Art Room at St. Albert the Great, Kettering, OH 45429 US - Home

2011-12 School Year

Welcome to the new school year!  My name is Lisa Becker and this marks the beginning of my 10th year as art teacher at St. Albert the Great.  I hope to make it the best yet!

Each year, I try to create an enriching art experience for the students.  Everyone from the Young 5's through 8th Grade comes up to the art room once a week.  I am excited to share the wonder and beauty of the world of art with your student.

Once again, my goal is not only to allow their creative juices flow in the production of art, but to teach them art history and appreciation.  It is amazing to hear 1st graders discussing the works of Monet, or 5th graders visually explaining their dreams like Dali.

As part of their art experience, I take the 8th graders on an annual field trip to the Dayton Art Institute.  We are planning to see the upcoming exhibit of Norman Rockwell later this fall.   This will tie into a lesson back here in the art room.  The art institute is a wonderful local treasure and something I want all of them to see before they head off to high school next year.

To begin the new year, I have discovered a wonderful project called "Pinwheels for Peace."  It was started in 2005 by two art teachers in Florida as a visual symbol of peace.  Pinwheels are symbolic of the joyful, simple days of childhood, a counter to much of the violence and conflict we are all exposed to every day.  Each of our 400 students will create a colorful painted pinwheel on a transparent sheet.  These pinwheels will then be "planted" outside St. Albert's school on International Peace Day, Sept. 21,  along with thousands of others around the world.  I thought this would be particularly significant this year as we mark the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks America on Sept. 11, 2001.  The students have already started their paintings. Watch for this project  promoting "whirled" peace coming soon!

Other plans are also taking shape.  I am working with the artists at Town & Country Fine Art Gallery at Town & Country Shopping Center here in Kettering to return for our annual spring art show.  Dates are getting finalized, with a show sometime in April.  I will pass along information as I get things nailed down.  We also will have an art show here at school during our Catholic Schools Week celebration in late January, early February.

In the meantime, I have several new projects planned, with an emphasis this year on the art of different cultures.  I also plan to have each class creating self-portraits that will hang in groups in the cafeteria. Look for them to start appearing in late September.

And, on a final note, I want to congratulate 8th Grader Gretchen Trick who was chosen to participate in the annual Yeck scholarship program at the Dayton Art Institute in June.  Gretchen was one of just 16 young students chosen from throughout the Miami Valley. She represented St. Albert well!

Here's to a beautiful year!

 Mrs. Lisa Becker