Ohio Master Teacher
B.S. and M.S. in Early Childhood and Elementary Education
Kent State University
Excel Newsletter
The Pittsburgh Opera
Opera Basics from PBS
Video clip:
James Flora; Pittsburgh Opera Resident Artist
PowerPoint Show
Falstaff PowerPoint Show
Carmen PowerPoint Show
Veterans 2009 PowerPoint
Veterans Day Assembly
*Research Resources
Excel TV
Veterans Program 2008
Excel Students Learn from Local Veterans Firsthand
September 2008
Iditarod Internet Scavenger Hunt
*Iditarod Internet
Scavenger Hunt(pdf)
* Iditarod Links
UNIT: The Great Depression
*Excel - Great Depression
*CES Internet Scavenger Hunt
*CMS 1930s Webquest
UNIT: WEATHER
*Internet Resources
*Internet Scavenger Hunt
Weather Watch
*Cloud Photographs
(for foldables)
*Gather Data
Experiment with Weather
*Greenhouse Effect
photographs
*Renewable and
non-renewable energy
*Internet Scavenger
climate change
*Weather tools
for foldable
*Climate Change Unit
Independent Research Projects
S’COOL Project
Excel Wins F.E. Grant
Excel 07 New Year
Stream Study Resources
Ancient Egypt Studies
Carnegie Natural History Museum Scavenger Hunt
Individual Independent Projects
Excel 06-07
Out of This World
It's Electric
Internet Scavenger Hunt
Myths of Constellation
Foldable Rubric
Constellation and Myth Rubric
Fall Activities in Excel
Excel Storyboard: Personal Introduction
Tips for Effective PowerPoint Presentations
Multimedia Rubric: Personal Introduction
Pittsburgh Opera Resident Artist:
James Flora
Each Opera Academy Workshop devotes time for the participants to hear special presentations that feature Pittsburgh Opera Resident Artists. The artists describe the selection that they are going to sing, set up what is happening in the opera, and answer any questions from the participants after the performance.
These wonderful performances are one of our favorite parts of the workshop.
This video performance is by James Flora, tenor. He is a first-year Pittsburgh Opera Resident Artist. He will be singing the role of Fenton in Falstaff and Dancairo in Carmen this year at Pittsburgh Opera. Mr. Flora holds a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance from The Ohio State University and a Master of Music in Voice Performance from Florida State University.James Flora
Pittsburgh Opera’s Resident Artist Program is one of the top training programs for young singers in the country. It provides professional development during a two-year session. Each year over 600 applicants from around the world audition. The program advances their careers under the guidance of the opera world's leaders and innovators, including master classes with opera legends. While developing their vocal skills and expanding their repertoire, they study languages, diction, movement, and acting. In addition to performing principal roles in a fully staged production, the Resident Artists cover principal roles and perform comprimario roles in Pittsburgh Opera's mainstage productions each season.
Throughout the school year, the Resident Artists also appear in interactive musical presentations to students in the Pittsburgh area and beyond. These highly entertaining, improvised presentations introduce opera to young audiences and align with state and national performing arts education standards.
(http://www.pittsburghopera.org/pages/resident-artists)
Click here to read James Flora’s full bio and check out the other Pittsburgh Resident Artists.
Resident Artists 2009-2010 Season
Excel Learns About the World of Opera
Crestview Excel students will be participating in a year-long study of the world of opera during the 2009-2010 school year. Mrs. Kershner, Excel teacher and Mrs. Pelino, Crestview Middle School art teacher, are members of this year’s Pittsburgh Opera Academy. The Opera Academy is a year-long professional development opportunity that is created for teachers. It is designed to immerse educators and their students into the world of opera and arts integration and led by Dr. Marilyn Egan. Educators from all grade levels and content areas from Ohio and Pennsylvania attend full day workshops, experience opera from a varied repertoire, develop lessons designed to connect the arts to other academic content areas, and prepare students to attend an opera performance.
The Pittsburgh Opera will be presenting four operas at the Benedum this year. They are Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, Verdi’s Falstaff, Bizet’s Carmen, and Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro. The academy prepares detailed PowerPoint presentations for the teachers to use with their students which summarize each opera, provide photographs of productions around the world, discuss the historical significance of the time period, and relate world events around the composer’s life and opera premičre.
The presentations also focus on featured artists appearing in Pittsburgh. Teachers are supplied with lesson ideas for all content areas, resources, and behind the scenes insights.
Students will be able to explore firsthand the world of opera with a Carmen “opera trunk;” a large steamer trunk on wheels filled with books, CDs, photographs, costumes, props and lesson ideas.
The trunk package will also include a student interactive presentation by teaching artists and a month long trunk residency. This will introduce Carmen to the students and help prepare them for the November 5th field trip to the Western Reserve Opera dress rehearsal of Carmen. Elementary and middle school Excel students will be attending the dress rehearsal along with the middle school gifted art students.
Along with the lessons by the Opera Academy the Excel students will also be creating a multi-genre portfolio throughout the year. The portfolio will be a collection of writings and visual art projects in a variety of genres. Students will use a variety of sources to create a coherent portfolio about opera and use critical thinking skills and methods of inquiry to find appropriate research to support their work.
The culminating activity will be on April 29th as the Excel students and the middle school gifted art students travel to Pittsburgh to see The Marriage of Figaro as guests of the Pittsburgh Opera Academy.
This year long study of the world of opera will open the eyes of Crestview students and expand their experiences in new and exciting ways as the fine arts are integrated throughout the curriculum!
Images and information courtesy of Pittsburgh Opera.
Click here to see the graphic novel Eugene Onegin by Roy Husada and Fiona Meng
Audio Clips
Music From Eugene Onegin from the Deutsche Grammophon recording, featuring Rosemarie Lang, Mirella Freni, Anne Sofie von Otter, Ruthild Engert, Thomas Allen, Neil Shicoff, Paata Burchuladze, Michel Senechal, Jurgen Hartfiel, and Gunter Emmerlich. Conducted by James Levine.
Track 1: Tatiana’s theme
Track 3: Listen to see if you can hear Tatiana’s theme repeated again
Track 5: The Letter Aria: Tatiana
After Tatiana discusses her love for Onegin with her nurse, she asks to be left alone. You can hear her emotions start to build in the orchestra and then she begins to sing.
Track 12: The Final Duet: Tatiana and Onegin
Check out the Pittsburgh Opera website at
http://www.pittsburghopera.org/ for ticket information, audio and video clips, resident artist information, and resources for educators.
Pittsburgh Opera’s New Home
The Pittsburgh Opera moved into its new home at 2425 Liberty Avenue in the Strip District in September 2008. The building was built as George Westinghouse’s original air brake factory in 1869. It has 45,000-square-feet and features offices, 4,000 square feet of rehearsal spaces, costume, wig, and make-up shops, and a kitchen. Opera Academy members were given a tour and were able to see employees working behind the scenes in preparation of Eugene Onegin.
Practice space for chorus rehearsal |
Practice space for Eugene Onegin opera rehearsal |
Wardrobe, costume shop, wig, hair and makeup |
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| Props and shoes in the costume shop | |
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 Pittsburgh Opera staff office space |