Brittany Barber, Reporter
@BarberCourant
For the past 26 years, many students at New Canaan High School have taken art classes with Jeanne McDonagh. Through these classes, student artists have gotten the chance to learn a variety of creative skills.
Ms. McDonagh teaches a wide variety of classes that are offered for students in each grade. “Each class of mine is very different. This year I am teaching documentary photography, photos symbols and dreams, advanced digital media, photoshop design, and the AP class,”she said. “I always loved making art, so this job seemed to be a good fit because I enjoy teaching the whole process to kids.”
Ms. McDonagh’s career in art began before her job at NCHS. “I applied and got the job in 1989, and at that time in my life I was ready to come back to teaching art,” she said. “I have four children, and I taught in a college for many years. So, when my oldest was ready for high school, there was an opening for an art teacher here.”
While teaching multiple different styles of art can be difficult, Ms. McDonagh loves the diversity in her students artwork. “I think the best thing about this job is to see how the students process the assignments,” she said. “They come to them with a very fresh, creative voice and you can take the same old assignment, and all of a sudden it becomes new and exciting.”
With the technology around today, Ms. McDonagh has come to find that the art of her students has advanced over the years because of what they can do with the new material. “We work in a digital lab and since digital photography has evolved over the last twenty years, there are a lot of things the students and I are still learning, but that makes it exciting,” she said.
Ms. McDonagh’s classes are different from others in the high school because for some students, what they have learned in her class can translate into college credit. “When my students in the AP class complete the course, they apply for college credit through the Educational Testing Bureau in Princeton,” she said. “In the past six years, all of my students have passed and gotten the college credit.”
Among the students that have gotten college credit, some have even been recognized nationally through Scholastics. Through the Scholastic Awards, teenagers can apply in various categories of art and writing for their chance to earn scholarships and have their work published and exhibited. “Anything that wins a gold medal, goes on to be judged on a national level. We have had five national winners in the past 16 years,” Ms. McDonagh said.
This year, senior Hannah Fox and junior Hannah Gelnaw both received a gold medal. “I am beyond proud of them, and I hope they win at nationals. They both work hard and create great work,” she said.
Besides Scholastics, student artwork is shown locally. “The art that we do will be exhibited in local shows. On March 4th, we have an opening that is only for NCHS students, which will be at the Carriage Barn Art Center in Waveny park,” Ms. McDonagh said.
Students at NCHS are very appreciative to be able to take Ms. McDonagh’s classes. “I currently take photo symbols and dreams. I love the class because we get to incorporate photography with a more unrealistic side by using photoshop. We also alter the images in the way we want to,” junior Bailey Reehl said.
Sophomore Reilly Krug also enjoys the courses Ms. McDonagh teaches at NCHS. “I take documentary photo and I like the class because it is very relaxed and fun,” she said. “I am able to incorporate my own style and ideas into the photos that I take and create, so I am able to express myself through my pieces.”
Not only do students enjoy Ms. McDonagh’s classes, but they adore her as a person as well. “I really like Ms. McDonagh because she makes an effort to work with each individual as not only a student, but as a person. She takes time out of her own day to help her kids and make their personal pieces better,” Bailey said.
Senior Theo Crowley, a student in Ms. McDonagh’s AP studio class agrees, “I love Ms. McDonagh because she supports us in our pursuit of doing what we love artistically no matter what it is,” he said.
While art classes may be necessary to take for graduation credits, many students find themselves taking them for pure enjoyment. “Ms. McDonagh’s class has really helped me find my creative side, and maybe in the future I would like to somehow incorporate photography into my work,” Bailey said.
Reilly has also found the classes helpful to potentially help her pursue a related career. “If I was to do anything further with my photography, I think her class as a whole has taught me to express myself through my art and that every photo tells a story,” she said.
Theo believes that Ms. McDonagh teaches her students skills they can always use, which ultimately shows them a new view on photography. “Ms. McDonagh’s class has helped me discover a love for photography, as well as further teach me what I can do with a camera. She pushes me to be creative and explore things I wouldn’t normally explore,” he said.
