Visual ArtVisual art class is offered once a week to students in grades K–8, while high school students can choose advanced visual art classes as electives. Art mediums used in all grade levels include:
Our art teacher, Camille Geraci, has been teaching visual art classes to students with learning differences at Stanbridge for more than a decade. As Camille notes, many students at our school are visual thinker and learners. For those who are not natural visual learners, art classes give those students a chance to process information and ideas in a new way, in a safe and supportive environment that expands their thinking and develops new abilities. Beyond creating art projects and pieces, our visual arts curriculum incorporates the standards of the Discipline Based Arts Education (DBAE)—meaning that students learn art aesthetics, history, production, and criticism as part of the curriculum. Art is a vital part of our overall program, as the classes help each student develop skills of:
Likewise, visual art classes help students develop skills in:
As an extracurricular activity, high school students are invited to participate in helping to design the yearbook and create its cover. Additionally, afterschool clubs and summer school offerings have included cartooning, mask-making, photography, and more. You can read more about our summer school and afterschool programs here. |
Drama and MusicMusic classes are offered once a week to students in grades K–8, while high school students can choose theater and music classes as electives. Stanbridge offers a piano/keyboarding elective, as well as varying clubs, depending on student interest, which can include drama where students write and perform their own productions.
Students from all grade divisions are welcome to join the Stanbridge Choir as well as the Stanbridge Rock Band. These groups regularly perform at the annual Holiday Concert and "Spring Sing" assemblies. Extracurricular activities include DJ Club, whose members perform at Stanbridge's quarterly high school dances and prom; and other afterschool/summer school offerings have featured classes on music production, Hip-Hop, and theater camp. During the latter, students from all grade divisions spend two weeks during the summer writing an original play, creating the sets and costumes, then performing the production for a live audience. Additionally, all students are invited to participate in the annual Stanbridge Talent Show—a highlight of every school year that features a variety of different acts performed for students, staff, friends, and family. 
Design LabStanbridge recently added Design Lab as an elective course for high school students. Following the principles of the Maker Faire movement, Stanbridge's Design Lab is a showcase of invention, creativity, and resourcefulness where students show what they are making, and share what they are learning. Students are often allowed to think and design creatively on projects of their own invention, while also working on specific pieces that highlight ingenuity and outside-the-box thinking, such as making cigar box guitars and building "battle bots." Read more about our newly-redesigned Technology and Design Labs on the Technology page of our website.
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