The Lighthouse Beacon August 2015 1 The Lighthouse Beacon What Is Art, Why it Matters, and Why It Belongs in a Classical Christian Education by Temple Worth, LCA Art Teacher “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us...” John 1:14a (KJV). In the Classical context, the Word is history, and art is the process that makes the history live and dwell in our memory. But what is art? The image that comes to mind is a painting on canvas. This image is a result of visiting a lot of art galleries, particularly the East Wing of the National Gallery of Art, in Washington, DC, which seems to hold an amazing collection of oil paintings, but very little else, and what little else there is, is either confined to the hallways or found in the basement. Art can either be defined narrowly as a painting done with a brush on a canvas, or broadly as almost anything done well. Art defined broadly includes, but is not limited to, painting, architecture, needlework, weaving, sculpting, manners, letter writing, bookmaking, graphic design, photography, cooking, and gardening. Art is properly a building process. Just as most babies crawl before walking, art should be a process of learning. The one-time knock-off of a masterpiece, which can be done in one to two hours with the proper directions, should be discouraged as not being true to the nature of art itself. The accomplishment is tempered by the knowledge that you really had no idea how you got there, and would have no idea to achieve it again or modify it to create something else. Art is an opportunity to develop and exercise your passions. Art should be discouraged for the sake of keeping busy or babysitting students while the real teachers take a break. Art should reflect the artist's passions. Art is a self-portrait, and it tells you a lot about the artist. The creation tells us so much about God. It tells us He cares just as much about an enormous oak tree as a tiny bumblebee. The attention to detail in both works is exquisite. He decided to create light first, and then chose to refer to his son as the light of the world. And God does not just care about nature. He also cares about interior decoration. There are quite detailed descriptions in the Old Testament not just about worship practices, but about Volume 1 Issue 10 August 2015 Essay on Classical EducationBoard Update Back-to-School BBQ Summer Reading PTO Vendor Fair Free Fundraising Gym Uniforms Back-to-School Hot Lunches Website Redesign NEW STAFF PROFILES Calendar Spotlight Wish List Founded in 2001 A Classical Christian School 931 Love Point Road Stevensville, MD 21666 http://www.lcacademy.org
Transcript
The Lighthouse Beacon August 2015 1
The Lighthouse Beacon
What Is Art, Why it Matters, and Why It Belongs
in a Classical Christian Education
by Temple Worth, LCA Art Teacher
“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us...” John 1:14a (KJV). In the Classical context, the
Word is history, and art is the process that makes the history live and dwell in our memory.
But what is art? The image that comes to mind is a
painting on canvas. This image is a result of visiting a lot of art galleries, particularly the East Wing of the
National Gallery of Art, in Washington, DC, which seems to hold an amazing collection of oil paintings, but very
little else, and what little else there is, is either confined to the hallways or found in the basement. Art can either be defined narrowly as a painting done with a brush on a canvas, or broadly as almost anything done well. Art
defined broadly includes, but is not limited to, painting, architecture, needlework, weaving, sculpting, manners, letter writing, bookmaking, graphic design, photography, cooking, and gardening.
Art is properly a building process. Just as most babies crawl before walking, art should be a process of
learning. The one-time knock-off of a masterpiece, which can be done in one to two hours with the proper directions, should be discouraged as not being true to the nature of art itself. The
accomplishment is tempered by the knowledge that you really had no idea how you got there, and would have no idea to achieve it again or modify it to create something else.
Art is an opportunity to develop and exercise your passions. Art should be discouraged for the sake of keeping busy or babysitting students while the real teachers take a break. Art should reflect the artist's passions. Art is a self-portrait, and it tells you a lot about the artist. The creation tells us so much about God. It tells us He cares just as much about an enormous oak tree as a tiny bumblebee. The attention to
detail in both works is exquisite. He decided to create light first, and then chose to refer to his son as the light of the world. And God does not just care about nature. He also cares about interior decoration. There are quite detailed descriptions in the Old Testament not just about worship practices, but about
the tabernacle and, later, temple furnishings. The Book of Esther starts with the description of a room set up for a banquet. Descriptions of the new Jerusalem in the Book of Revelation take our breath away for their beauty. So, we learn that God not only cares about beauty, but he expects us to care about it,
too.
Properly done, art reflects our interests. There is a reason Michelangelo sculpted Biblical heroes, Mary Cassatt painted children, and John Constable preferred the English landscape. The strange thing is, their
passions make us care, too. The Pieta makes me sad, the little girls Cassatt painted make me want my own, and I long for the English landscape, although I have seen very little of it in person. Personally, I am wild about hand-woven potholders, boxwood wreaths, and needlework samplers. If you guessed that I
liked order, simplicity, and the color green, you would be correct.
Art in a Classical setting uses the appropriate materials and processes. If your student is studying the Middle Ages, the art materials should as much as possible be what they would have had available. Even
though this is not always practical, it should be a starting point for every project.
