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We are happy to introduce Brentwood Fine Arts Teacher, Mrs. Novak

I am so excited to be the Fine Arts teacher at Brentwood. Our curriculum focuses on music, art, dance, and even drama! I meet with students on either their A,B, or C specials day, and on some Wednesdays on a special rotation. Due to all of our learning spaces serving as classrooms, fine arts is mobile this year. I load up my cart each day and teach either in the multipurpose room, the staff lounge, and/or a kindergarten room. I also lead the BBC (Brilliant Brentwood Chorus) here at Brentwood, which involves 50-60 4th and 5th grade singers.

You are teaching in various locations at Brentwood and have mastered the Art on a Cart concept. How is that going?

All in all, I am so passionate about the subject areas that I am teaching. The arts are so very important now more than ever. The cart can be challenging to teach off of, but it also motivates me to be more organized and creative with storage and projects in general. I joked that I would even teach fine arts on the roof! Mr. Mark (Brentwood Head Custodian) is looking into it, ha!

Favorite projects or something you want to share about an art project or music program/instruction unit?

I am a member of the Feierabend Association for Music Educators, and a philosophy that I have adopted is that our student musicians are learning to be tuneful, “beat”ful, and artful. We do a lot with pitch exploration, circle games, beat motions, and creative movement. On any given day, we could be doing a folk dance as well! The older students will learn rhythm syllables and solfege when being introduced to music literacy.

In art, I will be mixing principles of art lessons in with creative exploration. I like to give the students a baseline for a project, but allow them to be creative and truly make it their own.

It’s possible that we may be having art centers too, with mini-demonstrations to lead off the art class.

Any thoughts you want to share about the importance of fine arts in the school system?

The arts not only give students a creative outlet, but they can better connect us all to the larger world. Believe it or not, there is more space in the brain for music than even language! There have been so many studies done as to how music positively enhances cognitive functioning, and apart from that, music is so enjoyable! Expressing themselves through art is such a powerful tool for students, and art provides time to focus, persevere, collaborate, make decisions, and even problem solve.

Any favorite stories from your students at Brentwood about fine arts?

A few favorites:  a parent told me that her kids are singing the songs from music class at the dinner table! Another student taught her younger siblings a game that we learned. I am also so inspired by students who show me their artwork in their own personal sketchbooks. When you see students get excited to share music and art together, it creates such a trusting, safe, and fun little community. We have these shared experiences that bring us all together and enhance the culture of Brentwood.

What would you like your learners to take away from their fine arts experience?

I want students to know that every child is an artist, and that every child is a musician.

Every time you pick up a brush or a coloring material, you are creating something unique. Every time we make music together, we are all present in the moment together.

Tell us about your family, hobbies or other background.

I am a Brentwood alumnus! I attended Brentwood from Kindergarten through 5th grade, and my parents still live in this neighborhood. In fifth grade, I was in chorus, joined band on French horn, and continued in band at Friendship, Elk Grove High School, and played for a few years in the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra. Ever see a drum major waving their hands around in front of the marching band? That was me for two years! I ended up majoring in Music Performance (French Horn) and Spanish at Butler University in Indianapolis. I took time off of school to take a job playing French horn in two professional orchestras in Montevideo, Uruguay. That is where I truly learned to speak Spanish (with the help of school too though!) I came back, realized that I wanted to teach language because I so very much enjoyed learning Spanish, and I wanted to motivate students to do so as well. I received my Masters Degree from National Louis in the Advanced Specializations program (Bilingual Education and Learning Behavior Specialist).  I taught in the bilingual and dual language programs at Rupley and Salt Creek for 9 years. I felt the arts tugging me back, so here I am teaching fine arts!

I live with my husband, three-year-old daughter Nora, and our dog, Dharma. I come from a whole family of teachers:  grandmother, parents, mother-in-law, my sister is at Byrd, and my husband is a high school social worker. Another fun hobby is that I play keyboards, trumpet, and French horn in a rock band, and we put out our very own album a few years ago.

Welcome to Brentwood School, Mrs. Novak!