Cultivating Creativity

Above: Connor Ripley '24 sculpts a papier-mâché mask in Mrs. Thompson's Lower School art class.

Here at Calvert, we believe that creative subjects like music and art are vital for enriching our students' lives and enhancing their learning – and we are proud to offer a robust, well-rounded curriculum that encourages creativity in all its forms.

Research suggests that learning is enhanced through creative outlets. Studies show that children who have access to thriving music, drama, and visual arts programs may show improved literacy and earn better grades.

They are more likely to recognize patterns, make important observations, and benefit from improved visual memory and executive function. Making and consuming art and music when they are young actually helps children’s brains develop over time.

“Creativity generates creativity,” Director of Academic Affairs Sarah Crowley says. “If these young brains actually start creating something, whether it's a piece of music, learning a song, putting crayon to paper, molding something out of clay, imitating somebody as a character, or acting something out, all of those things actually create new neural pathways in the brain. Any kind of experience, particularly if it feels engaging to the learner, actually helps the brain grow.”

Plus, the benefits of an arts-forward education do not begin and end with a school bell.

Studies show that regular participation in creative activities can build students’ confidence and give them a safe, healthy way of expressing themselves – skills they will need for the rest of their lives.

“There are two choices of what we can do with our feelings. We can express them outwards, or we can express them inwards,” Ms. Crowley notes. “And if we don't have a way to express them outward, it can actually lead to a lot of isolation. It can lead to loneliness, and so I think that drawing and painting literally allow for the opportunity to bring the feelings out.”

For these reasons and more, Calvert teachers are committed to encouraging creativity in all of our students – and it starts the moment they walk through our doors.

Kayci Gathers '24 and Josephine Staley '24 use oil pastels to create Picasso-inspired sunflower pictures.

VISUAL ART In the Lower School, visual art is part of everyday life. No matter the lesson, our innovative teachers use drawing, coloring, finger-painting, and more to keep our youngest students engaged in their work. These activities show our students that learning can be fun and exciting, and they help the children feel connected to their school day.

“Playfulness allows for confidence,” Ms. Crowley says. “It's so important to be willing to take a risk. For any learning to take place, there has to be a willingness to take a risk.”

In Sixth through Tenth Age, art teacher Nicole Thompson introduces more specific elements like shape and color, and teaches students to work with a variety of materials. By the time they leave the Lower School, students are comfortable working with paints, pencils, oil pastels, and clay, and they’re familiar with basic art principles.

As students get older, Mrs. Thompson also weaves in lessons about art history – teaching them everything from ancient Lascaux cave drawings and Egyptian pyramids to Native American art. The idea behind it is for the boys and girls to recognize art principles and connect them with what they learn throughout the rest of their time at Calvert.

“I want them to be able to take away certain skills of the art elements, like shapes and how to incorporate them into other classes, like math, reading, and art history,” she says.

In the Middle School, students build on of these foundations and learn to express themselves through even more media, getting the chance to specialize in 2D or 3D art as they reach the upper grades. Between these two programs, as well as the general arts offered in the Fifth and Sixth Grades, students learn how to use sewing machines, how to craft ceramics, and how to paint portraits, among many other skills.

But for Middle School art teacher Katie Leonard, that is only half the point. Rather than do things perfectly, she wants her students to dig deep and come up with their own ideas and creative elements. Perfection, she says, is not the only way to be a good artist.

“I'm more about just giving the kids a lot of opportunities to experiment and explore and focus a lot on the process, creativity, and problem solving,” she says. “For Middle School, it’s about learning how to get there and be really expressive and not so focused on things looking a certain way.”

Plus, Ms. Leonard notes, art is incredibly useful for widening students’ horizons and exposing them to cultures and experiences that are different from their own. It is just one of the many ways Calvert is cultivating global citizens.

MUSIC Middle School music teacher John Babcock, who also serves as Middle School band director, believes that performance is vital for his students’ understanding and appreciation of music. That is why they regularly play guitar and sing together – be it in the classroom, in the assembly hall, or at an arts festival, where the band recently had its first off-campus performance.

“I really want them to have an understanding and empathy for the people who are on stage performing,” he says. “You hear a lot of people say, ‘You’re so gifted. You’re so lucky.’ But no, there's work involved, and I want them to understand that the people up there have put work into it.”

“And performance is also a lot of fun,” he says.

“It's kind of like science class, and a performance is like the lab aspect,” he says. “If you only ever study gases, and you never play around with them and see which ones are going to blow up, you lose out on some of the fun.”

Together with Lelah Mahoney, who teaches Lower School music, Mr. Babcock encourages his students to embrace creativity at school and at home, even allowing them to

Sebastian Guerrero '21 and William Moore '21 perform in the Seventh Grade play, Ten/Two by Lindsay Price.

