GRE E NS BU RG SAL E M SC H OOL DI ST RIC T NE WS
reensburg Salem
Arts Program Invests in
Students’ Futures
Pablo Picasso once said, “Every child is an artist. The
problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”
Greensburg Salem Middle School art teachers Mr. Darryl
Audia and Mrs. Brenda Tarris aspire daily to instill and develop
a love of imagining, exploring, and creating in their Visual Arts
students. Expression, flexibility, persistence, observation, and
innovation are among the skills cultivated through middle
school art programs that will help to prepare students for the
complexities of life and work in the 21st century.
To engage their students in real-life art experiences, Mr.
Audia and Mrs. Tarris’ classes visited the Westmoreland
Museum of American Art. The museum generously donated
the cost of admission and provided each group with
informative docents for the student tours. Sixth grade art
students received an overview of the museum’s collections,
focusing specifically on landscape painting to enhance the
curriculum’s Big Idea Unit of “Nature.” The collection of still life
paintings was the target of seventh graders, who will later use
their observations as motivation to create their own still life in
the classroom. The guided tour for eighth grade emphasized
portraiture in painting and sculpture to support the art
department’s unit on “Identity” as inspiration for students to
create a self-portrait of their own.
Arts education encourages
success by developing
creativity, collaboration,
and communication skills
while preparing students to
receive and offer constructive
criticism; all key elements
for success in the workforce
of the future. The art-rich
experiences provided by
Mr. Audia and Mrs. Tarris
enhance the students’
understanding of the world
around them and foster a
sense of personal, artistic,
and reflective development in
Middle school students taking in our Greensburg Salem Middle
landscape display.
School students.
Popcorn and a Movie…
in Our Minds!
Fourth grade students at Nicely Elementary are learning reading
strategies to build their comprehension. One of the strategies
is visualization, which is when students make a “movie” in their
minds based on the author’s words. Visualizing is the first step in
encouraging readers to activate their thinking skills and a strategy
needed before they can move on to higher levels of understanding.
To teach this tactic, Mrs. Lisa Thomas used a mentor text called
The Girl on the Yellow Giraffe. While the students were listening to
the text, they enjoyed
popcorn (what’s a movie
without popcorn?)
donated by Target, while
they visualized what was
happening in the story.
The students then drew
a picture for a piece of
lifted text from the story,
followed by a gallery
walk for them to compare
what they visualized
with the author’s actual
words. The fourth graders
enjoyed comparing what
they visualized in their
mind movies with the
illustrator’s interpretation
of the text.
Student Alaysia Tarpley illustrated the
movie in her mind.
4th grade students enjoy popcorn donated from Target.
Bridge design is no challenge for these students!
Photos compliments of Darryl Audia.
34 | Greensburg-Salem
Students compare the illustrations from The Girl on the Yellow
Giraffe with their own artistic interpretations.