Arts & Innovation

Creative Education & Technology Integration Merge

Arts & Innovation at Norfolk Collegiate is a blend of creative education, technology integration and a hands-on approach to teaching that many schools haven't seen before.

Imagine what will happen Fine and Performing Arts Department and the Design Thinking and Computing Department come together to challenge students to identify their passions and the needs of the community, and couple it with guidance and a sense of self to solve those needs. That's what the Arts & Innovation Department does at Norfolk Collegiate.

Here our faculty are focused on sparking student joy and bringing learning to life in new and meaningful ways. Whether it's being in the school musical for the first time or deciding to learn how to make pottery, taking a coding class or discovering a love of problem-solving through a Design Thinking class, the arts and innovation program at Collegiate challenges students to find real-world issues and develop their own projects to solve them. The classroom becomes a hub of activity—students work on everything from engineering simple catapults to designing 3D-printed robots. It’s not just about learning concepts; it’s about applying them in creative, tangible ways.

This is how we create doers, thinkers and explorers at Norfolk Collegiate. Will you be our next doer, thinker and explorer?

Innovative Spaces

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Innovation Hub

Our new Innovation Hub is a dynamic space where creativity thrives and ideas are born.

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MakerLabs

Another way Norfolk Collegiate creates doers, thinkers and explores is through our MakerLabs. These dedicated community innovation hubs provide hands-on, innovative learning. The dedicated STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) spaces are located in the lower school, middle school and upper school. Each lab is equipped with age-appropriate items to encourage students to explore their passions while also providing an opportunity for them to work with emerging technologies.

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Theatrical Production

Collegiate's arts program allows students to explore the arts through theater, music and the visual arts. Essential to the arts program is the theatrical production class.

Behind the scenes, our Theatrical Production classes are booming as students bring their imagination to fruition designing play and musical sets. Their vision begins on paper as they collaborate on a set design. It's then brought to life via a 3D model where students tweak their design. Finally, through hammers, saws, paintbrushes and more, they create the final set, whether it's the hallways in "High School Musical" or the streets of "Almost, Maine."

Not all students want to be in the spotlight and many of our Oaks shine on our sound and lighting crew for theater productions. Students learn how to operate the high-tech sound and light equipment in the stunning Hackney Theater in our Meredith Center for the Arts.

After the spring productions have wrapped, students participate in the annual Rube Goldberg competition where teams try to build the most elaborate and successful contraption.

Visual & Performing Arts

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Performing Arts
Collegiate's performing arts is a vital part of the curriculum, providing a foundation for basic music literacy and appreciation beginning in the lower school. Students present musicals, chorial, band and string concerts each year and perform in several off-campus performances.

As students grow and develop through their explorations of the performing arts, so does their knowledge about themselves and the world around them. Students explore the performing arts through the following venues:
- Chorus/Drama
- Band
- Strings
Upper school students further build upon skills learned in the lower and middle school through participation in following courses:
- A Capella
- Band
- Concert Choir
- Jazz Band
- Music Theory I & II
- Strings Ensemble
- Theatrical Production
- Theatrical Performance
Our theater programs helps to develop critical thinking while stimulating creativity. Middle and upper school students produce and run three theater productions each year, including: the fall play, the spring musical and the middle school play, as well as the Evening of the Arts in the spring. Each production is brought to life under the direction of our expert faculty who guide the students on their creative journey.
Visual Arts

In the Middle School
Students are exposed to a variety of artistic styles and methods from around the world. The curriculum builds critical thinking, creative problem solving, and explores multiple viewpoints.

Students will examine the elements of art and principles of design, art criticism and art history while also exploring two- and/or three-dimensional art concentrations.

In the Upper School
Students will go on to explore an array of visual arts offerings, including pottery, painting, photography and digital art. Through visual arts instruction, students learn to value diverse perspectives and cultures, and examine their world and their own experience within it. Our seasoned faculty encourage creative and flexible forms of thinking, experimentation and original point of view.

Students are offered the opportunity to explore their creativity, whether experienced or inexperienced in the arts, as well as pursue advanced classes and delve deeper into specific mediums. By stimulating our student's imagination, art education at Norfolk Collegiate opens up possibilities for innovation, fosters the acceptance of multiple viewpoints, promotes observation and reflection, and engages young minds in envisioning new ideas for tomorrow's world.

Innovative Programs

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Computer Science

At Norfolk Collegiate, it's our mission to provide students the opportunity to pursue robust coursework that combines design, production and critical communication skills. We provide our students the courses that take place within a collaborative, creative, interdisciplinary framework that prepares them to communicate their ideas and opinions in an increasingly complex technological society.

During their formative lower school years, they learn computer skills such as how to keyboard, hold a mouse and coding beginning.

During their middle school years, students will take Computer Science Disovery which will introduce students to computer science through programming graphics, where students learn to draw and animate shapes in the programming language Python, use the design thinking process to create scenes, animations and games, and program a pocket-sized computer. Clubs such as our award-winning LEGO Robotics and Girls Who Code will be offered for students to engage their creativity.

As they advance into their upper school careers, they will have the opportunities to engage into a catalog of Design THinking and Computer classes, such as AP Computer Science Principles which introduces students to the central ideas of computer science, instilling the ideas and practices of computational thinking and inviting students to understand how computing changes the world. The course is organized around seven “Big Ideas”: creativity, abstraction, data and information, algorithms, programming, the Internet, and global impact.

Advanced Placement Computer Science A is a college-level course that has a deeper focus on coding than AP Computer Science Principles and uses the Java programming language. Students learn how to design, implement and analyze programs to solve problems and explore foundational computer science concepts such as abstraction, programming paradigms, and data structures. Throughout the course, students work on a variety of programming projects and assignments, including hands-on coding exercises and problem-solving activities. In addition to learning the technical aspects of computer science, students also gain important skills in critical thinking, problem
solving, and collaboration.

Of course, the list goes on for what we offer students.
EPICS Program

Using Purdue Univeristy's service learning design program, upper school design thinking and engineering students will focus on the principles and applications of engineering through an immersive hands-on class designed around the principles of the design thinking methodology, rapid prototyping, community engagement and creative problem-solving. Through both individual and collaborative team activities, projects and problems, students apply systems thinking and consider various aspects of engineering design including material selection, human-centered design, manufacturability, assemblability and sustainability.

The course focuses on, but is not limited to, computer-aided design, 3D printing, woodworking tools, molding and casting, electronics production and design, CNC milling, robotics, microcontrollers and more.
Design Thinking & Computing

Norfolk Collegiate's Design Thinking and Computing program develops 21st Century thinking, analysis, coding and programming skills for all of our students Pre-K through Grade 12. From MakerLabs in all three divisions and purposeful integration of instructional technology across the curriculum to our rich array of coding and programming courses, technology is an important part of creating thinkers, doers and explorers at Collegiate.

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Robotics

First LEGO League Robotics
Middle school students can participate in the First LEGO League (FLL) Robotics team that meets after school in the robotics room. FLL presents teams with a universal theme which varies each year that they must meet through robot design and a project. They compete at a regional level and if they win, advance to state level and then the national level.

First Tech Challenge Robotics
Upper school students can participate in the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) Robotics team that meets after school in the upper school MakerLab. Teams are challenged to design, build and operate robots to compete in a head-to-head challenge in an alliance format. Teams are paired with mentors to help them experience engineering problem-solving first-hand using a robot that performs Java-based programming. The mentors and students work for months leading up to the competition on building their robot and programming it to complete the challenge.