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Art

Its time for the Annual Art Showcase! Visit http://www.wasatchpta.com/  for more information!

Julie Lewis makes many wonderful art projects for the students throughout the year.

The Arts at Wasatch Our Vision

One of the most defining elements of Wasatch Elementary School is our focus on Fine Arts. With arts as an interdisciplinary partner with other subjects taught in school, ours is an ideal climate for learning. Our focus on the arts allows us a sense of connection that joins the school population of all ages, their teachers (who either make art themselves or are avid consumers), the professional artists from the community who serve as specialists in our school, and the broader realm of cultural arts support as reflected in our institutions and performances our student attend on field trips.

Connections abound within and beyond our school walls for all subjects studied throughout the year. Within the context of a closely connected arts community, there is a respect for and appreciation of our uniqueness and our differences. Many families chose to attend Wasatch for our strong arts emphasis, and our respect for everybody who wants to be here is reflected in all that we are and hope to be.

Throughout the work that we do with our children, two elements are evident in school:

  • One is the process of creating the art and the other is the reflection. The doing (process) is mutually tied to the thinking (reflection). Finally, there is the redoing (refining) that comes from the reflection that restarts these interactions again.
  • Our teachers often think of our school as a work in progress. That is, our effectiveness lies not just in our vision and goals, but perhaps more importantly, in our dedication and determination to the process over time. As one of our children so wisely said, "It's OK to make mistakes in this school because of the art we do." A teacher was overheard to say, "It's like having a long, delicious conversation that goes on indefinitely."

Reflection allows us to get involved in projects that are genuinely under development and new with each year rather than doing something because we do it every year at a certain time. Teachers and students are engaged in authentically shared study of a topic. As you visit our classrooms, you may notice teachers who pay keen attention to details, encourage quality listening to members of the class community, framing open-ended questions that have no right or wrong answers, and thinking skills that are deeper and more complex than 'drill and kill.'

Exhibits and performances of student work often associated with the product of our efforts, can also serve to document our learning. Our students love to perform and the real challenge is to keep their focus on what they are learning. Opportunities such as our Town Meetings, serve as a vehicle to monthly grade level presentations that relate an art form (drama, dance, visual or music) to an area of that grade level's curriculum. The key ingredients for providing a captivating climate for a strong arts school are the twin resources of time and additional donated funds.

Teachers have much to cover in every hour of the day. Ours is a school committed to allowing time to reflect and incorporate arts into most all cultural and academic endeavors. While this seems a luxury that few schools feel they can afford in our current educational climate, we are passionate about exploring learning across areas that have meaning for individual children as well as entire classrooms. As artists on the stage of education, we are continually using our imaginations to serve as our window to the arts.