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the
flying leap
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inspiring children to soar through the arts
Leap Experience
By Dustin Manning, Leap Intern
Walk down the halls of an elementary school, and what do you see posted on the walls?
What do children love putting on the fridge or displaying in their rooms? Their art, and
why is it that children are so proud and enthusiastic about their art? I believe it is because
of the freedom of expression, individuality, and the ability to create something that makes
children love and desire art.
I became a part of Leap as a volunteer intern, not knowing what to expect. I was interested in Leap’s ideology about art in education and was eager to see firsthand how they
applied it to the classroom and to the students. After working for four months in three
classrooms with two teachers, I have developed a deeper understanding about the importance of art education. I’ve observed how professional artists dedicate their time and effort to create unique, engaging art projects. I’ve experienced the love and patience these
artists have when teaching their lessons. I’ve witnessed the smiles and the joy children
express while learning about themselves and the world around them. I was welcomed and
appreciated by not only the teachers but the entire school staff. It’s no wonder that Leap
has grown from 1 school with 180 students to 40 schools with 8,000 students.
One of the schools I intern at is Sunnyside Elementary. I assist Leap artist Angela Baker
in teaching a wide variety of art lessons in a third grade classroom. There is however, one
Welcome
Kerri and Josie!
Jos
ie K
irton, Ke i Hayden
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Last fall Leap welcomed two new
staff members to our team. We are
pleased to introduce Kerri Hayden as
Leap’s Operations Manager and Josie
Kirton as Leap’s Program Coordinator.
Kerri joined Leap in December 2011.
She attended school at San Diego
State University where she earned
her Bachelor’s Degree in Finance.
Following her passion for education,
she then earned her Multiple Subject
Teaching Credential at Sacramento
State University. Kerri has worked
in a classroom for 2 years, managed
a tutoring center for 6 years, and
most recently spent 2 years working
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in the nonprofit/education field as a
Site Director at a local elementary
school. Kerri has nearly 10 years of
experience in the field of education
mixed with finance and she is excited
to join Leap where she can use all
of her skills and experience to help
our talented artists reach thousands
of kids! When not managing Leap’s
operations, you can find her enjoying the culinary arts in her kitchen as
she’s mixing up batches of delicious
desserts.
project that stands out above the
rest, and that is the pop-up solar
system. In this project, the students
drew, painted, and attached pop-up
pieces into an accordion book of the solar system. This project was done following Ms. Lee’s lesson about our solar system. The students accurately portrayed our
solar system’s eight planets, while still expressing their own personal interests by adding shooting
stars, alien ships, floating flowers, and more. The lesson
engaged the students in art, while simultaneously teaching science standards.
raph by Cris Ben
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This unforgettable experience has been the best inspiration for a young art advocate
like myself. It has taught me the invaluable nature that is art education. It’s not about
the money schools don’t have, the help teachers don’t receive, or the tests children
have to take, but the experience and the knowledge we all gain and share with one
another. Leap provides such knowledge and experience through art, proving generosity and teamwork which creates success.
Leap’s 29th Annual
Sandcastle Contest is
just around the corner!
Josie joined the team at Leap in
November 2011. She graduated with
a degree in Liberal Studies from
California State University Hayward. Josie has devoted herself to
children’s art education for the past
8 years, both in San Francisco and
in South East Asia. She has taught
in Thai refugee camps, in several
afterschool programs, and in the San
Francisco Unified School District. She
spent a year living along the Thai/
Burma border, where she organized
and taught art classes in migrant
schools, clinics, and orphanages.
Most recently, Josie has been the
Artist-in-Residence at San Francisco
Community School, where she has
taught for the past 5 years. She has
seen first-hand the impact of arts
education, and how it transforms
children’s experiences in school.
Ph
oto
grap
h
by Cris Benton
Please save the date! Leap’s 29th Annual Sandcastle Contest will be held on
10/20/12, 10 am – 4 pm at Ocean Beach in San Francisco. Our theme is “Leap Year
2012: Things that Jump!”
