Target 3 – Flexible Learning Environments: FWSU Maximizes flexible learning environments by redefining the school day, promoting learning experiences that extend beyond the classroom, and fostering creativity, innovation and personalized learning opportunities for all.
Action Steps – (1) Increase access to resources for all students. (2) Provide students with access to content, resources, and methods for learning beyond the school day and beyond the school walls.
Indicators of Success – Flexible learning environments are the context for collaboration and extend beyond the classroom.
Student artists at the Fletcher Elementary School were transported to France during their first week back in the classroom this year. The school’s lobby played host to a traveling exhibit of replica paintings by French Impressionist Claude Monet, whose works bring to life everything from the lively streets of Paris to the gardens of Giverny.
The exhibit was on display August 29 through September 2 and consisted of brightly colored images reproduced on lightweight satin fabric. Within the display were four replica paintings including the infamous Waterlilies: Morning, which measures 7 by 17 feet in its reproduced form. Other paintings that were on display included Waterlily Pond: Pink Harmony, Bathers at the Grenouillere and The Rue Montorgeiul, which measures 8 feet in length.
Born in 1840, in Paris, France, Claude Monet gained recognition as a painter after critical acclaim of an 1874 showing of his work during which a critic insultingly dubbed Monet’s painting style “Impression” because it focused more on light and form than realism. The term stuck and Monet became widely known as the Father of Impressionism. While Monet experienced a great deal of financial hardship as a new artist, more recently his paintings have sold for up to 80 million dollars and gained prominent placement is countless prestigious museums and collections.
The traveling Monet exhibit was integrated into all art classes at FES during the first days of school. Kindergarteners, first and second graders have undertaken a collaborative project learning facts about Monet and creating a bridge and lily pond painting and collage. The tri-fold display will be featured at the school. Third and fourth graders are creating a mathematical array of monoprints and collage in the style of the Impressionists. Fifth and sixth graders participated in storytelling about Monet, learned facts, and participated in a collaborative effort to learn about the word “space” (meaning to show depth in a painting) and created impressionist style landscapes.
In addition to the art class connections, several classes made a literacy connection to Monet’s work by reading stories about his life and creating waterlily paintings in the style of Monet, who frequently painted his waterlily gardens.
The exhibit coincided with the school’s annual First Day Breakfast, which had a French theme in honor of Monet.
The Monet exhibit was Fletcher’s sophomore experience with transforming the halls into a gallery of famous works. Last year, a traveling Van Gogh exhibit kicked off the year.
Learn more about Fletcher’s Monet exhibit here. Special thanks to Friends of Fletcher Elementary (FOFE) for sponsoring this exhibit.
The FWSU Story 