Cultural Connections

Components of the Strategy
News and Updates
Application Forms
Contacts

Components of the Strategy

In 2005, the Department of Education and the Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation joined together to develop a provincial fine arts and cultural strategy for K-12 education in Newfoundland and Labrador: Cultural Connections. This initiative aims to increase the presence of cultural content in the school curriculum and foster links between the arts and school communities.

Leadership from the government and community based-sector at both provincial and regional levels has been instrumental in the approval, design, and implementation of the Cultural Connections initiative. Partnerships with organizations such as Memorial University of Newfoundland, the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council, The Rooms, the Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers’ Association, the Association of Heritage Industries, the Association of Cultural Industries, and the Newfoundland and Labrador School Boards Association have increased cultural capacity within school environments.

The goals of Cultural Connections are as follows:

Newfoundland and Labrador history and culture will be affirmed as a key feature of the K-12 curriculum.
Students from the K-12 system will be encouraged to develop foundational skills in music, theatre, visual arts and creative writing, which may prepare them to aspire to professional training and career opportunities in the fine and performing arts
Students will develop a critical awareness of the role of the arts in creating and reflecting heritage.
Students, and those who witness their expression of the arts, will also come to respect the contributions of individuals and cultural groups to the arts, in local, national, and international contexts, and will recognize the value of the arts as a record of our human experience.
Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, especially the younger population, will grow in their understanding and appreciation of the unique culture in Newfoundland and Labrador.

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News and Updates

Professional Development

For the 2009-10 series, the Arts Work Conferences have become more regional in scope and are known as the Arts Workshops. These enable each school district to host day-long Arts Workshops, comprising of concurrent strands of professional learning in arts and culture, which connect Arts and Social Studies teachers with local artists and cultural bearers.

Curriculum Development and Resources

Curriculum Development and Resources page has a listing of 2009-10 Print and Non-print resources that will be posted in the near future!
Change Constant is a joint initiative of The Rooms Provincial Art Gallery and the Department of Education, aimed at making forty artworks included in the Provincial Art Gallery’s permanent collection more accessible to students and teachers throughout Newfoundland and Labrador. The focus of this resource is to provide teachable, practical material in support of visual art programming. Change Constant will be available in colour poster format for K-12 schools and the Internet in the near future.

Enrichment Opportunities

Please note, there have been some changes in the application and submission deadline for the student travel grant program.

Provincial Theatre Festival

The annual three-day Provincial High School Theatre Festival has been expanded in 2010 to include artwork by students. The 34th Festival, with students and their teachers participating in workshops and nightly student performances, will be held in Corner Brook in May 2010.

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