Art Teacher Attends National Conference in Boston

Christ the Redeemer Catholic School’s (CtRCS) Art Teacher, Gabrielle Bergeron, attended the National Art Education Association Annual Conference in Boston during Spring Break 2019. After a conference filled with inspiring art and impressive sessions, Bergeron is excited to integrate new ideas at CtRCS.

“I learned so much about integrating the arts into other core curriculum, connecting student's artwork with their emotions and helping students express a message through their artwork,” she said. “I learned so many engaging and unique lessons that I can implement into the CtR art classroom.”

She mentioned one of the most valuable parts of the experience was the connections she made with many other art teachers, as they often look to each other for fresh ideas and support. She is most excited about integrating both collaborative lessons and lessons that connect more deeply with the students into her classroom.

“I gained inspiration from hearing the author Peter H. Reynolds, author of ‘The Dot,’ talking about collaborative art and writing projects to better the community,” Bergeron said. “I was also inspired about student's communicating emotions through their artwork during a session on mental trauma and its connection with the arts.”

As a first-year art teacher, Bergeron’s attendance at this conference was integral helping her classroom go to the next level in terms of seeing the beautiful transformation of artistic expression in a classroom setting.

“Art is such an important aspect to a child's education because it's imperative that a child is allowed the opportunity to be creative, express themselves and simply break the normal cycle of their school day,” she said. “Children can grow deeper in their faith by studying many of the ideologies of art, which is also important to our Catholic school environment.”

She is also very serious about her responsibility to her students in the classroom.

“I feel a sense of pride and excitement knowing that since I am the only art teacher at CtR, I have the opportunity and responsibility to now take what I've learned from NAEA, and show both my students and the entire community how art can positively affect our school.”

For more information about art at CtRCS and our Enrichment program, visit our website at ctrschool.com/enrichment.