Fostering Young Artists - Harrisburg Academy
- Fostering Young Artists:
In Junior Kindergarten, our Artist of the Week lessons are some of the most enjoyable that we cover with our students. And last week, we were reminded about the importance of these lessons, and art curriculum in general, as students travel through Early Childhood (EC) and into Lower School (LS). As we were excitedly preparing our upcoming Artist of the Week projects on Andy Warhol and Ansel Adams, and disassembling our Matisse and Klee projects, we had a visit from Lucille Oberman - an amazing woman (and retired teacher) who volunteers her time with our EC/LS students. While we were finishing up, she sat down and very enthusiastically expressed that she had just come from talking with the 3rd grade students and had exciting news from their discussion.
In her hands, she had a stack of art work, which she had procured from a local library. Her lesson for the day was sharing these pieces of art with the 3rd graders. As she went through the pieces, she was amazed by how well the students recalled the artists and their famous pieces of work. They remembered stories of the artists they researched (with us!) in Junior Kindergarten. She could barely contain her excitement at what these 3rd graders remembered from what they learned five years ago.
This was definitely one of those "proud teacher moments" for us. We know that we do play a role in the long-term achievements of these life-long learners. As a JK team with Gretchen Qualls and Debbie Addams, we can only hope that we are building strong, confident, and respectful students that are prepared for not only their next academic year in Kindergarten, but for all their future years of learning. Our goal is to send them off to into the world where they will become great writers, painters, doctors whatever they chose, but always our hope is that they enjoyed their time in Junior Kindergarten and they leave us with meaningful moments to carry with them. A big thank you to Mrs. Oberman for reminding us just how important those early years are.
- A Blueprint for the Academy's Future:
In creating the model for our strategic planning, the administration made a few key decisions. First, we endeavored to engage our entire school community in the process. This approach allows all Academy community stakeholders, as well as friends of the Academy, to provide feedback. We also decided to shorten the strategic planning timeline from five years to just three. This allows the Academy to more quickly adapt and react to the rapidly changing educational world in which we function.
At the core of the strategic planning process is our Planning Committee, made up of trustees, parents, faculty, and administrators. This group attends each of the strategic planning meetings and engages in the many group conversations that generate a whole host of innovative ideas and suggestions.
Our first few strategic planning meetings have resulted in thought-provoking conversations and creative ideas. Each week the dynamics are different, as new parents and community members join the discussion. By using one broad question each week, the meetings become our own Academy "think tank," as multiple groups wrestle with the same question but come up with radically different feedback. The five guiding questions used in our strategic planning model are as follows:
How do we achieve the long term enrollment goals at the Academy?
What internal improvements and partnerships with other organizations (including global ones) can be made to the academic, extracurricular, and co-curricular programs to provide an experience of excellence for our students?
For more information, please visit our website.
In Junior Kindergarten, our Artist of the Week lessons are some of the most enjoyable that we cover with our students. And last week, we were reminded about the importance of these lessons, and art curriculum in general, as students travel through Early Childhood (EC) and into Lower School (LS). As we were excitedly preparing our upcoming Artist of the Week projects on Andy Warhol and Ansel Adams, and disassembling our Matisse and Klee projects, we had a visit from Lucille Oberman - an amazing woman (and retired teacher) who volunteers her time with our EC/LS students. While we were finishing up, she sat down and very enthusiastically expressed that she had just come from talking with the 3rd grade students and had exciting news from their discussion.
In her hands, she had a stack of art work, which she had procured from a local library. Her lesson for the day was sharing these pieces of art with the 3rd graders. As she went through the pieces, she was amazed by how well the students recalled the artists and their famous pieces of work. They remembered stories of the artists they researched (with us!) in Junior Kindergarten. She could barely contain her excitement at what these 3rd graders remembered from what they learned five years ago.
This was definitely one of those "proud teacher moments" for us. We know that we do play a role in the long-term achievements of these life-long learners. As a JK team with Gretchen Qualls and Debbie Addams, we can only hope that we are building strong, confident, and respectful students that are prepared for not only their next academic year in Kindergarten, but for all their future years of learning. Our goal is to send them off to into the world where they will become great writers, painters, doctors whatever they chose, but always our hope is that they enjoyed their time in Junior Kindergarten and they leave us with meaningful moments to carry with them. A big thank you to Mrs. Oberman for reminding us just how important those early years are.
- A Blueprint for the Academy's Future:
In creating the model for our strategic planning, the administration made a few key decisions. First, we endeavored to engage our entire school community in the process. This approach allows all Academy community stakeholders, as well as friends of the Academy, to provide feedback. We also decided to shorten the strategic planning timeline from five years to just three. This allows the Academy to more quickly adapt and react to the rapidly changing educational world in which we function.
At the core of the strategic planning process is our Planning Committee, made up of trustees, parents, faculty, and administrators. This group attends each of the strategic planning meetings and engages in the many group conversations that generate a whole host of innovative ideas and suggestions.
Our first few strategic planning meetings have resulted in thought-provoking conversations and creative ideas. Each week the dynamics are different, as new parents and community members join the discussion. By using one broad question each week, the meetings become our own Academy "think tank," as multiple groups wrestle with the same question but come up with radically different feedback. The five guiding questions used in our strategic planning model are as follows:
How do we achieve the long term enrollment goals at the Academy?
What internal improvements and partnerships with other organizations (including global ones) can be made to the academic, extracurricular, and co-curricular programs to provide an experience of excellence for our students?
For more information, please visit our website.
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