Session 2, Day 2: Pictures!

As promised, here are some more pictures from today in our spotlight workshops!

Session 2: Kjersti's Creative Expression Class

Hello!!!  We are having a wonderful time here at arts-X-press.  The students have already had two Creative Expression sessions where we have been exploring expressing ourselves and our thoughts through various creative activities.  Kjersti's Creative Expression group began our session yesterday by learning a song riddle titled "Rain, Rain".  Today we began by trying to figure out the riddle within the song.  We also shared with each other our "I Am" Poems as well as our thoughts from a journal entry.  All 16 members of our Creative Expression class wrote 2 Poems in collaboration.  The first was our "We Are" poem:

We are young
We wonder what will happen next
We hear talking
We see poetry
We want water
We are talented

We understand
We sang the "Rain, Rain" song riddle
We dream about the future
We try new things and take risks
We hope it goes well
We are arts-X-press

The second is an acrostic poem using the theme of the week, Determination:

Determination
Energetic
To strive for our best
Excellence
Readiness
Mastering our goals
Imagining ourselves at the finish line
Never say "impossible"
Aspiring to greatness
Top notch / Top of the world
"I Will" is more important than "I.Q."
Overcoming obstacles
Never give up

We will all be sharing some of our personal reflections at the Parent Presentation on Tuesday evening.  Can't wait to share!!!

Session 2, Day 2: Determination!

Good morning world! We hope you enjoyed yesterday's update on our activities and are determined to join us on Tuesday evening! In case you didn't know, the theme of our week is 'Determination' and we are wholeheartedly embracing it! In all the activities we do, we are constantly challenging the artists to figure out how determination figures into art. Be sure to ask your young artists when they return about how determined they are to make the arts a part of their lives! Nonetheless, here we go with some more updates!

Last night, we had an AMAZING time at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater hearing the Pacific Symphony perform with three actors who have played the Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera. All three singers were great performers and made all the broadway songs they performed come alive for us. We got to hear songs from Jekyll and Hyde, Phantom of the Opera, Guys and Dolls, Les Miserables, and How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. We even got a special shoutout during the show from Richard Kaufman, the conductor of the symphony!

FACT: If you ever want to see how adorable 50 tired little faces look, work at Arts-X-press. Once we got home, everyone was beyond tired and their faces clearly showed it. Within 30 minutes, we had lights out and everyone went soundly to sleep! Pure awesomeness.

Today, we've started our day with a hearty breakfast of eggs, fruit, bacon, and potato slices. I know all the kids loved it, but their faces were just too tired to show it ;)

Afterwards, the artists got to go back to their Creative Expression classes and express their thoughts and ideas about the show last night. Everyone's already opened up and really embraced what artistic expression is all about. It's so exciting to see everyone get so enthusiastic about the arts!

Now the artists are back in art workshops and are working more on their respective art forms and creative risks. We have a lot more planned for this afternoon and evening, including our excursion to see West Side Story at the Chance Theater in Anaheim! Check back later and tonight for another update, including more photos. Remember, stay classy!

Session 2, Day 1: It Begins!

Good afternoon everyone! My name is James and I am your awesome coordinator for this amazing, outstanding, and adventuresome Session Two of Arts-X-press. I'm here to keep you up to date about the latest and greatest artistic moments that your "young artists" have been kept busy doing. Trust me, we've kept them busy and it's only three o'clock in the afternoon.

It was so fun to welcome all your artists to Vanguard today! Normally most of the kids are nervous as heck, but there's something about this group that made them open up pretty quickly. We have a lot of GREAT personalities, and I can tell that this group is going to have an amazing week.

Once we had them drop off them luggage in our ultra-secure dorms, we had our enthusiastic counselors break the ice with them by playing new games (check out the photos in this post!). I'm not quite sure if I understood what they were playing, but I heard a LOT of laughing and saw a LOT of smiling (and some sweating), all of which are awesome things :)

After new games, we got to have the opportunity to test out their "nonverbal communication skills" by working with the entire group to make shapes that we called out- and they couldn't speak a word! (dun dun dun) I know, you're thinking "What?! My child not saying a word?!" Well it happened... kinda. Let's just say their shape building abilities can use more work. And more particularly, distinguishing between a "circle," "rectangle," and "the letter C." Homework!

Once all of that mess subsided... LUNCH! Let me tell you, these kids devoured the food and I heard nothing from them but how amazing it was. Between the ravioli, pasta, potatoes, fruit, salad, and chicken, they fell in love. You can rest assured that they are well fed and will have no problem with their dietary habits. You know what they say: "A full belly, is an artistic belly." That's our motto here at Arts-X-press.

