Del Valle elementary schools participate in Big Art Day

Del Valle elementary schools participated in Big Art Day on March 2 by hosting various events to engage students with art.

The day began with a performance of “Seussical” by the second grade class at Popham Elementary School in preparation for their Literacy Night and open house at the school. Students filled the elementary cafeteria with singing from the musical comedy based on the children’s stories of Dr. Seuss.

“I love programs, and I think they're super important to do performances because, first of all, it fosters a sense of esteem for the students,” said Jediah Gonzalez, music teacher at Popham. “They're able to perform and have something they can be proud to show, and it brings the community involved, brings them here to school, which is what I love.” 

Jediah said the performance ties into what the students do in the classroom with reading and literacy programs. 

Summer Kaylor, the visual art specialist at Popham, organized an exciting day for her classes with creative stations where students could take turns working on art-inspired projects in the elementary gym. 

“The kids enjoy it. I think today will be really different for them because we've never done something like this here that I've experienced. So I think the energy will be great,” Summe said before classes started. “They're going to have different centers and different things to do. I think they'll really eat it up.”

Big Art Day is an initiative by the Texas Art Educators Association to raise awareness of art education and art as a creative force in communities. The designation of a single art day event is an attempt to engage educators and students across the state. 

“I think that in this era of testing and standardized education, the Fine Arts is the only way to continue to connect with a child's heart and their spirit and help them find joy in school,” Summer said.

Over at Gilbert Elementary, art teacher Marjorie Davis orchestrated a quilt in the shape of a “G” made of student-painted self-portraits from all her students. The goal of her portrait quilt was to show unity across the school. 

“It's collaborative work and it's really important that the students learn to work together,” Marjorie said. “They're learning how to share materials. It's really important that they learn how to interact with each other. We're working with kindness and empathy towards each other in their work. And I think that those are qualities they learn to do by doing and by modeling and seeing other people do.”

Fourth grader Oscar Rodriguez said he likes art because of the collaboration that occurs in the process.

“I like collaborating with their kids because when you work by yourself, you only have one opinion and one idea. And then when you collaborate with other people you have different ideas,” Oscar said. “If you work together, you can get all those ideas and turn them into one.”

Fourth grader Kathleen Beristain said she likes drawing flowers and anime and that her favorite art activity is painting. Learning about well-known works of art motivated her to pursue artistic dreams of her own. 

“The Mona Lisa is the most beautiful art I have ever seen,” she said, adding that she wishes to one day visit France to see the painting up close. “I wanted to see it because I wanted my art there too.”