Around PVHS: Creative Ideas of Fine Arts

There are many opportunities to explore your creativity and imagination at PVHS. Whether or not it is taking Art, Drama, or Spanish class, you still learn interesting things that expand your brain’s comprehension. This article contains vital information that comes with understanding these programs, their creators, and the people who entertain such subjects.

Art

The Art class is taught by Mrs. Dabrowski and she teaches art production, history, aesthetics and criticism. These classes resemble aspects of advanced Art classes to give an idea of what those are like. When asked how difficult she thinks the class is, she rated it zero saying, “The difficulty for those who love art and or are interested in this program is a zero (not being difficult at all)”. She believes it is special for the reasons that it gives the chance for people who enjoy art to do what they love, it gives hindsight for real life classes, and it can help them develop a lifelong interest in art. As for COVID-19’s effect on Art, it hasn’t had much of a bad one. Dabrowski thinks that students had more opportunity to be creative since they have the peace of their own homes. While she disliked working at the computer for hours, she later became proud of that as she had realized it was more helpful towards the students than that of a teacher who does not spend much time on their lessons.

When interviewed, students shared their thoughts on Art class. Trista shares that her favorite part about it is being able to draw and take her mind off of things. She continues to take this class because she enjoys it a lot after having it for three years. Despite that, she doesn’t believe COVID-19 has made the class any more difficult. She would definitely recommend this class to other students. Another Art student, Hope, says that her favorite part about it is being able to paint and draw. She takes this class because art is one of her hobbies and she has more time to enjoy it. She says she has obtained friends in this class and would recommend others to join.

Drama

The Drama and Theatre class at PVHS is taught by Mrs. Unthank. She teaches the history of theatre and many different types of genres of theatre. In class, her students play improvisational games, participate in plays, and more. What’s different about this class is that it takes a lot of participation. Since that is mostly what this class is, it’s difficult to create an environment where everyone feels comfortable and safe to perform. When asked how difficult she’d say this class is, she responds saying that it’s a 10 for students who are more reserved and 0 for those who are able to get over the stage fright. Unthank’s favorite part about teaching this is that she gets to watch her students evolve and grow as they open-up more throughout their performances. “Above all, I love that I get to see a different side of them than most people,” she says. Unthank has always had an interest for theatre herself, so seeing others benefit from what she teaches is something she enjoys to see. She mentioned that she participated in related activities when she was younger, but after deciding she didn’t want to be a professional actor, kept with her goal of being a teacher, and loves being given the chance to continue her passion in theatre and maintain her career as a teacher as well. As COVID-19 hit, it’s made this class a little more difficult. Creating more individual work, games that follow social-distancing rules and the inclusion of working online. For virtual students, they found themselves doing a lot more watching than interacting in this class, making it a bit tougher to completely be a part of.

Drama student Melanie Swingle, was interviewed to give her thoughts and opinions on the class. She shares that her favorite part about this class is being in front of the class and acting out a script. She took this class to improve some skills such as acting and writing, and thus, has learned lots about script writing. She also believes she has made many friends in this class and would advise others to join it as it is fun. As for COVID-19, the masks getting in the way was an inconvenience, but otherwise, it did not put much of a halt on her learning.

Spanish

PVHS’s Spanish class is taught by Mrs.Villa-Schuerger. This class is special because it is the only foreign language being taught at PVHS and some colleges require 2-3 years worth of credits. Ms. Villa says the biggest challenge is students not having enough verbal practice at home. She says, “Spanish classes move at a high pace. You have to be able to keep up with your work or falling behind can be extremely stressful on students.” Villa says she would rate the class at 6 on difficulty. Since students are at home and have the help of their notebooks, it makes memorizing answers on the test much easier. But, when school goes back to normal, it will be harder since they will not have those same resources. Therefore, the difficulty would be at a 9. She shares that her favorite part about teaching this is hearing her students’ stories about using Spanish to communicate outside of class. She wanted to teach this class so she could share her knowledge and love for Spanish-speaking cultures to others, especially since Spanish is her first language. When COVID hit, she’s had to turn all her assignments into virtual activities, ultimately changing her way of teaching. She suggests that freshmen don’t take this class unless they had a B or better in their 8th grade English course. Although, Somophores are welcome to join if they are ready for the quick pacing of it.

Students from Spanish have been given the chance to say something as well. Jiana Boley says she wanted to be a part of this class because she had a grandmother who was from Argentina that taught her a few things in Spanish, making her interested to learn more. Her favorite part of it is watching the education videos as they help her understand the context of what she’s learning. While she says she used to have difficulty managing her time, she’s gotten better and has no issues keeping up with the class. She believes it is worthwhile since it can be applied to real life. Another student who takes this class, Kaylyn Duncan, is interested to learn the Spanish language and use that to help her in the future, even if she does not become fluent. She suggests that others join it as it’s a bit of a challenge and useful for real life. She also says, “A lot of people complain about classes not having any real use in the real world, but this one does.” Still,it’s a good class to take.

There are many creative people within the Fine Arts classes at PVHS. Now you have learned all about them and can share your information with others! You can also decide if you want to join any of these classes yourself now that you know what they’re all about.