Drumroll please... finally the moment your artists were waiting for came... ARTS WORKSHOPS! Yes, they finally got to find out which art workshop they got placed into (either Dance, Vocal Music, Instrumental Music, Theater, or Visual Art). Those days and days of them worrying and freaking out about which workshop they got have now ended. With our overly cool and creative teachers announcing their students, they were off! I don't want to give away anything for the parent presentation, but let me just say that they are whipping up some crazy cool stuff for y'all. It's artistically legit.

The best part of the experience for the students is seeing some of them have a blast in art workshops they never even thought they would be in. It has only been the first day, but a lot of students are already having a great time and enjoying their time. That's what we're all about: taking risks! Hopefully now they'll come back home to you and take those risks, like cleaning their rooms!

In the spirit of keeping the artists ever engaged until they tire their little minds out, we've now whisked them away to their Creative Expression (CE) classes! Creative Expression is a time for the artists to actively stretch their creative muscles to make crafts, art, do lots of writing and reflecting, and to express themselves about how their experience at Arts-X-press is slowly but surely changing their life. You'll be hearing much more about CE soon I promise.

After CE, we will be equipping the artists with the latest Pacific Symphony Arts-X-press t-shirts (they're all the rage in Paris) and heading over to the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater for "The Three Phantoms!" It's sure to be an amazing concert.

Check back on our blog later for more updates from myself, our counselors, and our crazy cool staff! Stay classy, Arts-X-press parents.

Session 2 begins

We are ready for more fun as Session2 begins! Just in case you've misplaced your bus schedule, here it is. Don't forget your Medicine Labeling Form! Here's the Packing List  in case you need an extra copy.

BUS A - NORTH COUNTY

Placentia Yorba Linda Unified Education Services Center

4999 Casa Loma Avenue

Yorba Linda, CA 92886 

Student arrival time: 8:05 am

Bus Departs: 8:20 am

Garden Grove Unified District Office

10331 Stanford Ave

Garden Grove, CA 92840

Student Arrival Time: 8:45 am

Bus Departs: 9:00 am

Santa Ana Unified District Office

1601 E Chestnut Ave.           

Santa Ana, CA 92701

Student Arrival Time: 9:15am

Bus Departs: 9:30 am

BUS B - SOUTH/ CENTRAL COUNTY

Saddleback Valley Unified District Office

25631 Peter A Hartman Way

Mission Viejo, CA 92691

Student Arrival Time: 8:10am

Bus Departs: 8:25am

Irvine Unified District Office

5050 Barranca Parkway

Irvine, CA 92604

Student Arrival Time: 9:00 am

Bus Departs: 9:15 am

California Elementary

3232 California Street
Costa Mesa, CA                                             

Student Arrival Time: 9:30 am                             

Bus Departs: 9:45 am

View arts-X-press Bus Stops in a larger map

Get ready for Session 2

We can't wait to see everyone on campus! Just in case you've misplaced your bus schedule, here it is. Don't forget your Medicine Labeling Form! Here's the Packing List  in case you need an extra copy.

BUS A

Placentia Yorba Linda Unified Education Services Center

4999 Casa Loma Avenue

Yorba Linda, CA 92886 

Student arrival time: 8:05 am

Bus Departs: 8:20 am

Garden Grove Unified District Office

10331 Stanford Ave

Garden Grove, CA 92840

Student Arrival Time: 8:45 am

Bus Departs: 9:00 am

Santa Ana Unified District Office

1601 E Chestnut Ave.           

Santa Ana, CA 92701

Student Arrival Time: 9:15am

Bus Departs: 9:30 am

BUS B

Saddleback Valley Unified District Office

25631 Peter A Hartman Way

Mission Viejo, CA 92691

Student Arrival Time: 8:10am

Bus Departs: 8:25am

Irvine Unified District Office

5050 Barranca Parkway

Irvine, CA 92604

Student Arrival Time: 9:00 am

Bus Departs: 9:15 am

California Elementary

3232 California Street
Costa Mesa, CA                                             

Student Arrival Time: 9:30 am                             

Bus Departs: 9:45 am

View arts-X-press Bus Stops in a larger map

Stacie's CE Class

Good morning!  It has been an amazing four days of Creative Expression class.  Today was our final day of CE class :'(  Everyday the campers have been reflecting on their experiences, discussing their "magic moments", writing about their inpirations, and expressing themselves through different types of poetry.  My favorite poem they worked on was the Poem for Two Voices.  I can't wait for you to hear some of them at the parent presentaion tonight.  They really had their creative juices flowing when they wrote those poems. Another fun activity was creating a story to go along with a piece of artwork from the Pagaent of the Masters.  These campers sure do have some wild imaginations!!

