News

Cactus Zentangles: A Colorful, Fun Art Project

"Cactus Zentangles" is the title of our most recently completed art project for third through fifth grade students. This project included learning about many different elements of art, featuring line, landscape, and color.

Fourth graders Lillian Grooms, Catherine Daniel, and Merritt Beecher agreed that "zentangle" is a fun word. "This was our first big project. It took three weeks!" The girls walked me through the steps of their project.

First, the students learned about the three parts of a landscape - the foreground, the middle ground, and the background. Next, they worked hard to create this landscape with lines to form a Zentangle. A Zentangle is a form of doodling that has patterns, or "tangles", that come together to form a Zentangle. From there they continued to use line designs to create more detailed artwork. Finally, the students used watercolor for the first time this school year.

Art teacher Mrs. Kylie Siegwald said, "Third through fifth grade students took line to the next level as they applied this art element to landscapes! I was extremely impressed with each student's choice of color as they worked to create a beautiful composition!"

Flag Brigade Demonstrates Love For Country

A new flagpole has stood on the front lawn of the SLC for months, gleaming white, waiting for a flag to be raised up its ropes, and starting last week, fifth graders made it happen.

The Flag Brigade, as they are affectionately called, consists of student teams, made up of three students each, that rotate their weekly service - arriving at school by 7:40 to raise the flag each morning and being dismissed from class at 2:50 for the lowering and storing of the flag each afternoon.

Students interested in this honor were asked to fill out an application in order to be selected for this honorable duty. On the application students had to explain, as well as support, why serving on the flag brigade is important.

Application responses included, “I love to serve because through serving I can please the Lord”, “I would love to have the honor of raising our country's flag every morning,” and “It is a good opportunity to honor America.”

This responsibility had been a fifth grade privilege for years, but was put on hold during the construction of the SLC, when PCA stood temporarily without a flagpole. “We are thankful to be a part of it again,” said 5th grade teacher, Lisa Shogren. 

When the teams were decided, Mrs. Shogren had PCA’s own Scot Wetzig, retired military and current facilities staff member, train the fifth grade teams on how to respect and care for the flag as they raise, lower, fold, and store it each day.

PCA is proud to have the flag waving in the front of the school once more.