Day Four, Week Two

It has been an amazing week with this group of students!

Today, the arts-X-pressers got to wake up a whole 15 minutes later than days before! The students were so excited that they got just that little bit of more sleep. They all got ready for the day, including getting prepared for the Parent Presentation and Talent Show. Once the students were ready, they came with their counselors down to the Arts Mart to say good morning to the administration team. From there, they headed on over to Pippin to eat breakfast. The students all filled their stomachs, and from there they headed on over to Creative Expression. This was one of the last times for the students to meet in their groups and prepare for their presentation in the evening. It was also a wonderful time for them all to reflect on the week. This group has grown artistically together, taken risks and created some amazing bonds to one another.

From Creative Expression, the arts-X-pressers went onto their last Arts Workshop. They all worked on their last preparations for the Parent Presentation. They were all so excited to have the opportunity to share their work through the week with you all.

Then it was another lunch at Mesa with Symphony musicians, followed by two Spotlight workshops. The Pacific Symphony musicians joined us to lead the Instrumental Spotlight Workshop. The students got to know the musicians and their instruments a little bit better and then made music with the musicians. They were very creative in the music as some of them clapped it, some of them vocalized it, some stomped it out! The collaboration between the musicians and the arts-X-pressers was fantastic!

Following our instrumental workshop, it was time for all the students to boogie on down at the Dance Spotlight Workshop led by Kristine C. It was amazing to see all that talent out on the dance floor. You should all be very proud. All that dancing made everyone work up an appetite, which was then satisfied by a trip to Mesa Commons for dinner. At dinner, all the students sat in their Arts Workshop groups and finalized any preparations before the Parent Performance. Everyone bussed their trays, changed shirts, snapped a few group photos and then it was time for the....PARENT PRESENTATION!

The Parent Presentation was such an amazing event. The students were able to share with each other all the hard work that they had put into their Creative Expression and Arts Workshops all week. Every class presented what they had been doing in their own unique ways. Each group managed to weave our theme of Transition into all of their activities. It was great to see so much thought go into these presentations. You could really tell that there were indeed many Magic Moments experienced over the past few days. It was wonderful to see the support of so many family and friends in the audience. After the performance the families got 3 minutes to visit with their children...boy that went fast! Then the kids sang the arts-X-press song to close the evening.

Then it was off to the Nixon Theater for our Talent show. Each child got 1 minute to perform any act of their choice just the company of their peers. It was a fun and intimate way to wrap up a week of creativity and bonding. The counselors even added in their own skit - "Pageant of the Counselors!" From there it was off to the party! Everyone danced and had a few treats to celebrate the close of this wonderful program.

By the time the party was over everyone was ready for bed. They went off to the dorms to take their last 3 minute shower! Tomorrow morning will come fast, and soon it will be time to head back home.

Session Two Bussing

Hi arts-X-press Parents,

As our week is starting to come to a close, I wanted to post a reminder of the bus stops that the arts-X-press Party Bus will be making to drop off your children, tomorrow, Wednesday, August 1st. If you have any questions or changes regarding where you will be picking up your child, feel free to call the arts-X-press hotline at (714)876-2386.

Newport-Mesa Unified School District

Parent Arrival Time: 10:20 AM

9285-A Bear Street

Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Irvine Unified School District

Parent Arrival Time: 10:20 AM

5050 Barranca Parkway

Irvine, CA 92604

Santa Ana Unified School District

Parent Arrival Time: 10:45 AM

1601 E. Chestnut Ave

Santa Ana, CA 92701

Garden Grove Unified School District

Parent Arrival Time: 10:55 AM
10331 Stanford Ave.
Anaheim, CA 92805

Savanna School District

Parent Arrival Time: 11:20 AM

1330 South Knott Ave

Anaheim, CA 92804

Capistrano Unified School District

Parent Arrival Time: 11:35 AM

33122 Valle Road

San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675

Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District

Parent Arrival Time: 11:50am
1301 E. Orangethorpe Ave.
Placentia, CA 92870

Week 2 Parent Presentation Info

Don't forget that our Parent Presentation is Tuesday night:

Date: Tuesday July 31st

Location: Winifred Smith Hall at UCI

Time: 6:45 pm

Parking: $7 at the Mesa Parking Structure (off Mesa & University)

Here are directions:
From the 405: Exit at Jamboree. Proceed West on Jamboree. Turn left onto Campus. Turn right onto University. Turn left onto Mesa Drive. Proceed to the first stop sign and turn right into the Mesa Parking Structure. We will have volunteers to guide you to the performance location.

