DVD edition of the Einstein Kit includes a printable manual with tips on becoming an activist and a CD-ROM containing sample correspondence, sample news releases, useful summaries of the latest scientific research, audio files for use on radio, and a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation to help you advocate for music education in your local community.
http://www.amc-music.org/advocacy/toolkit.htm

California Music Education Crisis: The Sound of Silence
“The Sound of Silence: The Unprecedented Decline of Music Education in California Public Schools” documents the impact of budget cuts, high-stakes testing, and the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act on student participation in music education programs.
http://www.music-for-all.org/sos.html

SupportMusic.com, a New Allied Agency
The California State PTA is working with SupportMusic.com in a national campaign to support music and the arts. SupportMusic.com, a coalition for support of the arts, is an allied agency of the California State PTA.
http://www.supportmusic.com/

Advocacy Resources on the SMARTS Website
This California State PTA website contains advocacy resources for parents and teachers.
http://www.capta.org/sections/programs-smarts/index.cfm

2) Interactive Websites for Parents, Teachers, and Students

The Living Room Candidate: Presidential Campaign Commercials 1952-2004
Visit this innovative online exhibition presenting more than 250 television commercials from every election year beginning in 1952. Explore the expanding world of Web-based political advertising. The exhibition is from the American Museum of the Moving Image.
http://www.movingimage.us/site/site.php

Storyline Online: Children’s Books and Illustrations
The Screen Actors Guild Foundation provides Storyline Online, an online streaming video program featuring SAG members reading children’s books aloud.
http://www.bookpals.net/storyline/index.html

The Renaissance Connection Visit the Allentown Art Museum’s interactive educational website. Travel 500 years into the past to discover many Renaissance innovations. http://www.renaissanceconnection.org/

From Cave Art to Your Art: 30,000 Years of New Media
Explore the ways artists use art media. Make a video. Watch video clips showing artists at work, then make your own art and upload it to the website.
http://www.sanford-artedventures.com/play/caveart/

3) Announcements

Art and Essay Competition Encourages Students to Demonstrate Creative Use of Technology Find out about the annual CDW•G Education Contest, sponsored by Adobe, for high school juniors and seniors. Create an original piece of two-dimensional digital artwork and write a 250-word essay addressing the topic “How has technology enhanced your learning experience?” http://www.cdwg.com/artcontest

National Gallery of Art Interactive Site for Teachers and Students (and moms and dads)
Visit a Web resource where teachers and students can connect art and curriculum.
http://www.nga.gov/education/classroom/
Make a mobile.
http://www.nga.gov/kids/zone/mobile.htm

Art Resources from the National PTA Website
The National PTA provides a wealth of information about arts resources for parents.
http://www.pta.org/parentinvolvement/familyfun/ff_resourceskennedy.asp

To Subscribe:
If you wish to be added to the subscriber list to this newsletter, send an e-mail to SMARTSenews@capta.org. Enter the word "Subscribe" into the subject area or the body of the email and you will automatically be added.

To Unsubscribe:
If you would like to terminate your subscription to the SMARTS newsletter, send an e-mail to SMARTSenews@capta.org and in the subject area type "Remove" or "Unsubscribe" and your name will be removed.

For help or to send comments, suggestions, and inquiries send an e-mail to info@capta.org.

The California State PTA SMARTS newsletter is sent free of charge via the Internet as a service of the California State PTA in the furtherance of its nonprofit and tax-exempt status. Unless otherwise noted, PTAs may reproduce and distribute the materials from the California State PTA website for PTA use without express written permission. California State PTA materials may not be duplicated by any other organization or person without written permission.

California State PTA

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