Meet Dott! Like the Polkadot! And her talking dog Dusty, like the dust! Their mission is to foster the voice and imagination of the next generation. Dusty & Dott are committed to creating an environment that is welcoming and supportive of all identities. Through storytelling and the magic of puppetry, Dusty & Dott celebrate curiosity and encourage the values of creative play.

Inspiring author visits, storytelling "concerts" and writing workshops for all grade levels. Awesome Educational Fun! Mark Binder is the author of more than two-dozen books and audiobook, including "The Bed Time Story Book," "Cinderella Spinderella," "It Ate My Sister" and many more. He is an Audie Audiobook Award Nominee, and a Parents' Choice Gold Award Winner. A graduate of Columbia University, he holds an MA in Theater and English. As a storyteller, he has more than 25 years experience in schools around the world. He has taught writing to students in colleges, high schools, middle and elementary schools.

Since 2003, Sheryl Faye has masterfully brought to life important historical women to both adults and children around the world. In her one-woman shows, she immerses the audience in a multimedia learning experience that captivates viewers and sparks their interest to explore more. These shows are available in two different versions, one for adult audiences and one for children which are perfect for school Enrichment Programs and any other historical-themed events, bringing history alive for adults and children alike.

My offerings include: - Hands-on visual arts workshops tailored to grade levels, focusing on foundational skills in drawing, painting, mixed media, composition, and creative problem-solving. - Project-based residencies that engage students in artmaking, collaborative mural design, and comprehensive documentation from concept to completion. - Arts integration modules aligned with New York State Learning Standards to enhance classroom instruction and foster deeper engagement. - Professional development for educators on arts integration strategies and creative process facilitation to strengthen their capacity for maintaining arts-rich learning environments. - Flexible delivery formats, including in-class workshops, multi-session residencies, assemblies, and virtual sessions. My approach promotes student expression, creative confidence, and cultural awareness by connecting studio practice with academic inquiry. I am committed to equitable access to arts education and assisting schools in enriching their curricula through meaningful, student-centered artistic experiences.

District Membership SUPPORT THE VISUAL ARTS IN YOUR SCHOOL NYSATA offers a wide array of opportunities for students. Included are numerous exhibits at the local, state, and national level; student scholarship opportunities; the Olympics of the Visual Arts Competition; and the Portfolio Project Assessment, to name a few. All new this year, the District Membership Program gives students access to all these great programs without the need for individual teachers to also become members.* District Membership Benefits Include: Access to all student programs and opportunities, including: The NYSATA Portfolio Project* The Olympics of the Visual Arts* The NYSATA Legislative Student Exhibit* The NYSATA/School Boards Association Student Exhibit* Student Scholarships Opportunities: The Zara B. Kimmey, Bill Millikin, and Goldberg/Snow 20% discount on registration fees for the NYSATA/School Boards Association Exhibit and Legislative Exhibit Ready to share and print Award/Recognition certificates for outstanding visual art students (one certificate per school building) Access to members-only resources on the NYSATA website www.nysata.org Regular E-News information and advocacy alerts Subscription for each art teacher in your school or district to quarterly NYSATA News digital and print editions Member rates on all art teacher registrations for our annual conference, regional institutes and workshops, the Summer Institute at Sagamore, and other professional development opportunities Full benefits of membership for every art teacher in your school or district Getting your teachers connected to a learning community and INVOLVED (priceless!) *Additional registration fees apply for certain programs and exhibits. Questions? Please contact us at districtmembership@nysata.org.

I teach Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Lightroom. Students learn the basics of Photoshop using layers and layer masks and the new Generative toolbar. They will also learn how to composite two or more images into one and how to enhance photographs. I am a professional wedding and portrait photographer with 30 years of experience in photography and over 25 years in Adobe software. My three day photography program is geared towards high-school students and will focus on photo-based image making for story telling, communication, creative expression, personal exploration and digital output. The three-day Adobe Photoshop program teaches how to use Photoshop to enhance images, composite images using layer masks and much more. Students will learn the Photoshop interface which includes: Document window, Menu bar, basic tool bar, the new Generative AI toolbar, Options bar and Panels. In this program, I walk students through building a composite image using different images and text. Then they will learn how they can enhance their own images using adjustment layers and other techniques.

