Week Fifteen

This week was focused on celebrating the work students have done so far this year. It is amazing to think that in just a few short months, students have completed and published over 1,500 artworks. Some of those works were showcased at The Van Singel Fine Arts Center this month as a part of the district student showcase. 

We had our reception on Monday, which brought out a great crowd. Even better was seeing the growth of student skills through each grade level. This annual show is an awesome demonstration of the work our school does to cultivate creative thinking and encourage the development of artistic skills throughout their educational career. 

It is one of my favorite events because it allows me a chance to meet with parents and students, my colleagues, and former students and offers opportunities to connect these groups together in meaningful ways. The conversations with students as they have gone through our program have been instrumental with the continued development of curriculum. These events help foster that and I am so proud of our students for showcasing their work.

Scholastic Entries

This was also the week students submitted works to The Scholastic Art Awards competition. It was a crazy time getting works screened, finalized, uploaded, forms printed and signed, and payments sent to our regional affiliate. I am so proud of our entries this year and know that we will have some luck thanks to the hard work and dedication of so many towards this process. We entered work in 11 categories this year, ranging from Film and Animation, to Sculpture, to Mixed Media, and more. It will be fun to find out results on January 5th! 

​Here are a few of our entries:

I am also excited for the works I entered with our high school teachers, too. Here is a sneak peek at some of those:

It will be fun to see how students achieve this year. We have a lot to live up to, with our school usually being in the top tier each year and routine national medalists. Even so, students continue to amaze at the lengths they will go to push themselves to try new ideas, experience with media in new ways, and grow into artists in their own right. 

I could not think of a better way to spring into the last week of school before break, nor a better way to start out 2018 with finding out the results! 

​Good luck to all who participated this year!