CMS IN THE NEWS

Principal Nicole Musarra, the district's marauder mascot, and teacher Michael Guli greet students

New beginnings

On March 22, the district ended its split weekly cohorts and welcomed all in-person learners for a full day of instruction. During arrival, CMS celebrated this latest step in the district’s gradual return to normal with music, balloons, and visits from the district’s marauder mascot and Superintendent Robert Zywicki, Ed.D.

Superintendent Rob Zywicki speaks with second-grader Holly Rofail

Anabelle Lyon works on a drawing of Chinese lanterns

Celebrating the Chinese New Year

Second- and third-graders celebrated the year of the Ox by creating artwork that incorporated some imagery typically associated with the Chinese New Year and the season.
 
Art teacher Denise Palmisano regularly takes students around the world with her lessons, showing how cultural traditions and symbols are reflected in the art of different regions. Before the project on the Chinese New Year, she took the second- and third-graders through a multimedia presentation of the significance of the Chinese New Year and also screened a short Disney video about the holiday. She also showed students a paper lantern of the same type that is used in the spectacular lantern festivals that mark the end of the holiday’s celebration.
 
The students then were free to create their own interpretations of drawings that honored the new year, incorporating cherry blossom flowers, lanterns, and fireworks. The students used markers and colored pencils to bring their images to life.
 
The pandemic has profoundly impacted art instruction. During the year, projects typically would have been created using a variety of materials such as paint, popsicle sticks, paper mache, and cardboard. However, since lessons must be suited for both students learning in person and at home, materials have been restricted to common household items. That means virtually every project has been drawing and coloring of some sort.
 
“I’ve had to be resourceful and think of innovative ways to engage students using the same type of art media for every project,” Palmisano said. “I’ve tried to excite them with lessons that focus on multicultural art, art history, and color theory explorations. The kids have told me how much they enjoy art but miss using the fun materials we used to use. Hopefully we’ll soon be able to change things up as the pandemic winds down. They love to show off their creativity in different ways.”
 
As a health precaution, students learning in school do not share supplies. In art, each student has a personal, sealed plastic bag of materials that remains in the art room at all times.