Fine Arts and Music

The AUS Middle School Fine Arts Program builds upon the skills developed in the elementary school through appealing to a wide range of subject matter including theater and drama, visual art, and culinary art. Founded on the National Arts Standards supported by the National Art Education Association, the Fine Arts department at AUS strives to blend the 21st century skills of critical thinking, creativity and collaboration into a technology-infused learning environment. Our program utilizes a wide variety of art making, including drawing, painting, print making, collages, sculptures, ceramics, and digital arts and allows for artistic expression through performances and showcases.

In middle school, students continue to learn the vocabulary and concepts associated with a wide range of contemporary and historical works of art while utilizing higher order thinking skills such as analysis, appraisal, synthesis, and evaluation to develop more individualistic and imaginative visual expressions. Technology in the Fine Arts program is incorporated not only for documenting and researching, but also for creating in order to motivate students to authentically engage in contemporary art practice. Our teachers ensure that as technological choices expand, students are well guided toward choosing and arranging materials appropriate to achieving their specific goals.

In the AUS Music program, we strive to provide students with a deeper appreciation for music. Our goal is to give students a musical experience that lasts a lifetime. The AUS music program draws its standards from the National Association for Music Education (NAfME). These standards allow students to experience every aspect of music education.

The middle school music program builds upon the comprehensive elementary music program. Students use the knowledge gained from their elementary experience to deepen their understanding of music at the middle school level. Students delve deeper into the intricate details of music and continue to grow as musicians. This is vital as the middle school period is a crucial time in music education. During the middle school years, students’ identities are being solidified, and the time where the music they listen to, perform, and study becomes the music they listen to for the rest of their lives. It is important to expose students to a wide variety of music and musical styles. This allows students expand their appreciation for diverse musical genres and helps them to see the connections between music and other disciplines. By understanding the cultural and historical forces that shape social attitudes and behaviors, students are better prepared to live in a world that is increasingly multicultural.

Students in the AUS music program offers a range of experiences. Students in the program have an opportunity to develop singing voices and choral techniques, learn to plan an instrument, study music history and theory, connect the musical experience to core subjects, and integrate musical composition with character traits and values.

The AUS Music experience extends beyond the classroom as students are asked to demonstrate their learning through in class and AUS community performances. Performing, an integral aspect of music education, affords students the opportunity to take risks and discover new abilities. Students in the program develop and use creative and critical thinking skills and cooperative learning techniques, while using appropriate technology as they study all the elements of music.

“Music is a more potent instrument than any other for education, because rhythm and harmony find their way into the inward places of the soul.” – Plato