COVENANT ARTS SUPPORT TEAM

WELCOME LETTER

Dear CDS Family,

I hope this letter finds your family acclimated to the school routine and enjoying all that Covenant Day School has to offer.  We have an exciting year ahead at Covenant Day, especially in the area of Fine Arts.  Last year was a ground-breaking year for the CDS Fine Arts with the birth of CAST, the Covenant Arts Support Team. 

CAST was formed by a group of parents under the direction of the School Board. Its purpose is to come alongside our talented Fine Arts teachers at CDS and help them grow our fine arts program.   It has been my privilege to lead an amazing team of parents for our CAST Board, to mobilize many parents and students, and to plug those parents and students into the various arts activities that CDS has to offer.

Last year we accomplished a great deal:

• You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown -- a fully-staged musical production led by teams of parents in set buildingand design, costuming, programs, receptions, production, and more.
• Empty Bowls -- a mission project that raised $3,000 to fight hunger in Haiti, givingour students the opportunity to actively participate in a missions project through designing and selling ceramic bowls and through corporately praying for needy children around the globe.  CAST mobilized over 75 volunteers for this event.
• Artfest -- the Visual Arts teachers had more parental support than ever this past year, from displaying the artwork, to providing a beautiful reception, to making the ribbons for awards.
• Sectional band rehearsals -- led by CDS parent musicians.
• Shelving updates -- much needed shelving was provided for the storage of band instruments.
• Costuming help -- for the Lower School programs, as well as for the drama productions.
• Administrative help -- bookkeeping for Empty Bowls was provided by CAST parents.
• 'A Celebration of the Arts' -- held at Stumptown Park in downtown Matthews. It was a wonderful evening celebrating our young artists at CDS and was the culmination of all areas of Fine Arts at CDS.
• Service hours -- opportunities for our High School students through set building and design, musical production crew, and concert production.

As we look ahead to this 2009-10 school year we anticipate many exciting concerts, programs, exhibits, and shows.  Our Drama Department will feature the musical Bye Bye Birdie and also a Night of One Acts, performed both in the fall and in the spring.  This Christmas our Choral and Band Departments will perform a wonderful program of Christmas music as well as a spring concert.  May 3-7 is reserved for Art Fest week featuring our talented visual artists from grades K-12.  In addition to these ongoing programs, our students will have the opportunity to participate in various visual arts competitions, including the Youth Art Month (YAM) and the Congressional Art Award.


Participation in CAST has been a rich experience and we invite you to consider joining our efforts.  Whether you are gifted in fine arts or better suited to be an appreciative spectator, we welcome your participation.  In addition to mobilizing parents to come alongside our teachers, the CAST Board has a vision to help grow our Fine Arts program.  Part of that vision includes meeting special needs and building foundational assets that have been identified by our Fine Arts teachers.  These priorities will give our children access to a richer arts experience, as well as an opportunity to participate in more local, state, and national competitions. 



Below is a list of enhancements and their approximate costs:

Band

• symphonic chimes - $5,000
• vibraphone - $2,700
• bassoon - $5,000
• performance groups to perform for school assemblies (blue grass, jazz, opera, brass quintets, Baroque music, bagpipe band, etc) - costs varies per ensemble

Visual Arts

·          artwork preparation for HS competition: Congressional Art Award - $300
·          artwork preparation for LS exhibit:  YAM - $150
·          two Fine Arts sidewalk signs - $225 each
·          LS art display system - $2,000

Drama

• two vinyl signs for community visibility for musical production - $150 each
• the cost of royalties for school production - $1,800-2,500
• rehearsal/performance pianist for musical - $1,000-1,500
• props/costuming assets - $1,000-2,000
• video equipment/duplication equipment - $2,000
• material for theater scrims - $1,000
• laser printer for ticketing/paper - $250-350
• follow spot & extra lighting equipment for stage - $700
• wireless communication system for the production team - $2,500-3,000

Although we would like to make these opportunities possible for our students, we recognize that in seeking to keep tuition affordable the current budget for the Fine Arts Department does not allow for all these enhancements immediately .  If you are able and would like to give towards one or more of these needs, we encourage you to do so through the Annual Campaign appeal. 
There are so many ways to plug in as parents at CDS, and we would love for you to join us in our quest to grow the Fine Arts program.  If you have any questions, please call me at 704.708.9723 or email me at jrs@carolina.rr.com.  The CAST Board would love to hear from you! 

Invest in your child's future -- Fine Arts are for a lifetime.

Serving our Creator,

Rebecca Saunders
CAST President

Karen Ernsberger
Fine Arts Department Chair

2009-2010 CAST Board Members:
Barry Baker, Janie Biggerstaff, Karen Ernsberger, Jim Haigh, John Haines,
Rebecca Saunders, Cindy Weigel