Letter to the Parents
September 3, 2019
Dear Parents of JYK-DCS Art Students:
Greetings! This is my second year as art teacher at Discovery Charter School. I have taught art for almost 20 years in various schools to grades K through 12. I have also taught on the college level as well as neighborhood learning centers to adults. My background is in fine arts as well as commercial art in publishing and advertising. In my original home in NY, I was a sketch artist, illustrator, graphic artist, and assistant art director at publishers such as Scholastic, Inc, as well as pharmaceutical companies.
I look forward to sharing my experience in art with your children. This year I am very excited to include a pottery curriculum. Many students love exploring with clay and creating three dimensional work. Along with that medium, we will include art fundamentals: drawing, painting, printmaking, design, cartooning, and using technology to learn about art history. Art studies will co-exist with other curricula such as math and literacy. Local artists will be invited to present their specialties to classes and art field trips will be planned. Last year 4th graders enjoyed the “Art Speaks” series at the Philadelphia Museum of Art where art was aligned with language arts. The art room will include an art library and a creative corner for independent work. I will be happy to work with portfolio prep for students in 8th grade who are applying to arts-based high schools (ie, CAPA, Benjamin Rush, String Theory Schools, etc.)
Two dimensional and three dimensional art will be displayed throughout the school year. I look forward to meeting parents during conferences and sharing your student’s progress in the art class. I hope students will learn that art is just another way to express their ideas and that everyone is capable of artistic expression.
Artfully yours,
Zipora Schulz (Ms. Z), Art Teacher, K-8
JYK Discovery Charter School
September 3, 2019
Dear Parents of JYK-DCS Art Students:
Greetings! This is my second year as art teacher at Discovery Charter School. I have taught art for almost 20 years in various schools to grades K through 12. I have also taught on the college level as well as neighborhood learning centers to adults. My background is in fine arts as well as commercial art in publishing and advertising. In my original home in NY, I was a sketch artist, illustrator, graphic artist, and assistant art director at publishers such as Scholastic, Inc, as well as pharmaceutical companies.
I look forward to sharing my experience in art with your children. This year I am very excited to include a pottery curriculum. Many students love exploring with clay and creating three dimensional work. Along with that medium, we will include art fundamentals: drawing, painting, printmaking, design, cartooning, and using technology to learn about art history. Art studies will co-exist with other curricula such as math and literacy. Local artists will be invited to present their specialties to classes and art field trips will be planned. Last year 4th graders enjoyed the “Art Speaks” series at the Philadelphia Museum of Art where art was aligned with language arts. The art room will include an art library and a creative corner for independent work. I will be happy to work with portfolio prep for students in 8th grade who are applying to arts-based high schools (ie, CAPA, Benjamin Rush, String Theory Schools, etc.)
Two dimensional and three dimensional art will be displayed throughout the school year. I look forward to meeting parents during conferences and sharing your student’s progress in the art class. I hope students will learn that art is just another way to express their ideas and that everyone is capable of artistic expression.
Artfully yours,
Zipora Schulz (Ms. Z), Art Teacher, K-8
JYK Discovery Charter School
Mission Statement
I believe in the power of Creativity (of all sorts, any level). Creative thinking can help you design and find solutions to difficult problems. Creativity is part of being a life-long learner and being curious. I also believe any student can learn art techniques just as they can learn anything else in life (with practice, practice, practice!). When I hear a child say “I’m not an artist” or “I can’t draw” I like to eliminate the “I can’t” by providing very concrete steps and exposing the student to a logical way of seeing. In other words: any one, of any ability can create.
My students have studied the science of color theory and realize they can break down any object they see into its basic shapes. They understand that there is a vocabulary to art that allows them to speak about what they are creating: I stress the Elements and Principles of Art: the basics of design. I want students to understand that art is integrated in all the world cultures because it is a form of storytelling that pre-dates language (cave paintings, runes, etc). Learning about the history of art, artists, and art-making just for the pleasure of it can enhance one’s perceptions and quality of life, along with all the other arts and subject matter taught at school. There is scientific evidence in the educational world that shows that art enhances literacy and spatial recognition. Having a child use building materials (3D materials such as clay, wire, assemblage, etc) in their play can lead to careers in architecture (which uses art, math, science, social sciences), urban planning, interior design, etc. Learning how to draw can lead to becoming a video game designer, fashion illustrator, storyboard artist for movies. Learning about the science of color can help with becoming a makeup artist, filmmaker, flower arranger, house decorator, etc.
I hope that going to a museum (so many in Philly) can be a place of refuge, enlightenment, connection, a study of social justice even (think of Shepard Fairey’s Obama poster, Romare Bearden’s urban collages, Basquiat’s graffiti work, etc). And mostly I hope exploring art can bring joy even if it’s “just for fun,” or toward an amazing career.