Art Education at the Academy of the Sacred Heart includes age-appropriate art appreciation and history, as well as principles and elements of design. Self-expression and imagination are encouraged using a variety of media.
Lower School — The focus for young children is to develop fine motor skills and strengthen muscles in the hands. Students develop a visual vocabulary which gives them a way to communicate their imagination. Learning to see and create patterns of color, and drawing basic shapes and lines, are the building blocks of creative expression. Various media are introduced. We study art movements and how artists expressed themselves during certain time periods.
Middle School— Emphasis is placed on developing imagination with more complex lessons. Imagination and creativity are stressed in more formal composition, along with striving for realism in drawing as a means of self-expression. Artists and their styles are studied, as are academic drawing and painting, linear perspective and color theory.
Music Education is an essential part of the curriculum at the Academy. It allows the child to express him or herself aesthetically, balancing the intellectual side of the brain with the artistic side of the brain.
Primary Class — Simple songs are taught to allow the students to develop their voices. These songs are also used to demonstrate steady beat and rhythm patterns. Playing various rhythm instruments as they sing, children learn to express joy with others.
Lower School — Students continue to strengthen their rhythmic knowledge by learning about music signs and symbols. They also learn that music contains many parts such as melody, tempo, dynamics and tone color. Students deepen their understanding of the many parts of music and are introduced to harmony through partner songs, rounds and simple countermelodies. Their musical knowledge now includes visual and aural recognition of the instruments of the orchestra. Performance skills and stage presence are practiced. Individual performance skills along with stage presence are emphasized.
Middle School — Students continue to build on their foundation of the many parts of music, including melody, tempo, dynamics, tone color and harmony, and explore alternative sources of sound. Individual and small group performance skills are emphasized.
