S.H.I.N.E
Students Helping In Needy Environments
S.H.I.N.E. is a program designed to educate students about social issues affecting their world while empowering them to use the arts to promote change. S.H.I.N.E. is most closely linked to the Fall and Spring musical. The arts, including musicals, are a reflection of society and the world. Because of this, there are always social issues depicted in each musical, which will be discussed during the semester. An understanding of these issues is important for character development as well as aiding in an overall knowledge of the script. S.H.I.N.E. takes this knowledge and understanding of the social issues and puts it into action.
S.H.I.N.E. is completely student led. Each semester students select a non-profit organization whose philanthropy is reflective of one of the issues depicted in the musical. After the non-profit organization is selected, students develop a project that incorporates their art with the need of the organization.
Spring 2008 S.H.I.N.E. Project
During the Spring production of Seussical, our Production Company students chose to focus on the theme of literacy and the importance of the written word. Their goal was to inspire children to read, through the arts of acting, singing, and dancing while "bringing the story to life".
Students performed at Cleveland Elementary on May 15. Their goal was to emphasize the importance of reading and community service to students, while performing two songs from Seussical and dramatizing a Dr. Seuss book to "kick off" a book drive.
ArtWorks Academy students chose to support the programs of Norman Reads. Books collected from the book drive were taken to Middle Earth Child Development Center, where our students also performed and read.
2008 S.H.I.N.E. Student Coordinators Katie Allison Norman North Sophomore Laree Green (not pictured) Norman North Sophomore S.H.I.N.E. Student Coordinators lead their peers in developing a focus for the community outreach project. They oversee all aspects of the program from start to finish.

Production Company students prepare to kick off the book drive.