Middle School Fine Arts

The middle school fine arts programs include elective courses in music, theatre arts, and visual art instruction and provide students with a well-rounded, sequential, and comprehensive arts education. Middle school fine arts courses are designed to foster growth, advance learning, and begin the development of expertise in a selected field. The K-12 fine arts programs promote the development of Portrait of a Graduate attributes by encouraging students to become critical thinkers, creative problem solvers and effective communicators.

Art

Middle school art courses support a transition from weekly elementary art to a more sustained focus requiring students to develop as goal-directed and resilient individuals. Students have the opportunity to explore relevant concepts of transformation, relationships, boundaries, and roles while solving artmaking challenges. Students explore a variety of art materials, develop art techniques, explore artists and art trends, and use creative thinking skills to express ideas and viewpoints about personal experiences and the world.

Music

The Fairfax County Public Schools music curriculum encourages cultural awareness and provides opportunities for students to attain the knowledge and skills necessary to be become musically literate, well-rounded individuals. Students work collaboratively with others to achieve common artistic goals, thereby preparing them for a lifetime of engagement with the arts.

Music instruction is offered at all grade levels, K-12. The music curriculum is vertically aligned so students learn incrementally from year-to-year and scaffold their musical abilities from novice to artistry.

Middle school students can participate in band, chorus, and orchestra. Optional classes in guitar, music participation, show choir, and piano are available at various schools.

The Fairfax County music programs receive many state and national accolades and are consistently invited to perform at state, national, and international events.

Theatre

The Fairfax County Public Schools Middle School Theatre Arts program of cultivates and scaffolds on skills in creativity, collaboration, and communication through various theatre activities which support students to develop as goal directed and resilient individuals. FCPS theatre curriculum supports the National Core Arts Standards and include the Theatre Arts Virginia Standards of Learning. FCPS theatre curriculum is vertically aligned to develop increasingly complex skills, concepts, and understandings at successive grade levels.

All Theatre Arts Appreciation, Speech and Theatre Arts Appreciation, and Technical Theatre Appreciation students participate in the Middle School Theatre Arts Field Trip to have an opportunity to experience a live professional theatre performance.

Curricular and extracurricular theatre activities provide opportunities for students to explore various aspects and areas of theatre including; field trips to professional theatres, workshops, one act performances and festivals, plays, musicals, children’s theatre performances, drama clubs, improvisation competitions (Theatre Sports), playwrighting festivals, Technical Theatre Olympics, Theatre Expo, Mayfest Playfest, and more. FCPS theatre students may also participate in local, state, and national theatre festivals and competitions.