We are excited to announce that Breakwater School has received a grant from the Bob Crewe Foundation to develop our fine and performing arts enrichment programs. The grant will enable us to expand and enhance educational offerings in music and the arts, develop a local outreach program to engage more students in creative exploration, and establish a scholarship fund to make fine arts, visual arts and music offerings accessible to youth throughout the Greater Portland area.

Our goal is to build upon Breakwater’s current partnerships and successful after-school and summer enrichment programming, moving the School forward as a premier arts and music center for area youth. The grant provides Breakwater with seed funding of $39,000 over two years (2011-2012), plus an additional $12,500 contingent on the School raising matching funds, earmarked for renovations to the Jessie Auditorium and for building a sculpting and woodworking studio in the garden level of the Daniel N. Crewe Gymnasium. The grant has also enabled us to expand upon Lori Towle's role as full-time Enrichment Program Coordinator.

Arts Crewe Scholarships
One of the most exciting aspects of the program is the immediate ability to broaden our reach to the outside community and provide up to 50 scholarships to aspiring young (K--8) artists and musicians--who have the desire and interest but not the opportunity--to complete one or more of our current six-week educational classes or a two-week summer program in music and the arts. We have taken initial steps to launch the scholarship program, identifying and enrolling students from twelve schools in the Greater Portland area.

Jessie Auditorium Renovation Project
We are grateful to the Crewe Foundation for establishing the matching challenge grant to renovate the Jessie Auditorium and improve the space for our programs to flourish. Taking up the challenge is our graduating class of 2012, who has made the Jessie renovation project the focus of their class gift. Each member of this class has performed, played music, delivered a speech, presented a capstone project, and been captivated by many performances in this space. What a fitting and lasting legacy for our children to leave behind as they become Breakwater alumni!

Breakwater understands, practices, and celebrates the integration of arts and music programming into the essential education of every child.  Through this undertaking, Breakwater is delighted to extend this opportunity to the larger community. We are committed to fulfilling a goal Breakwater shares with the Bob Crewe Foundation: to nurture and support young people to pursue their passions, develop their talents, and realize their potential.

Breakwater middle schoolers and international aerosol artist Tim Clorius have conspired to transform the everyday Breakwater School bus into a mobile work of art. After a May 22 public lecture on Street Art and the tradition of vehicle painting found throughout the world, students will collaborate with Clorius to prep the bus for painting. They will work on the piece in the Nason’s Corner schoolyard throughout the week. The transformed bus will have an “Opening” at the June 1 First Friday Artwalk in front of Reny’s on Congress Street in Portland. Students and the artist will be on hand with a performance art piece and give the public an opportunity to hop on the bus.

Inspired by visits to Portland’s vibrant contemporary art scene with art teacher Kelly McConnell, Breakwater middle schoolers sought her out to jazz up their school bus. “At that moment I knew we had to get Tim in here to talk to them about the project and life as a working artist” said McConnell. With this, the Artist-in-Residence idea was born.

German native Clorius, whose work has been featured recently both at Portland’s Aucosisco Gallery and U. Maine Farmington’s Art Gallery, was quick to invite the students to his Free Street studio to begin conceiving design ideas. Clorius said, “I am really interested in the kids knowing that making art and making a living from it is serious business that takes training and dedication. It’s about taking smart risks.”

Jennifer Hutchins from Portland Arts and Cultural Alliance said, “Having young people participate in First Friday and bring their parents into Portland to see our vibrant creative economy is exciting. These kids are learning to be the stewards of Portland’s art scene.”

Area art supplier Artists and Craftsman and Montana Cans have generously contributed paints for the project. The public is welcome to the May 22 lecture at 12:15 at Breakwater School, 856 Brighton Ave., Portland, and to view the ongoing work at the school throughout the week. The “Opening” will be at the June 1 First Friday Artwalk on Congress Street in front of Reny’s.

Thank you to everyone who donated items and who participated in lively bidding over the past week at our annual silent auction. We raised over $11,200 with just over sixty items and services showcasing the many talents, vocations, and interests of the Breakwater community. The proceeds from the auction support the Financial Aid Program, making Breakwater a place where children from diverse backgrounds may learn and thrive!

Special thanks go to Auction Co-chairs Amy Ford and Alexandra May for putting together this fun, community building, resource generating event - Thank you!

Months of teamwork and innovation paid off for Breakwater middle schoolers whose team took home a first place win in Division II at the Maine State Odyssey of the Mind Tournament, held on Saturday, March 24 in Wells. Their winning solution to the long-term problem “Ooh-Motional Vehicle” qualified the team to travel to Ames, Iowa to compete in the World Finals in May.

