To help students with online art classes, the art teachers will be handing out art kits to their students on March 31 from 12-2 p.m. at the circle drive at the front of the school.

“How are we supposed to assign you things if you don’t have anything to do art with?” art teacher Jennifer Russell said, “We have to have these lessons and stuff for online learning, but a lot of it requires art supplies and you paid for stuff and left it at school, and we didn’t know this was going to happen.”

On March 27, the art teachers came up to school to make kits for students. Russell said she put information in the kits including contact information and virtual office hours. Russell also received requests from some students for specific supplies such as senior Adrianna Griffith, who asked for her AP portfolio pieces. 

“The hope is that by providing some materials you can start being creative on your own like you would in the normal class,” Russell said. “All you’re missing is me, the classroom and whatever crazy music I decided to play that day.”

Russell said for her classes, students will be working on smaller pieces rather than bigger projects because of the limited amount of class time. Each class is currently allocated 30 minutes per school day.

“So for the next two weeks we’re really going to be working on creative journaling and really letting that creativity loose,” Russell said. “If [the time we miss is] extended, then it’ll change after that. But right now we’re still in review mode, and so you’re just using the skills you’ve already acquired to do these assignments.”

Requirements for AP art have also changed as a result of coronavirus. The required number of pieces has been cut from 15 to 10. Only three pieces have to be mailed in to the College Board as opposed to five. The submission date for the pieces has been extended to May 26. 

“Online art is not necessarily the dream, but we just hope that our kids have a positive artistic experience at the end of this,” Russell said.