A glorious day!
Suzanne, George, Gloria
Yesterday was a great day at the State House for Visual and Performing Arts Education. The day started at 8:30 with the Bangor Children’s Choir performing at the opening of the legislative session and recognized by the members of the House.
Music and art students from several high schools were on hand in the Hall of Flags throughout the morning communicating about their involvement in the school arts education programs.
Peter Alexander, Executive Director and Elizabeth Watson, Chair emeritus from the Maine Alliance for Arts and Education welcomed guests.
Legislators from all over the state were present to participate in the event. It was great to hear from representatives from the Senate and House, Emily Cain, Robert Katz, and Mary Nelson.
Other speakers of the day included Executive Director of the Maine Arts Commission, Julie Richard, Maine Art Education Association Art Advocate of the Year, Catherine Ring, and Jeff Poulin from the Americans for the Arts.
I think the most important message of the day came from Zack Fisher who serves on the Maine Alliance for Arts Education board as the student representative. I will post Zack’s message in the near future!
As I posted earlier on the meartsed blog Heidi O’Donnell, President of Maine Art Education and art teacher at Belfast High School worked with her students to create Arts Education pins that were distributed to each member of the House and Senate.
The highlight of the day was recognizing the accomplishments of Suzanne Goulet and Gloria Hewett. Suzanne received the Bill Bonyun Award and Gloria the Distinguished School Leadership Award. Their awards were created by artist George Mason. You can learn more about George in this video created at Gould Academy.
George taking a photo of his artwork with Suzanne and Gloria!
Thanks to MDI High School art educator Charlie Johnson for contributing the photos above for this blog post.
From the program…
The Bill Bonyun Award is given to an artist, educator, or community member who has made significant contributions to the arts in our schools, shown outstanding commitment and dedicated service in arts education, and been an inspiration to students, teachers, and the community. This year, MAAE honors Suzanne Goulet, visual arts educator from Waterville High School. “I don’t know when Suzanne sleeps, or the number of miles she has put on her truck over the years, traveling to meetings, conferences, and workshops to support art education and professional development. Suzanne is the kind of colleague who can be counted on to show up, to come up with ideas and solutions, to offer moral support and a good laugh. She always finds the time and energy to give her students as much as possible.” (quote from Stephanie Leonard)
The Distinguished School Leadership Award is given to a school leader or administrator who has demonstrated outstanding leadership and support of the arts, established exemplary or innovative arts education programs, and promoted the importance of arts in the education of every child. This year, MAAE honors Gloria Hewett, an art teacher from Mt. View Middle School in Thorndike. “Gloria not only has developed and implemented a proficiency-based model of teaching and learning in her own classroom, but has supported her fellow colleagues within our district in doing the same. As a teacher leader with the Maine Arts Assessment Initiative, Gloria has prepared and presented numerous workshops throughout the state of Maine; supporting both state and district vision for transforming education.” (quote from Debra McIntyre)
MAAE also presents a special Certificate of Appreciation to Emily Bean of Bangor. Emily has served the Bangor community for many years as an active volunteer, board member and board officer in many of Bangor’s non-profit organizations. Emily’s generous and tireless fundraising efforts on behalf of arts education programs at the Bangor schools have earned her this special Certificate of Appreciation.
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