For the grammar years, roughly grades 1 to 6, repetition is key. Projects should be done more than once, to build familiarity and comfort with the materials and the process. For the logic years, roughly grades 7-8, art should explore why art happens, why artists do what they do, and consider the effects
that the “three C's” of a project – cash, credit, and control – have over the outcome of art. For the rhetoric years, roughly grades 9-12, art should focus on what the artists believed, and enable the
student to see their historical and theological connections between the art and the artist.
A student once asked me if my art room would have a prize box. Not at all! Art is the prize box. It's the icing on the cake and the privilege to exercise our desire to create based on being made in the image of
God, the ultimate Creator and Artist.
LCA welcomes current board member John Reitman as the new board chairperson. He succeeds Dr. Jodie Gray, who is leaving the school's leadership group in order to begin this fall the exciting journey of homeschooling their daughter, Emily. Jodie continues to serve on the board as an ex-officio member to provide support during the transition. We wish the Gray family much success and joy as they transition to a new chapter in their lives!
This is a wonderful e-Book from Christopher Perrin that is a great handbook for parents of students in a Classical and Christian school. Click here to download a PDF to read at your leisure.
The PTO has been hard at work preparing for the 2015-2016 school year. Look for more information from them coming soon about the Ice Cream Social the first week of school! Questions for the PTO? Email them!
Helen Bennett, President Lisa Couture, Vice President
Families with Last names A-L bring salad or side Families with Last names M-Z bring dessert
Remember, we are NUT-FREE!
Students are encouraged to bring their
yearbooks for yearbook-signing. This is a great time of fellowship and reconnection. We can’t
wait to see you!
We are pleased to announce our 3rd annual Holiday Craft and Vendor Show to be held on November 21, 2015 from 9 am to 3 pm! If you make crafts to sell or have a home sales business and would like to rent a spot at our show, please contact us at [email protected], and we will send you an application and reserve you a space. We do not allow more than one representative from each Direct Sales Company, so we are offering you the right of first refusal! This is a great way to support LCA and help your home business!
There are lots of ways you can contribute to LCA by doing the things you do every day! We have links to all of those on our website, but here’s a list to keep in mind:
Boxtops are found on many major food brands, and when you clip them and send them in to LCA, we receive $0.10 for each one! We raised more than $750 last year, so keep clipping!
Target donates 1% of every purchase made with your REDcard to the school of your choice. Plus, you save 5% on every purchase at
Target when you use your REDcard! Register your card today. Our Target ID: 150653. By shopping at Safeway and other related grocery stores, every purchase earns cash for our school! Simply register your card. Lost your card or just use your phone number at the store? Call Safeway at 1-877-723-3929 to find out your number to register! If you've already registered, you must RENEW each September. School ID: 149572298. Looking for quick, wholesome food for your
family, delivered right to your door? Look no further than Schwan’s! Select “Breaking Bread for LCA” and we will receive a portion of your purchase each time you order.
We are excited to have been approved with Amazon Smile, which is a shopping portal for Amazon that, when accessed, will donate a portion of your purchase total back to Lighthouse. Just go to Amazon through their Amazon link, and start shopping! It’s that simple!
Take advantage of Maryland’s Tax-Free Shopping Week this Sunday, August 9, to
Saturday, August 15!
Check out our dress code, and go to Lands’
End LCA site for all of your uniform needs (see
the coupon below)! We will be selling spirit
wear, gym uniforms (with red and grey shirt
options), jackets, and more through our online
store around August 9. Look for a notification
on Facebook and in your inbox.
There will be uniform exchange tables set up at the Back-to-School BBQ on August 31, but you can call the office to see about a good time to stop by and look through our bins if you’d like to do so beforehand. Summer Reading lists and assignments and supply lists are listed on the website. Click here to take you there!
Mrs. Berger is looking to set up some new options for our Hot Lunch program, and she is looking to make connections! Do you know a business that would want to partner with LCA for hot lunches each week? Please contact Mrs. Berger as soon as possible if you do! We are speficially looking for anyone with a relationship with a local restaurant or vendor. Thank you!
We are excited to be launching an updated website in the coming weeks. Look for an updated interface, streaming video, mobile-ready enhancements, and more!
We are defending our title of Best Private School as voted by readers of the Shore Update this year, and we need your votes to retain our status! Please click the link and go online to cast your vote by August 21 – or just do it now! There are two categories – Best Private School and Best Hidden Treasure. Tell your friends and family to vote, too!
It is always a blessing to see how God moves the right teachers into our school at just the right time, and we are so excited that these wonderful educators will be joining us this fall! Please look for them at the Back-to-School BBQ and give them a warm LCA hello!
