Saxe Middle School Students Keep Outdoor Art Alive During COVID

Press release from the New Canaan Public Schools:

May 22 2020

New Canaan, CT-- Outdoor art is alive and on view at the entrance of Saxe
Middle School, even during a pandemic. As part of New Canaan Public School’s virtual club
program, a recently formed “Saxe Spirit Benches” club encourages students to be creative and
show Saxe school spirit at the same time. The virtual club initiative is designed to keep students
connected and in communication with each other during distance learning.

The Saxe Spirit Bench club began earlier this month, meeting once or twice a week, usually on
Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons. Led by Saxe Middle School Art Teacher Cara Beatman,
the club invites the school’s parents to register to have their children participate in the outdoor
activity. At designated painting times, parents bring students to the entrance of Saxe. They are
required to stay on-site during their painting appointment, which is about 15 minutes for each
student. Masks and gloves must be worn by students the entire time.

“The whole premise of this project is to keep art alive during the pandemic, and to have the
students feel like a part of something creative that directly relates to their school,” said Mrs.
Beatman. “Once the benches are completed, we will be working on other Saxe-Sprit artworks
that can be worked on at home.”

The school provides art supplies, and the art teacher offers guidance from a safe distance.
Designs are outlined onto the four benches located at the Saxe entrance, and when students
arrive, they are given designated areas to paint with specific paint-by-numbers- guides.

“Our theme is 'Saxe Spirit,’” said Mrs. Beatman. “The students brainstormed ideas and shared
them through our Google Classroom. I schedule ‘painting appointments’ so that students have
space to social distance. Masks and gloves are always worn, and we are about half-way done.”Once finished, visitors to Saxe will be able to admire the benches painted with the Saxe Hawk

Logo and red, black, and white designs, while appreciating that Saxe Middle School student
artists worked on and completed their project while living through a pandemic

This press release was produced by the New Canaan Public Schools. The views expressed here are the author’s own.