Schools
State Education Commissioner Attends Forest Park Elementary's Shakespeare Festival
Dr. John B. King Jr. sees the talents of Forest Park fifth graders.
From Half Hollow Hills Schools:
New York State Education Commissioner Dr. John B. King Jr. was a recent guest at Forest Park Elementary School’s month-long Shakespeare Festival production of Hamlet. This Arts-In-Education program, entitled “Shake it Up, Shakespeare,” is led by Allan Osterweil, who has been introducing fifth graders to Shakespeare for 46 years.
The six month-long residency provides fifth grade students the opportunity to intermingle with Shakespeare’s works by exploring the language and history of William Shakespeare’s time. Students across the grade have performed in elaborate productions of Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
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Students are transformed back in time as they dress in period clothing to both perform and watch each production. Fifth graders love the idea of studying Shakespeare as they come to realize how enjoyable, timely and significant his works still are today.
This program is a testament to the abilities of fifth graders and is an excellent example of the significance Arts-In-Education programs perform in enhance learning and promoting critical thinking skills.
This also exemplifies the rigor that students in the Half Hollow Hills CSD encounter daily. During a tour of Forest Park, Commissioner King discussed the New York State Common Core Learning Standards and commented that, “a district like Half Hollow Hills was one of those few places where this type of teaching went on even before the adoption by New York State of these new standards.”
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