Upcoming HOTS shows: Hot Shows are a part of our monthly town meetings which begin at 2:30. Parents of students who are performing are welcome to attend. The following is the schedule for the remainder of the school year: Grade 5-TBA What is HOTS? The HOT program draws on a child's natural love of self-expression -- writing, music, art, drama, and dance-- to give each student a fuller, richer, and more meaningful education in all the traditional academic subjects. At Staples, for example, first-graders have learned geology by writing and performing a song about different kinds of rocks, and third-graders have studied the culture of ancient Egypt by designing and building a pyramid in their classroom. Click on the Magic Mailbox below to view our celebrated pieces! How does it Work? The heart of the HOT program at Staples is the Magic Mailbox in the main lobby of the school. Here, students submit their essays, stories, artwork, and ideas to be reviewed by the student Editorial Board. Selected works are then put on display in the lobby and online. Every few weeks, on a Friday afternoon, the entire school gathers in the gym for a HOT Assembly/Town Meeting that celebrates the students' imaginative efforts on stage. Winter and spring HOT Festivals give parents and members of the community a chance to experience this creative vitality first-hand. Who Makes it Happen? The HOT program depends on a committed partnership of artists, students, teachers, and parents. Artists, funded by the five year HOT grant and the Easton Cutural Education Fund/PTA, visit the school many times during the year to share their extraordinary talents in such diverse areas as Cambodian dance and Central American music. Students form every grade level drop their work into the Magic Mailbox, and teams of students with similar interests spend one recess period each week participating in the HOT production companies. Teachers at Staples use their classrooms as laboratories of creative learning, and they attend HOT Summer Institutes to hear about new techniques for integrating the arts into subjects like math and history. Parents are involved in all aspects of the program, assisting with production companies (or supervising their own if they have a skill to offer), helping to prepare for HOT Assemblies, and organizing fund-raising events. The HOT Parent Alliance is a committee of parents who oversee the mechanics of the HOT program. Why Does it Matter? Numerous studies have shown the importance ot the arts to academic achievement. At Staples, the HOT program allows students to imprive their writing and speaking skills, to work in groups to solve complex problems, to think critically and creatively, and to gain a vivid understanding of different cultures and art forms. Perhaps most importantly, it encourages students to discover and nurture their own distinct talents... and to feel good about themselves, and their school, while they learn. © 2007/2008 - Samuel Staples Elementary School Jeanine Arlotta and Laura Hobbs, Webmasters Recipients of the 2006 Connecticut Association of the Boards of Education Award for Excellence for Educational Communications
Hot Shows are a part of our monthly town meetings which begin at 2:30. Parents of students who are performing are welcome to attend. The following is the schedule for the remainder of the school year:
Grade 5-TBA
The HOT program draws on a child's natural love of self-expression -- writing, music, art, drama, and dance-- to give each student a fuller, richer, and more meaningful education in all the traditional academic subjects. At Staples, for example, first-graders have learned geology by writing and performing a song about different kinds of rocks, and third-graders have studied the culture of ancient Egypt by designing and building a pyramid in their classroom.
How does it Work?
The heart of the HOT program at Staples is the Magic Mailbox in the main lobby of the school. Here, students submit their essays, stories, artwork, and ideas to be reviewed by the student Editorial Board. Selected works are then put on display in the lobby and online. Every few weeks, on a Friday afternoon, the entire school gathers in the gym for a HOT Assembly/Town Meeting that celebrates the students' imaginative efforts on stage. Winter and spring HOT Festivals give parents and members of the community a chance to experience this creative vitality first-hand.
The HOT program depends on a committed partnership of artists, students, teachers, and parents. Artists, funded by the five year HOT grant and the Easton Cutural Education Fund/PTA, visit the school many times during the year to share their extraordinary talents in such diverse areas as Cambodian dance and Central American music. Students form every grade level drop their work into the Magic Mailbox, and teams of students with similar interests spend one recess period each week participating in the HOT production companies. Teachers at Staples use their classrooms as laboratories of creative learning, and they attend HOT Summer Institutes to hear about new techniques for integrating the arts into subjects like math and history. Parents are involved in all aspects of the program, assisting with production companies (or supervising their own if they have a skill to offer), helping to prepare for HOT Assemblies, and organizing fund-raising events. The HOT Parent Alliance is a committee of parents who oversee the mechanics of the HOT program.
Numerous studies have shown the importance ot the arts to academic achievement. At Staples, the HOT program allows students to imprive their writing and speaking skills, to work in groups to solve complex problems, to think critically and creatively, and to gain a vivid understanding of different cultures and art forms. Perhaps most importantly, it encourages students to discover and nurture their own distinct talents... and to feel good about themselves, and their school, while they learn.