Arts

Notre Dame Academy offers a wide variety of fine arts options for students of all grade levels.

At Notre Dame Academy, we believe that our students possess individual creative talents and that offering a wide variety of classes allows students to develop their talents within a global mindset. Through our International Baccalaureate curriculum within our arts programs, students in grades pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade develop into creative, principled, risk-taking individuals. Arts in the International Baccalaureate Programme stimulate young imaginations, challenge perceptions, develop creative and analytical skills, enrich personal identity and build awareness of the aesthetic in a real-world context.

Meet the Arts Team

Ms. Amy Lascelles

Ms. Lascelles is our Performing Arts Teacher for Lower School music, Middle School Band, and Upper School Band. She is also our Fine Arts Coordinator.

Mrs. Alyssa Nelsen

Mrs. Nelsen is our Performing Arts Teacher for Lower School Music, Theatre, Chorus, Guitar, and Piano.

Mrs. Kim Johnson

Mrs. Johnson is our Visual Arts Teacher for Upper School Photography and Upper School Yearbook.

Ms. Stephanie Caldwell

Ms. Caldwell is our Visual Arts Teacher for Lower School, Middle School, and Upper School. 

Mr. Spencer Johnson ’19

Mr. Johnson is our Visual Arts Teacher for Upper School Film.

Amy Lascelles

Performing Arts Teacher & Fine Arts Coordinator
678-387-9385
alascelles@ndacademy.org

Alyssa Nelsen

Performing Arts Teacher 678-387-9385
anelsen@ndacademy.org

Kimberly Johnson

Visual Arts Teacher
678-387-9385
kjohnson@ndacademy.org

Stephanie Caldwell

Visual Arts Teacher
678-387-9385
scaldwell@ndacademy.org

Spencer Johnson '19

Visual Arts Teacher
678-387-9385
sjohnson@ndacademy.org

Performance Arts: Music, Chorus, and Theatre Education at Notre Dame Academy

All of the courses offered in our Performing Arts Program focus on performance as a means of personal expression within a supportive and nurturing community. At Notre Dame Academy, students in Lower School attend music class once per week. In Middle School and Upper School, we offer a variety of courses, including Band, Chorus, Theatre, Guitar, and Piano.

Music classes are taught using a fluency based Orff Approach. Students learn music using the following activities:
  • singing and playing instruments
  • movement
  • composition and improvisation
  • looking at music through both a cultural and historical lens

We use folk songs and dances, children’s literature, and a variety of rhythm activities in the music classroom from the Game Plan Orff-Schulwerk series.  In addition, the lessons studied through the PYP in the grade level classroom inspire music lessons that correlate and support the Units Of Inquiry.  Some examples include learning Indigenous dances or Square Dancing, building instruments, writing jingles, learning about electricity as a musical instrument, and songs of war and protest.

Music from our Catholic faith is also taught in the music classroom, as students prepare to participate in Mass and other faith-based activities.

 

In 4th and 5th grade, the curriculum is supported through learning recorders. Students begin with simple three-note music in 4th grade and expand to a fairly complex music by the end of the 5th grade. Each month, students are required to present their accomplishments through “belt” tests, graded solo performances of prepared songs.

The baND program consists of three different ensembles within the IB Middle Years Art Program: Sixth Grade Beginner Band, Middle School Concert Band, and Upper School Symphonic Band.  Students in 11th and 12th Grade may also opt to dual-enroll in the Diploma Programme in music.  In all three ensembles, students study music as researchers, creators, and performers. Through these roles, students develop musicianship, learn to compose and analyze music, and develop their global mindedness through the lens of music.  All three ensembles study music from personal, local, and global perspectives.  In collaboration with their ensembles, students exercise their individual creativity while exploring music from many genres and time periods.

Members of the baND have many performance opportunities throughout the year, both on and off campus, as an ensemble, including concerts, sporting events, community events, competitions, and spring performance trips.  As individuals, students may also participate in the District Honor Band, All-State Band Auditions, and the Archdiocesan Musical Festival.

The Theatre Program at Notre Dame Academy includes curricular performances for all students K-5th grade as well as a Fall curricular Theatre class for 9-12 grade students. Any student in 6th- 12th grade is eligible to participate in the Thespian Society, which meets after school and produces Theatre events throughout the year, including the Spring Musical.

 Students in the Theatre courses will focus on developing and improving the skills necessary for creating and performing art, such as public speaking skills, singing skills, dancing skills, movement skills, and even set and costume design skills. Students reflect on the Aims of IB Arts to evaluate their progress throughout the learning experience. 

At Notre Dame Academy, students may participate in the Notre Dame Singers and the Literary Team. Students may also join Tri-M Honor Society (music) and International Thespian Society (theatre), which offer additional opportunities for learning and performing. 

Please contact Mrs. Nelsen at anelsen@ndacademy.org for more information.