Here are some pictures of the students working in class:

We can't wait to share some of our work with you all tonight at the Parent Presentation so we hope to see you all there!!

Fun at Festival of Arts

(Sorry for the side view -- it's hard to understand why you can't flip pictures in Google blogs at 1 a.m.! We'll try to get these fixed once we've had some sleep.)

Well it was another fabulous day here at arts-x-press. We kick started our day with a delicious and nutritious breakfast followed by the creative expression and arts workshops, however it was after lunch that the fun really started because as anyone should know Monday at AXP is the Laguna Art Festival!! Yes you heard right!! We were very fortunate enough to be the only group to actual tour backstage for Pageant of the Masters and the kids got an inside look into a wonderful theater production. They also got the opportunity to do some fun and creative art projects which included scratch art, print pressing, and even painting their own fire-glazed raku pots!!! After our crafts we got the chance to look at a very diverse collection of art from many different artists, occasionally getting to speak with the artists themselves and ask them about their profession and inspiration. We then took a nice brisk walk to a beautiful park overlooking the ocean and had some delicious a-pizza pies for dinner. It was there that our young artists practiced what they were going to do for their talent show. Finally we made our way back to the festival to enjoy The Pageant of the Masters, which if you have not seen for yourself it may be a little hard to picture! Well thanks again for dropping by the arts-x-press blog, tune in tomorrow for more!!! :D

Parent Presentation

We can't wait to see everyone at the Parent Presentation on Tuesday! It begins at 6:45 pm in the big white events tent in the northwestcorner of Vanguard's campus. Parking is free, the whole family is welcome, and your young artists can't wait to show you what they've accomplished this week.

A professional videographer will record the presentation. You can pre-order a DVD for $15 and professional group photos for $10 on Tuesday night. ArtsMart merchandise will also be on sale.

Lisa's CE Monday!!

Good Morning!! Lisa's CE group has been working on Expressive Story Telling. Yesterday we discussed what or who inspires us and what makes a story. For the last few days everyone has looked at images from artwork they will be seeing later at Pageant of the Masters and created a story. We also shared what has been our most memorable, inspiring, or magical moment.

My Most Memorable... Inspirational... or Magical Moment so far has been...

"When I went to see West Side Story, because I realized acting and singing is what I want to do in life. It's who I want to be." - Jill

"West Side Story because it was fun and we got to talk to the actors and get some info of how to be an actor as you're growing up." - Ivett

"When all of us buddies made the buddy walk when we went to the letters for the first time." - Monsi

"Watching West Side Story because the seatings were completely different than normal, so you could be able to see more detail." - Hoa

"Watching West Side Story because I loved the way they had great facial expressions and were so intense!" - Diana

"Seeing West Side Story because we got so close and felt so emerged in the scene." - Mikayla

"When we went to see West Side Story because I have never watched an act on a stage this close to you before." - Jessica

"When we went to go see Spamalot because it was so funny!" - Sydney M.

"When I went to Spamalot because I had seen the movies and it was a fun and exciting experience. I also loved seeing some of the people there laugh a lot." - Quinn

"West Side Story, because I was so close to the story, it felt real, and it had amazing actors and singers and dancers, and getting to meet them and actually see the relationship between the actors. This is my goal, to do something I love while still being with friends." - Shaine

"Doing a lesson in arts workshop because I learned that music is not just playing what is writing but also making it your own." - Sarah N.

"Attending West Side Story because it made me feel like I was a part of the show." - Cielo

"When we asked questions at West Side Story play. I found out they're just like us with our mistakes." - Trinity

"Spamalot because I have never seen a play in my life that's so funny and exciting." - Chris

"Learning to do the dance for the song we're doing because it was kinda tough for me, but I was able to do it." - Austin

"In the cabins because it was my first day out of the house." - Oscar

Day Two Happiness!!!!!

On the set of West Side Story at Chance Theater...