Leap’s Sandcastle Contest is a spirited competition between teams of architects,
engineers, contractors, corporations and elementary school students to craft the
most impressive creations of the imagination.
The event is a fundraiser to benefit Leap’s arts education programs, but admission is free to the community at large. Last year’s teams raised over $210,000 to
help Leap expand its programs!
We look forward to seeing an amazing array of sand sculptures representing
things that jump this October (grasshoppers, chihuahuas, kangaroos, dancers,
etc)!
Please contact Leap at (415) 512-1899 or [email protected] if you’re interested
in forming a team, volunteering, or if you’d like more information.
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Recent Events
Get Your Bowl on for Leap!
Leap's first "Get Your Bowl On" event
took place on 3/21/12 at Yerba Buena
Bowling Center in San Francisco.
This event was a fun way to
stay connected to our Sandcastle Contest teams and
other Leap supporters, as
well as to raise funds which
support Leap's arts education programs.
Everyone had a blast bowling
to the sounds of 70's and 80's
classic hits while surrounded by
swirling disco lights, laser beams, and
of course, lots of high-fives. You can view
more event photos on Leap's flickr page. Thanks to photographer
Adrienne Eberhardt for capturing the joy of this special evening!
Leap Arts Night!
Our very first "Leap Arts Night"
was at American Conservatory Theater in San
Francisco on April 12,
2012. Supporters of
Leap enjoyed the
West Coast premier
of Maple and Vine,
and also learned
more about Leap's
programs and how
we bring arts education
into Bay Area elementary
and middle schools.
The New York Times calls "Maple and Vine" a "clever, sharply
drawn fantasy" about a Manhattan couple who leave behind
modern life for a 1950s-era community.
Thank you to American Conservatory Theater, as well as to
everyone who attended, for their support of Leap and our
mission to provide quality arts education programs that
help students build skills to reach their fullest potential!
Fun Run to Support Arts Education
Picnic Dash Productions coordinates fun running events
in San Francisco. Leap was
honored to be selected as the
beneficiary of the proceeds
from the "April Fools" Fun Run,
which took place on Sunday,
April 1st, 2012.
Approximately 100 people,
including some speedy volunteers dressed as jesters to
celebrate April Fool's Day,
gathered at Black Point Battery in Fort Mason to run a 5k
3
or 10k. Prizes were awarded
to the top 5 male and top 5
female finishers.
Please visit Leap's flickr page to
view more photos of the event.
Proceeds from the run will help
Leap expand and enhance our
programs in the arts, serving
thousands of kids across the
Bay Area area this year!
Thanks to Picnic Dash Productions!
More about Picnic Dash:
Races are held every
4-6 weeks and are
sleep-in-and-enjoyyour-weekend
friendly. Food and
drinks are provided
after each race
along with zany and
useful prizes for the
top competitors and raffle
winners.
Want to volunteer for future
races? Please email
[email protected].
Professional Development at Leap
By Carol Dunstan & Josie Kirton
‘win-win’ situation that meets everyone’s
needs. Engagement is give and take.”
Leap’s Professional Development has become a staple in our academic year thanks
to a generous grant from the Clarence E.
Heller Foundation. At least 20 artists attend each of five workshops a year where
they participate in active learning with
Professors Lorie Hammond and Crystal Olson from CSU Sacramento or with another
visiting presenter such as Kelly Korenack
from World Saavy. Each workshop has a
different theme that focuses on integrating arts education with K-8 classroom
curricula.
For example, on December 7, 2011, Leap
artists gathered to participate in “Zip Zap
Kaboom: Experiences in Multiple Disciplines” with Professors Hammond and
Olson. The focus was on engagement,
which happens when students are focused
and feel themselves to be part of a project.
