Students in Danielle DePalma’s art classes at Oakdale-Bohemia Middle School have been learning new creative techniques and developing a variety of different skills all throughout the school year. Recently, sixth graders created drawings of peppers with oil pastels, which taught them how to blend using this unique medium. At the eighth grade level, students created three-dimensional globes using the “Zentangle method,” a drawing technique that involves using combinations of dots, lines and curves to create structured patterns.

Students in Melissa Johnson’s music class at Oakdale-Bohemia Middle School have been practicing rhythms and learning about call and response by participating in African drumming. This activity is done from a sitting position, each student having their own drum between their legs and using their hands to tap out the rhythms of different songs. The students are enjoying the hands-on musical and cultural learning experience that African drumming provides.