Gaspereau Valley Elementary

Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

This year, Black History Month has take on new meaning for the students at Gaspereau Valley Elementary. Guided by ArtsSmarts Nova Scotia artist, Terry Drahos, the students at this rural school of 220 are exploring the work of two exceptional African American artists, visual artist Romare Beardon and poet Langston Hughes.

Terry's Powerpoint presentation on the Harlem Renaissance and the art created by these talented individuals starts the students on their creative journey. Her introduction to the elements of design provides guidance for the student's art work: from Primary to Grade 6, each student is creating their own 9" x 9" collage that tells a visual story about their family or community.

Creating Collages

Once they have written their visual story, the students plan out their collage. The background is created first, with figures and other details applied on top.

The students use coloured strips from cut up magazine pages that have been sorted according to colour.

After the fun....

Collaging is messy work but Grade 3-4 classroom was spotless when the cleaning team finished their work!

And the finished work, SPECTACULAR!!!!

Collages created by Primary-Grade 1 class:


At the beach	A summer day	Me at Christmas time!

Collages created by Grade 3-4 class


My favourite sport is basketball	I like to spend time with my dog outside.	My best friend