Kindergarten: Mrs. Judy Shaffer Mrs. Shaffer’s main goal in life is stated in Philippians 1:9-11, “that [her] love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that [she] may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.” She has been a wife for 31 years, was educated at Washington Bible College, and acquired her Bachelor of
Religious Education Degree through Chesapeake Bible College & Seminary. For 20 years, she homeschooled her three children from Preschool to High School Graduation, directed 2 online chat rooms teaching and encouraging homeschooling mothers for 7 years, and administrated a homeschool oversight group for 8 years. For 7 years she worked for a Christian Satellite company broadcasting the gospel to the Middle East and North Africa. She enjoys the students and the hard work of teaching. She is working on her Masters of Religious Education. She keeps busy studying God’s Word, reading, and gardening.
First Grade: Mrs. Christine Wasnesky
B.S. in Music with a concentration in Education and minor in French, Grove City College, Grove City, PA.
Shortly after graduating from Grove City
College where I met my husband Lou, we moved to Maryland. I taught for 5 years in public schools before we were blessed with our two children, Elyssa and Bryan. In 2011, I returned to teaching as a Lead Preschool Teacher.
My family and I are excited to be joining the Lighthouse Christian Academy family for a
variety of reasons. We are excited to be joining a school with an unapologetic Christian worldview, using time-tested methods, partnering with families to raise godly students with joy, and keeping God in everything as it should be. We are looking forward to being part of the LCA family.
During our family time we like to play games, enjoy Lou's train collection, camp, and spend time at home. Our dog, Cola, gets a great deal of attention by all of us and is an excellent couch buddy. I have many hobbies including crafts of all sorts, sewing, and home improvement projects.
Third Grade: Mrs. Ann Nichols I am looking forward to my first year at Lighthouse Christian Academy! I attended Cedarville College and majored in Elementary Education. My teaching career began in 1990 at Arlington Baptist School as a Middle School science teacher for 143 students. Since then, I have tutored independently, homeschooled my oldest son through eighth grade, and also have developed curriculum and taught at the Severn Run Classical Christian Homeschool Academy from 1999 to 2007. My two sons have both graduated from Rockbridge Academy and have given me an inside look at the tremendous blessing of a Classical Christian education. In addition to academics, I have been able to share with my children several hobbies, including music, 4-H, reading, and gardening. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve as a third grade teacher and partner with the parents of my students.
Art: Mrs. Temple Worth J.D., University of Maryland; B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Geneva College; Congressional Intern; Mechanical engineer for the Department of the Navy for ten years; Member of the Court of Appeals of Maryland since 1995; Member of the Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States since 2009; Joined Lighthouse in April 2015. While visiting Geneva College's library during a homecoming weekend in 1999, I stumbled onto an essay by Dorothy Sayers, one of my favorite mystery authors, called the "Lost Tools of Learning", and I have been hooked on Classical Christian education ever since. The birth of my first child in 2000 coincided with Susan Wise Bauer publishing her book The WellTrained Mind, which provided a method to do what I had been longing to do ever since reading the Sayers' essay. I have homeschooled all three of my children for various periods of time, over a period of 10 years. During that time, I also taught preschool art at a Christian cooperative, organized Classical ballet lessons for children, and codeveloped an art program with an emphasis in Botany. I still practice law part time, and devote the majority of my practice time to advising people who need to represent themselves.
In 2014, my husband Dan and I were delighted to find that Lighthouse Christian Academy offered a Classical Christian education in a beautiful setting with devoted faculty and staff, and we enrolled two of our children here.
My goal for teaching art is not just to help students become better artists, it is to help them become better people. I want them to see
The Lighthouse Beacon August 2015 7
the beauty in the world God created, and to go through life adding to that beauty, to the glory of God who created them. “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” (I Corinthians 10:31). Our family enjoys watching old movies, fixing up our home that used to be a girls' school, and eating dinner together by candlelight.
6-8 Grade Logic, Bible, Literature, and History: Mr. Dustin Carpenter Mr. Carpenter is a graduate of The University of Baltimore with a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies. He is currently pursuing two Master's of Arts degrees and loves to read and learn as much as he can in the fields of Theology, History, Philosophy, and Literature. He is happily married to his beautiful wife, Mandy, and has three amazing little girls, Lilly, Juliette and Emily. The Carpenters have recently moved to Easton from Baltimore.
August 25-29 Faculty Training Week 31 5 PM New Family Orientation
6 PM Back-to-School BBQ September 7 Labor Day – NO SCHOOL 8 First Day of School – Welcome Back! 11 2:15 PM Ice Cream Social 13 1:30 OPEN HOUSE 21 7 PM Back-to-School Night (Sanctuary) 30 First Formal Uniform Requirement
Do you Facebook, tweet, blog, instagram, or watch videos online? “Like” us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, watch our videos on Vimeo, and follow our blog. Tell your friends and family, too!
We asked our teachers and staff to “WISH BIG” – any and everything they could imagine that would make their classrooms and workspace the best it could be. We will run this each month to keep you
apprised of their wishes and will add to it as their wishes grow!
Wish List
Location Item QTY Price Total Raised Remaining Van Running Boards 2 $255 $510 Done! $0
Office Large Laminator 1 $800 $800 -- $800 Classrooms Document Camera 3 $800 $2400 Gifted $1600
