Orange Cluster students used their imaginations to jet across the globe last week as they learned about different countries and cultures.
In Head Teacher Samantha Cartolano and Assistant Teacher Jessica Jonas’s class, students got out their passports and packed their bags for their flight to South Africa.
Before their flight, “Flight Attendant” Ms. Jonas shared the safety instructions with students.
Once the students arrived in South Africa and deplaned, they had to go through customs with Ms. Cartolano, who scanned their bags through a “scanner.”
Lower Division Director Donna Logue said activities like this one are important because they actively engage students’ imaginations in a way that opens them up to thinking about cultures in a multisensory way.
“With this type of playful hook, they are more interested in learning about other countries and comparing them to that which they already know,” she said.
In Head Teacher Jackie Kolbert and Assistant Teacher Sydney Strauss’s class, students learned about India and the ancient Indian tradition of henna tattoos.
After learning about the country and tradition, students created their own henna tattoos by drawing a hand on a piece of paper and creating their own designs.
They then finished the tattoos by outlining their design with black puffy paint.
Ms. Logue said the integration of art into the curriculum is important as it actively engages students in an unfamiliar art form, which deepens their appreciation of the culture and helps them learn to view the world and standards of beauty through a different lens.
“Art projects, such as the henna hands, promote student thinking about how beauty is defined in different cultures,” she said. “They also build executive functions skills, such as planning and decision making, as well as risk taking.”