Pupils explore art, music, Spanish

MANALAPAN — Fine arts and cultural appreciation are taking precedence at the Taylor Mills School. In a recent celebration of Fine Arts Month and Cultural Appreciation, more than 200 children in the third grade presented “Superstars of Art, Music and Spanish.”

“This is an excellent integration of the arts,” Principal Ruth Jacobson said. “Due to the efforts of the teachers involved, we were able to combine research and technology with language arts and history to produce an outstanding cultural and fine arts presentation.”

Under the supervision of Robbie Schafler, art teacher, Carolyn DeMarco, music teacher, and Laura Igarteburu, Spanish teacher, pupils were asked to select a famous person from a list of superstars in each of the three areas — art, music and Spanish.

The children were guided through a research process using the library with the help of media specialist Joan Brady and computer specialist Bari Kotofsky.

When their research was completed, the children were motivated to present their superstar in a creative and individualized manner. Projects included posters, dioramas, T-shirt designs, sculptures, performances, oral reports, and dressing up as their superstar.

The third-graders presented their projects to parents, teachers, administrators and fellow pupils. They were also tour guides, assisting first- and second-graders in finding interesting facts about a superstar in art, music and Spanish.