Drs. Hammond and Olson explained: “To
engage with students, parents or school
staff is to get to know them, to listen
to what they want, and to negotiate a
Artists participate at each workshop in a
variety of activities that stimulate many
different senses and encourage new and
expanded methods of teaching art to
children. “Zip Zap Kaboom” turned out to
be a rousing vocal and physical ice breaker
that got all the Leap artists warmed up and
ready to join in the activities. Artists commented that they liked:
ing artists who bring the highest quality
art education to Bay Area K-8 students.
Our professional development workshops
have contributed to the development of
a community of Leap artists who can turn
to each other for inspiration and support. The workshops have also provided
a deeper understanding of how students
learn and how the resident artist can bring
out the most creative and critical thinking
in each student.
“Hands on projects, and group exercises”
“Group performance”
“Connecting with other teachers, discussing shared experiences”
Leap artists enjoy time getting to know
each other while they eat dinner and also
while they participate in activities that vary
from role playing and singing, to creating
visual arts, to putting on performances.
Some of the things they found most valuable about the December workshop were:
“How lessons can integrate multiple artistic disciplines”
“Importance of spontaneity and improvisation in art”
“Timing and rhythm as part of lesso flow”
At Leap we are very proud of our outstand-
Robert Louis Stevenson Elementary School
Leap has been at Robert Louis Stevenson Elementary School for over four years! Our current Leap residencies are under way and
kids are enjoying a variety of art this school year. Robert Louis Stevenson serves grades K-5 in the San Francisco Unified School
District. It is one of only a few public elementary schools in California to receive a distinguished Great Schools rating 10 out of 10!
At Robert Louis Stevenson Elementary School, Leap offers a variety of arts education residencies based on the unique needs of
the elementary school students in this community. Through our programs, kids are encouraged to get up and dance, make music,
explore the art of theater through acting, and create visual art. We believe that our programs help students reach their academic
goals by offering creative and engaging ways to learn that help support the classroom curriculum.
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Leap is Hiring!
Leap is looking for a proven, results oriented Development Director
to manage and coordinate all of our fundraising efforts. The Development Director is a brand new position within the organization
and will demonstrate leadership by creating fundraising strategies
to increase the organization's support from individuals, corporations, foundations, and other sources.
For more details, please visit Leap’s website:
http://www.leaparts.org/40/join-our-team
Residency scheduling for the 2012-2013 school year is
now taking place.
To schedule your residencies, please contact
Carol Dunstan, Program Director at
(415) 512-1899 or [email protected].
Thank You To Leap’s Supporters!
2011 Sandcastle Contest Teams
and Sponsors
The Bothin Foundation
California Arts Council
Make the Connection
Picnic Dash Productions
Rosenlund Family Foundation
Ruby’s Clay Studio
San Francisco Foundation
Stanley Langendorf Foundation
Tileshop
The Walter & Elise Haas Fund
Stanley Langendorf Foundation
Whole Foods Market
Board of Directors:
David McAdams, Chair
Tyler Gerking, Secretary
Annie Lee, Treasurer
Peter Berkowitz
Armond Dorsey
Takashi Fukuda
Kevin Hickey
Marielle Neri
Rachel Radway
Staff:
Julie McDonald, Executive
Director
Carol Dunstan, Program Director
Kerri Hayden, Operations Manager
Josie Kirton, Program Coordinator
Christina Tan, Community Service Fellow (CCA)
Clarence E. Heller Foundation
Creative Capacity Fund
Crescent Porter Hale Foundation
Groupon
Joey’s Corner
Get Involved!
 Make a tax-deductible donation of any size through our
secure website: www.leaparts.org
 Volunteer! Opportunities include: classroom internships,
general administrative support, photo documentation of
residencies, graphic design, and assisting with planning our
annual Sandcastle Contest. Contact us at:
[email protected] for more information.
 Become a Board Member! Leap is seeking motivated,
dynamic people to join our Board of Directors.
Contact us at: [email protected] for more information.
Leap | Arts in Education
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2601 Mission Street, Suite 603, San Francisco, CA 94110
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(415) 512-1899
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www.leaparts.org