The fifth grade have been working on making papíer maché masks. They have been studying West African cultures and we learned that masks were often worn during dances and celebrations. West African Cultures often showed animals on their masks, hoping that the wearer would have that animal’s special qualities.
The third grade has been learning about Van Gogh’s self-portraits. They learned about Van Gogh’s thick painting style called impasto. They learned how to draw realistic self-portraits and add realistic color. They used oil-pastels “brush strokes” to give their artwork Van Gogh’s impasto texture.
The second graders have been learning about 3-D masks. They looked at West African masks, which are used in celebrations. The students created a 3-D mask celebrating the changing of seasons. Students designed a mask to show a season and added tissue paper “beads.”
The first grade learned about Wayne Thiebaud’s dessert paintings. They learned how he showed rows of desserts, neatly lined up and painted. They also studied functional art: art that can be used. They looked at quilts that show patterns and created their own quilt patterns.
The 5th grade Art Club painted window murals to help Simmons get into school spirit.
The 5th grade Art Club has teamed up with the Go Green Club to help make recycling easier at Simmons. The Art Club has started painting a “Green Zone” mural that will help students organize their recycling into the appropriate bins. We are excited to see more murals happening at Simmons, so please stop by to get a look.
The mural is complete! It is fantastic! 
On Saturday, March 19th, the Simmons Academic Team competed in the Regional Tournament with six other districts. The competition was challenging, but Simmons took 1st place Overall and 2nd place in Quick Recall. Mrs. Tincher and I are very proud of all the hard work the Academic Team students have put in this year. Congratulations on a job well done!
The newly formed Lexington Art Academy offers adult art classes in a variety of exciting art forms. There is a great group of experienced artists as instructors. Ms. Baird will be teaching an upcoming Intro to Acrylic Painting class. New classes are added often, so check back frequently.
If your student is interested in additional art activities the Living Arts and Science Center can help. They offer several children’s art classes after school, on weekends, and on days when school is not in session (such as Spring Break).
Don’t forget! The Spring Fine Arts Night is on March 17th at 5:00. There will be special performances by: Mrs. Skelton’s 2nd grade, Mr. Piercey’s 4th grade, the 5th grade Glee Club, and the Student/Faculty Rock Band. There will be an art presentation and wonderful artwork on display. Come see what Simmons is doing!
Ms. Baird's Art Class 