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Some of our grade 3 mystery incentive winners made pumpkin centerpieces with Mrs. Vining on Thursday!

At the completion of their Wit & Wisdom module on the exploration of the sea, the entire third grade showcased what they learned on a didactic wall panel that highlights great white sharks and giant squids. A didactic wall panel is a mural that provides content to accompany an object, artwork, or exhibition. We are so impressed with their knowledge, growth as writers, and beautiful artwork.

Congratulations to Mrs. Kirsten Adams, our front desk administrative assistant! Mrs. Adams is always willing to help everyone, and she does it with a positive attitude and a big smile! She has been a great addition to the Memorial office team!

Preschool: Vincent Van Gogh’s Sunflowers!

As part of NEASC accreditation, and in collaboration with the Preschool classrooms, students in Preschool learned about the artist Vincent Van Gogh, and took time to look closely at his 5 paintings of “Sunflowers”. We discussed and viewed his sunflower painting number 5 and noticed its shapes and bright, vibrant yellows (Van Gogh’s favorite color). We are currently working on making our own sunflowers, painting seeds and ripping paper to create petals. We will be building a GIANT sunflower bouquet to hang and arrange outside of our classrooms! It is going to be so beautiful and brighten the day of anyone who passes by! We also will be reading the book “Van Gogh and the Sunflowers” by Lawrence Anholt to further tell the story of Vincent Van Gogh and how he was inspired to paint sunflowers!

Kindergarten: Imagine… a FEAST! Inspired by Early American Traditions

Students in Kindergarten have spent the last few weeks learning about long ago, when Native Americans taught the Pilgrims how to grow crops, hunt, and survive here in New England. We discussed how the Pilgrims must have felt so grateful and thankful, and how intelligent and incredibly helpful the Native Americans were to take the time to help strangers who came to their land from far away. This led to the very first feast, that we now call America’s first “thanksgiving”.

After learning about the feast between the Pilgrims and Native Americans, the kindergarten students then started to discuss as a class how artists can use their imagination to create art, and have FUN at the same time! We then went “grocery shopping” in the art room! We shopped for “food” that we used to make art for an art room “feast”! In order to make our ”food” art, we took the “food” images that we got at the “store” and drew them while using our observational skills: what shape is the food, what details does it have, what color or colors is that food? We drew three different food items, colored them in and cut them out, working hard to make sure they look as realistic as we could make them!

When our “food” was ready, we then learned about the craft of basket weaving! There were many cultures who have mastered the craft of basket weaving, and the Native Americans from many tribes were known for making beautiful baskets. We currently are finishing up our own weaving, and learned how to create our own loom to weave into. We are using paper to make our own weaving, practicing ABA and BAB patterns to turn our paper into woven baskets!

To finish this exciting unit, we will be having our own feast, practicing table manners, and carrying our “food” in our baskets to share… all with our imaginations!

1st grade: Still Life Observational Study

First grade students have looked closely at real objects, exploring the objects shapes, lines and colors. To observe closely means we must take the time to look for details and unique qualities of those objects. Students had previously learned the term “still life” in their classrooms through Wit and Wisdom, and came to art, able to make connections with the term. We also looked closely at paintings of still life art by Luciano Ventrone and Paul Cezanne, both who mastered the art of painting fruit, vegetables, and other objects while looking closely at those things in real life! We then got to pick up indian corn, pumpkins, baskets, and crocheted pumpkins to observe them up close and draw what we observed. After sketching our objects, we learned how to use Oil Pastels and blend more realistic colors for those objects, making all sorts of unique colors that our real objects have. Lastly we will be cutting them out and arranging them onto a background to make a still life of our very own! We can’t wait to show our work and bring it home, soon!

2nd grade: Implied Texture Still Lifes

Students in 2nd grade are exploring IMPLIED TEXTURE! We started this month by going outside to explore the textures around us in nature. We took clipboards outside and sketched outdoors, looking closely at the varying lines, patterns, and shapes that created textures on all sorts of surfaces. We found textures on bark, grass, concrete, metal, sticks, plastic, leaves, etc. We described those textures as bumpy, rough, smooth, rigged, prickly, lumpy, soft, fuzzy, etc. We then differentiated between real texture (how something actually feels), and implied texture (how something looks like it feels). How does an artist draw the way something feels?? They draw implied textures after looking very closely, noticing repeating lines, shapes, and patterns!

