Can you share a bit about your background and how you ended up as the Specialist Art Teacher here at TCGS?
I trained at Dunedin Teachers’ College and the University of Otago, initially teaching in a state school in Y3, Y5, Y7 and Y8, and teacher in charge of Art, before joining TCGS as the Art Specialist for the Prep School. Since then, the Specialist Art programme has expanded and I currently job share with Belinda Edmond (who teaches Pre-School Art, Junior School Art and 1 Prep School class). I also tutor a module each year for The New Zealand Graduate School of Education, training primary teachers in how to teach Art. In my personal work, I like to sculpt Oamaru stone.
What do you love most about teaching art and working with students in a creative space?
I love the natural creativity and talent of children and seeing the enjoyment, success (on many levels) and pride they have when they learn new skills and create amazing artworks with them, showcasing how they view the world around them.
As Head of Specialist Teachers, what does your role entail, and how do you collaborate with the other specialist teachers?
I represent the Specialist team at Senior Management level. A point of difference within our team is that we have many Heads of Departments within it, including Music, PE, Science, RE, Learning Enhancement and of course, Art. A large part of my role is liaising with each member of the group to support them in their role within the team and wider school setting; and to facilitate communication and collaboration within the team on matters of pastoral care, organisational business and professional development.
How do you see the role of specialist teachers in shaping the educational experience for students?
There are many benefits of having specialist subject classes in a Primary School, particularly when they are timetabled regularly into the weekly schedule. Significantly, the individual teachers have a deep and broad knowledge and passion for their chosen subject area and the opportunity to focus on that when providing high quality educational experiences for our students.
Why do you believe the arts are such an important part of a child’s education and what skills do students develop through art that help them in other areas of learning?
The arts play a vital part in a child's development of fine motor skills, language skills, social skills, critical thinking skills - decision-making, risk-taking, problem solving and of course, wonderful creativity! These skills and competencies transfer into all areas of the curriculum. All students can participate at different levels in Visual Art, expressing their ideas, emotions and beliefs through different media.
How do you approach teaching students with different levels of artistic ability?
As with any subject, helping children develop the tools to achieve a goal is a key factor in success. My philosophy is to provide scaffolding for each activity in terms of inspiration for ideas, access to new knowledge, skills to be developed and equipment that can be used so that students can achieve and often extend the learning outcomes of a unit at their current stage of development.
What role does technology or new media play in your art classes?
Technology has many roles in Visual Art. It gives us access to explore a vast range of artists, art movements, images, sources of information, and techniques as inspiration for making artworks. It also provides tools that we can use to create some artworks. In Years 7 and 8, students engage in digital technologies, learning and developing techniques using Photoshop and Illustrator to produce digital art. This allows them to explore contemporary artistic methods and expand their creative skill set. In terms of tracking and assessment, we photograph children's artworks in order to have a visual record of progress over time.
What are some exciting upcoming art events, projects, or exhibitions we should look forward to?
First and foremost, everyone is welcome and encouraged to come into the school and see the children's artwork displayed in all of the buildings. These are updated regularly. The cyclic and developmental nature of the Art programme ensures that all children work in a huge variety of media throughout their time at school, but some favourites are Y3 construction, Y7 Wearable Art, with its accompanying ShowQuest Toi performance and school show, and Y8 Reductive Printmaking. We take children on visits outside the school to see art in the community (the Y5 classes recently visited Cathedral Square and the Art Gallery as part of their unit on Cultural Narratives). We exhibit outside the school as opportunities allow (at Christ's College and St Margaret’s in recent years), and of course have our own school-wide Annual Art Exhibition in Term 4.