Hello everyone! Counselors Alie and Daniel here, reporting for official blogging duty! We had such a great day today! It was a long day full of so much fun, and now all of the students are peacefully sleeping and dreaming of what is to come! Today, we started off the day with some absolutely delicious breakfast, consisting of some yummy french toast, potatoes, and of course, bacon! The kids then went off to the creative expression classes and then went to their arts workshops! It has been so much fun watching them start taking creative risks, and really enjoying their time in the arts! We had lunch, then the students got to go to different spotlight workshops, encompassing dance, theater, and vocal music! And, the best part is that those will all be a part of the parent presentation on Tuesday. We then had dinner and went off to see a black box theater production of West Side Story. It was a fantastic performance, and the kids really enjoyed the special interaction of the show! I'm sure they will tell you all about it! Anyways, tomorrow is a really long but really fun day! We are headed to the Festival of the Arts in Laguna to see the Pageant of the Masters! This is always my favorite part of the whole week!
These kids are really awesome, and we have really enjoyed getting to know them! You should all be so proud of the young men and women they are! They sure are putting smiles on our faces! I can't wait to see what else comes this week! Tomorrow, we'll have some new posts for you!

First Day Games!

CE Report!

Good morning! Michal's CE class reporting on our progress during the first two days of Creative Expressions!

We start each session with some journaling, which includes writing a goal for the upcoming day and a discovery about the previous day.

"Today I discovered that it wasn't very hard to make friends at arts express." -Sydney D.

"We sing weird songs on the bus." -Debbie

"My goal is to play By the River in music class correctly." -Hunter

"I discovered that British comedy is mostly in their actions, more than their words." -Allison

"Today I discovered that if you are positive all the time you will find yourself having more fun than before." -Amber

"My discovery is that I can learn a lot of people's names." -Toni

"I discovered that a person named Cole died and inspired people to start this program called arts-x-press." -Misael A.

"Today I discovered that there is no right or wrong in art." -Kianna

"During dance, we were trying to think about who inpsired me, I thought about as I was yelling Goodbye to my family. Who got me up in the morning? who made me want to be a better person? It was as simple as the sky was blue: Anna, my six-year-old sister was my inspiration. She loves me so much and as I sit here writing, I love her too! What an amazing discovery and I got in from dance!" -Matt


Yesterday we talked about what inspired us that started with the same name as us as: Sam is inspired by salmon, Sydney is inspired by salami, Matt is inspired by masterpieces, Debbie by dance, Allison by art. Today we discussed more in depth about what inspires us and how we might express that. Here are some of our examples.

by Sam

by Stephanie

by Gracelynn

by Morgan

by Taryn

by Jafeth

by Lily

Tomorrow we'll look at pictures from Pageant and create our own stories about them and possibly come up with our own inspirational quotes! Can't wait to share with you on Tuesday!

Hello Everyone!! :] 7/15/12

Hello Arts-X-Press Blog readers,
We are so very sorry there was not a post last night. It was a very exciting and fun filled long day! We had a blast playing new games and getting to know each other soon after we all arrived. After finding out what workshops classes and counselor groups everyone was in we had some lunch and more fun with creative expression classes and other first day things like getting settled in. Also we had the opportunity to see Spamalot last night!!! It was an AMAZING show and everyone loved it. Needless to say we all came back to campus and pretty much knocked out soon after. Well ta ta for now! After breakfast I shall post some pictures of our first day events so you can see for yourself. :]
Lexi Medina
Week 1 AXP Coordinator

Bus stops

We can't wait to see everyone on campus! Just in case you've misplaced your bus schedule, here it is. Don't forget your Medicine Labeling Form! Here's the Packing List  in case you need an extra copy.

BUS A

Placentia Yorba Linda Unified Education Services Center

4999 Casa Loma Avenue

Yorba Linda, CA 92886 

Student arrival time: 8:05 am

Bus Departs: 8:20 am

Garden Grove Unified District Office

10331 Stanford Ave

Garden Grove, CA 92840

Student Arrival Time: 8:45 am

Bus Departs: 9:00 am

Santa Ana Unified District Office

1601 E Chestnut Ave.           

Santa Ana, CA 92701

Student Arrival Time: 9:15am

Bus Departs: 9:30 am

BUS B

Saddleback Valley Unified District Office

25631 Peter A Hartman Way

Mission Viejo, CA 92691

Student Arrival Time: 8:10am

Bus Departs: 8:25am

Irvine Unified District Office

5050 Barranca Parkway

Irvine, CA 92604

Student Arrival Time: 9:00 am

Bus Departs: 9:15 am

California Elementary

3232 California Street
Costa Mesa, CA                                             

Student Arrival Time: 9:30 am                             

Bus Departs: 9:45 am

View arts-X-press Bus Stops in a larger map