Lower School

Visual Arts

At the Lower School, students gain a breadth of experience in the visual arts through exposure to three different art instructors each year. For 12-week periods, students in the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades alternate between teachers who specialize in the various disciplines to study the visual arts.

One 12-week period is devoted to the study of drawing and painting, with a strong emphasis on art history and world cultures. Another 12 weeks is dedicated to various types of printmaking as well as both digital and darkroom photography. During a third 12-week period, students focus on three-dimensional art and concepts, making artworks of clay, plaster, wood shapes, and papier-mâché. We believe this approach is perfectly suited to the Lower School age group—providing students with a foundation in techniques and art history while encouraging creativity. Outside of class, fourth, fifth, and sixth graders may choose to do independent work in Art Club, which meets once weekly during lunch period. At the end of sixth grade, interested students have the opportunity to submit their portfolios to the Middle School Visual Arts Department for consideration of year-long art in seventh grade.