Friday Message

Good Afternoon, Blue Nation:

You might have noticed a change in format in the TCSC Friday Message. Last December, TCSC staff completed the Performance of the Superintendent Survey. One of the suggestions given to me was to highlight programs in our Friday Message. We are truly blessed to be a small school with many opportunities for our students. So this will begin to be the focus of the Friday Messages for the rest of this year!

This Youth Art Month and Tipton Community School Corporation has much to celebrate when it comes to art education. The district has long understood the benefits of art education and how closely linked it is to almost everything that we as a nation say we want for our children and except from our schools including academic achievement, social and emotional development, civic engagement, and equitable opportunity.

Like math, science, or history, the arts are a way of knowing and understanding the world and the complexity of the human experience. Arts education builds an appreciation for the arts, and provides students with an introduction to artistic disciplines, techniques, and major movements that serves as a foundation for lifelong engagement.

The work of our students can be found in the halls, on the walls, and in the classrooms bringing additional color and life to our campus. What really makes art education stand out at TCSC is our creative, passionate, and gifted art educators. I asked them to share some insights about their work and what inspires them as art educators. Here’s what they had to say:

State Funding Update: From reading this newsletter I hope it seems obvious that TCSC prioritizes opportunities for our students with our state funding. However, like other traditional public schools in Indiana, TCSC stands to lose funding through a multitude of bills currently under consideration in the Indiana General Assembly. You might have heard headlines about an 8.5% increase in 2024 and a 2% increase in 2025 in school funding. In reality, TCSC will receive a 3.4% increase in 2024 and 0% increase in 2025. You might ask, where did all those dollars go? Unfortunately, the money went to public charter schools and private school vouchers. In addition this budget proposal plans to redistribute your property tax dollars to charter school and private school voucher students living in other counties (due to few students in Tipton County attending those types of schools). I encourage you to contact our legislators and tell them to support traditional public schools where 90% of Indiana students currently attend and deserve full funding. Your voice will make a difference, tell them you support fully funding traditional public school, not public charter and private school vouchers.

Photo caption: Art classes are among the favorite classes for students at TCSC. TCSC art educators Janet Whitlock (TES), Logan Tina (THS), and Marlee Light (TMS) engage, motivate, and inspire their students to learn, explore, collaborate, and create through art. Courtesy photo.

Happy “Youth Art Month” Tipton community families! We are fortunate as a school corporation to have a certified art educator in every building! Children who are exposed to art education can process information more thoroughly, consider problems and ideas with more in-depth thought and explain their solutions more clearly. Visual arts are a fantastic creative outlet for children and can have a positive impact on various aspects of childhood development. At the elementary level, Youth Art Month is celebrated with an art show at the public library during the month of March with the help of the “Friends of the Library” and Tri Kappa Sorority. There will be a Children’s Art Show opening on Thursday, March 16 at 6:30 p.m. for teachers, students, and their families and friends.

As an art teacher of 29 years (26 with Tipton) my reason for wanting to become an art teacher was and is to have the opportunity to inspire an interest in art at an early age. It is very enjoyable to help elementary students develop their fine motor skills as they work with a variety of materials and explore the possibilities they offer. I feel fortunate to be able to generate ideas and projects that put art supplies into the hands of all students, no matter their academic abilities. Inspiring kids, helping THEM become artists, critical thinkers, decision makers, and creators is never tiring, but most of all I enjoy seeing a student’s eyes light up when they are proud of their finished creation!

As a middle school art teacher, my goal is to help students open their eyes to the art in the world around them, to help them “find the artist within,” and to help them enjoy the process of creating. I strive for every one of my artists to leave my room with true pride and accomplishment in every art piece they created throughout the semester. Students engage with many different 2D mediums including, graphite, charcoal, printmaking, painting, digital art, and 3D mediums including, sculpture, clay, and wheel throwing. At the end of the semester, students collaborate, plan, and design a portfolio that individually presents all their artwork they created throughout the semester (standard 5). They work together to create a gallery space that represents the needs of all different viewers and gallery layout (standard 5). The art shows take place at the end of the first semester, with seventh grade, and at the end of the second semester, with eighth grade. It’s so very important for my students to take pride in what they created and then “show off” their hard work on a collaborative art show.

Art at the high school level is a place for my students to expand upon their creative processes and explore deeper thinking. I want my students, no matter their current academic or artistic ability, to leave not only with the ability to create with a wide variety of media, but to be able to approach problems from multiple and complex perspectives. I believe the Arts teach students to think about multifaceted problems whose solutions often change with circumstance and opportunity. Unlike most curricula in which correct answers and rules define knowledge, in the Arts it is essential that students learn how to willingly work with the unanticipated and be able to use their own creative judgment to succeed. My favorite moments in the classroom are the small things. Having a student move from ‘How do I do this,’ to watching their wheels turn through the process, and the pride in their finished work is a great time. Finally, displaying these accomplishments in our school's display cases and digital portfolios give my students an opportunity to share their work with the community and take pride in their accomplishments!

Photo caption (2 pics): At TES, students work independently and together to create and display their work for everyone in the building to enjoy. Courtesy photo.

Photo caption (2 pics): In TES Kindergarten, students’ early exposure to art gives them the opportunity to work independently and together to grow, learn, and create through various mediums including drawing and painting. Courtesy photo.

Photo caption: Tipton Middle School students are pictured preparing their posters for the art show. Art Shows offer students the opportunity to highlight their creativity and talent with friends, family, and the community. Courtesy photo.

Photo caption: Art classes open the door to opportunities for students to submit their work in competitions at local, state, and national levels. Courtesy photo.

Photo caption: Tipton High School students enjoy creating their work outdoors. Courtesy photo.

March 12-Daylight Saving Time Begins

March 14-Monthly Board Meeting 5:30PM

March 20-Flex Day

March 21-Flex Day

March 22-Flex Day

March 23-Flex Day

March 24-April 2 Spring Break