Visual art specialist, Millcreek Elementary

I like to start off a school year saying, “I promise that you can be a better artist!” I say this boldly because I believe art can be taught. While some children have a natural aptitude, others can receive instruction and see great improvement. Because of these positive experiences, I hope they will become life-long advocates and appreciators of the arts. 

My mission is that each of my students will “Go Beyond Creating” when they produce quality pieces of art, showcase their work and learn to critique. I want them to discover and express themselves as artists using visual art is a language. Likewise, they can understand, appreciate and evaluate the meaning of artwork they view. 

Art content is also cross-curricular, so I make connections to concepts or vocabulary used in other classes. For example, I emphasize the cultures found in social studies or the shapes discussed in mathematics. Our school's stream restoration project gives us inspiration for eco-art.

I also build relationships with students by serving in different capacities. For instance, I lead literacy groups and assist with mathematics lessons. With these strengthened relationships, I am better able to promote the overall learning environment at Millcreek. As our STLP sponsor, (Student Technology Leadership Program), I also can apply creativity with digital art, photography and video production projects.

Art is everywhere we look! It is my privilege to guide students to experience and see it!