Green Street Staff

Connecticut Higher Order Thinking (HOT) Schools in partnership with Wesleyan’s Green Street Arts Center is offering two internships to Wesleyan University or Middlesex Community College Students.

This is a unique opportunity for organized, tech savvy individuals interested in the elements of planning, developing, implementing and coordinating particular aspects of the HOT Schools program including the HOT Schools Summer Institute (SI). The SI is an intensive interactive arts education experience for 200 plus artists, teachers, administrators and parents engaged in school culture change through strong arts, arts integration, and democratic practice.

To apply: Please send a resume and letter of interest to hotschools@wesleyan.edu

Arts in Education (AE) Conference Planning Interns

Duration:  The AE Conference Planning Interns will work from May 27 – July 24, 2014

Description:  Participating in event design, planning and implementation

• Research and compile relevant resources
• Assisting in creation of promotional materials
• Managing multiple data systems (school reports and plans, on-line registrations and surveys, etc.)
• Organizing materials and supplies for presenters
• Networking with educators, artists and presenters
• General clerical duties (copying, filing, assembling materials, etc.)

Qualifications: The candidate for this position should be a self-starter with strong writing skills, be proficient in using excel and Google docs and have general clerical skills. The position requires flexibility, strong interpersonal skills and an interest in working collaboratively. Drivers license and access to a vehicle preferred.

Payment: $10.00 per hour over 9 weeks

May 26 – June 13 at 20 hours a week

June 14 – July 24 at 40 hours a week

                                                                     “Above & Below”             30″ x 48″                 Oil on Canvas

On Thursday, May 1st, from 6-8:00 p.m. (in conjunction with Middletown’s Gallery Walk series) there will be an opening reception for Connecticut artist Catherine Doocy.

Catherine Doocy is very interested in the science of memory and the powerful ability of the mind’s eye to “fill in the gaps” when asked to do so. Doocy’s landscape paintings and drawings purposefully provide areas devoid of paint and imagery allowing the viewer’s mind to participate in the completion of the memory she has initiated. Her exhibit,  Transitions, will be on display May 1- May 29, 2014.  The gallery is open M-F, 9a.m.-5p.m.

The Pysanka workshop is returning to the Green Street Arts Center just in time for Easter.

Last year we had a full house for our Pysanka egg decorating workshop with Wesleyan Dance Department Chair, Katja Kolcio.  Katja and her husband have been using the technique for many years and offered to share their skills with us.

The design is created using wax and you have to think about your color pattern in reverse. The wax creates a barrier where the dye won’t stick. So wherever you put wax first on the egg will remain white. Then you pick your first color, say yellow. After you dye the egg yellow, you add the next level of wax and all those spots will stay yellow.  At the end, you carefully melt off all the wax and blow out the contents of the egg.  The traditional technique produces beautiful geometric patterns.

Workshop Date: Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Time: 6:00-9:00pm

Location: 51 Green Street, Middletown

Fee: $10.00 per person

This workshop is for teens and adults.

There is a limit of 25 people, so early registration is encouraged.

To register please call us at 860-685-7871 or email us at gsac@wesleyan.edu

Quality health care coverage is now within reach for everyone.

See how Connecticut is making it easier for Individuals and Families to get the coverage they need by attending the enrollment fair at the Green Street Arts Center.

Date: Friday, January 24th, 2014

Time: 9:00am-12:00pm

Location: 51 Green Street, Middletown, CT

• Greeting visitors
• Answering the phone, forwarding calls, taking messages
• Monitoring general email
• Assisting with AfterSchool Program dismissal and parents
• Checking in private lesson/class/workshop students and instructors
• Event set up and clean up in arts café/kitchen

We have new set up this spring for Grade 6-8 students. We will have one class offering each day of the week for two hours, from 3:15-5:15pm. The fee is $300 per class for the semester and financial assistance is available. Unfortunately, we are no longer able to offer homework help for the middle school students. However, we hope the extended class time and interdisciplinary class options will get students engaged and learning more about art, math, and science.
Here are the class offerings for the spring.

Mondays – Video and Animation with Marc Pettersen: Students learn the basics of animation, character design, and movement. The class works as a team to create animated, hand-drawn shorts to be displayed at our end of semester showcase.

Tuesdays – Art and Math with Renee Soares: Students explore the world of math through various art forms and techniques. The class creates colorful tessellations, paper pyramids, three dimensional objects using the ancient Japanese technique of kirigame, and intricate mandalas that when connected become a labyrinth.

Wednesdays – Art and Science with Lindsay Behren: Students find scientific connections with various subjects and use various art forms to explore those scientific concepts in a creative way. Past themes have included ocean animals and hot air balloons.

Thursdays – Experience Music, An Exploration of Sound from Around the World with recent Wesleyan graduate Jessica Best: Students interact with music traditions from different cultures around the globe including Ghanian drumming, South Indian singing, Taiko drumming, experimental music, and jazz. The class includes visiting musicians from Wesleyan who show the students how to play the instruments themselves and create their own ensembles. This class also includes the opportunity for middle school students to serve as mentors to our younger students (Grades 3-5).

Fridays – Wesleyan Bound, the College Experience with two Wesleyan students and a staff advisor on campus: Students visit Wesleyan University weekly to meet student leaders, tour science labs, talk to professors, explore art galleries, and more. Each semester of Wesleyan Bound is a unique experienced aimed at exposing students to life on a college campus.

Call us at 860-685-7871 for more information. We are setting up registration appointments for spring semester AfterSchool classes the next few weeks. Anyone interested should contact Mrs. Cookie at the front desk to set up an appointment.

We have a great selection of art, math, and science classes at Green Street this spring. Talk to your kids and sign up early for their first class picks. The semester runs from January 27 – May 9, 2014.

Elementary school students (Grades 1-5) have 2-3 class choices for every day of the week from 4:15-5:15pm. We also offer homework help Monday-Thursday after class until 5:45pm. Middletown Public Schools transport student directly to Green Street and parents or guardians are responsible for pick up.

The fee is $150 per class day for the semester and $75 per homework help day. Financial assistance is available. We also have programming for Middletown’s early dismissal days. An extra $5 per half day will be applied to the total semester fee.

Classes for Grades 1-3 include:

• Art and Science
• Recess Rocks
• Musical Mentoring
• Sign Language
• Kids in the Kitchen
• Yoga
• Hip Hop
• Environmental Art
• Art Around the World
• Science Club
• Breakdance
• Felt Fiesta
• Word Play

Classes for Grades 3-5 include:

• Fashionistas
• Breakdance
• Musical Mentoring
• Art and Science
• Hip Hop
• A Cappella
• Improv Theater
• Experience World Music
• Kids in the Kitchen 2
• Digital Art
• Capoeira
• African Drumming

At the end of the semester we celebrate the student work at a Solstice Celebration. They put on performances and display their artwork from their classes.

Call us at 860-685-7871 for more information or to set up a registration appointment.

Wesleyan professor, Brian Northrup, visiting Green Street for three days in a row to do a series of science experiments about plastics with our middle school students. The students learned all about polymers, made their own silly putty, and learned how mood rings work by making crystals that reacted to temperature.

Wesleyan professor, Meredith Hughes, and her college students visited the Green Street AfterSchool Program to do a series of astronomy activities with our elementary school students. Dr. Hughes carried in three surprisingly small boxes and unpacked a portable planetarium that transformed our Performance Studio into scenes from the cosmos. College students gave presentations about the stars inside the planetarium and AfterSchool students learned about constellations.