In today's increasingly international society, it is imperative that students acquire a deeper understanding of the arts and cultures that comprise our ethnically diverse communities. Unfortunately budget cuts to the schools have limited the ability to implement culturally relevant art projects.
Our school is a college preparatory, seventh through twelfth grade public school.
The students are hard workers and are required to participate in a comprehensive honors curriculum taking a minimum of four Advanced Placement courses. Graduates of the school are academically prepared for college/university with 99.9% meeting the minimum University of California eligibility requirements. The academic accomplishments of our students are impressive, even more so considering that 41% of the student body has been reclassified as fluent English proficient students.
The achievements of our students are impressive when considering that over 72% of the students come from homes in which English is not the primary language. Unfortunately state budget cuts have limited the students' exposure to the arts. Classes have been cut, and the funds to support programs have been diminished. The students are unfortunately missing some of the art experiences that will enrich their lives.
My Project
Lunar New Year with its cultural traditions and symbolism provides many opportunities for students to learn. Inspired by Disney's festivities, our art classes will use the donated paper and paint to create giant installations to celebrate the year of the horse.
The project supports California VAPA standards 2.3 and 2.4 since the artwork will be displayed in a public exhibition and will demonstrate works of art to communicate a theme. The Lunar New Year project supports the historical and cultural content standard 3.3 requiring students to investigate universal concepts expressed in works of art from diverse cultures.
The students will create the horse installations in January. These banners will decorate the campus for the Lunar New Year and will be used to decorate the gymnasium for the International Assembly in March giving the staff, students, parents, and community the opportunity to learn about this Asian holiday.
In preparation for the school celebration of Lunar New Year, the art students will create banners to celebrate the year of the horse.
The artistic skills acquired and the knowledge gained will promote learning and enrich the lives of the students. The school-wide Lunar New Year celebration will promote cultural awareness, tolerance, and a deeper understanding of the arts and cultures that comprise our ethnically diverse community.
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