While the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted the second half of the school year, schools did their best to include arts education programming in remote teaching. Unused funds have been carried over into the 2020-2021 school year, to help kick off the curriculum. Funds raised from the 2021 Festival will go to grant requests for the current school year.
Dunbar School
Dunbar Elementary is offering Art in Action in all classrooms from Transitional Kindergarten through 5th grade throughout the year, funded by SPAF. Dunbar also offers "Art at Lunch," headed by Beth Biermann, has been going for quite a few years and Dunbar and students love it. It provides many students with a place where many feel they can belong. It provides all students with a place to "be.".
El Verano School
Grades 1-3 will create sculptures funded by SPAF. Grades 4 and 5 will continue work begun in 2018 between El Verano and Art Escape for a Thursday after school art program.This project will continue to create Mexican Art inspired mosaics on the cement planters in the El Verano courtyard. The students learn to make a small mosaic piece in class and then participate in the design and installation of mosaics covering the cement planters. This program will provide exposure to Mexican culture and art through a project that reflects Mexican traditions. Students of Mexican descent are unfamiliar with the artists that define their heritage. The study of Mexican art will help ground these students in their cultural identity. All students will benefit from the exposure to Mexican artists and It also provides the opportunity to learn and use Spanish vocabulary.
Flowery School
Flowery Elementary School funds go towards the Art in Action curriculum based visual arts program for Grades 1-2. Grades 3-5 are following El Verano School's lead with a bathroom art project, painting the walls with warmer hues and adorning them with positive messaging and art to create a more inclusive and less threatening environment. Teachers will discuss positive messaging with students as well as what kind of images would bring cheer and warmth to our restrooms. These messages and art work will then be placed on the bathroom walls. SPAF funds also go towards an after school program conducted at Art Escape and a 5th grade tile project.
Prestwood School
SPAF is funding the Art in Action curriculum for all students in all grades from TK (transitional kindergarten) through 5th grade. Students at Sassarini have a classroom space dedicated to their work with visual arts.
Sassarini School
In addition to providing support for the Maker Room, SPAF funds will be applies as follows:
Kindergarten students will learn elements of design, watercolor project, tie to theme in literature
1st graders will have 8 art sessions per class, focusing on lines, color, shape, form clay, and pastels
2nd graders will work with a local artist on color wheel, positive/negative space, oil and pastel
3rd graders will explore watercolor
4th graders will have artist in classroom working on themed projects, such as Native Americans
5th grade art will tie into mathematics and lines
Woodland Star Charter School
SPAF provides funds for charter school students to help integrate art through the curriculum. First graders will work with beeswax, second graders will focus on drawing, third graders will create art related to Hebrew stories, fourth graders connect art with Norse Mythology and 5th graders with Ancient Civilzations.
Altamira Middle School and Adele Harrison Middle School
All the classes have taken their field trips to the Legion of Art Museum in San Francisco. During the tour, students were able to visit a variety of paintings and sculptures in the permanent collection, as well as the special exhibit of James Tissot's paintings.
During the fall semester, teacher Cheryl Coldiron worked with students on these lessons:
Bad Hair Day line patterns
Organic and geometric shapes
Native American petroglyph posters
Color wheels
Large paintings of flowers in the style of Georgia O'Keeffe or vegetables in the style of Frida Kahlo
African barkcloth patterns and designs
Scientific sunprints
Monthly sketches in the sketchbooks
Ceramic coil dishes and Pre-Columbian style animal vessel pinch pots
After winter break, lessons (to name a few) will include:
Draw faces
Decorate papier-mache masks
Learn to draw and paint with perspective techniques
Study Alexander Calder and make kinetic art
Art of Matisse
Surrealism with Magritte
Modern Art with Mondrian.
Creekside High School
Teacher Liz Liscum at Creekside told us of the profound experiences her students were able to enjoy as part of the SPAF grant-funded activities. Most notably the field trip to SFMOMA, which gave students so many firsts, not the least of which was an experience of San Francisco.
She is profoundly grateful for the funding of materials as well as future field trips in 2020 that could include the di Rosa preserve and the deYoung Museum. Funds granted include art materials for a student mural.
Sonoma Valley High School
Teachers Aaron Anderson, Andy Mitchell, Renate Kuprian, and Peter Hansen at Sonoma Valley High School are all immensely grateful for the funding though SPAF. Here are some of the purchases planned using the funds SPAF has provided:
A field trip is planned to the DeYoung Museum for a Black Power show in the spring.
New brushes and other materials for Advanced Painting.
The new Graphic Design program is considering a sticker printer that not only prints but cuts custom stickers.
Media Arts will be helping kids with voiceovers now made possible with better microphones, and they have purchased a gimble and GoPro enclosure making movement smoother and underwater shooting possible.