Lin Wanjek-Yasutake '21 plays the violin at the Middle School Holiday Concert.

temporarily sign-out ukuleles and guitars. Since instruction on these instruments starts early, some students will graduate with years of experience under their belts.

As with other parts of the Calvert arts curriculum, our boys and girls are immersed in a robust music program from the moment they start on campus.

In the Lower School, students start out by singing and learning different rhythmic movements before learning to read and identify notes. In Seventh through Tenth Ages, students learn how to play the recorder and gain a deeper understanding of musical elements like meter and tempo.

“Creativity is encouraged in virtually every aspect of music class, from finding and developing one’s own singing voice to producing and performing rhythmic and melodic compositions,” Ms. Mahoney says. “Students demonstrate creativity through movement, the playing of classroom instruments, the performance of actions to enhance a song, as well as performing repertoire music in different ways by altering the elements.”

As students get older and move into Middle School courses, more complex ideas and instruments are introduced, starting with an exploratory music unit that introduces trumpet and clarinet. After exploratory music, Fifth Graders graduate to soprano ukulele, and in Sixth Grades, their studies continue with similar instruments – baritone ukulele and guitar.

That means that by the time students choose their Seventh and Eighth Grade electives, they can all sing and play guitar – so Mr. Babcock takes things to their natural conclusion.

He assigns groups of three or four, and he makes them into a band.

“We just mix things up, and it's a chance for the kids to really explore their creativity,” he says. “They pick the songs that they do, they get put into a band, and then the bands pick what they're going to do.”

In a study published in Frontiers in Neuroscience in 2018, researchers found that two and a half years of regular music intervention – including learning melody, meter, rhyme, and how to play an instrument – helped improve young children’s executive function. Compared to children who did not receive music instruction, those who did showed increased problem-solving skills and verbal intelligence.

In children aged seven to twelve years old, a study done by Stanford University found, one year of music training correlated with significantly improved reading fluency over three years.

“Both the order and expressive opportunities provided in music are beneficial to children from a young age,” Ms. Mahoney notes. “Learning to read and perform rhythms and pitches help to create synapses in the brain as children combine several skills at once.”

DRAMA For Middle School drama teacher Alexis Tantau, Calvert’s theater program is all about building a safe, fun space for students to gain confidence, unwind, and think creatively. It is about giving them the basic tools and support – the “scaffolding” – they need before taking a step back and trusting them to succeed on their own.

From there, she encourages and challenges her students to think critically. There are no wrong choices, Ms. Tantau says, only strong choices. “I want them to know that when they try something new, if they like it, even if they don't feel like they were good at it the first time, that doesn't mean they won't ever be good at it,” she notes.

While students perform in grade-level plays and special events throughout the Lower School, formal drama instruction does not start until Middle School, when Fifth Graders learn basic theater principles.

The students focus on techniques like pantomime and shadow puppetry, which they use in class performances. As they move up to Sixth Grade, students learn more about different kinds of Western theater, notably the Ancient Greeks and Italian Renaissance comedies, before dabbling in Shakespeare.

By the time students enter Seventh Grade, they start working on a play and performing in two-person scenes. Throughout these lessons, Ms. Tantau encourages them to really connect with the characters they are playing.

“They're working on using their bodies, voices, and brains, and I weave a lot of empathy throughout,” she says. “They imagine why someone would say something and really think about what the words that a character says mean. It’s a lot of really incredible, intense critical thinking.”

If they decide to continue with drama, Eighth Grade students experiment with filmmaking techniques like using different camera angles and developing a storyboard. They also dabble in sketch comedy, using group writing and brainstorming sessions to come up with new ideas.

“The thing I really want them to come out of Calvert drama with is the ability to recognize their own ideas, or even half an idea, and to be willing to put that out there,” she says. “And to be willing to see other people's ideas or

Middle School students perform in the opening scene of Disney's High School Musical Jr.

half ideas and work together to really value other people's visions and try to put those things together.”

Outside of class, Ms. Tantau also leads the glee club and choir, and she directs the annual Middle School musical. Open to Sixth through Eighth Graders, the musical provides another opportunity for kids to express their creativity at Calvert.

This year, more than 55 students participated, staging a full-scale production of Disney’s High School Musical Jr. – but they did not just perform. Students supported the production by helping with sets, costumes, and stage management while learning communication skills and teamwork.

In comfortable, creative environments like these, Calvert students really shine.

“There are some students who just really feel like making music is a safe and nurturing place to be,” Ms. Tantau says. “It’s kind of like kids who like to play basketball. That's a place where you don't really have to think about other things or be stressed out by it. You just go and you do it and be are a part of making something.”