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Bishop McNamara High School is pleased to announce the new Fine Arts Diploma Endorsement Program. The F.A.D.E. Program will serve to refine students' talent and skill, cultivate a community of respect, appreciation and understanding of the arts, and acknowledge students' dedication to the Fine Arts throughout their high school career. Students who graduate with the Fine Arts Diploma Endorsement receive a notation on their transcripts and a special honor certificate at graduation. Students become Fine Arts Focus students at the end of their freshman year or the beginning of their sophomore year by filing a form with the F.A.D.E. Coordinator declaring their major discipline, after a conference with a teacher in the chosen area of focus. At the end of each school year, a teacher in the chosen focus area evaluates the student's progress toward the appropriate requirements and makes a determination that the progress indicates probable completion and warrants retention of the student in the program. Near the end of the student's senior year, the Fine Arts Department reviews the portfolio/journal of requirements and approves the Fine Arts Diploma Endorsement.
In addition to a focus in each of the four Fine Arts disciplines offered at McNamara (Dance, Music, Theatre, and Visual Arts), there is a General Fine Arts focus for students who wish to sample each discipline, rather than specialize in any particular one. Each of these five focus areas has its own requirements for earning the Fine Arts Diploma Endorsement. Students are allowed to transfer from one focus area to another if they discover that their interests have changed and that the work which they have already completed makes them eligible to complete the requirements of the new focus area. Students in this program will be required to attend monthly colloquia (6 per school year) which feature artists from various disciplines. Each colloquium provides an opportunity for the students to experience and participate in different styles of art and to interact with other artistic students, teachers, and professional artists. The final colloquium of each year will feature performances/exhibits by the graduating seniors. Also, students must maintain at least a B average in their Fine Arts classes, and remain in good standing with the academic rules stated in the Student Handbook, to qualify for the Fine Arts Diploma Endorsement. Finally, all Fine Arts Students will be required to attend a certain number of McNamara performances as well as outside performances.
The Fine Arts Department faculty work more closely with each student through this program in order to achieve higher levels of individual skills, increased collegiality within the artistic community, and more august recognition of extraordinary talent and dedication to Fine Arts.
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