Kings County Arts in Action
April 2020 Edition
Brought To You By Kings County Office of Education
Our Purpose
Arts education, which includes visual arts, music, drama, and media arts, is an important part of a well-rounded education. This newsletter serves to highlight the amazing work with the arts being done by school districts within our county.

Poetry Out Loud
Kings County Office of Education is happy to announce that Poetry Out Loud will be coming to Kings County next year. Sites interested in competing in this high school level competition and organizations/individuals interested in donating to this event should contact Liz Norris. During this competition, we also plan to include a spoken word component, for middle school and high school students to perform original pieces of poetry. More information will be sent to our districts in August.

Arts from Earlier this Spring
Hanford West Heads to "Oklahoma!"
Hanford West High School presented Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Oklahoma!" from March 5-7 at the Stratton Tarvin Presentation Center in Hanford. The show was a rousing success! Hanford West High School is part of Hanford Joint Union High School District.
Pioneer Middle School Winter Guard Ends Season Early with a Perfect Record!
The 2020 Pioneer MS Winter Guard team earned 1st place in all three regular season events in the South Valley Winter Arts Association competition. The season was cut short due to school closure just prior to the Grand Championships where they held the #1 seed but students and staff are extremely proud of how far the program has come in just three short years participating in competition.
Akers Produces Young Masters
Akers Elementary, part of Central Union School district, displayed art at the Kings Art Center's Young Masters show this spring.
Lemoore High Art Techniques
Lemoore High School students are provided with increasingly complex artistic skills through art coursework during high school.
Students learned how to layer and blend colored pencils by creating a work of art utilizing a set of analogous colors to compose a fully rendered drawing. | Students learned how to draw texture and fine details using graphite pencils by completing a 5 paneled drawing containing close ups of an animal of choice. | Students learned how to draw texture and fine details using graphite pencils by completing a 5 paneled drawing containing close ups of an animal of choice. |
Students learned how to layer and blend colored pencils by creating a work of art utilizing a set of analogous colors to compose a fully rendered drawing.
Students learned how to draw texture and fine details using graphite pencils by completing a 5 paneled drawing containing close ups of an animal of choice.
Students channeled their inner Andy Warhol by creating a Pop Art inspired color pencil drawing. They were also required to use complementary colors. | Students learned how to ink using the stipple technique through the completion of an organic still life. | Students selected an important social/political issue to portray a story/narrative in a highly detailed ink drawing. |
Students channeled their inner Andy Warhol by creating a Pop Art inspired color pencil drawing. They were also required to use complementary colors.
Students learned how to ink using the stipple technique through the completion of an organic still life.
Students created a traditional work of art to refine and develop their drawing skills. | Students at LHS have many options to grow their artistic skills. | Students created a work of art that expressed an emotion assigned to them. |
Kings River-Hardwick Masters of the Arts
Kings River-Hardwick students had artwork on display this spring at the Kings Art Center Young Masters show.
Kings County Arts Distance Learning in Action
Throughout Kings County, districts have been working hard to provide distance learning opportunities for students. Below are some examples of student work completed and submitted virtually, descriptions of virtual learning, teacher created arts resources, and even a teacher leading a class via Zoom! Thank you to our arts teachers for providing students with a creative outlet to express themselves during this unprecedented situation.

The Lemoore High Choir Keeps Singing
The Lemoore High School Choirs are still holding virtual auditions for next school year's advanced classes. Students are also continuing to sing and become better at sight-singing by practicing solfege through the use of folk songs and nursery rhymes!
KCOE Preschoolers Bring Stories to Life
Students enrolled in the Kings County Office of Education preschool programs have enjoyed creating artwork inspired by the Eric Carle books The Very Hungry Caterpillar and The Very Busy Spider as well as The Three Little Pigs.
PUESD Students are having fun practicing their musical skills during the COVID 19 School Closure
Band students in the Pioneer Union Elementary School District are using this time of distance learning to hone their skills and provide entertainment for their families, friends, and usually the neighbors.
HESD Band Plays On
Corinne Johnson uses flipgrid to film a band assessment as the Hanford Elementary School District band program continues music education through distance learning.

Akers Students Create at Home
Artistic packaging, a home distancing project by Michael Trahan 8th grader from Akers Elementary in Central Union School District. | Drawing a Room, based on VanGogh’s Bedroom at Arles by Orihime Berumen of Akers Elementary in Central Union School District. | Lily Shen, a 6th grader from Akers Elementary in Central Union School District, went above and beyond and painted birch trees on a wall in her home. |
Artistic packaging, a home distancing project by Michael Trahan 8th grader from Akers Elementary in Central Union School District.
Drawing a Room, based on VanGogh’s Bedroom at Arles by Orihime Berumen of Akers Elementary in Central Union School District.
8th grader Hailey Post of Akers Elementary in Central Union Elementary District designed arts packaging for a home learning project. | Marlee Adamo, a 6th grader at Akers Elementary in Central Union School District, created this drawing with Michael Woodside, Disney illustrator. | Teacher Courtney Thornburg, who works at Central and Stratford Elementary schools in Central Union School District, created a website to engage her students in music education while they work at home. |
8th grader Hailey Post of Akers Elementary in Central Union Elementary District designed arts packaging for a home learning project.
Marlee Adamo, a 6th grader at Akers Elementary in Central Union School District, created this drawing with Michael Woodside, Disney illustrator.
Teacher Courtney Thornburg, who works at Central and Stratford Elementary schools in Central Union School District, created a website to engage her students in music education while they work at home.
Band director Jim Rickard of RJ Neutra Elementary School in Central Union School District leads 3rd grade students through a virtual lesson.
3rd Grade Music Zoom at Neutra Elementary
Hanford High Students Create New Lifeforms
Hanford High School students invented a creature with whatever media they had on hand. Some were done digitally and others were drawn with graphite, colored pencil, or watercolor. Hanford High School is part of Hanford Joint Union High School District.
Avenal Elementary Supply Students
Students at Avenal Elementary in Reef-Sunset Unified School District have been provided with art supplies, so they can continue learning about art at home. The school has set up a website for students to access art lessons that require minimal materials.
VAPA Arts Resources for Educators
The VAPA committee has compiled a list of resources for arts educators.

Emergency Arts Funding
The California Arts Council has compiled a list of emergency funding for artists.
Next KCOE Arts Update
Kings County Office of Education will release our next arts update in October 2020. Submissions may be sent to Liz Norris. Districts and sites are responsible for verifying that photos may be publicly released. Photos should be submitted in groupings of three due to the gallery format of S'more. Videos of live performances may also be accepted.