Rachael McCoy Dobring

This is Rachael's third year at St. Francis School. She currently teaches 3^rd, 4^th, and 7^th grade humanities, as well as library. Rachael brings a strong background in theatre to the humanities curriculum. Rachael graduated from Western Kentucky University with a BFA in theatre. From there she went on to study at the Second City Conservatory program and perform at Second City Chicago. She has also worked with Blue Apple Players and Actors Theatre of Louisville. Her love of improvisation and children's theatre  lead her to a career in teaching. She is currently finishing a Masters of Arts in Education at Spalding University and is certified in teaching English to middle and high school students. Rachael looks forward to directing the 4^th grade play again this year, as well as working with upper school students on the fall play. 

Humanities Course Description

The pursuit of identity, beauty, courage, love, truth, justice, and morality is the path of the Humanities program at St. Francis School. Study in the Humanities develops an understanding of the struggles and aspirations as well as the achievements and failures of being human. Examining artistic expression allows us to better understand the intrinsic need to create which defines us. To understand what it means to be alive, one must understand oneself in relation to the global community and in relation to others; to reflect on ideas and respond creatively.

Third Grade

Tricksters! Students are exploring trickster tales from around the globe. We have begun our journey in West Africa with the folktale Anansi. Third graders have defined the term trickster and identified tricksters from our culture. They have learned about the West African culture where Anansi originated. Students have enjoyed using drama skills such as improvisation, staged readings, and masks to re-tell the tale of Anansi and his sons.

Fourth Grade

Students are really enjoying our study of the Cherokee tale "Little Deer and Mother Earth".  Each student had the opportunity to create their own "little deer" story. These stories are currently being compiled and illustrated to create a class book. Each travel group voted on original "little deer" stories to adapt into a play. Those students whose plays were chosen prepared a script to share with our class. Each student is involved in the production in some way, either through acting, costumes, lights/sound, or set design. We will rehearse these plays in class and have an in class performance once our plays are performance ready!

Seventh Grade

Seventh grade are creating one person drama. We have studied plot maps and analyzed various productions to find what makes a successful piece of drama. Students have been brainstorming ideas to create an original one person piece. They are in the writing process now and will have a chance to receive feedback, make revisions, add elements of drama, and perform the final product for the class. I hope to video our performances and post them so they may be viewed. 

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