In Caroline School, some exciting collaboration between students, staff and the community has lead to some interesting and unique learning opportunities. One of the learning objectives for the the Caroline Grade three class was to explore how to paint watercolors in Chinese characters and symbols. Mrs Celine Wei Cotrell, a local resident and a well-known artist and art teacher in China, was our resident specialist. For 5 consecutive days she came in to teach the students every afternoon.

“Working with a group of students can sometimes be quite intimidating,” stated Caroline School Teacher and Vice-Principal, Pam Wright. “ As Celine’s first language is Chinese and not English, she admittedly felt some uncertainty about addressing the students through her first lessons. Over the course of the learning though, it was fascinating to see a relationship blossom between the students and Celine that provided an incredible learning experience for everyone involved.”

Working in groups, Mrs Celine Wei Cotrell provided many demonstrations for hands-on learning, allowing students to explore the processes and skills involved in Chinese watercolors in a much broader way. This experience provided a significant learning challenge from an artistic point of view for students but was also a huge demonstration of a growing relationship between Celine and the grade 3 class. As the lessons accumulated, it was easy to see how the personal attention she gave students, as well as the pride and enthusiasm she reflected in their work, provided the tipping point toward lifelong learning and skill building for all. For her son Jemmy, a grade three student in the class, this time with his mom in his classroom was also a fantastic moment of joy and pride.

One of the outcomes for this particular project was to produce work that would be appropriate to donate to the recent Caroline Art Show and Silent Auction. One of the student donations sold for $100.00.

“I would love to come back at any time; not just for watercolors, but I’m also learning acrylics,” stated Mrs Celine Wei Cotrell. “I could come and set up classes for different kinds of art. I enjoy teaching art techniques, and the students respond so well.”

You can find more pictures of the art on our Facebook page here.