Breakwater sent five teams of students ranging from Kindergarten through eighth grade to the state competition, representing over a fifth of their student population. Breakwater teacher and coach of the winning Division II team, Sarah Bullett, attributed the vast school-wide interest in Odyssey of the Mind to the program’s affinity with the school’s learning philosophy. “It’s a natural extension of the inquiry-based, collaborative teaching model and the emphasis on cultivating student curiosity and creativity we use every day in the classroom,” said Bullett.

The  Breakwater Odyssey teams joined 185 other teams from across the state in the organization's largest turnout to date. Competing in divisions based on their grade levels, each team was judged by the creativity and style with which they solved a long-term problem and by how well they solved a spontaneous problem on the spot.

The “Ooh-Motional Vehicle” problem challenged teams to design, build, and drive a vehicle that traveled a course, encountering three different situations and displaying a different human emotion for each. The teams worked together for more than five months to put together a solution that met an extensive and complex set of requirements that were tied together by a unifying theme, resulting in a cohesive and entertaining 8-minute performance. “Their characters and script were so engaging, I forgot that they were solving a problem,” said Abbie Carter, one of the Division II team member’s parents.

Breakwater’s Director of Enrichment Programs Courtney Cook coached the middle school team last year. She was proud but not surprised by this year’s Division II win. “This team attended the World Finals last year as a first year team, and you could see the ah-ha moments that came over them when they saw some really exceptional solutions. They came away with a renewed vigor and understanding of how deeply thought-out a winning solution needs to be and how much work and commitment needed to happen--and they applied it. Their solution was unified, hilarious, and extremely creative.”

“What was so evident from this year’s performance was how well the team members know one another,” added Bullett. “This accomplishment reflects each member’s tremendous investment of time and commitment to their team as well as an amazing cohesiveness that comes from truly understanding, respecting, and trusting one another. Over time this team has created a space together in which each member felt safe to take risks and push themselves beyond their comfort zones to achieve personal and mutual success.”

One of the greatest challenges of the Odyssey of the Mind program is that the students, even on the primary (K - 2) team, must make decisions, resolve conflicts, and solve problems collaboratively without any direct help from adults. Parents and coaches are not allowed to make suggestions, sew costumes, or build scenery. The self-directed process challenges and inspires kids to tap into their curiosity and creativity, to think critically and be assertive yet flexible with their ideas, to communicate effectively, and to  work together with teammates to achieve a common goal.

“While the students’ performance at the main event was creative and entertaining, it could never fully demonstrate all that the students have achieved over the past months,” said Primary Team Coach Michelle Littlefield, who also teaches a multi-age first and second grade class at Breakwater. “Watching how the children have shared their ideas, problem-solved, collaborated, taken initiative, and encouraged each other has been amazing to witness. I wish everyone could have seen what I saw every week.”

“All of our teams performed well in the final standings,” said Cook, “but it's the process, not the product, that holds the greatest rewards.”

The state competition may be over but the teamwork continues as the students organize fundraising events to offset program costs, including team travel to the World Finals. Breakwater’s Odyssey teams are hosting a tag sale this Saturday, March 31, from 8:00 to 2:00 in the Daniel N. Crewe Gymnasium. The school is located at 856 Brighton Avenue, on the corner of Brighton Ave. and Capisic Street in Portland.

 David Sullivan, Head of School at Breakwater, has been elected to the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) Commission on Independent Schools. Prior to his appointment in 2006 as Head of School at Breakwater, Sullivan was a teaching principal in Brooklin, Maine. He has a Master’s in Education from Harvard University and a bachelor’s degree from Hampshire College.
 
The NEASC Commission on Independent Schools (CIS) is composed of 18 heads of school and senior administrators and two public members who are elected to three-year terms by the full CIS membership. The Commission currently works with over 610 member and candidate schools to ensure each independent school’s program integrity and effectiveness, commitment to improvement, sufficiency of resources, and alignment with the Standards of Accreditation established by the CIS. 

Breakwater School is proud to bring Chip Wood, MSW, to Portland for a one-day conference for educators of children in preschool through middle school. The conference, Child Development Matters, will take place Friday, March 16, 2012, from 8:00 am to 3:30 pm at Breakwater School, 856 Brighton Avenue, Portland, Maine.
 
