January 17, 2008 Issue
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Classified Chestnut Hill Local Don't Miss an Issue, Tell us what you see or Winner of Two |
Spiral Q brings Jenks students together with art
Eighth grader Sharifa Garvey came into the art classroom at the J. S. Jenks Elementary School and greeted Robin Kearney with a huge hug that lifted the short, redheaded fifth grader off the ground. Moments like these are not common in a school where students sit in a classroom with other students at their grade level all day long and socialize only with those peers. Students admittedly rarely talk to students in lower grades, let alone greet them with large, friendly hugs. But the 17 students that participated in the Spiral Q art program at Jenks spent an entire semester learning how to work with students on various grade levels. Spiral Q is an art program that inspires students’ creativity and hones problem-solving skills through the creation of puppets and other art props. At Jenks, the program invited students in the fourth through eighth grades to participate, and together they created a huge, approximately 10-foot-tall puppet that, when carried along with a drum, banners and a sandwich board, represented how Jenks is a home to its students. The puppet is now on display as part of Jenks’ art exhibit at the Woodmere Art Museum, which runs until Feb. 17, and the rest of the pieces will be shown during a parade that the entire school will take part in sometime in May. “This was a wonderful opportunity for the kids because they don’t get to interact a lot,” said Jane Degenhardt, the school’s art teacher who, along with the Spiral Q instructors, worked with the students on the project. The students who participated in Jenks’ Spiral Q program met after school two days a week all last semester. Some of the students joined for an artistic outlet, and others, just to have something to do after school. “I like doing things that are artistic,” said Austin Chandler, a sixth grader. Chandler created the sandwich board that illustrated how the Jenks community includes both family and friends of the students. One side has a cardboard and paint house with the word “FAMILY” written across it, and two hand puppets peeking out the windows. “This guy always reminds me of the Muppets,” said Chandler wearing the sandwich board and pushing out a puppet that easily resembled “Animal” from Jim Henson’s well-known menagerie. Sacajawea Tarter, another sixth grader, said she joined the Spiral Q project to have something to do after school. Chanel Lewis, an eighth grader, agreed. “It’s kind of boring in my house,” she said. “I liked that it was after school.” But more than a distraction from school and after-school activities, the students were given the opportunity to work together and learn how to collaborate with students of various ages. “It’s really a wonderful process,” said Degenhardt. “It helps them think outside the box. They take the project from idea to words to images and then to the 3D piece. To see these kids working together so well, it was a pleasure.” The older students, when asked, also commented on the challenge of working with the younger students. Lewis said it was challenging because the younger students did not always comprehend the concepts for the puppets. “We had to help with the bigger projects,” she said. “We tried talking nicely to them,” said Garvey with a laugh. She said she does not talk to younger students often so it was a challenge to communicate with them sometimes. “They didn’t take stuff seriously,” said Candice Brown, another eighth grader. But Garvey, the one who hugged Kearney said, “but then we, the ones with more experience, stepped in,” she said with an air of authority, later admitting, “they weren’t that bad.” To find out more about Spiral Q, go to the program’s Web site at www.spiralq.org. Contact staff writer Kristin Pazulski at 215-248-8819 or Kristin@chestnuthilllocal.com.
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