Artist of the Month

Villa Maria Elementary’s Artist of the Month Program is a student centered art integration program, designed to enable our students to show their mastery of content by highlighting the different talents and creativity they bring to the classroom. The brain research shows that students that are able to apply, evaluate, and teach content are more likely to remember and understand the content they are learning. VME has always prided itself in preparing its students to be well-rounded and appreciative of the arts, and most recently we have taken this philosophy a little further with the Artist of the Month Program.

In grades K-8 every student is assigned to be Artist of the Month at least once throughout the year. Usually, there are two or three students paired up to be Artists of the Month together. When a student becomes the Artist of the Month, it is their responsibility to work with his/her peers to create a project/presentation of the pre-determined content given to him/her by the teacher. This project/presentation is an artistic opportunity for the students to show their mastery of content in a manner different than just typical paper and pencil testing. Where there is certainly a place for paper and pencil testing, the amount of complex thinking, problem solving skills, and leadership qualities that are exhibited during each Artist of the Month project is astounding. It is not out of the ordinary to see an Artist of the Month project resulting in an original song written, produced, and performed by the students. Or, you might find students writing, directing, and acting in original plays/skits about their content. The projects/presentations are truly a joy to watch unfold, and the best part about them is that they are designed and implemented by the students themselves.