2024-2025
YOUR ART TEAM & COMMITTEE CHAIRS
Director of Art, PTSA – OPEN – arts@peterkirkptsa.org
Art Docent Co-Chair – Christy Helmbrecht – artdocent@peterkirkptsa.org
Art Docent Co-Chair – Bri Cooley – artdocent@peterkirkptsa.org
Clay Coordinator – Rajni Chaudhary – claydocent@peterkirkptsa.org
Reflections Chair – Andrew Wilson – reflections@peterkirkptsa.org
Gallery Walk Chair – OPEN – gallery@peterkirkptsa.org
ART PROGRAM
Reflections is a National PTA Art Contest. All students are welcome to enter an original work of art.
For more details, please visit our Reflections page.
Peter Kirk Elementary PTSA’s art program is 100% volunteer-based and fully funded by PTSA donations. What this means is that all lessons, instruction, and supplies are provided by the Peter Kirk community through the generous volunteers and donations made to the PTSA.
If you have donated, thank you for making this amazing and beloved program possible! If you would like to donate, click here.
Last Year’s Art Stats:
- 100+ volunteers
- 3600+ kid-hours in creating art
-
3000+ total pieces of art
-
~600 total pieces of handmade glazed ceramics
CURRICULUM
Our program helps students explore artistic expression by way of:
- knowledge of ARTISTS and/or ART MOVEMENTS
- development of TECHNIQUES
- the use of a new and/or various MEDIUMS
- understanding TERMINOLOGY
The foundation of the way we talk about art consists of SEVEN ELEMENTS OF ART & SEVEN PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN. These are the building blocks that artists use to create works of art:
• Line (element) • Shape (element) • Color (element) • Value (element) • Texture (element)
• Space (element) • Form (element) • Balance (principle) • Contrast (principle)
• Emphasis (principle) • Movement (principle) • Pattern (principle) • Rhythm (principle)
• Unity/Harmony (principle)
WHAT OUR DOCENTS DO
The Art Program is allowed six art lessons per class, per school year. These lessons are created and instructed by each class's Art Docent. Four of the six lessons are for art instruction/projects; two of the six classes are reserved for clay building and clay glazing.
LESSON PLANS & RECIPES
Docents are free to use artistic license when planning their lesson for their class. We have learned throughout the years that not only does this light up an artistic passion for our volunteers who then share that joy with our students, but we’ve learned that this produces a broader variety for our curriculum throughout the school. We have quite a few extremely artistic and creative docents who’ve created amazing pieces of art; these docents then share their lessons within our docent community.
For those docents who maybe don’t feel that art is your passion, but you just want to help in your kiddos’ class? Fret not. We have an entire library of tried-and-true pre-made lessons that you can choose from. AND our docent volunteer community is such a great group of people who are always willing to share and help. Our goal is to give our docents as much freedom as they want, or as much support as they need. This is a program that welcomes EVERYONE to be a volunteer!
Visit our Dropbox to access our lesson library.
Our Clay Program is a favorite among the Peter Kirk community. It’s one of the students’ most beloved in-school enrichment activities. And our PTSA loves providing this amazing program for our students.
Last year’s projects were some of our most whimsical and precious creations we’ve ever seen. Here’s what was made:
- Kindergarten – Flower Bowls
- 1st Grade – Pinch Pot Creatures
- 2nd Grade – Pinch Pot Garden Gnomes
- 3rd Grade – Pinch Pot Garden Gnomes
- 4th Grade – Mini Garden Doors
- 5th Grade – Mini Garden Houses
Our PTSA Clay Program is, again, 100% volunteer-based and funded by PTSA donations. Everything from clay building lessons to kiln-firing the pieces to assisting with glazing – we do it all in-house to keep the overall funding low. If you’re interested in being part of the Clay Committee – perhaps you have a background in clay, or maybe you’re interested in learning how to do clay – let us know! No experience is needed to be on the committee – we will teach you everything you need to know.
Gallery Walk is our annual art showcase that completely transforms the school into a museum of kid art – perhaps we should rename it as MOKA! Gallery Walk is an event where every kid proudly shows off their masterpieces to their friends and families. This is a don’t-miss event!!
If you’re interested in helping with Gallery Walk, please let us know!
