Cottage Road Neighborhood School

Weekly Feature

2008-10-14T05:46:00.005-04:00

Drama

We plan to have fun! There will be basic exposure to the dramatic process, dressing up in character, following a story line, developing a little skit or play. Emphasis is on student participation, interaction, and improvisation. We will be exploring life’s timeless sagas sand silly innuendos in drawing inspiration from the vast repertoire of material which already exists in the written archives on the library shelves, and we’ll also be creating our own plays, drawing from life’s lessons and experiences, in our won hearts and minds. These endeavors will range from small impromptu skits for the younger ages, to longer fuller productions for the older kids. We have an expansive range of dress-up clothes and props available to help make the character and scenes come alive.

My Many Colored Days

Take A Look

2008-10-08T05:51:00.000-04:00

This Week.....

2008-09-08T14:31:00.000-04:00

Michael Conford

2008-09-08T13:53:00.000-04:00

Michael Conford moved to Maine in the spring of 1992 from NYC, where he was raised and attended UNY in Purchase NY and UNY City College in NYC for trumpet performance. Michael brings to CRNS a love of music and the ability to play almost every instrument. Michael holds a fresh approach to teaching children music - never forcing them to participate, but rather encouraging them to join in when they feel comfortable. In turn, introducing a true love of learning and music. The same holds true for our cooking classes, which Michael leads.

Michael is married to Gloria and is currently in the rockin' band Eggbot.

Gloria Nightingale

2008-09-08T13:35:00.000-04:00

Gloria Nightingale has been teaching in Greater Portland since 1990, upon returing from college (SMU), where she earned a degree in Elementary Education. In the fall of 1998 she earned her degree in Early Childhood Education from UM Farmington. Before beginning CRNS she taught at Breakwater School, The Children's Nursery School and Head Start. She hopes to return to school one day to continue her education toward a PhD in ECE.

Gloria currently lives in South Portland with her husband Michael, their son Zehpyr and dogs Lamont, Sal and Poncho. She enjoys being a mom, art, gardening, politics, loud music and sleeping late.

Program Content

2008-09-01T09:29:00.000-04:00

Cooking

Working in the kitchen together, becoming familiar with the basic tools and elements of cooking and food preparation. Introduction to cooking utensils and methods of preparing food:

Measuring (teaspoon, tablespoon, cup, pint, quart, gallon, ounce, pound, liter, gram) Mixing (stir, whisk, puree, blend, mince, chop),
Kneading
Rolling dough
Baking

Exposure to an extensive variety, from simple to sublime, of foods and styles of cooking throughout the year.

Science

"Life in the world around us and within us”.

Daily, weekly, and monthly exhibits highlighting various areas of the natural world and its processes.

For example, questions posed and displays may include:
An ant farm, earthworms in a terrarium – how they aerate the soil;
Rhythm of the seasons and what occurs in spring, summer, fall and winter;
How does a rainstorm occur?
How was the earth formed? What is it made of?
Why are the trees green? Where do they come from? From seed to sapling, flower to fruit, the growth process of an apple.
Why is the sky blue?
How is a rainbow formed?
What are our own bodies composed of? How are we formed?

These are some of the natural occurrences and processes in nature that we will be looking into throughout the course of the year. A microscope will be available. Diagrams, charts, visual material will be displayed.

Drama

We plan to have fun! There will be basic exposure to the dramatic process, dressing up in character, following a story line, developing a little skit or play. Emphasis is on student participation, interaction, and improvisation. We will be exploring life’s timeless sagas sand silly innuendos in drawing inspiration from the vast repertoire of material which already exists in the written archives on the library shelves, and we’ll also be creating our own plays, drawing from life’s lessons and experiences, in our won hearts and minds. These endeavors will range from small impromptu skits for the younger ages, to longer fuller productions for the older kids. We have an expansive range of dress-up clothes and props available to help make the character and scenes come alive.

Fine Arts

Exposure to a wide range of technique and application in different areas of the fine arts: drawing, painting, printing sculpture (both additive and subtractive processes), paper mache, papermaking, spinning, weaving, and pottery, just to name a few. Focus is on class participation, along with exploration a application of materials. We like to think of art as being an extension of the individual, a part of his/her soul in motion. All efforts are encouraged and supported in a positive way. There is no “wrong way” to create. It is all an extension of an inner effort to understand and these efforts and expressions are given a place where they can be nurtured and directed. Visual aides and exposure to existing works of art will be displayed. As a supplement to the program, we will be inviting visiting artists to come and share their vision, time and artistic explorations with the kids.

Music

Exposure to a wide range of instruments and musical styles. Introduction to the understanding of basic music principles (timing, beat, rhythm, pitch, harmony, synchronicity. We will be working together on some pieces and also experimenting on our own with various instruments. Exposure is the main idea of this section. We will periodically bring in guest musicians and workshops will be available.

Language

We believe that an early introduction to different languages is key when it comes to a child learning and remembering foreign languages.

Margherite Rodriguez

2008-09-01T09:11:00.002-04:00

Margherite has been an art teacher throughout her career, having taught all grades through high-school with most of the time spent with preschool children. She is also a professional artist with a Masters in Fine Arts from the Villa Schifanoia in Florence, Italy. Most of her work is in private collections and she participated in the 2003 Biennial, Portland Museum of Art.

Margherite was brought up in a traditionally Puertorrican family but studied mostly in Europe and then transplanted herself in the Northeast. She speaks three languages and is very well traveled. Margherite is presently working on an art exhibit.

Our Philosophy

2008-08-20T14:17:00.000-04:00

It is the philosophy and mission of CRNS to provide a unique blend of arts and sciences in a stimulating, secure environment designed to be both interesting and uplifting. Our focus is to develop and encourage self-expression and to promote and enhance learning and love for the arts.

CRNS emphasizes the exploration and application (hands on!) of different styles and existing disciplines in the arts and sciences. Our aim is to include these elements daily from each of these areas: cooking/culinary arts, science, theatre, music, dance, language, and fine arts.