From the 73: Exit at University. Go East onto University. Turn right onto Mesa. Proceed to the first stop sign and turn right into the Mesa Parking Structure. We will have volunteers to guide you to the performance location.

Below is a link for a map of the Claire Trevor School of the Arts at UCI: http://www.arts.uci.edu/uploads/files/Directions%20Map%2011.06.pdf
Please feel free to call our hotline is you have any further questions.

We hope to see you there!

Session 2 Day 3

Today was another amazing day at arts-X-press! Of course the first thing we did this morning was to stop by the artsMart and say hello to Darci, Shannon and Carrie. In fact, some of our suites decided to x-press our "good mornings" to the staff in different laguages, through songs, and other fun ways. It's good to get those creative juices flowing first thing in the morning!

After our morning meeting we headed off to our Creative Expression classes to continue our daily reflections on what we've been doing here. Creative Expression has really been a wonderful way for us to collect our thoughts in the morning and prepare for the advenutes that await us later in the day.

After Creative Expressions we all met for our transition to our Arts Workshops. Did you know that our theme this week is transition? We have spent everyday incorporating this theme into all of our classes and workshops. Having a theme gives us unique perspective in our study of the arts.

Since our Parent Presentation is tomorrow, we spent a lot of time in our Arts Workshops today planning what we will present. We are so excited to get to collaborate with each other in creating a special presentation that represents how we have spent our time together. We can't wait to see all of our family and friends tomorrow.

We had several of the Pacific Symphony musicians join us again today at lunch. It is so great to be able ask them questions and get to know what life as a professional musician is like.

As soon as lunch was over we headed straight to the bus and headed over to the Festival of Arts. The first thing we did was get a VIP backstage tour of the Pageant of the Masters. We learned a little history about the Pageant, looked at the amazing sets up close, and were able to gain a better understanding of what goes into planning such an ellaborate production. Not only was the tour exciting but it really opened our eyes to just how many different opportunities are available in the arts both on-stage and behind the scenes. There are the set designers, actors, musicians, production staff, lighting & sounds techs, musicians, narrators, administrators...it goes on and on! There really is something for everyone.

After our tour was over we had the unique opportunity to create our own art at various stations in the Festival of Arts. We got to do our own printmaking and mixed media projects, and then got to create our own Raku pots. We can't wait to show them to you, they are awesome!

Then it was off to the beach! We walked into Laguna Beach and set-up camp at a park near the ocean. We had a great time playing games and relaxing for a while. The counselor gave us another update on our clean room contest - looks like a lot of us haven't quite caught on to what it mean to have a clean room. But that's ok, we still have a couple more days to redeem ourselves and win! We also had some time to prepare for our talent show. We are really looking forward to that.

Carl St.Clair and his family stopped by to see us again. It is so inspiring to hear Carl tell stories about how he became a conductor and how he always followed his gut instincts to lead him through life. Carl and his family stayed and joined us for our Pizza dinner - yum! Who could ask for more...friends, food, and fun!

After dinner we walked back to the Festival of Arts. We had time to tour all of the artwork that was displayed by local artists. Each arists is so unique...there were all sorts of paintings, sculpture, photography, jewelry. Many of the artists were there to talk about there art and answer our questions.

Finally it was time for the Pageant of the Masters to begin! This year's theme was "Young at Heart." There were so many amazing works of art represented. It's still so hard to believe that those are real people standing on stage in those paintings. How do they stand so still for so long? We even recognized some of the Pacific Symphony musicians playing in the Pageant orchestra.

After the Pageant was over we headed back to campus. We have to get our rest tonight. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow!

Session Two, Day Two

Day Two was full of fun for the arts-X-press artists. After our morning Creative Expression and Arts Workshops and a fantastic lunch in the cafeteria, including plenty of ice cream and a chance to talk with the Symphony musicians who joined us, we headed off to the Fullerton Civic Light Opera to see Smokey Joe’s Café, a musical based on the music of Elvis Presley. The students thoroughly enjoyed the performance along with the amazing talk-back they had with the actors following the performance. A popular question for the actors was how they prepared for their stage careers.

After we returned from the performance, the students hurried on over to eat dinner and then got the chance to meet musicians from the Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra. The musicians spoke with us a little about who they were, what instrument they play and how they like being in the Youth Orchestra.

From there, all the arts-X-pressers took part in a Spotlight Theatre Workshop. We’ve got some very talented actors on our hands! As a wrap up for the night, we had bonding, where the students got to sit and share one person who they appreciate at home and one person who they appreciate at arts-X-press. It’s amazing to hear how everyone has developed all these friendships after only two days. The students are really connecting with one another and the arts-X-press MAGIC is really coming alive this week!