Art
The Serviam Shield, a symbol of our commitment to serve, is worn on all student uniforms. Serving others is a component of every class curriculum. More importantly, the active engagement in service, from Pre-Kindergarten through our expanded middle school community service program, not only plants the Serviam seed in all Mount Merici students toward a greater likelihood that they will become leaders and good stewards in the world as adults but also instills in young children a belief in their own abilities to influence positive change and compassionate improvements in the world around them.
Whether our youngest students are collecting food to benefit the local ‘Weekend Backpack Program’ or contributing their own precious dimes and dollars to the ‘Rice Bowl Program’, they recognize that they are capable of helping to feed children less fortunate than they are and that with some compassion and effort, they can make a difference.
Our 6th and 7th-grade students work diligently every week at the area soup kitchen, food bank, the Muskie Center for elders and disabled adults, here at school, and on a multitude of fulfilling service projects.
Our 8th-grade students draw from the wealth of their previous years of service work to create a year-long senior service project based on their own individual interests. so that they leave Mount Merici Academy with a clear understanding of their abilities to extend their hearts and hands by contributing their own individual gifts in their communities and in the world-at-large. At Mount Merici Academy, every child learns what it feels like to make a difference.
Learn About the Art Curriculum
Art instruction in the youngest grades (Pre-K – Grade 1) occurs seamlessly as part of activities and projects within the grade level classrooms. Students in grades two through eight experience a separate art class once per week for forty-five - sixty minutes with a teacher who joins them in their classrooms with all necessary supplies. In these art classes, students are met at their developmental level as they learn about the elements of visual art and design (line, color, shape, form, value, space, and texture) and create their own works of art using what they have learned about these essential elements and a variety of media.
Brief artist and genre studies are often the springboard for learning about the elements of art and the media to be used in our artwork. Students typically begin the year in Art creating a class collaborative work (to be displayed within the halls of the school) and creating personalized portfolios for the safekeeping of their work as the year progresses.
Since the 2020-2021 school year, students have shared their artistic creativity with residents of area nursing homes as part of our Serviam mission.