Arts Night celebrates visual and performing arts

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By Katrina Margolis
Hometown Weekly Reporter

The arts are one of the most important parts of a child’s education. Both visual and performing arts help children with basic motor skills, brain development, and creativity. In order to celebrate these important, and fun, aspects of school, the Hanlon School held their Arts Night on Wednesday, May 10, from 5:30 to 7:00. Katelyn Pickering, the music teacher, and Carla Goodwin, the art teacher, worked together to create an evening celebrating the artistic and creative achievements of all of the school’s students.

This year was both Goodwin and Pickering’s second year at the school, and their second year putting on the Arts Night together. “I tried to combine the arts nights together in order to connect how visual art and performing arts go together,” Goodwin explained. The gymnasium and surrounding areas were transformed from utilitarian areas into a full-blown art gallery. “We start in the beginning of the year and basically we collect all of the artwork. We basically choose each student’s best work,” Goodwin continued. “This year, we actually expanded it - last year, it was one piece per student, but this year, its two. Each kid gets all of their artwork laid out on the table and then we discuss which pieces are best.”

In addition to the visual artwork, throughout the evening, students performed a variety of instruments. “It’s ‘If you want to sign up, we’d love to have you,’” Pickering said of the performing artists. “Piano players, clarinetists, we have violin, we just had a girl playing the drum … It gives them a venue to practice and take a risk and be part of a casual recital atmosphere, a gallery atmosphere.” While the performing artists are volunteer, every single student in Kindergarten through grade five gets artwork displayed. In addition to the artwork displayed on the walls, Goodwin does some basic animation with her students. “We do it with the stop motion app and the technology department comes in and helps,” she said. “The kids absolutely love it. I’m trying to boost it up a little bit so that it’s not just one dynamic.”

Goodwin also teaches art at the Deerfield school, where there will be an arts night later in the year. “They’ll have the same sort of thing. It’s paired with a fundraiser this year for the PTO. It’s a family picnic fundraiser and all of the money goes back to the school,” she elaborated.