Ward Melville HS Receives Two Art Mini-Grants

Two Three Village Central School District art teachers have been awarded mini-grants from the Mid-East Suffolk Teacher Center (MESTRACT). Congratulations to Ward Melville High School art teacher Cortney Weisman and Ward Melville High School Chairperson for Art and Technology Jennifer Trettner, for earning $3,000 for the school’s art department.

The first grant will be used to fund a recycled fashion project. Students will be given an opportunity to construct a garment using recyclable materials such as newspapers, plastic bottles, plastic grocery bags, etc. They will first create sketches of a design, then use dress forms and various materials to construct the garment into a wearable design.  The money awarded will be used to purchase sewing forms and a couple of sewing machines.

The second grant will go toward an advertising campaign and product design project. This project will first explore successful advertising campaigns throughout history such as McDonald's, Coca-Cola, Apple Computers, etc. Students will study different companies packaging designs, print ads and commercials to find out what made these campaigns so successful. Students will then use Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign and iMovie to create package designs, magazine ads and commercials for their own product. The money awarded will be used to purchase video cameras, tripods, digital cameras, memory cards and card readers.