Co-founder of the Northeast Foundation for Children, Chip Wood is perhaps best known for co-developing the Responsive Classroom approach, which emphasizes social, emotional, and academic growth in strong and safe school communities. Strategies of this teaching approach are widely embraced by schools across the country, including Breakwater and Portland Public Schools. Wood has authored several books, most recently Responsive School Discipline (2011, with Babs Freeman-Loftis) and Yardsticks: Children in the Classroom Ages 4-14 (2007).
 
Chip Wood’s workshop, Child Development Matters, examines the role of child development in relation to children’s learning and the classroom environment. Participants will explore child-centered teaching strategies and learn to apply child development principles to their own instructional practice in order to meet curriculum standards successfully.
 
"When teachers understand child development research, they are better teachers,” says Molly Thompson, Conference Coordinator and Breakwater’s former Director of Early Childhood and Early Elementary Programs. “With this knowledge, teachers can be more intentional in their response to students’ behaviors and can adapt curriculum delivery to meet each student where he or she is as an individual on the developmental continuum."
 
“An essential part of our mission at Breakwater is to continually review best educational practice, always with an eye on how we can improve our practice to optimize the learning experiences of our students,” says Breakwater’s Head of School, David Sullivan. “Making quality professional development a priority keeps our teachers inspired, our curriculum fresh, and our students actively engaged.”
 
Last October, Breakwater brought Dr. Lella Gandini, United States Liaison for the Dissemination of the Reggio Emilia Approach, to Portland for a daylong conference that drew more than 80 early childhood and elementary educators from all over New England. The initial conference, Reflecting on the Learning: Stories that Show the Relationship Between Experiences and Assessment, kicked off a yearlong seminar series in which a cohort of 15 educators continue to meet monthly to explore ways to make children’s learning visible to families, children, and teachers. These workshops are facilitated by Breakwater School and Creativity in Learning, an early learning consulting firm in Cumberland.
 
Sullivan says Breakwater School will continue to bring leading-edge educational professionals like Chip Wood and Lella Gandini to Portland to work with its faculty and other area educators. “It’s an outstanding opportunity for our teachers to enrich their practice, and it’s a rare chance for educators from across the state and beyond to reflect on their practice and learn, not only from these experts, but from one another,” says Sullivan.
 

As part of their progressive music and education partnership with the nonprofit Friends of the Kotzschmar Organ, students at Breakwater School in Portland are visualizing sounds, hearing colors, measuring sound waves, and exploring creative movement. On Thursday, February 9, Breakwater students participated in the Kotzscharama, a series of interdisciplinary and multi-sensory workshops developed collaboratively by FOKO and Breakwater. 
 
As the first-ever official “Keepers of the Kotzsch,” Breakwater School holds a symbolic guardianship of the Kotzschmar Organ until August 2012, when this mighty King of Instruments turns 100 years old. Student ambassadors from Breakwater School have learned the history and workings of the organ, often educating visitors at concerts in Merrill Auditorium.
 
“The Kotzscharama is a continuation of what students have learned during the past year and a half of our partnership with FOKO,” explained Cheryl Hart, Breakwater’s Division Director for Elementary and Middle School. “It's also part of ongoing student work on curriculum projects we are developing for FOKO to use in their education efforts with other schools.” 

Students in kindergarten through eighth grade engaged in hands-on workshops led by Breakwater faculty and Portland's own municipal organist, Ray Cornils. Kindergarteners experienced music expression exercises focusing on colors and feelings conveyed in painting and writing while older students participated in six different workshops. Topics included: investigating the science of sound, moving and writing creatively to music, music-inspired stop animation film-making, and exploring the relationships among time, color, and music. Cornils will also demonstrate vibrations and sound waves on a continuo, an instrument similar to a harpsichord.
 
The faculty at Breakwater will continue to work with students on projects begun at Kotzscharama. The final projects, in electronic presentation format, will be on display at the Holiday Inn by the Bay and Merrill Auditorium later this year as part of the Kotzschmar Centennial Festival Celebration, August 17—22, 2012.
 
“Education has become a big part of our efforts at FOKO since 2005, so this is very exciting,” explained Elsa Geskus, FOKO's volunteer education coordinator. “We are doing more with children to get them interested in organ music. It's important they see it is vibrant and contemporary. And Portland has this unique musical treasure – the Kotzschmar Organ!”
 
The Kotzschmar Organ was a gift to the City of Portland by publishing magnate Cyrus Curtis. It is named in memory of Hermann Kotzschmar, a German musician, who lived in Portland from 1849 until his death in 1908. He is remembered for leading the city in its musical awakening and development. For more information on Friends of the Kotzschmar Organ, visit http://www.foko.org.