TJMS Students Open Up Through Art

students shared their ‘transformations’ with a crowd of about 40 people Thursday night at the .

The photographs and pottery on display, as well as the poetry students read out loud, were created to depict the changes the students felt within themselves.

This year-long art project, which drew upon inspiration from nature, partnered the school with the Puffin Cultural Forum, the Artists-in-Education Program, New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Arts Horizons and Young Audiences New Jersey.

Various artists also offered their guidance to the students and included poet Dahlia Elsayed, artist/historian Rick Mills, photographer Rachel Banai, artist/sculptor Frank Ottochian and TJMS English teacher Assunta Trischka, art teacher Nancy Kihn and special-education teacher Debbie Richardson.

Assistant Principal Alma Morel said the project came about as a result of a grant the school received to integrate art into the curriculum.

“This is actually our third year being awarded an Artists-in-Education grant,” said Morel, who added that more than 100 students participated in this project, which was called “Transformations.”

Morel said this was the first year that poetry was included in the art project.

As the night commenced, more than a dozen students took to the stage to share poetry that reflected upon nature, relationships, family, bullying, world conflicts and more. 

From the very beginning, the students had the audience eating out their hands. With each new poem came more laughter, more cheers, and more applause.

All the artwork, poetry and photographs eventually will be published within an anthology. The students who shared their poetry on stage received advance copies of the book at the conclusion of the event.

Eighth-grader Paul Boranian Jr. was one of the students who read his poetry to the audience. He said he felt a little nervous when he first took the stage next to his classmates, but his self-described “outrageous” behavior trumped any anxiety.

“When I got up there, it was basically – ‘Showtime,’” he said. “It was just so great. It was just really, really fun to do.”

Boranian added that he was impressed with the way his classmates expressed themselves through their writing.

“Everybody who was up there was really good,” he said. “Some of them almost made me cry.”

John Cavallo came out to support his daughter Nicole, who’s an eighth-grader at TJMS. Nicole recited some of her poetry, and her artwork graces the cover of the anthology.

“I thought the event was absolutely amazing,” said John Cavallo. “It’s incredible the kind of talent that is shown. I am incredibly pleased that the students are exposed to this kind of activity at Thomas Jefferson."