News From The Art Studio

"The future belongs to young people with an education and the imagination to create." -President Barack Obama

Welcome back to a brand new year! We begin 2010 playing in the mud! Our clay unit is always a favorite. It gives children an opportunity to think in shape and form as they take a simple lump of mud and create a work of art!

All Hanawalt artists will be working with clay for the next few weeks. Please make sure your child wears ‘art friendly’ clothes on art day. Clay and continual washing tends to dry out little hands. I provide hand lotion for students to use, however, please feel free to send a small container of lotion for your child, especially if they have allergies. Please write your child’s name on the container. They may keep the lotion in the art studio.

All students are learning Visual Thinking Strategies as they analyze and make connections to a number of works of art. VTS enables students to develop aesthetic and language literacy, and critical thinking skills. Students make meaning from the world around them, gaining confidence in their own ideas, while respecting those of others. It involves interacting with art, fostering cognitive growth and boosting academic achievement. Look for more information in newsletters to come.

Fourth grade students will visit the Des Moines Art Center the morning of February 23rd. They will travel by bus, leaving Hanawalt at 9:50 a.m. and returning at approximately 11:10 a.m.. All DMPS fourth grade students are able to experience the permanent collection due to the support of the Des Moines Art Center and DMPS.

Please continue sending your recyclables to the art studio. We love building and creating with a variety of shapes and forms! Please do not send glass items or cans with sharp edges.

If you are in the building, please stop by to see the fabulous pastel snow people in the fine arts hallway! They were created by 2nd and 3rd grade artists!

Thank you for your continual appreciation and support of arts education for our children. It is so rewarding to see their excitement as they discover something they did not previous know, or make a connection to something they did know!

Stay warm! Sincerely, Sally McKenzie