Ending of One Semester, Beginning of Another

 The snow is falling, and has been for hours.  As I type this, the snow has covered the ground like a thick white blanket to make the world seem fresh and anew.  It is ironically fitting considering the time of the year.  Not only is it the beginning of the current year, but it also happens to be the end of one school semester, and the beginning of another.  A time for fresh starts on a variety of levels. 

But before moving on to the present and the future, it is always good to take time to reflect on the past and what got you where you currently are.  I wanted to use this entry in the Picture Perfect Blog to do just that.  It has been since July since I have sat down to update everyone on the happenings of the kiddos at school, not for lack of wanting to or the kids doing amazing things!

One aspect that has kept me away from writing the blog was learning how to balance my new endeavor  with that of my professional duties.  During the summer, with the help of my wife, I started taking senior, couple, and maternity photos; which kept me busy in my free time up to and even during the Winter Break.  There have been so many positives to this:  I get to keep in touch with former students and catch up with them, I am able to show the current photo students how what they learn in class can be used professionally, and it has helped me to stay on top of and learn new skills that I have then taught to the students. 

So let's catch everyone up on the happenings of the Art and Photo kids from the past semester!

The 2024 fall semester kicked off with almost 30 Digital Photo 3 students for me to work with, on top of the Photo 1 & 2 students.  It was a very strong group of Photo 3 kids, and I am looking forward to having almost all of them back the Spring 2025 semester.  

Our first showing we had in conjunction with Hispanic Heritage Night in October.  The showing was well received and the ability to participate with different departments to bring multiple students and families together was a heart-warming event that we cannot wait to participate in again next year!  The Art department had wooden sugar skulls ornaments that guests could color and take home, the Orchestra played, Cooking classes created wonderful cookies to eat, and the Dual-language students had presentations on Spanish dominant countries!

After that event it was time to get ready for one of two of our annual yearly shows at Matryoshka Tattoo.  The night of set-up was an interesting evening with storms abound!  But that didn't stop me and a brave student for getting the art ready for the November show.  The night of  First Friday was great weather and just like has happened so many times before, the main entry area of Matryoshka gets jam packed with guests feeding our young artists with the praise they need to hear to keep creating.  Seeing the pure joy on student's faces during the event is one of the many reasons we have done this for so long and thank Matryoshka Tattoo for opening their gallery to us time and time again. 

Towards the end of November, right before Thanksgiving break, Topeka Public School hosted an Art College Fair that students were able to attend.  There were a variety of colleges there from Kansas and around that were solely there to talk to Art students, whether it be Visual, Music, or Theater.  The students received lots of helpful information, and those who thought college may be out of reach were able to see that the possibility of going to college and finding a career in the Arts is more accessible than they may have thought before.  Lots of excitement of their future possibilities when we returned to school.  

With November coming to a close and December fast approaching, that meant contest time for the Photo 3 students, specifically Scholastic Art & Writing.  Once we came back from Thanksgiving break, the Photo 3 students and I focused on which 1 or 2 images they were going to submit.  I had each student submit as least 1, helping them pick as needed.  I wanted each Photo 3 student to submit one photo just to see how easy it is to enter their work into a contest, and you never know what a judge will like since Art is in the eye of the beholder.  I was most proud when some students felt like they didn't have a worthy photo and their peers would jump in and boost their confidence and tell that doubting student the exact photo I was thinking of having the student submit.   

Student Work Available for Viewing Here

Photos submitted and portfolios cleaned up, now we sit back to finish enjoying our Winter Break and wait for the results of Scholastic towards the middle of January.  It was a busy semester filled with so much laughter and love.  I am honestly amazed that it is already time for a new semester.  This means some new students and new class dynamics, but having already looked at my rosters for the upcoming semester, I am more EXCITED about all the possibilities than anything else!  I know this next semester is going to fly by just as fast if not faster.  So make sure to take time and at least take pictures of the flowers and the sunsets that make your heart soar.  It'll fly by faster than you can imagine!

Oh, and here is a picture of my getting pied in the face for NEHS!  It was a fun day!