Infusing art in Beach Haven School’s curriculum has benefited both students and teachers

It’s unusual to see Beach Haven School students at a 7 p.m. school board meeting, but their presence was certainly welcomed last week. A lively performance by a handful of Spanish teacher Sunday D’Arcangelo’s students for the board members and ­­­attending parents showcased the rewards of infusing art and education, which has been a key theme for the school the last few years.

Photo by Kelley Anne Essinger
Spanish teacher Sunday D'Arcangelo leads the
childrens' performance at the board meeting.

An arts-infused ecology-themed residency, led by Princeton-based Young Audiences of New Jersey & Eastern Pennsylvania through a series of grants, has been the leading force.

Eloise Bruce, the school’s artist in residence, helped the teachers combine art with the curriculum to make the lessons more engaging and ultimately more fun. The creative endeavor was well received as it started when the students and staff finally returned to the school building in 2014, after repair work following Superstorm Sandy.

“The journey began right here at home,” said kindergarten teacher Stephanie DiBiase, who led a presentation on the residency at the meeting.

The school has received a total of about $40,000 in grant funding from Young Audiences.

The first year, the students performed a play at Surflight Theatre, which highlighted their experiences during Sandy and helped them process their emotions. Last year, they held an NRG Creatively Green Family Arts Festival, where they played drums they had made out of recycled tires from local shops, and also created a mosaic surfboard that is now displayed in the hallway outside the gym. This year, on June 9, the students will host a community festival on the exploration of dance with the help of artist in residence Lela Jones.

The grants program has provided experiences inside and outside the classroom, from a trip to the Grounds for Sculpture to an assembly led by Mark Dubois, who founded Earth Day.

Photo via Beach Haven School
 First grade teacher Patrice Pottichen is the
school’s 2016 Governor’s Educator of the Year.

“With nine field trips, eight assemblies, 22 speakers and visiting artists all last year, it might sound overwhelming to some, but, as a teacher, I noticed a significant difference in the kindergarteners of this year to the kindergarteners of the past with the prior knowledge that they brought to the table from the first day,” DiBiase said, noting the children have become particularly concerned about recycling and the ocean.

These past two summers, DiBiase attended a three-week workshop with artists and other New Jersey teachers to learn more about how to utilize creativity and learning.

“I would consider this workshop to be one of my favorites primarily because it has improved the way in which I teach kindergarten,” she said. “I often consider carefully which types of art I like to infuse in varying content specific to my student’s needs. The children have benefited in the learning that I embrace through this grant exponentially.”

The students hadn’t practiced the Spanish song they performed at the meeting in about two months, yet they still knew all the words, D’Arcangelo pointed out.

“I thought (the performance) was great,” stated Carl Krushinski, the school’s new superintendent, who attended the students’ spring concert earlier in the week and will also attend graduation. “The earlier we can teach another language, it helps them in many ways cognitively. You can never go wrong with the arts because we’re tapping into other parts of the brain that we need to tap into, like creativity.”

Krushinski is principal at the Primary Learning Center in Stafford Township. Although he said he has enjoyed working with the kindergarteners and staff there for the past 12 years, he is excited for the change. He will be starting his three-year term at the Beach Haven School July 1.

“I’ve got eight years left, roughly, before I retire, and when this opportunity came up, I said, ‘It’s time to move forward.’ Last year I spent a couple days here in June and just fell in love with it, with the whole place. So that makes it a lot easier to move. If they allow it, I’ll be here until I retire. That’s my goal.”

After the children’s performance, the board gave first grade teacher Patrice Pottichen a plaque and bouquet of flowers in honor of being named the school’s 2016 Governor’s Educator of the Year. She attended the annual program’s breakfast ceremony, sponsored by The Ocean First Foundation, at the Holiday Inn in Manahawkin last week.

“If you have ever been in her classroom, you can see she is the epitome of a first grade teacher,” Linda Downing, the school’s interim principal, told the audience. “Her students are constantly being challenged to think outside the box. She always has interesting and fun activities for the children.”

Pottichen is a 32-year teacher, who has also taught second and third grades, kindergarten, transitional kindergarten, basic skills and special education.

During the meeting, the board also approved donations including $500 from the Garden Club of LBI for the purchase of materials to build two new planters and plants that are native to the community, $242.55 from Thundering Surf Waterpark for a class trip there in June for the sixth graders who are moving on to Southern Regional Middle School in Stafford Township, as well as a $1,400 automated external defibrillator from the Exchange Club of Beach Haven and AtlantiCare’s Heart Heroes, which board President Irene Hughes called “the Lexus of AEDs” that speaks in both English and Spanish. Jay Lownsbury, the school’s custodian, was instrumental in acquiring the AED, Downing noted.

— Kelley Anne Essinger

This article was published in The SandPaper.