At Gateway School, the visual, musical and theater arts are integral to the curriculum, and children are taught by our experienced specialist faculty. A student’s self-awareness is enhanced through arts education — as are language acquisition, cognitive development, critical thinking ability, and social skills.

Visual Art

In Gateway’s visual arts program, students learn how to perceive the world in an artistic way by refining their sensory perceptions of works of art, objects in nature, events, and environment. They learn art appreciation, and they learn to identify the elements and principles of design. Art projects are often planned with classroom teachers to complement themes of study. The growing skill and creative expression of Gateway students adorn the halls and walls of the school throughout the year and during the school-wide Art Tour in the spring.

Music

Gateway’s music program is based upon the Orff-Schulwerk approach, an innovative approach to teaching and learning music based on the ways children naturally communicate. It weaves together speech and poetry, movement and dance, drama and song, and improvisation with playing musical instruments. Direct experience with sound and movement precedes theoretical study, and cooperative ensemble work is encouraged over competitive individual virtuosity as students develop their innate joy for music.

Using their voices to speak, chant and sing, and their bodies to move and dance, the children experience intensive learning through total involvement. Using their own bodies as instruments, using small percussion and melody instruments like xylophones and metallophones, the children are encouraged to move joyfully from musical imitation to improvisation and literacy.

Theater Art

Gateway’s dramatic arts provides our students with the opportunity to develop and practice communication, artistic expression, and team building skills through annual developmentally appropriate classroom productions. Students develop confidence and creativity while practicing  freedom of expression. The delight of being someone else in a safe environment helps students broaden their perspective, develop their minds, and become open to new possibilities. Team-building, communication and artistic skills are strengthened. Recent research indicates that the complex skills used in theater directly correlate to higher academic achievement over a period of time.