Golden Hills and Rosebud Centre of the Arts create partnership

Laureen F. Guenther
Times Contributor

 

Golden Hills School Division and Rosebud Centre of the Arts signed a Memorandum of Understanding Oct. 20, agreeing to explore partnership opportunities between Rosebud School of the Arts/Rosebud Theatre and East Wheatland School.
“This is an exciting day for us. We look forward to developing this partnership,” said Bevan Daverne, Golden Hills Superintendent of Schools, in a prepared statement.
Adam Furfaro, Rosebud Centre of the Arts’ Executive Director, explained the Memorandum of Understanding is a foundational agreement, saying they’ll both look for opportunities to work together. “One of the biggest things is, every time something comes up, to look and say, ‘How can we possibly share this?'” said Furfaro
“We hope to jointly seek opportunities for shared facility use,” said Greg Lendvay in the statement. Lendvay, associate principal at Standard School, will take the same position at East Wheatland School (EWS) when it opens in the fall of 2016.
“Perhaps (Rosebud School of the Arts) could make use of our new theatre facility for student projects or special events,” said Lendvay. “Students of East Wheatland School will be able to access Rosebud Centre spaces and facilities like the BMO Studio (Stage), Opera House and Conference Centre. And, of course, our students will have the incredible opportunity to attend as many Rosebud Theatre productions as we can.”
Rosebud School of the Arts (RSA) students may use EWS library, gym and workout facilities, and RSA students will offer arts instruction at EWS, Furfaro said. The two schools may also share human resources, such as a lighting and sound technician. Long-term, Furfaro also hopes Golden Hills graduates will consider RSA when looking for post-secondary arts education.
This partnership may also allow Golden Hills and RSA to do joint fundraising and requests for government funding, Furfaro said, because “partnering seems to be the big word these days in terms of funding.”
“We see it as a mutually beneficial initiative which can bridge arts education between the elementary and secondary levels and post-secondary,” said Daverne. “We hope to investigate and develop joint learning opportunities for the students of EWS and RSA, including dual credit courses, practicum, work experience, CTS, and regular course work.”
“We are serving this entire municipality and for us to be able to start partnering with Golden Hills is a huge, huge thing,” said Furfaro. “Because (EWS) is drawing from a number of different places, including Standard and Rockyford and Hussar and Gleichen … we’re going to be able to reach out into those communities more significantly.”
“We see this partnership ‎as having a number of benefits for our students and the school,” said Daverne in an e-mail. “We look forward to our growing relationship with Rosebud School of the Arts and possibilities it brings for enhanced programming and further development of the Arts in the school community.”
The Friends of East Wheatland School have already built on the partnership by buying an evening’s performance at Rosebud Theatre, and are selling the tickets for a Nov. 24 fundraiser. To purchase tickets, contact Standard School at 403-664-3791 or any Friends of East Wheatland School member.