Islip Fine and Performing Arts

Art in Our Schools Month

On March 2th Islip High School’s scenic artists welcomed Mr. Lerry’s fifth grade class, along with their art teacher, Ms. Fisher, to provide a helping hand by assisting in the painting for this year’s spring musical, “Damn Yankees.” This was a wonderful opportunity for the younger students to work with the older students while creating a set for the community to enjoy. They were also introduced to different career opportunities that are available to them in the fine and performing arts. Under the supervision of art director Mrs. Melissa Trocchio-Cohen, the high school scenic designers have worked diligently to create the scenery for our 2009 musical “Damn Yankees”.

Islip High School’s Drawing & Painting II class was part of a very exciting program titled, “Long Island’s Best Young Artists.” Back in March Mrs. Knoblauch’s class took a field trip to the Heckscher Museum for a day of viewing and inspiration. The students’ brainstormed ideas and concepts as a reaction to the artwork on display. By visiting the museum many of our students were entitled to participate in this art contest which yields a juried art show museum exhibit and potential cash prize. Whether or not students chose to participate in the contest, we all had a very educational experience and a wonderful time viewing the art exhibit.

On Sunday, April 18th – May 3rd the art of Lauren Goldstein, a junior at Islip high school will be on display at the Heckscher museum of art in Huntington. Lauren’s work was chosen from a group of 800 pieces from 70 schools and narrowed down by an arduous adjudication process to create the exhibit titled,” Long Island’s Best”. Congratulations to Lauren on this amazing accomplishment and kudos to Mike Sedlak, Cheree Lynch and Brenna Eagen for their provocative art work that was adjudicated for the show and earned the appreciation of the judges and educators alike but did not win entry to the exhibit.

Art club students began a community service project sponsored by supervisor Phil Nolan for Islip Town Hall called Trash Can Art. Many schools are involved and each one gets a theme to use for their designs and they will be on location around the town at designated Islip Beaches, Sports facilities and Playgrounds. Islip Art students, under the supervision of club advisor Mrs. Trocchio-Cohen, will design their trash cans in a beach theme and artists are encouraged to use their imagination when painting their cans. The purpose of this project is to further enhance the Town’s beaches, parks and marinas by transforming ordinary trash cans into extraordinary art while providing a sense of accomplishment and pride to the youth of the town. The program began in 2008 and has been a HUGE success with about 30 cans painted and distributed throughout the Town of Islip.