By Shannon Hicks

On a Thursday afternoon just before holiday break, a group of students at Sandy Hook School is hard at work in the art classroom of Leslie Gunn. The fourth and fifth grade students are enjoying ArtQuest, an after-school class each student had decided to take because of an interest in art or a curiosity about a new frontier they had only thought about before.

Everyone wears a huge, oversized shirt. That, or an apron, over his or her clothing.

It is not a new fashion craze, but protective gear for the students in one of four after-school classes a special stipend allowed the school to offer this fall.

One of the students, Renee Solheim,  saunters from her latest painting over to where classmate Evan Gregoire is working on his latest in a series of sunset paintings.

“You don’t need water with this paint,” Renee tells Evan.

“I’m not using water on my painting,” Evan replies. “It’s to rinse off. It’s just for my brushes.”

“Oh,” said Renee. “I was afraid you were putting the water on your canvas. It was going to make your paint run.”

Renee returns to the desk where she was working. No one’s feelings were hurt in the brief interaction, and each young artist has listened to what the other one had to say. There was no superiority in Renee’s voice; she was simply looking out for the artwork of one of her friends. And Evan understood his classmate was only trying to look out for his own good.

Meanwhile, teacher Leslie Gunn is walking around the large classroom, checking on her students’ work. Because this is one of the final classes of ArtQuest, today’s class is fairly relaxed. Mrs Gunn is not doing much lecturing today; instead, she is letting the students work nearly on their own as they progress through the stages of painting.

She answers individual questions, facing each of her young artists as they ask questions. She speaks directly to the student who has asked a question, and answers in a manner that lets the child know she is speaking to them. While her voice is soft and calming, it is just loud enough for anyone else in the classroom to hear the helpful suggestions she is offering.

The mission of ArtQuest was to give fourth and fifth grade students the opportunity to study art, with the focus to remain on the entire painting process. Two groups of students spent 90 minutes with Mrs Gunn after school, with one group meeting on Tuesday afternoons, the other group on Thursday afternoons.

Leslie Gunn, an art teacher at Sandy Hook School, explained recently that the 26 participating students spent ten weeks learning drawing and sketching procedures and color studies. They also learned to draw initial sketches from observation and also their imaginations, and spent time studying the works of Old Masters. Then they were allowed to begin painting, and each student now has something of a mini portfolio, with three or four completed works to his or her credit.

Even with such a grown-up atmosphere, however, the emphasis was on an enjoyable artistic experience.

“It’s a very supportive environment,” Mrs Gunn said. “We’re hoping, if there’s more money, to do another class.”

During a faculty meeting earlier this year, Sandy Hook School principal Donna Pagé told her teachers that there was a district-wide stipend available for each elementary school in town. The small account was exclusively for the purpose of funding formal after-school classes.

The principal told her teachers to find out where the interest was for after-school events, and ArtQuest was one of the results of the challenge. In addition to the art class offered during the semester that just ended with the holiday break, there was a technology class, a math program, and a class that allowed students to work on The Footprint Post, the school’s newspaper. This spring, Mrs Page says, there will be a fifth after-school class offered, which will offer students in the fifth grade an opportunity to continue the fifth grade chorus, usually a first-semester-only activity.

The stipend paid the teachers leading each class to stay after school. Some of the programs required additional payments from the students, which was the case with ArtQuest (students paid a $15 materials fee), while others could be offered to students free of charge.

Drew Gleacher is a fourth grade student who decided to take ArtQuest, he said, because he thought it would be fun, and a good learning experience.

“I really like to draw a lot,” Drew said, adding some of the finishing touches on a painting of children sledding down a hill, a big orange sun and purple-hued sky in the background.

“I thought this would be fun, and I thought I’d learn more,” continued Drew, who said he likes to draw Pokemon characters, among other figures, for his friends.

Before they went into their holiday break, the students had their work featured in the main foyer of Sandy Hook School.

“They’re getting a lot of feedback, and they’re feeling very special,” Mrs Gunn said.

A lot of feedback has come from the classmates themselves, however.

“There is a lot of interaction in this classroom,” Mrs Gunn said. “They’re not afraid to go over to each other to look at each other’s work, to critique and discuss.”