Adam Prudhomme
Beaver Staff
Students at NDSS’s School to Community program live with a wide range of developmental disabilities.
While that can make connecting with the entire class at once difficult at times, teacher Nancy Yanaky says there’s one steadfast solution: art.
“Not all of our students can read or write or even speak, but they can all participate in art,” said Yanaky. “I find the students I work with in the School to Community program especially enjoy expressing themselves in art, experimenting with colours, textures and patterns.”
Yanaky was able to provide art supplies for the students through a $2,000 grant from the Community Foundation for Lennox and Addington last spring, which she says was essential. That grant allowed the class to work on watercolour fall leaf paintings, a large mixed media painting of sunflowers, acrylic paintings, melted bead pendants, beaded keychains, metallic painted salt dough ornaments and painting wooden boxes, among other projects. The funding also allowed the school to purchase wooden frames to showcase some of the students’ art.
“When students know they have art, they are very excited and wanting to know what we are going to be working on next,” said Yanaky. “I think they enjoy the relaxed and creative atmosphere doing art.”
Yanaky is hoping she’ll be able to secure more funding for this year and is looking at displaying the students work at an upcoming showcase sometime next semester.