The Art Connection

1st Graders enjoyed making "Pumpkin Pie" a foil covered paper plate, with orange construction paper with their little hand prints in pumpkin pie spice and thankful puffs of "whip cream."

2nd Graders "stuffed" a brown lunch bag turkey and applied thankful feathers.

3rd Graders finished up their leaf print project by cutting and gluing their prints on another sheet of paper.

4th Grade will be putting the finishing touches on their paper mache pumpkins.

5th and 6th Grade have been working on a "Celebrate the Arts" greeting card competition hosted by the Beverly Art Center, their works will be submitted next Monday. GOOD LUCK!!!!!

7th Grade had an art history lesson on Claude Monet and are continuing to work on their landscape paintings. The students were challenged to pick their own scene and the materials they wanted to work with.

8th Graders are continuing on their memory project with some very interesting results.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING. I thank God each day for the gift of your sons and daughters that you entrust to those of us who teach at St. Linus. I love my job and beg God to help me be the best teacher I can be. With art I see the creativity within every student, my biggest task is to inspire the students to explore the God given talent I know is present and get them to utilize it.
I hope you enjoy the time off at Thanksgiving with your children and celebrate all that God bestows on us, family, friends and the delicious food that brings us together at this time of year.

We are working on a project dealing with memories. Students must bring in what they will be using for the project: photos, magazine pictures, trinkets etc. Each student will do their own unique memory project specific to them, therefore they will decide what to bring in to use in the project.

Grades 1 and 2: October was the month of the rosary and we used it making rosaries and booklets entitled "How to Recite the Holy Rosary". Hopefully the students have brought them home. November is the month we remember our deceased loved ones and the poor souls in purgatory. This would be a great time to gather your family and use the handmade rosary. Pray a family rosary together and offer it for those who have died.

Grade 3: The students finished a brown paper bag pumpkin. They really enjoyed this project. We have begun a leaf printing and collage project which should come home Thanksgiving week.

Grade 4: We have been working on paper mache pumpkins. Paper mache is completed after several layers are applied. We hope to have the pumpkin completed and ready for painting by next week. Hopefully they will come home in time for Thanksgiving decorating.

Grade 5 & 6: We are working on a greeting card design that will be entered into a Beverly Art Center competition. Good Luck Students!

Grade 7: Has started an Art History lesson on Claude Monet and the Impressionist style. Students will begin their own landscape painting next week.

Grade 8: Has started a long range project on memories. Please check blog regarding homework.

Happy Halloween
Report Cards were issued today. All 4th-8th graders went home with an art critique or portfolio of their work for this quarter. If you have any questions regarding your child’s art grade please review their work with my comments on them. Hope everyone has a safe and happy Halloween.

We are trying to use cover-ups as much as possible. If your child comes home with paint on their clothes, I have asked them to tell you right away. On uniform pants, jumpers or skirts any pre-treat-"Shout" etc. sprayed on clothes will help and will keep it from setting if you do not wash the article right away. White uniform shirts with a diluted bleach and water formula sprayed on as a pre-treatment should remove any color. If you do this right away even if you do not wash the article right away it should come out.

October is Respect Life Month and traditionally the month of the Rosary. 1st and 2nd Graders will be making and learning how to pray on their own rosaries. 3rd grade is working on a cross curriculum with science, the life cycle for insects-watch for some creepy crawly-beetle and spider art to come home just in time for Halloween decorating. 4th grade will be finishing their landscape watercolor painting.5th-8th grade have completed a drawing exercise, a color wheel and are now learning watercolor techniques with a wax resist landscape painting.

This week end is the Grand Opening of the Cardiff Center. Parishoners will be able to view the completed center and then walk through the school to see the new gym floor. Outside the Art Studio (Room 5) is our fall art installation. On one side is a fall scene with trees and leaves done by the 5th and 6th graders, the 3rd graders made the beautiful butterflies fluttering around.
On the other side is the 4th graders rendition of the sky in the style of Matisse. Lining both sides is the field of sunflowers made by the 1st and 2nd graders.

Grade 3 is beginning a lesson on the color wheel. Next week (9/22-26) grades 2 will begin and grade 3 will continue the color wheel lesson with an edible art project. Students will learn that red and yellow make orange, blue and yellow make green and blue and red make purple by mixing colored frosting, placing it on Nilla Wafers and eating it. A note went home in Wednesday, September 17, brown envelope, if you do not want your child to participate in this edible lesson, please send a note to school. We will be using, McCormick liquid food color, Nabisco Nilla Wafers and Jewel canned frosting.

Grades 7 and 8 did a combined project in Discovery and Art. The Discovery class dealt with the events that occured on September 11, 2001, since these students were Kindergarten and 1st graders it was interesting to hear what they remember and what their perception of that day means to them now. In art we discussed the meaning of different colors. The students were taught how to make a perfect 5 point star from folded paper and 1 cut with scissors. Finally the students constructed paper flags and described what the colors they had chosen meant in relation to September 11th. The Flags are on display outside the Media Center (Library) and willl remain through the end of September.

I am getting to know the students. They are all polite and say hello to me in the halls and I am trying to remember all their names. The first week of school I had each student make a name plate. I asked them what was their favorite way to work in class, drawing, painting and working with clay top the list. I asked who their favorite artist was and was surprised to see how many said mom or dad. I shouldn't be surprised because many of the students show real creativity.
As much as possible their artwork will be displayed outside the "art studio" (Room 5). I hope you have an opportunity to view your childs work.