PREPARATORY SCHOOL
Meet Leith Elliot
Leith Elliot is the Preparatory School Art Teacher , who started at the School in Term 2 .
Leith has been teaching for 15 years and specialises in Art , Photography and Media Studies for students from Pre-Primary to Year 12 . Before working at Guildford Grammar School , Leith taught Art , Media Studies and Photography at Living Waters Lutheran College , where she was also the Year 8 Coordinator . Prior to that she was the teacher-in-charge of Film , Television and Media Studies at St Peters Lutheran College .
As well as being an experienced and passionate teacher , Leith is also an enthusiastic advocate of Arts education . She is very active within the Arts community , and is the current Vice-President of the Art Teachers Association of Western Australia .
Leith has always been drawn to Iconography and art that tells us about cultures , times and stories . “ Growing up , I was greatly moved by the photographs of Lewis Hine and Ansel Adams . I also have a love for conceptual art and Modernism . Some of my favourite artists are Picasso , Van Gogh , Turner , Klimt and Sir Francis Bacon . Some of my favourite Australian artists are Guy Grey- Smith , Del Kathryn Barton , Gordon Bennett and John Brack .”
In Leith ’ s experience , teaching Art to young children is about more than just exploring and playing with different mediums to create artwork . “ I always look for ways to encourage learning , foster an
Ms Leith Elliot
appreciation of art , create beautiful learning environments and help develop students as people . My ultimate goal in the art room is to provide a safe and encouraging learning environment where students feel comfortable to take risks and turn mistakes into happy accidents . Building their self-confidence is key to developing their creative ability .”
Here is what each year group has been working on this semester :
• Year 1 : Studying the elements of line , shape and colour . We are using artists such as Mondrain as a focus .
• Year 2 : Studying portraiture with a focus on learning how to understand the proportions of the human head .
• Year 3 : Working with Beverley Isles , our Artist in Residence . Their artwork is inspired by the book Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak . The
Year 3s have designed and painted the life size monsters that are on the glass windows of the art room .
• Year 4 : The theme for this term is ‘ birds in art ’. We are working at a range of skills including drawing , print making , ceramics , collage and painting , Picasso and Romero Britto are just some of the artists we are studying .
• Year 5 : Because we recently enjoyed the Olympics we are focusing on movement . We are looking at artists such as Keith Haring and Alberto Giacometti .
• Year 6 : We are looking at mark making and developing our drawing skills in preparation for the move to Senior School next year . We are focusing on contemporary local artist , Andy Quilty .
The students have been working hard on the work , some of which was exhibited at the IPSHA Art Exhibition at PLC in September . The students exhibited a range of 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional art works of various mediums including ceramics , painting , drawings , print making , mixed media and sculpture .
Leith has really enjoyed her time at the School so far , helping students to express themselves through Art , learn new techniques and create artworks they never though they had the potential to create .
“ I have been really pleased to have had such a warm welcome . The facilities , children , staff , grounds are all fabulous . I feel very much at home already !” children ’ s parents are illiterate and live way below the poverty line . To offer hope and the chance of an educated future , Nsobe Trust School was started in 2009 .
They now have a full primary school with 208 children in eight grades , from reception to grade 7 , taught by ten dedicated teachers and supporting staff . They offer a Christ-centred quality education , preparing pupils not only for jobs , but for life .
Fiona Tomlinson , one of the School ’ s founders , emailed Miss Vance back in July thanking the school community for their amazing support ; ‘ Wow ! Thank you so so much for this huge effort , it will be such a blessing for our kids to have access to books to read , learn and imagine !’ and advising her that they now have real floors in their classrooms instead of just mud , thanks to your support . Thank you to everyone involved in this amazing project .
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