Beginning Chorus is offered for 6th grade students interested in learning basic music reading and vocal performance skills. 7th/8th Grade Chorus is offered for students interested in expanding their knowledge of music reading and growing their vocal performance skills. These Middle School ensembles will perform in choral competitions and festivals throughout the year and will have several performance opportunities throughout the year at Notre Dame Academy. Through these opportunities, students develop musicianship, learn to compose and analyze music, and develop their global mindedness through the lens of music.  Each ensemble studies music from personal, local, and global perspectives.  In collaboration with their ensembles, students exercise their individual creativity while exploring music from many genres and time periods.

For Upper School students interested in singing, the Notre Dame Singers ensemble meets after school hours once a week to learn literature and vocal performance skills with the goal of performing at each monthly All-School Mass as well as choral festivals and other performance opportunities throughout the school year.

Performing Arts Facilities

Band Facility
Dance Studio
Lower School Music Room

Visual Arts at Notre Dame Academy

All of the courses offered in our Visual Arts Program focus on big ideas such as identity, risk-taking, experimentation, personal and cultural expression, story-telling, time, and spirituality.  Students  explore art  across a variety of mediums and contextual art movements. At Notre Dame Academy, students in Lower School attend art class once per week. In Middle School and Upper School, we offer a variety of courses including Photography, Introduction to Studio Art, Studio Art, DP Art, Yearbook and Film Studies.
The arts are a universal form of human expression and a unique way of knowing that engages us in effective, imaginative and productive activities. Learning through the arts helps us to explore, shape and communicate our sense of identity and individuality. During adolescence, the arts provide an opportunity for age-appropriate and holistic development of the social, emotional, intellectual and personal intelligences of the student.

 

In International Baccalaureate (IB) arts, students have opportunities to function as artists, as well as learners of the arts.
The visual arts classes in Lower School correlate with the PYP Units of Inquiry for each grade level as well as enhance students’ understandings of the PYP Profile traits and attitudes. Students are exposed to a variety of visual media, including drawing & painting, collage, sculpture with basic materials, and color theory with diverse materials. Students get to explore big ideas through their own art making as well as learn about ancient, traditional, and contemporary artists. Overall, the arts provide an environment that is conducive to exploration and expression so that students can learn to care for materials, ideas, and each other through the process of art making. The standards isolate and identify the skills needed to use the knowledge and skills to problem solve, reason, communicate, and make connections with other information. 
The visual arts course is designed as an overview of multiple media courses for exposure to various mediums such as drawing pencils, illustration, painting, mixed media, prints, and clay. Students analyze art history including art movements and artist studies.  The students get a taste of new ways to express themselves and many entities of art that allow for personal expression.
This visual art course is designed to challenge students’ prior knowledge and skills revolving around Art Elements and Design Principles. The art studio environment encourages and fosters the development of inquiry-based learners with self-driven objectives. Students will explore a wide range of artistic practices in Art History to include various art mediums:  Drawing and Illustration, Painting, Mixed Media, Sculpture, and Clay. As students advance through their educational journey,  they select skills and interests to capture a thematic focus.  This personalized approach, guided by teacher feedback, allows students to cultivate a specialized skill set and a unique artistic voice, preparing them for independent creative inquiry. An art series or a portfolio is encouraged to showcase their art style and body of works. 

Notre Dame Academy offers DP Visual Art, DP Music, and DP Film. The IB Diploma Program arts courses encourage students to challenge their own creative and cultural expectations and boundaries.In these courses, students develop analytical skills in problem-solving and divergent thinking, while working towards technical proficiency and confidence as art-makers.

Notre Dame Academy’s Film Program, rooted in the IB Film curriculum, gives students the opportunity to explore film as both an art form and a global language. Through hands-on production and the study of film theory and history, students develop skills in screenwriting, directing, editing, and analysis. Outside the classroom, Film Club and the annual Short Film Festival during Evening of the Arts offer students creative outlets to share their work and passion for cinema.

Visual Arts Facilities

Schroeder Hall Art Room
The George Center Art Room

Notre Dame Academy Arts Events

Notre Dame Academy offers students a variety of opportunities to grow and share their artistic growth.

Christmas Band Concert

Sing for Santa Concert at Gwinnett Gladiators

Advent Cantata

GMEA All State Band and Archdiocesan Music Festival

MidFest and JanFest at UGA

GAPPS US One Act Play competition

Fall Play and Spring Musicals

Elementary Musicals

Literary Competition (2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024 Regional Champions)

Tri-M Talent Show

ITS Spring Show and Food Drive

Lower School Grandparents and Special Friends Day Performance

Music and Dance Recital at Evening of the Arts

Art Show at Evening of the Arts

Film Festival at Evening of the Arts

Spring Band Concert

Parent Celebrations throughout the year as a part of the Primary Years Programme featuring music, theatre, and visual arts projects

DP Visual Arts Solo Exhibitions