Once we explored how to identify and discover textures, and then draw them, we started drawing our very own “Still-Life” drawing. We learned how to organize and compose our paper using a “view finder”. We learned that viewing a still life helps us to decide what we want to include, how close we want to draw the items, and which place on the paper we want to draw those objects. This makes for a more interesting composition, enlarging and intentionally arranging, rather than drawing everything small, and in the center.

After planning out the placement of our objects on our paper, we learned how to draw with white charcoal on BLACK paper… with NO way to ERASE! This was very challenging and helped us to practice our confidence and bravery while working with our lines, rather than erasing them! The white charcoal created beautiful black and white linear qualities for our still life drawings, FULL of implied texture! Our drawings are amazing, and we had to work very hard to imply the textures of all of the different objects in the center of the tables in the art room! I will be hanging these in the hallway for a few weeks before sending them home.

3rd grade: Choice Art

In November, we settled into the routines and expectations of Choice art. We continue to work incredibly hard to plan and create our most authentic works of art. I have run the kiln for the first time this year, and we discussed how to finish a clay sculpture with either paint or glaze, and the qualities of both. Students have become more brave, taking more risks each art class and exploring their own ideas, media they want to learn about, and processes they want to develop and master. Students are sewing stuffed animals, blankets, and pillows. Students are painting landscapes and abstract art. Students even started diving into print making, exploring the block printing, stamping, and string printing (monoprint) process. Each art class, students are working together to explore and solve problems, learn and teach, and even discover answers to questions. When I walk around a choice art classroom, it is very exciting to see what each student wants to create, and how hard they work to succeed! Lastly, we are becoming more adjusted to scoring and judging our own works of art using a rubric to analyze and make improvements to our work. We really are holding ourselves to high standards of craftsmanship and I am beyond impressed with their work!

The last day to order Art to Remember Keepsakes is Friday, 11/21.

THANK YOU to the families who have ordered from the Art To Remember annual art fundraiser!!! It was a great success, and 25% of the proceeds will go directly to the art room, and will provide art supplies for the rest of the year. The students and I are so appreciative of your support for our art program at Memorial School! Orders are slated to arrive on December 12, 2025. I will be sending more information in the coming weeks regarding picking up your items.

Please be on the look out for your child’s personalized order form, created from your child’s work of art. Order forms will be sent home on November 12th! Art to Remember helps to turn your child’s artwork into a beautiful keepsake, and makes for a perfect gift for any occasion. The ordering window for these special keepsakes will be from November 13-21st. 25% of all orders will help to raise funds to purchase art supplies for the students of Memorial School! To view products in advance, or to upload your child’s artwork from home, check out our schools fundraiser website here: https://arttoremember.com/school/EDX49T

Key healthy habits to focus on

• Hygiene:

• Wash hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, or use hand sanitizer when soap is unavailable.

• Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or your elbow.

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth to reduce germ spread.

• Nutrition:

• Eat a healthy, balanced breakfast and lunch.

• Avoid sharing food and drinks.

• Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water.

• Physical activity:

• Engage in regular physical activity, such as aiming for at least one hour a day.

• Encourage the use of appropriate backpacks to avoid strain, ensuring straps are padded and weight is distributed evenly.

• Sleep:

• Ensure children and teens get 9–11 hours of sleep per night.

• Establish a regular bedtime to promote better sleep quality.

• School-specific health:

• Stay up to date on all immunizations, including the flu shot.

• Update emergency contact information and medication details with the school at the beginning of the year.

• Stay home when feeling sick to prevent spreading illness

Respectfully,

Katie Williams, RN

and Ms. Michelle Lemire

kwilliams@easthamptonct.org, mlemire@easthamptonct.org

Your Health Office Team

Memorial Elementary

Phone 860-365-4020

Fax 860-365-4024