Art teacher Rachel Burgett is in her 7th year of teaching art at Greenfield. Mrs. Burgett comes to CCPS after 7 years of teaching and managing Youth and Family Programs at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. She holds a BFA in both Design and Art Education from VCU and a Masters in Educational Leadership from UVA.

Welcome to Art Class! I am your teacher Mrs. Burgett. Art classes are a valued part of our curriculum at Greenfield. Art influences all parts of our lives and is especially relevant in helping our students in becoming visually literate to navigate the digital and visual age we live in. At Greenfield, we offer a comprehensive visual arts program that provides students with multiple means of expression while building analytical skills to evaluate information conveyed through images and symbols. 

I provide open-ended experiential art activities that are explorative and motivating for children of all developmental abilities. I also provide direct instruction to expose students to different methods and techniques to build each students’ skills. I base my instructional practice on Harvard’s Project Zero Studio Habits of Mind that positively influence each student’s learning across the curriculum. Through participation in our visual arts class, students will develop critical-thinking skills and draw upon core academic areas to solve problems of creation, design, and execution. Students develop individual expression and the ability to work collaboratively with their peers to achieve common artistic goals in addition to preparing for a lifetime of engagement with the arts. 

Students at Greenfield learn art history and cultural context by investigating works of art from different times and places and develop an understanding of how art and culture shape and reflect each other. Our art program guides students in forming cognitive skills of observing, envisioning, innovating, and reflecting that are useful in all content areas. The art lessons at Greenfield innately incorporate the dispositions of the 6C’s of deeper learning identified in the 21st-century skills, an integral part of Chesterfield’s countywide goals of creativity, collaboration, communication, critical thinking, citizenship, and character.

Greenfield students use art to engage with their community by raise money and awareness to support a variety of causes such as chronic hunger and Relay for Life. Greenfield student’s art projects are consistently recognized both statewide and locally. Student artwork is on display throughout the year at various locations, school events, the countywide Fine Arts Festival, CCPS Central Office, CCPS School Bboard Offices, the State Fair, the State Capitol, Virginia Art Education Association Conferences, and VCU School of Education.

The arts inspire children to be creative, develop innovative ideas, and make their own decisions. 

• The arts celebrate multiple perspectives. One of their large lessons is that there are many ways to see and interpret the world.
• The arts teach children that problems can have more than one solution and that questions can have more than one answer.
• The arts help students have a growth mindset. Students learn that the unintended results of their creative endeavors can lead to new discoveries and innovative solutions. 
• The arts unlock the potential of the human mind. Studies have shown that exposure to art can make you better in other fields of knowledge.
• The art encompasses all the developmental domains in child development enhancing both cognitive fine and gross motor skills.

You may access the elementary Standards of Learning for Visual Art by this link 

http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/fine_arts/

The GRES Music Department follows a Kodály-inspired method of teaching, focusing on intonation, rhythm skills, music literacy, and the ability to sing in increasingly complex parts. We believe that students should learn and experience music at their own individual pace through a challenging yet accommodating curriculum. Outside of the music classroom, this Kodály-inspired method has been shown to improve perceptual functioning, concept formation, motor skills, and performance in other academic areas such as reading and math. Our end goal is to not only help students achieve musical growth, but also to inspire them to pursue future opportunities in the arts once they have left Greenfield.

The PE Department follows a skill-based theme set forth by the Virginia Department of Education. Our goal is to teach our students skills that will encourage a lifetime of activity and healthy choices.

We believe that students who develop and use knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to be successful in STEAM disciplines also develop problem-solving skills and abilities necessary to successfully engage in a global society. Our hope is that students will see from experience that science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics are everywhere, every day. STEAM encourages higher level thinking skills and abilities, by facilitating students’ learning and understanding of difficult concepts through application.