By Jeffrey Frankel ’13, Arts & Entertainment Editor

As AP and IB exams continue and the Newark Academy community says “good-bye” to the class of 2012, buzz about senior projects reverberates through the administration hallway. The graduating seniors have all handed in their proposals for projects, which can last up to four weeks in duration and vary from volunteering at a local hospital to completing an internship with a chocolatier to working with an auto mechanic to travelling on the Southwest Trip. Generally, students are encouraged to consider two options when searching for potential senior projects: the experience should be one which either correlates with the student’s career goals or one that presents the student with an opportunity to learn something new that he or she may not ordinarily have the chance to study.

Many students opt for the latter, especially because the project should culminate the year in an exciting way. For example, seniors Jackie Acierno, Jessie Arnell, and Emma Beecher, are all going to be taking classes at the Art Students League of New York. While none of these three students are currently involved in the visual arts program at Newark Academy, this senior project will afford them the opportunity to step outside of what they were normally involved in during high school. In an interview, Jessie Arnell ‘12 stated, “I decided to look for an opportunity to take a visual arts course because I have always been involved in the theatre program at Newark Academy, and have always wanted to learn how to draw, but never had the opportunity to do so.” Arnell will be taking drawing classes in the morning five days a week (“Drawing from Life”) and in the evening two days a week (“Life Drawing”).

At the Art Students League, normal classes commence at the beginning of September and run through the end of May, but a student can enroll at any point during the year and study from any of six key concentrations: painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking, mixed media, and the seminar program. In all disciplines, the instructors are accomplished and widely-recognized professional artists who essentially create their own curricula. As varying perspectives on culture and art can only augment the students’ experiences, the League does not aim to enforce one overarching point of view. Instead, the teachers establish their own methods to educate the students in the way they deem most beneficial to their artistic growth. In this case, someone studying at the League could hear four or five different opinions about the same work of art, which fosters creative critical thinking and supplements the skills being learned in the studio.

When I asked Arnell what she most looks forward to, she explained, “I am really looking forward to having a chance to concentrate on art, and art alone. Drawing is something that I have always had appreciation for, and the fact that I have this amazing opportunity is just a testament to how beneficial senior projects are to Newark Academy students. It will be nice to have a break from academics, while still fulfilling requirements.” Lists of Senior Project choices from the past several years are posted on Ms Galvinʼs bulletin board. In addition, notebooks with full proposals, one-page reaction papers, and sponsor evaluation letters are available for review in the Upper School office. We wish Jessie, Jackie, Emma, and the rest of the class of 2012 luck and success in completing their upcoming senior projects!