All Students Shine at Greenvale's Evening of the Arts

Next Thursday, hundreds of students will head to school on a night when they don’t have to be there. Why? Because Greenvale Park Elementary is hosting their third Evening of the Arts, an event that is fast becoming one of the highlights of Greenvale’s year. 

The Evening of the Arts will take place on Thursday, March 24th from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Open to the community, the free event is primarily for Greenvale students and their families. 

During the evening, each of Greenvale’s 495 students shines in one or more areas of the arts. “Every GVP student has at least one piece of artwork on display,” said Patti Baker, Greenvale's Office Specialist, “there are musicians playing short concerts, a Bistro for students interested in the performing arts to read their original poetry or a story, skits written by classrooms from stories or songs the children have read or sung, as well as many different stations where all attending can make crafts of many different kinds...It's an exciting evening from beginning to end.”

The event started because people noticed the success of a similar event, Beyond Words, held at , and wanted to try something like it at Greenvale. So, GVP teacher, Mary Beth Youngblut, along with help of other teachers and volunteers, put together the first Evening of the Arts in 2009.

The event was such a success, 700 attended last year, that Greenvale has made it a yearly event. “I think it was a great tradition to start!” said past Evening of the Arts particpant, Annika Fisher, who is now a sixth-grader at

Teachers, staff, parents and community members donate hours of time and supplies to make the Evening possible. Additional support comes through a grant from the Northfield Healthy Community Initiative, with from the , and SAMHSA, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

First grade Companeros teacher, Deb Bakke, relays the enthusiasm she has seen for the Evening. 

“I think the word I hear most often during Evening of the Arts is ‘Cool!’ Kids peek their heads into the doorway where a craft activity is in progress, and they say, ‘Cool!’  They listen to someone reading their original poetry, and they say, ‘Cool!’  Their parents and grandparents walk down hallway after hallway filled with artwork and writing, and you know what they say ... ‘Cool!’ It's the night of the year when we ALL go home thinking, ‘Our school is really COOL!’”

Evening of the Arts gives students a chance to connect with their community and families. It gives them a feeling of pride in their work and their school. And, perhaps best of all, “The piece I love the most about Evening of the Arts,” said Principal Dave Craft, “is that it is a time of year when we recognize the academic gifts of our children that fall in categories other than reading and math.”

For students who are less-than-thrilled about academics, getting this chance to shine may be just the thing to help them through their school career. 

Things don’t get much cooler than that!