We are offering three different shows to bring to students that are friendly for the whole family! PACKRAT: Set deep in the Sagebrush Desert, PACKRAT is a visually stunning puppet-forward play that contemplates humanity’s relationship with the natural world. Puppetry, projections and an original score elegantly come together to create many layers of meaning and emotions. At the center of the action is Bud, a peculiar rodent with a penchant for hoarding humankind’s goods. When a discarded cigar sparks a wild fire, the animals in Bud’s valley flee for their lives. Already an outcast among the desert animals for his hoarding instincts, he gets blamed for the human-made disasters infiltrating their lives. When they ban him from the community, Bud must set out alone amidst a raging fire, to confront human-made dangers and a few natural ones. PACKRAT is a poignant account of Bud’s journey to find his place in the world, and his ultimate realization that the interconnectedness of life rules the day. GEPPETTO: EXTRAORDINARY EXTREMITIES is a tale of resilience and adaptation that tells the story of puppet-maker Geppetto, who is attempting to perform — all by himself for the first time ever — the grand mythical love story of Perseus, who slays a sea monster to save his beloved Andromeda. During the show things begin to go haywire, and Geppetto finds himself desperately improvising to overcome the challenges of performing solo while at the same time scrambling to devise new story lines, new characters, and even new limbs. GEPPETTO was inspired by a NPR story on Hugh Herr, whose legs were amputated after a climbing accident and who now designs technologically advanced artificial limbs. GEPPETTO opened Off-Broadway 2014 at SoHo Playhouse, has had a 7-City Northern Italy Tour, performances in Italian and a Costa Rica Tour, performances in Spanish. GEPPETTO has toured extensively in USA. 2017, GEPPETTO toured South Korea and 2018: Canal Café Theatre, London; SUNY Orange, Newburgh; NYS Puppetry Festival, Perry. ERNIE'S SECRET LIFE is an episodic odyssey, fusing ever-changing puppetry and stagecraft with humor, music, and a raw understanding of our profound collective reality. Sparked by the isolation and turmoil of our time, ERNIE'S SECRET LIFE is a story of discovery for all. A man fearing something has happened to his son, builds a canoe and secretly sets off to find him. What he finds instead – is himself. Powered by a wondrous landscape-in-motion, the play is about escaping and then finding your way… a celebration of how we become who we want to be. Concrete Temple Theatre offers a variety of workshops to accompany our performances. Subjects covered can include performance skills, theatrical adaptation, puppet construction, and storytelling. The work students create will play as a prelude to our performances. Workshops can be tailored to your needs, ranging from an hour-long exploration to a week long intensive. Please inquire to specify desired content, length and price.

Captain Bill's Seneca Lake Cruises has developed two field trip cruise opportunities highlighting local history, and geography, in an attempt to create a sense of place for students grades K through 7. This cruise is in the GST BOCES exploratory enrichment coser #426. K through 4th grade is a 50 minute cruise at a rate of $15 per student for 2025. Grades 5 through 7 is a more in depth look at geology, history and the ecology of our area This is a 90 minute cruise at a rate of $23 per student fir 2025.

I am an award-winning children's bool author, poet and photographer with over 45 books. With so many books I discuss how I achieved success by cultivating the Mind, Body and Spirit. In this inspiring and fun group presentation, I discuss my books, my life, my inspiration and how students can achieve success. Since many of my books are in verse, I offer poetry and creative writing workshops. As a photographer I also offer photo workshops.

John McPherson is the creator of the very popular cartoon panel Close To Home, which appears in over 700 newspapers worldwide, among them the Washington Post, The Miami Herald and the Houston Chronicle. He has published 27 book collections of his work, a line of greeting cards with Recycled Greetings, and is also a nationally known speaker on humor, stress and creativity as well as life as a syndicated cartoonist. His presentations are very funny, engaging, and informative. When speaking to school children his presentations can range from showing kids how to draw cartoons (focusing on the emotions of the characters, perspective, shading, etc) to telling his story of how he became a cartoonist, what life as a cartoonist is like, how books become published, what makes a cartoon funny, how cartoons are animated and turned into TV shows and many other aspects of cartooning. He is comfortable working with children of all ages and is sure to get them laughing and creating their own cartoons.

I offer four topics for my School Assembly Programs. Below are details about my Reading, Dental Hygiene, Ocean Sciences and Social Awareness Programs. 1. Sugar Bug Showdown: Elementary schools that engage my services for the ‘Sugar Bug Showdown‘ performance consistently request my return every third year to do it again. They want to be sure each child in kindergarten through 3rd grade gets the benefit of this unforgettable lesson in good dental hygiene. Your students will learn the right way to brush their teeth (even adults get it wrong!), why dental hygiene is so important, and much more. Dental Hygienists can give the facts, but nobody will motivate or help them remember those facts like Pipsqueak! To ramp up the fun, we demonstrate flossing using kids dressed as teeth. Another segment features caped cavity-defenders in an epic battle against sugar bugs. Here are some additional highlights: How much toothpaste to use How often to brush and proper techniques How cavities & plaque form How “sugar bugs” hurt your teeth Why a healthy diet matters 2. Reading is an Adventure: This program is perfect for PARP (Pick A Reading Partner) or Read Across America incentives. Specific children’s books are referenced & highlighted. My job with this show is to get your students excited about reading. I periodically change the lineup, but the main messages are: Curiosity fuels invention Reading is an adventure Readers are leaders 3. Kindness Quest: This program fits Respect Week and Character Education incentives like a glove! The following key themes are woven throughout: Friendship Kindness Respect Appreciating differences Sharing 4. Waves of Fun: Oceans of Possibilities is a STEM school assembly that sparks an interest in learning about ocean sciences. Students in kindergarten through fifth grade will be motivated to learn about the amazing things that can be found in the ocean. The program is curated to add more advancing educational content at upper grade levels with marine biology, geology, and ecology professions showcased for the 5th grade. We’ll even use your own school library books in the magic performance! Laugh your way through the “silliest, goofiest, wackiest treasure hunt in the world!” Meet a very intelligent seal who does tricks. Of course, Vern (the bird) will make an appearance. This program is unique and so much fun! It is designed for students K-5th grade.

I am a multi-brass-woodwind-instrumentalist, with a lifetime of road experience traveling the world teaching/playing. I love to share any and all of my knowledge with any one who wants to learn and have fun.