Tapestry Charter School SUPER SUBJECT PAGES

A day in the life of a Tapestry Charter School student is very active. During the course of a week Tapestry students receive instruction in art, music, dance, physical education and foreign language. In grades K-4 we refer to these areas of study as the Super Subjects. In grades 5-8 we refer to them as Super Subjects or Arts Intensives.

Why do they call them Super Subjects?

When creating Tapestry Charter School, the founders made a strong commitment to the arts, foreign language, and physical education. In many schools these subjects are called “specials”, and are often the first to be cut when funding gets tight. At Tapestry we recognize that these are often the subjects that bring the most pleasure to a child or allow a student who may be struggling academically an opportunity to succeed. All of these subjects build multiple cognitive, social, physical, and creative skills, as well as enrich the lives and learning of our students and our school community. They are, Super Subjects!

In grades K-4 students receive instruction in music, art, dance, physical education and Spanish twice a week for the whole year. In grades 5-8 the schedule changes. Spanish is considered an academic class and students get to take theatre in addition to dance, music, art and physical education.

Super Subjects K-4

Students in grades K-4 receive instruction in music, art, dance, physical education, and Spanish twice a week.
Students receive summary reports in super subjects for the first and third trimesters.
Student work in art, dance, music, and Spanish is highlighted throughout the school year in a variety of events such as: whole school community meetings, open classes, informal performances, and year-end art shows.

Super Subjects/Arts Intensives Grades 5-8

Students in grades 5-8 receive instruction in music, art, dance and theatre.
Students receive instruction in these courses twice a week for 10 weeks.
The middle school arts classes are called arts intensives.
Students are graded in the arts intensives at the end of each 10-week marking period.
At least 1 work sample per arts intensive is documented for portfolios.
Arts intensives culminate in final showings of student work.
In grades 5-8 Spanish meets 4 times a week and is considered an academic subject.
In grades 5-8 students receive instruction in Physical Education 2x’s a week throughout the school year.
Students are graded in Physical Education at the end of the 1^st and 3^rd trimesters.

Special Programs/Guest Artists K-8

In addition to the excellent arts instruction students receive from our talented and dedicated staff, Tapestry students also have opportunities to work with guest artists, visit museums & galleries, attend theatre & dance performances; learn about the rich cultural community they live in and share their experiences with the school community and beyond.

We’ve had ongoing partnerships with Young Audiences of Western New York and the Albright Knox Art Gallery and have benefited from the generosity of many individuals in the Tapestry Community, the amazing fund raising efforts of the Tapestry Community Association, and received grants through the hard work of the administrative team and professional grant writers to provide students in all grade levels learning opportunities in and out of the classroom. The arts programming at Tapestry integrates multiple art forms, promotes collaborative interdisciplinary instruction and allows for cross-curricular learning.