Elgin ISD Fine Arts Newsletter

There are no words to adequately summarize an entire school year’s worth of rehearsal hours, concentration, dance steps, practice time on an instrument, singing, acting, sculpting, painting, drawing, and creating! Our Elgin ISD students are incredibly creative, talented, and passionate about their art. Led by the outstanding teachers of the Fine Arts Department, our students thrived this year in every way. From the classroom to the stage, from competitions to community performances and exhibitions, our students represented Elgin ISD with excellence, heart, discipline, and pride.

The accomplishments and classroom activities highlighted throughout this newsletter are a reflection not only of remarkable talent, but also of perseverance, collaboration, creativity, and the countless hours of dedication invested by both students and staff. We could not be more proud of all the student growth that has been achieved this year, and we celebrate the powerful impact Fine Arts continues to have on our students, schools, and community.

Thank you for all your support and love throughout the 2025-2026 school year!

The Purple Diamonds rounded out a stellar year with their show Rise 2026 “Countdown”. The show included dances from their award winning contest repertoire, along with new pieces choreographed by the Directors and Line Officers as well as special guest performers from Elgin Middle School and the Mini Diamonds.This show was a wonderful celebration of the Diamonds hard, success and the positive impact of dance across the community.

As usual, the EHS C.A.M.P Department is staying extremely busy. We also have many recent happenings to celebrate! In March, the EHS Varsity & Mixed Choirs attended our UIL Concert/Sight Reading Evaluation at Pflugerville HS. We got solid Excellent & Superior ratings for both choirs, both for Sight-reading & Concert.

Upcoming Event: Texas State Solo & Ensemble on May 23rd

This Spring the theater department worked hard preparing for our one act play competition. We competed on March 14th at Pflugerville High school, against 6 other high schools in our district. We performed William Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” adapted for the stage by Cecil Picket.

The students left it all on the stage, and came home as “Alternate Cast” in District! A first for EHS Theater! Mr. Wilson and I are both beyond proud of our cast and crew!

I can’t think of a better way to end our season of shows!

Our EHS Artists and teachers have created AMAZING pieces this semester. Please click on this link to see the most recent EHS Visual Arts Newsletter!

Congratulations to the EHS Wind Ensemble on an outstanding performance today, earning a Superior rating from all six judges for both their stage performance and sightreading! This remarkable achievement reflects the exceptional dedication, preparation, and musical excellence demonstrated by these students.

Congratulations as well to the EHS Symphonic Band for earning an Excellent rating for both their stage performance and sightreading. Their hard work, commitment, and pride in their performance were clearly evident.

We are incredibly proud of the effort, discipline, and musicianship displayed by all of our students. Thank you for representing Elgin High School with such excellence and pride.

Congratulations to all!!!

In addition, on Tuesday, May 19th, we will hold a mandatory informational meeting regarding the 2026 marching band season. The meeting will take place in the EHS Auditorium from 6:30–7:30 PM. We ask that both the student and at least one parent/guardian attend.

During this meeting, we will review important information for the upcoming season, including band fees, the marching band calendar, expectations, band camp, and other essential details.

Thank you for your time and support. Take care, and GO WILDCATS!!!

The EMS Dance Department performed in the Purple Diamond’s end of year show, Rise. Dancers performed a variety of dance styles including, pom, jazz, and hip hop. Dance students had been working very hard to prepare for their final performance and the results they achieved were outstanding. The majority of Dance students begin the year with no previous dance experience and by the end of the academic year have multiple performances under their belts along with the knowledge of a variety of dance styles and technical elements. Mrs. David is extremely proud of all that her students have accomplished this year.

Spring has been a busy season in Mrs. Kirschner's art room. We learned about Georgia O’Keeffe’s skull artwork and Mary Blair’s castles for Women’s history month. We stopped and made bunnies for the arrival of spring! Then we explored the world of Medieval art and created shields with our personal crests. We are wrapping up our year with sculpture. We have made kinetic mobiles like Alexander Calder and this week will complete relief sculpture like Greek art. The school year will end with a landscape drawing and some fun art games! Have a wonderful summer!

This Spring Ms. Galvan’s class created 3D Rabbit or Animal Portraits from recycled materials and wrote a story to go along with it. Students also learned about the traditional Ukrainian Easter eggs decorated using a wax-resist (batik) method and created their own with a symmetrical design. Students then learned about the artist Georgia O’Keeffe and then created Cow Skull blanket art inspired by O’Keeffe’s southwestern style and even added yarn fringe for a realistic touch. Students moved on to learning about the artist Walt Disney and Mary Blair and drew Disney characters and created whimsical Ice Castles.

March and April have been a whirlwind in Art 1 with Ms. Core. Students learned about cardboard building techniques, making wire armatures, and building with paper mache. They were then able to plan and design their own choice sculptures out of recyclable and reusable materials found in the art room. Please check out the video here of the process and of the student’s completed work: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/mWbPGvh8U-o . Projects will be on display in the EMS library until May 12th. Since finishing the building projects students have practiced gestural figure drawings, created optical illusions, and are now learning all the ways to use watercolors and specific techniques in order to hone their painting skills.

Outside of class two students were able to deliver their HEB building to Elgin’s HEB, meet with all the managers, answer questions about their process and put it on display. Have you seen it yet?! Also, Ms. Core’s classes had 13 students participate in the local Pearls of Youth Art Competition and then 11 students participate in Jr. Vase through the Texas Art Education Association’s regional competition. Of the 11 competing in Jr. Vase, 9 students scored with top marks and medaled and one student earned an additional platinum medal. Hard work is definitely paying off. We plan to keep creating as the end of the year approaches. Up next, landscape watercolors and building with clay!

This spring has been so busy for Elgin Intermediate Theatre! Theatre students have been playing team building games and having a blast doing it. We were invited to perform at the Wildcat Showcase this year, presenting the fractured fairy tale Cinder…really? The True Story of Cinderella. We had a great time performing this fast and fun play! All theatre students will have an opportunity to present on Thursday May 14th, 2026 at 6pm in the EIS Gym for family, friends and the community as well as a special presentation for the students! This has been an amazing year, full of growth for this program and we can’t wait until next year!

As the year winds down, our Elgin Elementary Wildcats are preparing for our final sprint to the finish line. Our Kindergarteners have spent the last two months preparing for graduation night. We plan on singing two songs (I’m On My Way and De Clores) at the graduation ceremony. To spice things up, each student built their own custom-made toilet paper roll kazoo. We plan to break out in an improvisational section for the finale.

A mixed choir of second through fifth graders prepared for the 2026 Spring Fest Performance which took place at the Elgin ISD Auditorium on May 4th. We had a fantastic performance of ‘Count On Me’ by Bruno Mars, ‘Como La Flor’ by Selena and a district wide collaboration of ‘The Orchestra Song’.