“If you are looking to find something to be brave about consider the fine arts.”
- Robert Frost, poet

The Arts Complex is the home and heart of the St. Francis arts community and visually illustrates the school’s philosophy and commitment to the arts. An integral part of the school curriculum and community, St. Francis art students develop their interests with beginning through advanced classes in music, theatre, dance and visual arts. In 2006-2007 performance students received special and statewide recognition at regional theatre and music festivals, visual artists took high honors at county and state competitions and St. Francis dancers performed in concert, special events, competitions and liturgies. St. Francis arts classes prepare students for further arts exploration in college with St. Francis graduates enrolled in a variety of arts programs at the following schools: UC Irvine, UC Davis, New York University Tisch School of the Arts, Boston University College of Fine Arts, Pacific, Loyola Marymount, UCLA, CSU Sacramento, San Diego State, Cal Poly, Emerson College and Cal State Fullerton.

Facts about the Arts Program

• Data from the College Board shows that students who take four years of arts and music classes while in high school scored 103 points better on their 2006 SAT exams than students who took only one-half year or less. Students with four years of art and music classes averaged 533 on the Writing portion of the test - 61 points higher than students with one-half year or less of arts/music classes (source: The College Board SAT, 2006. 2006 College-Bound Seniors: Total Group Profile Report.).

• Students enrolled in St. Francis arts courses Fall 2007
  

Visual Arts	303
Theatre	169
Music Vocal and Instrumental	155
AP Studio Art	16
AP Art History	15
AP Music Theory	10
Dance	51
Yearbook	19

• There is an arts concert, event, play or art exhibition every month during the school year.
• In May, St. Francis arts students have a celebration dinner sponsored by the Patrons of the Arts. Special awards and scholarships are announced and presented.
• UC Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) entrance requirements:
  Students must satisfy the VPA requirement by completing an appropriate single course in a yearlong sequence (i.e., the second semester must be the continuation of the first semester). If scheduling challenges demand, students may divide the yearlong course in two different academic years, as long as the course curriculum is designed as a yearlong sequence and approved as such by the University. For example, Sculpture 1 & 2, Theater Arts 1 (two semesters).

Arts Courses
For more information about Fine Arts course offerings, visit the Course Catalog.

Visual Arts	Dance Arts
Art 1	The Apprentice Dance Company*
Drawing 1	Intermediate Dance Technique
Drawing 2	St. Francis Performance Dance Company*
Painting 1
Painting 2	Musical Arts
Figure Sculpture 1	The Troubadour Choir
Figure Sculpture 2	Concert Choir*
AP Studio Art*	Chamber Singers*
AP Art History*	Intermediate Orchestra*
	Chamber Orchestra*
Dramatic Arts	Solo & Ensembles*
Acting 1: Theory and Techniques	AP Music Theory*
SF Players/Advanced Theatre Arts	Jazz Ensemble*
Theater Arts 1*
	Applied Arts
	The Canticle (Yearbook)*
* Year long class

For more information, click here to visit The Arts section of our website.

Department Chair:
Cheryl Eisenstein
916.452.3461, ext. 127
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