A school leader got a special surprise at a recent education council meeting.
Students from PS 326 in Flatlands presented the district’s superintendent with hand-painted pictures to decorate her office.
“I’m truly touched and amazed at the incredible talent,” said District 22 superintendent Dr. Rhonda Farkas. “The paintings don’t look like they’re the product of 7-year-olds.”
Before the district’s community education council meeting started, kindergartners and first-graders showed off their dance skills for council members and residents.
Then, second-graders offered up nearly a dozen paintings as a show of gratitude to the superintendent, who will hang them around her office, she said.
Some pieces were all-original. Others were inspired by classics like Claude Monet’s “Bridge over a Pond of Water Lilies,” Edvard Munch’s “The Scream,” and Vincent Van Gogh’s “Starry Night.”
The students also read artists’ statements explaining their pieces. Both the artists’ names and statements will appear on plaques below the paintings in Dr. Farkas’s office.
“Each student had a response that was so well-thought out and eloquently articulated,” she said.
Dr. Farkas said the quality of both the paintings and the statements proved that the district’s early childhood centers were doing strong work.
“I could see that these children were given the freedom of exploration,” she said.
