Jefferson Arts Committee announces outstanding artists

OAK RIDGE — The Jefferson Arts Committee (JAC) is pleased to announce its Student Artists of the Month for December 2018. The students who were chosen by their art teachers to be recognized for outstanding work on a class art project are: Blake Glamnn – Ellen T. Briggs Elementary School; Celine Covello and Julia Glenn – White Rock Elementary School; Jackson Petrask and Caiden Walter – Cozy Lake Elementary School; Victoria Wojtak, Harper Felch, and Lorenzo Gonzalez – Jefferson Township Middle School; Mackenzie Rock and Gabrielle L’Abbate – Jefferson Township High School.
The JAC’s Student Artists of the Month program was conceived by former president Jack Kelly more than a decade ago to recognize the township’s talented art students. The art teachers choose one or two outstanding pieces of artwork from their students on a monthly basis and submit them to the JAC where the works are displayed for one month at the Jefferson Township Public Library. Students, accompanied by their families and friends, are invited to that month’s awards presentation, where each winner is recognized with a certificate and a medal for outstanding achievement.
In June of each school year, all the artwork that was recognized over a seven-month period is displayed in the Jefferson Township High School Library/Media Center, where a reception is hosted by the JAC for all that year’s student artists. The JAC invites a guest artist who speaks to the children about his/her art career or hobby, and the artist’s own works are exhibited. Many of the district’s art teachers, who are also invited to attend, display their own personal work.
The participating teachers for the 2018-19 school year are Jennifer Tamayne-Hettema (White Rock, Cozy Lake, and Milton), Karen Frelinghuysen (Ellen T. Briggs and Arthur Stanlick), Denise Morando (Middle School), and Karen Correia, David DeVries, and Renee Simler (High School).
Members of the JAC’s Student Artists of the Month Committee who attended the December presentation were Chairman Jason Nicholas, JAC President Carol Punturieri, and Art Teacher Jennifer Tamayne-Hettema).