Middle School theatre students re-enacting a Greek tragedy
What do Oedipus Rex and King David have in common? Read both stories and you might be surprised at how similar plots focus on sin and redemption.
It’s a lesson you might expect in literature class, but not necessarily Middle School Theatre.
“We are teaching them to study characters and to apply what they are learning about those characters to their own lives – to focus on their choices and the consequences of those choices,” says Barbara Nelson, Theatre Teacher. “That is something very applicable to middle school. Even when circumstances cannot be controlled, a person can control their response to their circumstances.”
Middle School and High School actors are not just learning their lines. Their classes take a deeper dive into all aspects of acting. In high school theatre, for example, students ponder potential moral dilemmas they may face if their goal is to pursue acting.
MS theatre students practicing their lines
“We spend time being prepared to say no to an acting opportunity. I want students to think about what they really believe, what the Bible says about how you need to conduct yourself and I want them to be clear about what they are willing to do and not do on stage,” explains Nelson.
Liberal Arts at TCS are often not just about what is planned on the syllabus. They reach down deep to help students improve on character.
For middle school students in Journalism class, that character lesson is meeting deadlines.
“Whether it is for a newspaper, journalism assignment or classes in general, they need to realize that once you are given a deadline, you have to meet that deadline,” says Terry Walker, MS Journalism Teacher.
MS students are busy compiling articles for the new Tiger Times Newspaper.
TCS is excited to once again offer journalism in Middle School. Students are learning what it takes to be on the “beat” as a print reporter, broadcast journalist and photojournalist.
What they are learning will result in a Middle School newspaper called The Tiger Times. Miss Walker hopes the class will change how students approach expressing themselves.
“They write a lot but their writing is very simplistic at this age. This class teaches them how to be more expressive in their writing. The goal is to get them to a place where they don’t ask how long it needs to be; they write until they have said all that needs to be said,” explains Walker.
In another liberal arts course, students are thinking about word count, but with intention. In Creative Writing class, students have entered into the NaNoWriMo’s Young Writers Program. November is national Novel Writing month and at the end of it, young TCS writers will produce their very own novellas (short novels), which will average about ten-thousand words.
Whether it is acting or writing, the goal is to expose Timothy students to all the arts has to offer.
“We are a small school yet we try to offer as many courses and activities as possible to give students a more well-rounded experience,” says Walker.
To learn more about the fine arts electives at TCS visit: https://timothychristian.org/arts/.