Hi! My name is Christina Wysocki and I am a senior at Westwood High School. I am an honor roll student who is involved in my community through extracurriculars and volunteer work. I run indoor & outdoor track and field, dance competitively, am a member of my high school's Let's Talk about Race committee, and Westwood Ambassadors. I have also volunteered through my church and town in events such as the PMC kids race and the science olympics.
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Another way I fill my time is by creating art. Art has always been a passion of mine. I studied fine art the first 3 years of high school and am now in the AP class. Personally I work 2-D; however, I have some knowledge in basic 3-D design. After being an art student for many years, I wanted to explore more about art and how it affects different populations, which is what led me to my project: Art as One.
MY PROJECT
ABOUT
At the beginning of senior year I began a course at Westwood High School (WHS) called Senior Independent Project Program (SIPP). SIPP allows a group of 30 seniors to explore their passions for a year in a non-traditional classroom setting. It is designed for self-motivated students who would like to study a field that is not offered in the Westwood High School curriculum. For the culminating piece of the program, students must develop a project that showcases all that they have learned.
I have always been passionate about art and I noticed there was a great need at my school for an alternative art curriculum. The Education Cooperative (TEC) is a local organization which provides alternative education to students who have special needs. The main campus is in Walpole, MA; however, at Westwood we have a classroom that is home to five high school-aged students. The students have not had much experience with art classes, and when I met them in the fall they were interested in taking art lessons. For my project, I am working with the five TEC students at my high school to design and teach an art curriculum that I will leave behind in the digital format of a website. Art is a great outlet for any person, which is why I have dedicated my project to designing a curriculum that matches their needs.
Each Friday, I go into their classroom with a planned lesson and we make art. After developing relationships with the students I am able to modify projects and then lead them in step by step instruction. My goal is to choose projects that will be fun, fit their skill level, and look great in the end. Over the course of the year I have gone into the classroom over 15 times, and together we have produced some amazing pieces.
The second part of my project is to incorporate the TEC students with the WHS community. I will do this by working with students as they create a puzzle in the shape of a W that will be hung in one of our school hallways next year. Each puzzle piece will be decorated by either a TEC or non-TEC student, and it will be glued together to show that we are all one student body. I will also promote the idea of community by including some of the TEC student’s work in our school’s annual art show in March as a preview for my own show in early May. Together, I think that these projects will help build upon WHS's friendly and inclusive environment. It will also demonstrate that art is for all student abilities, which is why I have named my project 'Art as One'.
I have created this website to document my project and allow others to access the curriculum I have designed. Feel free to browse photographs of finished pieces and get inspiration for lessons with your students.
~ Christina
