ART PROGRAM PROVIDES ENRICHMENT OPPORTUNITIES

October 2002 - The St. Elizabeth art program, led by teacher Jennifer Hayward, truly embodies the school mission of educating the whole child. Students develop their talents in an environment of creativity and respect.

“Art offers the student opportunities for expression other than with words,” says Ms. Hayward. “Often this helps with expressing the ideas that the student is unable to verbalize.”

This fall, students are working on a wide variety of projects, from recreating their neighborhood with construction paper and producing a “family quilt” to completing a still-life in the style of artist Paul Cezanne.

Ms. Hayward works with teachers to integrate art into their lessons, and utilizes the school’s technology resources regularly in her classes.

To further develop their excitement for art, Ms. Hayward provides several enrichment opportunities. Field trips will include the Rose Art Crayon Factory and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. And students will enter a fire safety poster contest and Crayola’s “Design a Tissue Box.”

An art club is open to students in grades five through eight who are serious about working independently on their art, and developing a portfolio.

Ms. Hayward herself is an inspiration to her students on the value of lifelong learning. She will complete her master’s degree in art education at the City College of New York in Harlem next year.