On March 26, the art department decided to bring students from Rock Hill High School together to design their own chalk murals in the front of the building. Anyone who was available for the day was able to participate in this event to show their community building skills.
Each school year, the school hosts a “Chalk Mural” with the goal of the theme, which is community. This year, there was an increase in the number of students seeking to get involved in the event.
“It happens because we, as teachers in Prosper ISD, pay dues to be a part of what’s called a TAEA; which is the Texas Art Education Association and they have a rubric of what they call a District of Distinction,” art teacher Crimson Scott said. “Doing ‘Big Art Day,’ which is what our Chalk Mural event is, is one of the marks on that rubric, so that we can be an example district in the state of Texas, we can be a District of Distinction when it comes to visual art. ‘Big Art Day’ is just a way where we can as a campus get everyone involved in art making regardless of experience or if you have ever taken an art class.”
To take part in the art department’s event, students were required to submit their proposed artwork and team composition a week ahead. Each group could consist of up to four members.
“It’s meant to represent the theme of community. You need generosity and you need to just cherish the people around you,” freshman Alexandra Rubin said. “It’s really fun and I would definitely do it again.”
The primary goal of this event was to ensure participation from every club or organization, with the option for students not affiliated with an art class or club to also take part.
“They get excused as if it were a field trip, so they do get to miss their classes which is why we have an application, so that we don’t have people going out their drawing stick figures just to skip class,” Scott said. “If they did have a quiz, test, or SOAR time tutorials then they were able to go back into the building during those times and take care of what they needed to and come back to work.”
Following the completion of their chalk murals, the students submitted them to a contest with the chance of winning an award.
“It is actually a competition. There are QR codes on slides around the school, and I just emailed the voting form to all teachers,” Scott said. “So first place, second place, and third place teams get the most votes, they do get an award of some kind either art supplies, candy, or something like that.”
