Fourth graders at Ocean Avenue Elementary School recently participated in a Side x Side program called In Flow With Our Values that integrated a Wabanaki Studies unit with drawing and public art. Students learned about Wabanaki portaging culture and explored the concepts of timelines, values, and traditions. They then connected the concepts to their experience as fourth graders at Ocean Avenue by posing the questions: What are our values here at school? How do we pass them on to others?

With teaching artist Cat LaBarre, students collaborated to brainstorm ideas, created designs to represent school values, and used math skills to develop a layout for their images on one third of a circle. They then transferred their illustrations onto panels to create a permanent art mural for the school.