NEWS RELEASE
Contact: Estella Zavala, 225-6437
Posted on: September 29, 2005
Governor Janet Napolitano will honor TUSD's Opening
Minds Through the Arts program and present books to students
during her annual literacy program visit from 9 a.m. to 9:45
a.m. Sept. 30 at Howell Elementary School, 401 N. Irving.
Governor Napolitano will recognize the OMA program at Howell
Elementary which was one of the first TUSD schools to implement
and offer a full OMA component to students in kindergarten
through fifth-grade. The governor will tour classrooms with
Dr. John Snavely, principal clarinetist with the Tucson Pops
Orchestra and member of the Tucson Symphony, who teaches and
oversees general music, band and orchestra at the school.
During her visit, Governor Napolitano will also present books
to each of the 53 fourth-graders at the school. Titled Coyote
School News by Tucson author Joan Sandin, the book is based
on a true story about students in the 1930s who attended a
one-room school in southern Arizona. The book-give-away is
part of the Governor's annual literacy program which
has been expanded this year to include fourth-grade readers.
Now in its fifth year at TUSD, OMA integrates the fine arts
into traditional curriculum for kindergarten through sixth-grade
students. The OMA model is based on extensive research on
the neurological development of children. Using opera, dance,
costume design and music, students learn new ways to view
and understand complex math and language problems. Classroom
teachers collaborate on lessons with professional artists
from throughout the Tucson community and an OMA arts integration
specialist who is assigned to each school to work with the
teachers, artists, and students. Further information can be
found at www.omaproject.org.
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