Wren Avenue students display their jazz-themed art at Brenden Theatre

By Jay Bedecarré 5 years ago
Wren Avenue students display their jazz-themed art at Brenden Theatre
Students from Wren Avenue Elementary School took on a project to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Concord Jazz Festival through their art. Many of their efforts will be on display at the Brenden Theatre in Concord through the month of September. School officials were on hand to preview some of the works. From left, office manager Kimber Trombley, new principal Celeste Graybill, former principal Aline Lee and first grade teacher Beth Bremer. The large canvas art was done by Joanne Alderete’s second graders last spring. (Jay Bedecarré photo)

Click here for the Wren Avenue School Photo Gallery

Performances commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Concord Jazz Festival this summer have wrapped up, but the legacy of the event is still alive. The Brenden Theatre in Concord will be displaying jazz-themed art from students at Wren Avenue School of the Arts through the end of September.

Wren Avenue’s kindergarten through fifth grade students were treated to a special assembly during the spring when Matt Zebley’s Quartet performed and former schoolteacher and jazz ambassador Ellen Findlay Herdegen displayed and discussed a variety of jazz posters and photos.

The assembly was used to inspire the students as they embarked on a school-wide project to create their own pieces of art on paper and canvas. Visit Concord coordinated with the Brenden to find a public space to display the student artwork in the final phase of the summer-long Jazz Festival anniversary celebration.

Wren Avenue is one of three Mt. Diablo Unified School District magnet elementary schools. Wren focuses on the visual and performing arts. Holbrook is the language academy and Sun Terrace is the STEM magnet. The three schools converted to magnet academies when Holbrook re-opened in August 2017.

7 MDUSD district election forums upcoming Aug. 21-29

MDUSD has invited families, students, community and business leaders and other stakeholders to attend one of seven community input forums spread over three days this month to review and provide feedback on draft maps for future by-trustee area elections.

The district will be organized into five individual trustee areas in time for the 2020 election when the board seats of Joanne Durkee and Brian Lawrence are up for election. Trustees have always been elected by voters of the entire district.

In the new process, trustees will be elected by the voters living within the trustee’s respective area. Input gathered from the public during these forums will help determine the criteria used by a demographer in drafting the new trustee area maps.

The city of Concord went through this process prior to November 2018 city council elections.
The workshops are:

Wed., Aug. 21
Loma Vista Adult School,
12 noon – 1 p.m.
Willow Creek Center, 5-6 p.m.
Pleasant Hill Middle School, 6:30-7:30 p.m.

Thursday, Aug. 22
Pine Hollow Middle School,
5-6 p.m.
Foothill Middle School,
6:30-7:30 p.m.

Thursday, Aug. 29
MDUSD District Office,
5-6 p.m.
Riverview Middle School, 6:30-7:30 p.m.

Following the forums, draft maps will be posted on the District website by Sept. 16. A public hearing will be held at the Board of Education’s regular meeting on Monday, Sept. 23, to review the maps.

Local college grads

Juliana Canevascini of Clayton graduated from Marquette University in Milwaukee after the Spring term. Canevascini earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science.

Clayton’s Kelsie McNiff received her Bachelor of Science in nursing as a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Gonzaga University in a commencement ceremony in Spokane’s Veterans’ Memorial Arena.

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