Through funding from the PTA, Perry Harrison students have the opportunity to experience and learn from cultural arts event brought to them throughout each school year.

2019/2020 Cultural Arts Events

Authors Jason Tharp and Justin Dean
Meet & Greets/Book Signings

March 2020

Two more great authors recently paid a visit to Perry Harrison! Kindergarten and 1st grade students met Jason Tharp, author of It's Okay To Be A Unicorn; 2nd and 3rd grade students enjoyed a visit with Justin Dean, author of the Awesome Dog 5000 series. Books from both authors were available to purchase and were signed by the authors at each event.

A special thanks to valued partner McIntyre's Books in Fearrington for bringing authors to PHS and for generously donating a portion of the book sales back to our school!

Check out Jason Tharp's visit with Kindergarten and 1st grade:

And Justin Dean's visit with 2nd and 3rd grade:

Didgeridoo Down Under

February 2020

Perry Harrison 4th and 5th grade students experienced Australia with a performance Didgeridoo Down Under!

The DDU Crew led a great show, featuring music from the indigenous people of Australia along with fun information about Australia and it's native people and animals.

Visit https://www.didgedownunder.com/ to learn more about Didgeridoo Down Under.

Sally’s Ride by The Curious Theatre Collective

January 2020

Students in Kindergarten through 3rd grade enjoyed Sally's Ride, performed by local theater group, The Curious Theatre Collective.

Sally Ride will take audiences on the ride of their life in this dynamic performance about space exploration! Through music, audience participation, and narrative, students will see just how far they can go when following their curiosity and believing in the power of imagination. In addition to learning all about Sally Ride’s life as the first female American astronaut to go to space, audience members will glimpse the past, present, and future of space exploration while meeting Mae Jemison, Valentina Tereshkova, and other important figures.

Visit http://curioustheatrecollective.com/ to learn more about The Curious Theatre Collective.

Ben Guterson, Author of Winterhouse Book Series
Meet & Greet/Book Signing

January 2020

Our 4th and 5th Grade students recently had the chance to meet Winterhouse book series author Ben Guterson at Perry Harrison! A special thank you to McIntyre's Books in Fearrington for coordinating this special event and generously donating 20% of the event's sales back to our school!

Visit https://benguterson.com/ to learn more about the author and this entertaining book series!

Rosemarie Gulla, Author
On the Wings of the Swan

November 2019

We are so happy to welcome back author Rosemarie Gulla to PHS!

Through special grants funded by the PTA, Ms. Gulla returned to school, presenting her own fairy tale, On the Wings of the Swan, to our Kindergarten, first and second grade classes.

The first part of the story is told to the children and the second part of the story is acted out by some of the children. The story ends with a few pieces of the plot left dangling!

Check out these photos from Ms. Gulla's latest visit.

Chatham Arts Council - Artists in Schools

Mike Wiley

October 2019

Nationally known theater artist Mike Wiley was at our school as part of the Chatham Arts Council’s Artists-in-Schools Initiative. The Artists-in-Schools Initiative, in partnership with Chatham County Schools, has been bringing professional artists into Chatham schools to support math, science, language, and history curricula since the 2015–2016 school year. Read more about it here: https://www.chathamartscouncil.org/artists-in-schools/.

Mike Wiley wove literacy and history curriculum into his performance of 'Jackie Robinson: A Game Apart' and classroom workshops for the fifth grade.

2018/2019 Cultural Arts Events

Rags To Riches Theatre Group

November 2018

The Rags to Riches Theatre Group was recently on hand at Perry Harrison, performing Stone Soup for our Kindergarten and First Graders!

This production is an adaptation of the Grimm Folk Tale. On the way to the City School, a young mouse, Scurvy, gets hungry and tries to find some animals to share some food with her. Everyone is greedy and stingy. When she speaks of her magic stone left from the soup she had at the King’s table, everyone suddenly changes their tune! Scurvy convinces the animals in the town that by sharing there is more than enough food for everyone, and they can have fun doing it!

Rosemarie Gulla, Author
On the Wings of the Swan

December 2018

Through funding from the PTA, we are lucky to have Rosemarie Gulla visit our classrooms for her interactive story telling sessions! Ms. Gulla recently presented her own fairy tale, On the Wings of the Swan, to our Kindergarten classes.

Three glass hearts help to underscore the motivations and actions of characters. One heart is red and embodies the hero, the heroine. One heart is green with envy, cold and frosty, and belongs to the villain. One heart represents the cause and effect of having the green hearted character interact with the hero. It is half full and half empty. A once discouraged heart can be encouraged and filled again.

The first part of the story is told to the children and the second part of the story is acted out by some of the children. The story ends with a few pieces of the plot left dangling!

Check out these photos from Ms. Gulla's visit to Kindergarten.

African American Dance Ensemble

February 2019

The African American Dance Ensemble from Durham performed for the 2nd, 4th, and 5th grade classes, sharing phrases from African languages, teaching about African musical instruments, and showcasing traditional African dances. Students and teachers got the chance to participate in the music making and dancing during this fun assembly!

"The African American Dance Ensemble has been the leader of traditional African Dance and Music for over 30 years. With innovative and strong approaches to the service of our community for the benefit of Education, Entertaining, Health Initiatives and Outreach, we continue the legacy of Community through the Performing Arts. The African American Dance Ensemble uses dance and music to bring awareness to the inequities in our community and through our ART, create a positive change."

Visit http://www.aade-inc.org/index.html to learn more about the African American Dance Ensemble.

Billy Jonas Concert

March 2019

Billy Jonas, a "funky folk musician" from Asheville, NC, performed for all grade levels on March 7th.

He began the concert with a song challenging everyone to "put more love in the world today", then he got the students chanting, "Who's gonna make some music? We're gonna make some music!". Billy told the audience, "Everybody's in the band,"! He had the crowd clapping, stomping, and singing along with his beats and creative lyrics. He played his guitar and several percussion instruments he made from recycled materials, and he told a story using his talking drum. It was a fun and lively afternoon of music making at Perry Harrison!

Visit https://www.billyjonas.com/ to learn more about Billy Jonas and the Billy Jonas Band.