Dear Parents,

As someone who is committed to the artistic education of their child, you might like to know a little more about Parents for the Arts, a partnership network for parents who are keen to learn more about the arts and to help support the delivery of arts education to young people.

Here are a few of the activities and projects we have worked on so far:

• 4 annual meetings, featuring invited speakers who are leaders in Arts Education
• The creation of a Leadership in the Arts Award for teachers
• Collaboration with the Coalition for Music Education in Canada’s Music Monday campaign and other parent organizations across Canada

Photo: Fred Cattroll

Leadership in Arts Education Award

This award will recognize generalist teachers who provide an outstanding arts education program and is open to all teachers in the National Capital Region. One English and one French teacher will be recognized. Junior Kindergarten to Grade 6 teachers can apply or be nominated by others. Winners will be announced publicly in the Spring of 2007.

Media Release - 2006 Winners
June 1 2006
Teachers from l'École Francojeunesse and Centennial Public School are winners of the 2006 Leadership in Arts Education Awards

Nominations should be mailed to Parents for the Arts by May 7th, 2007. No formal application need be filled out. Simply provide a letter with as much detail as possible listing the reasons for making this nomination. No program is too small for consideration. Nominations are for programs running in the September 2006 to June 2007 school year.

Parents for the Arts
The National Arts Centre
P.O. Box 1534, Station B/
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5W1
pararts@nac-cna.ca
(613) 947-7000 ext. 844

Prizes for the 2006 Awards - Gift certificates from:
National Arts Centre, National Gallery Canada, Scholar's Choice, Wallack’s Art Supplies, St. John's Music

Music Monday – May 7th, 2007

Music Monday '07 marks the third annual event celebrating the galvanizing power of music in Canada and how that power is rooted in school music programs. On Monday, May 7th, 2007 students across the country will perform a new arrangement of "Our Song", composed by Amanda Walther and Sheila Carabine, of the Cdn. contemporary group Dala. Over 500,000 students from every province and territory in Canada are expected to participate while celebrating their love of music in their schools and their lives.

The National Arts Centre will host a one-hour star-powered concert from the NAC’s 4th stage that will go live-to-internet from 12-1pm on Music Monday. The concert will be archived shortly after for all to enjoy.

With your participation, we hope to make Music Monday '07 a day when the entire country pays tribute to the importance of school music programs. Everything you need is free and online www.weallneedmusic.ca . Download: Arrangements, Demos, Lyrics (in English and French) and PR toolkit. Come join us in the celebration!