Young artists excel in first year of high school despite COVID restrictions, learning remotely (9 photos)

The first year of high school can be both fun and a challenge for students under any circumstances.

But with COVID-19 measures such as mask wearing, social distancing and an intensive quadmester system in place for September 2020, then having to abruptly switch to learning remotely from home with the province’s stay at home order in April, there were a host of other challenges.

And, how do students study a subject such as art remotely?

Being deprived by the pandemic of an in person studio environment, where artists characteristically inspire and learn from each other, is not an easy spot to be in.

SooToday asked three St. Mary’s College Grade 9 art students how they fared, each one of them showing how resilient they’ve been.

“I was very nervous (at first, regarding the beginning of high school) but I had a lot of fun this year. Under the circumstances it was really good,” said Alecia Attwell, an Our Lady of Lourdes elementary school graduate.

“At first I thought it was going to be really hard, but then as we went to all the (virtual) classes it was really easy.”

“I was really glad to be back with my friends (to start Grade 9 in September). As different as it was, I was so glad to be with them. It was weird for sure, with the masks and everything, it felt really different and strange, definitely different from what I was used to,” said Sydney Drover, a Holy Cross elementary school graduate. 

“I was nervous (at first) because obviously high school is bigger, but also, because of the masks, everything was so different, but I was enjoying school while we were in class.”

“I was looking forward to sports but we couldn’t do them this year, but I met a lot of new friends so that was exciting,” Drover said.

“It was a really big change from elementary school, especially because of all the (COVID) cohorts. It was different than what I imagined but St. Mary’s made it very welcoming and enjoyable to be there under the circumstances,” said Tori Carbone, an Our Lady of Lourdes elementary school graduate.

Apart from her studies, Tori said she enjoyed being a member of her school’s Student Senate.

St. Mary’s College Grade 9 and 10 art students were taught by Adriano DiCerbo, the school’s lead teacher of the arts. 

Students had three major assignments to complete -  an object drawing in pencil, a watercolour painting and an oil pastel painting - during the final quadmester before the school year came to its end Tuesday.

“I think it was a lot easier to focus (learning remotely) than if I was in a classroom. I probably got the work done quicker online,” Alecia said.

“What I didn’t like is that there were only certain times you could talk to people (interacting face to face with classmates and her teacher). I missed seeing all my friends and being able to talk to them daily.”

That said, Alecia appreciated the instruction she received, stating “I find I have a different perspective on art now. It’s something I really enjoy.”

“It was pretty difficult because I didn’t have my teacher or my classmates right beside me to help me, but at the same time, Mr. DiCerbo was there, not physically of course but virtually, and our class did constant check-ins to make sure we were putting in the time and effort. As hard as it was, and difficult, I think we all improved and it was a fun class. I was always smiling and getting more confident,” Sydney said.

“I’ve seen art in a new light this year. I’ve been learning a lot...I never really tried pastels before. I liked them a lot,” Sydney said, feeling her horizons have been expanded.

“I’ve been doing okay with the quadmester. I’ve been able to focus...for sure I would have preferred to be in class. It would have been easier to be in that environment. At the same time, I think we all pushed through that challenge together and still made it fun,” Sydney said.

“Mr. DiCerbo made it really easy to transition from being at school to being online. The art part of it was actually really fun online. He gave us all the supplies and the tools that we needed to create art and it worked out really well,” Tori said.

“It (learning from home) was really enjoyable. You got to focus on what you were working on, so you had more time to enjoy it and do your best work...without losing your train of thought.”

“I got into art more when COVID hit. I started to do a lot more painting. It completely opened me up to so much more art. Now I’m definitely going to continue to work on it in the summer. I’m going to try to pick an example from nature, or indoors, and paint it or draw one every week or two. Anything to do with nature I love to work with,” Tori said.

“I like all types of art. When we were studying the Group of Seven, we worked on our own oil pastel paintings based on them. I looked into a lot of Tom Thomson’s art and I really liked that.”

“I know I want to continue doing art whether it’s a hobby or a career,” Tori said.

Alecia, Sydney and Tori each said they had a comfortable space and ample time to learn from home.

Teacher Adriano DiCerbo is known for his passion for art and his dedication to students.

Students took photos of their work and sent them electronically to DiCerbo for evaluation.

“We had classes for about two hours a day, in the morning, and every day he would conference with us, make sure we were on the right track and make sure we were doing well. He’s super nice. He always did what was best for us,” Alecia said.

“A lot of us didn’t have a lot of experience with art so he would teach us theory and techniques so that we would have some understanding and have fun with it. He would do check-ins about every 10 minutes to make sure we were progressing well,” Sydney said.

“We started with taking pictures. He gave us a fun weekend assignment where we would walk around and look at different designs and elements in things we found visually interesting. So, I walked around in my backyard and noticed things I never noticed before, and on Monday, we met and showed him things we found interesting and he told us to use what we liked to work into our art.”

“It was always super easy (to contact DiCerbo, by email for example, for help),” Sydney said.

“I’ve been doing okay with the quadmester. I’ve been able to focus,” she added.

“We went back in September with some excitement and some nervousness. There always is with teaching, but there was that added layer of ‘how are we going to do this with COVID restrictions?’ But we knew that we were going to make this work,” said Adriano DiCerbo. 

Then came the province’s stay at home order in April, all Sault and area elementary and secondary school students, along with their teachers, having to learn and teach remotely for the remainder of the 2020-21 school year.

“This was the first time we started without actually meeting our students,” said DiCerbo of the school year’s final quadmester.

“That was the challenge that we had. That was the hurdle to overcome at the beginning, and then we adapted. We would do ice breaking games online and build that sense of community,” Di Cerbo said, reflecting on the experience in an adaptive, positive light.

“Often on Mondays we would just begin with a ‘how was your weekend?’ ritual, to connect with each other because that’s what you would do in a classroom naturally anyway, and then we moved on to the actual academic work from there. If this has taught us anything, it’s that we need, and students need, face to face learning. For some, it (learning from home) is better for them, and that’s good too.”

“With a quadmester, it allows us to have an art course for two hours, which is great. In a regular class in a semester system you have 75 minutes. You have to adapt because if you don’t you’re moving backwards,” DiCerbo said.

Using technology, DiCerbo demonstrated the work of famous painters, such as the Group of Seven.

Students would submit their work and DiCerbo would instruct and advise using an electronic highlighter to point out areas of a drawing or painting that needed improvement, also using the same device to supply written notes of guidance.

“That was helpful. That was a good tool. It’s remarkable what we can do online when we have to.”

Though Tori said “I’m good with either (in class or remote learning),” the three students we spoke to said they are looking forward to being back in the classroom in September for the 2021-22 school year. 

“We’re looking forward to going back to in person instruction, definitely. There’s no question about that,” DiCerbo said.

“We really are proud of the students (for adapting to their first year of high school with COVID restrictions, then having to abruptly revert to learning remotely). At the end of the school year we stepped back and looked at their work and we said ‘wow, I can’t believe what they did in eight weeks (under the quadmester format),’ so imagine what else they can do.”

“We are very proud of them...we told them ‘your work and your success brings joy to us,’ and that’s the beauty of this profession.”

The work of the St. Mary’s College Grade 9 and 10 art cohort for 2020-21 is available for viewing online.