Visual Arts Children meet regularly in the Art Room beginning in Pre-Kindergarten. All children are encouraged to express themselves individually and cooperatively as they solve visual arts problems introduced in class. Children are introduced to a variety of creative media as they acquire skills in drawing, painting, ceramics, textiles, printmaking, sculpture, and photography. Aesthetic appreciation of art and art history is generated through the presentation of master works by artists from the past and present. Children participate in annual art field trips to world class museums on Long island and in New York City beginning in first grade. Pre-Kindergarten and first grade students participate in a special Art Partnership program focusing on visual or performing arts productions with teaching artists from the Tilles Center at C. W. Post, Long Island University. Student work is displayed around the Lower School, in the Lower School Gallery, and on the Portledge School website throughout the year with a school-wide art exhibition of student creations each spring. Individual achievement in art is recognized during the year by recognizing an “Artist of the Month.”