Now is your chance to own a piece of art created by our own Teacher Stephanie depicting your child and their imagination at play or in the classroom.  This piece will be created by Stephanie from a picture of your child of playing, reading, creating, playing in nature or any picture you have of them demonstrating their active imagination.   

Storybook Dollhouse

In the spirit of our theme, eARTh, it's in our hands, Teacher Paulina has donated a wonderful old dollhouse, which Teacher Christine has renovated. We believe it is wonderful to teach our students the value of renewing and reusing! The dollhouse was inspired by San Francisco. Each room has a working light (there is a hidden battery pack) that turns on via its own switch. The attic is a tribute to the summer of love, with disco-ball, Dating Game flowers and a removable bead curtain.

Blue Anthropy by Teacher Rafael

Dimensions: 5 x 2.5 (approx.) that can be displayed vertically or horizontally

Inspiration: Connected to the ongoing research of Teacher Rafael Blue Antropy explores the natural processes of creation, deconstruction, transformation, evolution, and the study of the behavior of materials. Walking on the trails the students observed how the leaves transform into new elements e.g. small pieces, bird nests, mulch, and eventually dirt. Fitting with this year’s overarching unit study Our eARTh the students learned how mother nature claims back leaves over time.

The shapes of the leaves provided a calm energy that inspired philosophical meanderings amongst the students. This community art piece sought to make a direct link between the trails and the classroom. Teachers and students took time to notice the similarities and differences between the shapes of the leaves and the pieces of paper that are left behind as students practiced their cutting in the classroom, an RHS pastime.

As students practice cutting on a line, honing their fine motor coordination, they seek straighter lines, continuous curves, and enjoy their developing ability to render out of paper what is in their minds eye. The path of motor development and burgeoning academic learning is seen in these lines. As Teacher Rafael notes, it is wonderful how much information the lines contain. Students cut shapes as they desired, exploring symmetry and asymmetry, and collected their cuttings for this project. All enjoyed exploring how much information is contained in shapes and making the fallen leaves and cuttings permanent in these images.

Student Contribution: Helped to pick the leaves, make the paper cuttings, and together co-created the designs.

The cyanotype prints were made by printing the shapes of dried eucalyptus leaves, the shapes of scrap papers were collected from student's school projects, and the shapes of unique paper figures cut by the students. The eucalyptus leaves were collected by students during trail time in the Presidio Forrest. The unique shape of the leaves references the process of material disintegration. The unique shape of the figures cut by the students references the process of academic development of the students of RHS. The prints were fabricated by Teacher Rafael Bustillos. The students and the teacher collaborated in designing the beautiful statics of the prints.

Learning Focus: cutting (fine motor), design (pre-math), critical thinking, and an introduction to philosophical thought through art.

 Shhh, Please Don't Disturb the Fairies by Teacher Alex

Card-stock, gold origami paper, oil pastels

Dimensions: 4 x 4

Statement: Inspired by the outdoor classroom during the pandemic, “Shhh, Please Don’t Disturb the Fairies” is an exploration of recapturing what childhood should be and can be. One recipe for a magical childhood is spending time with nature, which help provide a healthy space for children to use their imagination. This leads to extended and open-ended learning that sparks curiosity and the urge to learn more about their own interests. This school year’s outdoor classroom began as a necessity to stay open for in-person learning, and ended up being one of the best learning experience we provided for the children during this very unusual couple of years.

Russian Hill School students’ imaginations and playfulness thrived when we began hiking around the Presidio in San Francisco during the Summer of 2020. The outdoors created a safe space for the beauty of childhood during a difficult time of uncertainty. The act of being outside was an impactful way for children to reconnect with their positive relationship with nature, with their peers, and with themselves. The endless ways nature can teach them to be better people made them thrive when they return inside the classroom.

The children pretended to be whatever they wanted to be for a few hours for five days, every other week. The learning they got from being outside was more than we could ever teach inside a classroom. To be physically there touching each leaf, smelling each flower, observing each bug, and climbing each branch, is a connection that have lasting positive impact to the way each child learned this school year.

This project is meant to be an extension of the outdoor classroom into our indoor classroom. Each child was assigned a state flower and a state insect to draw and color with oil pastels. Everything was made with their hands. We did something different this year by using only our fingers to paint and blend different colors. the same fingers that picked up branches, leaves, flowers, rocks, and bugs on the trails. The children then combined their assigned species to create a new “magical creature” or fairy. They were then given the freedom to use their imagination to imagine what their special creature’s magical powers are, and what positive attributes it has to make the world a better place. We hope this project will inspire all of us to keep most of nature that provides so much beauty and healthiness for us undisturbed.

Forty, Fountain and Frolic By Teacher Matt

Oil on canvas, 36” x 18”

This landscape contains three celebratory components as a challenge: color, city and community. To commemorate Russian Hill School’s fortieth anniversary, teacher Matt used exactly forty colors on my palette, establishing a predominately red/green analogous split color scheme. Complementary color schemes create harmony, balance, tension and contrast when and where an artist wants within a composition. Analogous colors reside adjacent to each other on the color wheel and share traits similar to  those closest to them. Art mirrors life, as it is true for our young friends sharing traits during their social and emotional development. The use of the iconic City landmark and foreground fountain not only captures a special place, but water is so indicative of birth, life and growth. Community is often defined as a fellowship, and I aimed to convey movement within the painting – a sense of exploration and learning and joy.

In addition to his passion for teaching, Matt Burns is a fine arts painter whose work has been featured and exhibited at St. John's Church of San Francisco and the de Young Museum.

Windows through the Presidio by Teacher Hend (Two Pieces)  

37 1/2 x 36 3/4 (unframed)

Inspiration: “Windows Through the Presidio” is an extended learning art project inspired by the beautiful trails which have become a foundation of our classroom traditions. Each friend was asked to identify their favorite location on the trails, and then create imagery to represent the location on paper. Often, the complex areas were broken down into simple shapes. Once the design was completed, it was transferred onto glass and painted. Friends were able to select the colors that helped bring their special Presidio place and space to life.

The project promoted critical thinking, concentration, and shaping/sizing skills, as well as honing pre-math skills further by working with geometric shapes. This builds on the foundation of recognizing separate parts within a drawing, attention to detail, and focused concentration.

Like the Presidio itself, each friend occupies a special place in our world and our school community.

Learning Focus: Recognizing separate parts within a drawing, attention and concentration, and geometric understanding.

Windows through the Presidio by Teacher Hend (Two Pieces)

Inspiration: “Windows Through the Presidio” is an extended learning art project inspired by the beautiful trails which have become a foundation of our classroom traditions. Each friend was asked to identify their favorite location on the trails, and then create imagery to represent the location on paper. Often, the complex areas were broken down into simple shapes. Once the design was completed, it was transferred onto glass and painted. Friends were able to select the colors that helped bring their special Presidio place and space to life.

The project promoted critical thinking, concentration, and shaping/sizing skills, as well as honing pre-math skills further by working with geometric shapes. This builds on the foundation of recognizing separate parts within a drawing, attention to detail, and focused concentration.

Like the Presidio itself, each friend occupies a special place in our world and our school community.

Learning Focus: Recognizing separate parts within a drawing, attention and concentration, and geometric understanding.