Who we are:

§    Teaching Staff representing the chorus, band, & drama departments

§   Parents who have students involved in the DSHS arts program or who want to promote the arts in our community

Our Mission:

The Friends of the Performing Arts is a parent support group for the music and theater programs at Dover-Sherborn High School. This group promotes and supports the music and theater department activities, and encourages student and community participation at these events. Through its fundraising efforts, FOPA provides annual scholarships to students excelling in the music and theater programs; provides recognition to senior students participating in the bands and vocal groups; support and assistance to the annual music and theater productions; and provides a vehicle for parental input to the performance programs.

Who to contact:

Music Department
   Mr. Robert Martel, Band Director
   Ms. Ardys Flavelle, Chorus Director
   Mr. Josh Bridger, a Cappella Director

Drama Department
   Mr. Joseph Catalfano
   Mr. Scott Walker

FOPA President:
  Ms. Nancy Dougherty
 
FOPA Advisor:
  Ms. Wendy Bornstein

Everyone is welcome to
attend our monthly meetings
at 7:30 pm
in the High School Library
at the High School.
Our 2009 - 2010
meeting schedule is:

September 14, 2009
October 13, 2009
November 16, 2009
December 14, 2009
January 11, 2010
February 8, 2010
March 15, 2010
April 12, 2010
May 10, 2010
June 14, 2010

August 31, 2009

Dear Parents and Friends,

Welcome to the 2009-2010 school year! The Friends of the Performing Arts (FOPA) is a group of dedicated parents who believe the arts are a vital part of the high-quality, well-rounded educational experience provided to our children. FOPA supports all of the performing arts at Dover-Sherborn High School including the Concert and Jazz Bands, Chorus, a Cappella, and the Drama and Musical productions with hundreds of hours of volunteer work as well as direct financial support.

Through the drama and music programs, the performing arts at D-S have become an integral part of our curriculum. Plans are underway for many wonderful programs this year including a Jazz Brunch at the Sherborn Inn on October 18, a fall theatre production of The Importance of Being Earnest on November 5-7, a spring musical production on March 4-6, and our winter and spring concert series.

It takes a large financial commitment to make all of these programs happen at D-S and we need your financial support. For example:

• FOPA provides scholarships annually to graduating seniors. In 2009, we provided 14 scholarships to well-deserving seniors as selected by the performing arts faculty.
• FOPA produces and prints the playbills and concert programs for all DSHS performances.
• FOPA funds grants for workshops, equipment, and material requests for the arts.
• FOPA hosts breakfasts and other spirit building events throughout the year to support the performing arts students, including a year-end drama banquet.
• FOPA provides complimentary tickets for our plays to the Dover and Sherborn Councils on Aging. This helps build broader awareness and support within our community for the D-S performing arts programs.

A primary source of funding is through our Annual Fundraising Drive. Please consider the importance of the performing arts at Dover-Sherborn and be as generous as you can. Please be sure to include your email address along with your donation form if you would like to be notified in advance of our upcoming events. Please also post the attached 2009-2010 performing arts calendar on your refrigerator so you don’t miss any of our programs. Thank you for supporting our children in their performing arts endeavors!

Lastly, we invite you to become involved in FOPA. Our meetings are held once a month in the D-S High School library. We look forward to seeing you at several of our events throughout the year.

If you would like to contact us directly, please call Nancy Dougherty at 508-785-2225/nnd58@verizon.net or
Wendy Bornstein at 508-785-1133/
wbornstein@mindspring.com.

Thank you for your support!
Nancy Dougherty, President
Wendy Bornstein, Advisor
Friends of the Performing Arts