MAST is located at the new N.P. Moss Middle School, a beautiful facility on Teurlings Drive. MAST at Moss is more than just an arts academy. MAST students can take classes in visual art, graphic art, digital photography, drama, voice, band, strings, piano and dance, but every class is saturated with the arts. Students in math class might be working with music. Science class might use paintings to explain a concept.
At MAST, the arts aren't an after-school or before-school thing. The arts aren't "extra curricular" at MAST. They're everywhere. We have created partnerships with local artists who have provided paintings, sculptures and other works to the school for display. These artists also visit our school to talk to students about their work and techniques. Because of the school's arts curriculum, and because most of the school's art teachers have ancillary certification to teach talented students, MAST is the location for those students classified as "talented" under state Special Education guidelines for Gifted and Talented students.
In addition to the arts classes at MAST, students also receive enriched instruction in math, science and technology.
N.P. Moss is one of less than 40 schools across the nation who use the Leonard Bernstein Artful Learning curriculum.
The curriculum, developed and implemented by the Leonard Bernstein Center for Learning at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania, presents art-infused lessons to students in a manner that follows the famous composer's philosophy. Bernstein believed that children will achieve more if they are excited and engaged in their learning.
The Artful Learning framework is based on four processes: experience, inquire, create and reflect. Students learn subjects like math, science and social studies while studying a masterwork, like the Mona Lisa. The student then creates his own work, and reflects on the process by journaling, giving oral reports or making presentations.
The curriculum was developed and is constantly updated by teachers, and a major component of the model is professional development for the educator. The curriculum also incorporates the requirements of the parish and state for each grade level.
Across the nation, the Artful Learning model has brought about dramatic change in student achievement at at-risk schools, and provided a challenging educational environment for each district's highest-achieving students.
Special Events at MAST
Every year, the arts students at MAST present a recital of their work to their parents and the community. This program features art, song, dance and musical performances by our students. The school also hosts a periodic Poetry Coffeehouse, which features poetry readings by students, teachers and parents in an informal setting. Readers can present their own original poems, or read work by their favorite poets. At lunchtime, piano and strings students perform for their classmates. These are just some of the events we host at MAST.
For more information about MAST at Moss, call the school at 289-1994.
Our application is electronic now, and may be accessed after November 11, 2006.
