​Kingsclear Consolidated School is one of four schools in ASD-W to pilot a project involving New Brunswick Global Competencies through the fine arts. 

On Friday, March 1, Grade 4/5 students from Kingsclear Consolidated will present a drama production entitled, the G.C. Squad. The show begins at 6 p.m. in the Tom Morrison Theatre at Fredericton High School. The students have taken the lead to write, edit and produce the 25-minute play in collaboration with Theatre New Brunswick. About 17-18 students from Kingslear Consolidated are involved.

"Our Grade 4/5 class has been very busy working on this project since Christmas break and it will be super exciting to see everyone's hard work pay off," said Rebecca Atkinson, chair of the Parent School Support Committee.

Atkinson noted Kingsclear Consolidated is strong in the arts, winning nine awards at last year's drama festival. 

The G.C. Squad, written, edited and produced by the students, focuses on how to find friendship, develop social skills and self-awareness and also touches on the issue of bullying, Atkinson explained. The cross-curricular project also connects with the areas of literacy, personal wellness and art.

Kingsclear Consolidated was the only elementary school to be invited by the district to participate in the Global Competencies pilot. Central New Brunswick Academy in New Bandon, Leo Hayes High School in Fredericton and Woodstock High School are also conducting their own projects that focus on fine arts with cross-curricular connections. 

The goal is to introduce students to the New Brunswick Global Competencies: collaboration, communication, critical thinking and problem solving, innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship, global citizenship and sustainability, learning to learn, self-awareness and self-direction.

Beth Christie, subject coordinator for social studies, fine arts and enrichment for ASD-W, said achievement of the New Brunswick Global Competencies prepares students to continue to learn and apply their skills and knowledge competently​. These competencies describe expectations not in terms of individual school subjects, but in terms of knowledge, skills and attitudes developed throughout the curriculum. They confirm that students need to make connections and develop abilities across subject boundaries if they are to be ready to meet the shifting and ongoing demands of life, work and study today and in the future.

Atkinson said all students from the four participating schools stand to benefit from "this amazing experience."