HAFTR 4th graders celebrate arts

An arts education builds skills including the four Cs: Creativity, Critical Thinking, Communication and Collaboration. Throughout the grades at HAFTR, students are exposed to a well-rounded arts curriculum including classroom instruction in art and music, museum visits and special programs. Evening of the Arts is a culmination of the fourth grade accomplishments in the arts.

 Fourth grade artists and performers dazzled parents, grandparents and guests with a gala art exhibit and jazz repertoire. White-gloved students circulated with hot hors d’oeuvres as the guests enjoyed the art on display. During both art class and M.I. Time, students emulated the works of Alberto Giacometti, Edgar Degas, Keith Haring, Vassily Kandinsky, Gustav Klimt, Kessler Woodward, Sonya Delaunay, Romero Britto, Bridget Riley and Victor Vasarely and Vincent van Gogh. There was also a multi-media exhibit from the students’ trip to the Lower East Side and the Eldridge Street Synagogue.

The walls were lined with amazing Giacometti sculptures, each depicting the unique interests of our students. Guests were drawn to the sound and light show that accompanied the “Starry Night over Jerusalem” mural made of thousands of bottle caps that were collected by students over the past few years.

As the lights dimmed, guests were ushered to their seats to be “jazzed up” by the grade-wide musical performance. As the procession of students filed on stage, Kayla Fauziev accompanied them with a piano rendition of Last Chance Blues, by Martha Mier. Students narrated, sang, danced and played their recorders as guests swung to the music.

The musical program included a combination of both classical jazz songs as well as some Hebrew songs. Some of the musical artists included in the performance were the Gershwins, Irving Berlin, Duke Ellington and Irving Mills.

One of the highlights was the song Schar Mitzvah by Elie Schwalb, accompanied by a video showing how HAFTR students know “that the reward for a mitzvah is a mitzvah, and there is no limit to that reward!”

The evening ended with a reprise from Magic To Do, by Stephen Schwartz. Applause rang out in the auditorium and the students’ faces were beaming as they took a bow.

Naomi Maron gave hakarat hatov to Jill Goldstein, and Janet Goldman for inspiring HAFTR students with an awareness and love for the arts. Thanks were also extended to Tova Zucker for her guidance and countless hours spent preparing for the Evening of the Arts.