Arts

Students with a love for arts find plenty of opportunities to pursue their talents at Wildwood. In fact, many of our students discover their creative passion in Wildwood classrooms.

Exposure to music, theater, and visual arts begins in kindergarten, where every child has an opportunity to develop as a joyful singer, dancer, actor, and inventive storyteller. Each Friday morning, elementary children raise their voices to harmonize traditional Wildwood songs. Visual art projects tie to curriculum, so that if children are reading about California fauna in social studies, they may also sculpt an animal that illustrates the lesson. Click here to learn more about the arts curriculum in elementary school.

Middle school and upper school students have a range of opportunities to explore their artistic talents, both during and after school.

Visual artists can exhibit their paintings, drawings, photos, and sculpture in the Student Art Gallery. Under the mentorship of a teacher, shows are curated by individual students or groups who design the exhibit and write artists’ statements that illuminate their vision. Every gallery show kicks off with an evening reception, giving parents and friends the opportunity to view the art and appreciate the artists.

Students who are passionate about theater can take part in the middle school or upper school productions in the fall, an all-school musical in the spring, and student-directed productions. Besides acting and directing, students can run lights and sound, design and build sets, and work on costumes, make-up and hair.

Upper school students can participate in the annual Drama Teachers Association of Southern California (DTASC) fall festival. Wildwood has had repeated success at DTASC. At the 2008 festival, our 33-member team took home five awards, including first place for Greek drama. They competed against 65 schools from around the region.

Wildwood’s music department offers students opportunities to compose, play, and perform music using an array of instruments, including pianos, guitars, bass guitars, percussion, saxophones, trumpets, recorders, and violins. In addition, the school has a library of recorded and notated music – all of which serve as inspiration for student compositions. Young musicians perform their own compositions at several concerts throughout the year, including Cabaret Night, the Winter Concert, and the spring Jazz Concert. The Wildwood Chorus gives vocalists the opportunity to sing their own arrangements of classic and original works.

Click here for arts curriculum in middle school.
Click here for arts curriculum in upper school.