Arts & Enrichment Committee

About the Arts at Runnymede

The arts are celebrated at Runnymede, and your child will experience all that an arts education can provide. They will learn to participate in and appreciate music, drama and the visual arts.

We are thrilled to extend Runnymede’s strong Arts tradition into the primary and junior divisions!

Every student JK-Gr 5 will receive two hours of private fine arts instruction with professional artists. Students experiment with drawing, painting , perspective, dimension while creating attractive original works of art. Materials used include liquid watercolours, chalk pastels, acrylics, and ink. As well, we are strong supporters of the Band, Strings, and Drama programs led by our schools amazing faculty.

If you would like to help with arts programming, please email the Arts Committee Chair RunnymedeArt@gmail.com

The following is a brief overview of the arts program at Runnymede.

The music and drama programs go above and beyond what is required by the Ministry of Education in the Arts Curriculum for Grades 1 – 8.
We have two full-time music teachers, a full-time drama teacher, and a full-time visual arts teacher.
In Kindergarten, all the arts are taught by the classroom teachers. There are two vocal music concerts held per year – once around the holiday season and once in the spring. Concerts are traditionally held during the day.
In Grades 1 – 3, students receive 1.5 periods of music per five-day cycle. These lessons are taught by the three music and drama teachers and may also include some drama instruction.
Students may also participate in the Primary Choir. Rehearsals for the choir are held during the school day and are lead by classroom teachers who volunteer their time.
In the Primary grades, visual arts are incorporated into the regular curriculum, taught by the classroom teachers.
In Grade 3, all students learn to play the recorder.
In Grade 4 students are introduced to string and band instruments and drama. They receive two periods of instruction per five-day cycle, moving through each area where they are exposed to as much information as possible. Sometime in late winter, they are asked to choose which discipline they would like to continue for the remainder of their time at Runnymede. Students, parents and teachers are all involved in this decision. For the remainder of the school year, they are placed in one of the three streams and this stream continues until the end of Grade 8.
There are numerous extra-curricular activities that the students may participate in from Grades 4 – 8, including Music Night, Kiwanis Music Festival and the Drama Showcase.
Visual art instruction begins in Grade 7 and is taught by a dedicated visual arts teacher.
Concerts are held twice a year, around the holiday season and late spring. These concerts are currently held in the large gymnasium at the beginning of the school day.