Welcome to Southeast Middle School 2012-2013!!

As some of you may have noticed, I have recently changed my school name and location.  I had an absolutely wonderful 5 years at Phoenix Elementary School, but it was time to move back to Ohio.  I learned so much about teaching, made lifelong friends with my peers, and taught thousands of students about my passion for art in Arizona.  This summer I have moved back to Ohio (where I grew up) and was asked to be the new art teacher for Southeast Middle School and I am so excited for this school year and many more to come at Southeast!!! The community and staff have been so helpful and welcoming and if the beginning of this new move is any indication of what is ahead, I know I will have a fabulous time here!!!! I would like to thank both school districts, thanks to Phoenix for my wonderful past and thank you to Southeast for my exciting new future!!! Stay tuned to Draws Attention for all of our new creations from OHIO!!!!

THE Phoenix ART MUSEUM!!

Herrera students (along with the rest of our district) got such an absolutely AMAZING opportunity to show artwork at THE PHOENIX ART MUSEUM!!! This year was Arizona's 100th birthday and we celebrated the centennial by creating a large-scale group project. Each school picked one county from Arizona. Next, each school received a wooden cut-out of that county. Each school decorated their county any way they chose (with a copper border to create some uniformity). When all schools counties are complete, it will create a large "puzzle" of ARIZONA!!! We decided to make a copper border because it is one of our most important natural resources from AZ. Also, we designed our counties based on the county we chose. My student's county was LA PAZ (pictured above, written in black on county). La Paz county has a large wildlife conservation, so I chose to showcase that by making a fish, flowers, owl, and a cactus. Also, Paz means PEACE in Spanish, so we divided it up using a peace sign. I chose to use twilled paper to create texture, dimension and just something different. Selected Junior High students worked on this piece.
The finished product was chosen to display at THE PHOENIX ART MUSEUM!!! We had a small little reception with cookies and juice. It was an amazing opportunity for our district and students!

Chalkboard!!!

I would like to take a moment to welcome my new chalkboard to the art class!!!! Ain't she beautiful? I appreciate my amazing SmartBoard and nice white board but I have found that chalkboards are just about extinct, so I feel really lucky to have one!! Woo Hoo!!!

Also, I would like to thank Ms. Estrada for donating it to me and Hector for doing such a wonderful job on the install!!! Thanks Again!!

Mrs. Castrigano's Paintings!!!

Here are just a few of my own paintings!! I currently show my painting in hair salons, restaurants and galleries in the Phoenix and Scottsdale areas. Art has always been my passion. Painting is what I turn to when I am happy, sad, mad, bored, or stressed! One of the things that I love most about my job is watching and guiding students to find their passion in life, whether it is art, music, writing, reading, acting and so on. Kids have the most amazing imaginations and I get so much of my inspiration from my students. I love their bold and bright colors and their fantastical creatures mixed with everyday images , which I can see in my own artwork. There is a common theory that " those who can't do teach!!" During my four years of doing both teaching and painting, I have found that they are completely interrelated. My teaching and students directly inspire my art and my art inspires me to teach my students to find their own joys in life.