Our Lady of Lourdes Interparish School Music & Art

Music & Art

Music

Every student at OLLIS has music class at least once a week! Kindergarten-2nd grade meet twice a week, 3rd-6th meet once a week. 7th and 8th grade students get to choose their music class; band, choir, or general music. Currently, students can choose to participate in both band and choir, but they give up their SPEC class in order to do that. Each 7th and 8th grade music class meets once every three days.

Grade Level Concerts

Band

Currently, we have a 6th grade band that meets four mornings a week, before school, for about 25-30 minutes a morning. They perform at both the Christmas concert and Spring Concert.

7th and 8th grade bands meet as a grade level once every three days during the school day. Additionally, they meet as a combined ensemble on Friday mornings before school, for about 25-30 minutes. They perform at both the Christmas concert and Spring Concert. They also perform at pep assemblies and the Veterans Day assembly.

Recently, three 8th graders participated in the Northeast Missouri Music Educators Junior High Honor Band. Also, every member of the 8th grade band and several members of the 7th grade band participated in the CMU Music Festival. Of the 15 instrumental entries that OLLIS had, there were 4 Exemplary ratings earned, 9 Outstanding ratings earned, and 2 Satisfactory ratings earned.

Choir

After-School Choir/Orff Ensemble

Art

There is much more to art than the classroom projects and contests outlined by grade level below -- our children are wonderful artists! The art program is constantly evolving to include ways to see how art is part of every aspect of our lives.

K-2 Art

In K -2 Art, in addition to drawing with pencils, crayons and markers, students learn various drawing techniques with colored pencils, chalk and oil pastels. They experiment with color, using 4 different kinds of paints. They learn about fluorescent art supplies, and enjoy viewing our art with black lights. They make Christmas ornaments with sequins and rhinestones, mosaic Easter eggs, suncatchers with Mod Podge, beautiful crosses with fabric pieces, wax resist drawings, 3 dimensional pop art, and work with glitter glue. Kindergarten enjoyed creating an elaborate teepee project, and second grade created an elaborate nativity scene. The students take great pride in their creations and enjoy sharing them with their classmates!

3-5 Art

Art classes for third through eighth grades involve continued building of art skills and exploring a variety of art media. Some projects are based on a particular artist and others are literature based, inspired by children’s stories and folk tales. Other projects draw inspiration from our Catholic faith.

Since color is everywhere in our lives, we focus on how to create colors, how to choose colors that complement each other and the effect they have on each other when placed side-by-side. This is accomplished through crayons, markers, oil pastels, paint, construction paper and more.

In 3rd grade weaving is introduced and a number of projects become part of the Weaver’s and Spinner’s Guild’s Annual exhibition. A 4th grade favorite is the foil embossed crosses that are made from cardboard, yarn and foil and then colored with markers to create a beautiful stained glass like example of our faith. Students also begin working on how to draw more three dimensionally by seeing how 2-D shapes become 3-D forms. They build on the 3-D concept of space in 5th grade as they draw a landscape that uses mission churches of the Southwest as a focal point. The one- class sculpture made from foam board is always a favorite.

Middle School Art

In middle school classes, along with more skill practice, figure drawing and portrait art are introduced. Copper tooling is a 6th grade favorite and the 7th graders gain insight into what it’s like to be a writer/illustrator when they choose a style and do a creative writing and then illustrate it in the medium of their choice. In 8th grade Celtic interlace is explored and it becomes part of an illuminated letter project along with a Bible verse chosen by each student. The year is wrapped up with a color unit that reviews past information and applies it to a final piece of artwork using new ways to create color and value.

There are a variety of poster and photography contests as well as several in school contests that the students receive information about and are encouraged to enter. Sketch day is an annual event for 6 through 8 graders around the diocese who enjoy art and an opportunity to spend the day using their artistic skills.