Colorful Greetings!!!
               My name is Lonie Yuschik and I feel honored and blessed to be part of the St. Matthias family. I have taught art in Catholic Education for 22 years. Prior to becoming an art teacher , I was a fashion designer in New York City, designing prints on clothing and home furnishings items, in the textile industry.
.                Art has always been my passion and I am appreciative that I have been given the opportunity to share my creative talents with your children. I look forward to bringing out the creativity of each and every student at St. Matthias School.
               I love baking ,gardening, bicycle riding and day-tripping. One of my favorite places to travel is Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. I love the landscape of the area, the windmills and of course ,all the Cape Cod arts!!
              Looking forward to a creative year at St. Matthias School in 2022-2023.
                                                                           Colorful Blessings,
   Email...lyuschik@stmatthiasnj.org                         Lonie Yuschik                                                    
October 2022
       The students at St. Matthias worked very deligently during September and October to create artistic projects for the Halloween season, as well as harvest time. Their creative efforts did not go unnoticed and their projects decorated the artroom hallways  for Halloween and will do the same for the Thanksgiving season. The projects are as follows....
        Pk3- Halloween Kitty Cats (using recycled materials)
        Pk4- Jack 'o' Lantern Buddies (using recycled materials)
        K-  Halloween Cats ( using recycled materials)
        Grade 1A- Frankenstein
        Grade 1B- Witch Portrait
        Grade 2- Van Gogh Inspired Sunflowers
        Grade 3-Pumpkin Landscapes
        Grade 4- Count Dracula
        Grade 5A /5B- Decorative Lettering Inspired by Manuscript 
         Lettering
        Grade 6A- Charcoal Still Life
        Grade 6B-  Still Life of Colors
        Grade 7A- Dreamcatchers
        Grade 7B- Native American Pottery
        Grade 8A/8B- Harvest Drawing ( Graphite Pencil or Color)

        Aside from their class project, the students in 4th grade are creating an idea for the 4th Grade Folder Contest. They need to think of an anti- drug message and create an image that represent their theme. They have developed some outstanding ideas and we hope someone's idea will attract the attention of the contest judges! Most students have an idea and will begin to outline and color in because the deadline is fast approaching!!
       The art classes Grade 1 to Grade 8 will be creating ideas for the "Keep Christ in Christmas " art contest. All students will be working on their idea in art class, of what that saying means to them. They can create a picture of the Holy Family, Mary with Baby Jesus or Baby Jesus with the animals. Their creativity is unbelievable with their first sketches!! The best is yet to come!!
       Please encourage your child in the Arts. They can always practice drawing at home and coloring in one direction. Art has a connection to math, science as well as to language arts. By continuously drawing and creating, their skills in art will become better and better over time. Please be patient. Have a colorful month ahead and wishes for a season of whatever you are wishing for!! Blessings.

December 2022....the students of St Matthias have dedicated their time in art, in creating artwork for the Keep Christ in Christmas art contest. We had many creative ideas and they have been submitted
to the Knights of Columbus for judging and we are awaiting their decisions.
                The artwork for the Fourth Grade Folder Contest has also been submitted and we are awaiting their decision. So many creative ideas were developed by our students around an anti-drug theme. We hope we are blessed with winners...we all did our very best!!
               In January, students will continue to create an idea for next year's Christmas card contest for the Basilica in Washington,D.C. I know many beautiful ideas will be created. Students will also be creating an idea for the Respect for Life Art Contest that is centered around a quote of Mother Teresa. After they choose a quote,they will create an image that expresses their quote. 
                 Aside from the contests ,we will also be trying to create a class project related to the winter theme or Valentine's Day. I am looking forward to their creativity in the New Year. Wishing all a blessed New Year.

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNERS!!!
Keep Christ in Christmas Poster Contest Winners
Grades K-2...Winner Camila Mosquera...2nd Place Lilenna Alexis

Grades 3-5...Winner Colby Lewinski...2nd Place Shannon Garlatti

Grades 6-8...Winner ...Juliet Albanese...2nd Place Isabella Matusalem
      
Their winning posters were sent to compete in the next level of this contest. Thank you for all your hard work ! I thank all who participated in this contest.Remember... you need to be in it to win it!!!
January 2023- April 2023
The creativity has continued on thru the first four months of this new year and the talent and improvement in our students work is evident in the displays in the hallway by the artroom. These ever changing displays have shown their talents in different medium ,while creating projects of interesting subject matter.    
Some of the projects the students have been involved in are as follows... PreK 3 and 4 have been practicing their painting skills when creating their snowmen, St Patrick Day hats and/or their ladybugs. They have also been practicing their cutting skills and motor skills as well. Painting in one direction can be a challenge for the younger ones but with patience and practice ,it can be achieved. They have just completed their Easter projects of a bunny or duck...they are ever so adorable! Kindergarten has dabbled in paint as well and have been improving their cutting skills, that has been evident in their penguin project. They have now been learning to draw step by step and have created a free- hand drawing of a clover and rainbow, a bunny and a cartooning project of Mickey or Minny Mouse. They will continue to draw , so they can learn the correct steps to create a free -hand drawing and will improve the more they try. Grade 1 A has just completed a project for St Patrick's Day with an adorable leprechaun,pot of gold and rainbow...how creative they all were. They are now learning how to create springtime flowers out of a variety of materials. Now 1B is learning the steps of cartooning by drawing Cat in the Hat step by step. It's amazing how at such a young age they are ever so creative. Prior to this ,they completed an adorable green turtle for St Patrick's Day. Gr 2 learned about patterning as they created a patterned shamrock for St Patrick's Day . Those that are making their First Communion will create an image of the Bread of Life. Soon they will be learning how to create spring flowers either thru drawing or cut paper.Grade 3 has moved forward to learn how to create Shrek and have learned how important each detail is in a cartoon character after finishing up their St Patrick's Day image. Grade 4A created beautiful repeating heart images and will now be learning how to create a bouquet of daffodils in a 3 D image. 4B was working on creating their version of the Love Stamp and will learn how to create a 3D looking vase of springtime flowers using a variety of medium in the artroom. Grade 5 just learned the art of quilling (rolling paper to create an image). They have been having fun creating Picasso portraits in the abstract style and will be moving forward in creating a still life of flowers in Picasso's style. Grade 6  has put a lot of time and effort into their blue landscapes of wintertime, where the picture is colored in only using hues of blues and purple. They are now meeting a new challenge of creating their interpretation of the Mona Lisa!!! Grade 7 created beautiful images of a cardinal on a branch and have recently been working on their stained glass window. Their next project will center around the art of pointillism ,where the whole picture is covered in dots of color. Lastly ,Gr 8 have created very interesting and creative silhouttes of the N.Y. skyline and have learned about the art of Peter Max and have created an image that mimics his style. They will soon move on to their next artist Andy Warhol and try to make a creative image out of a tomato soup can.
I appreciate all the hard work and creativity all the students have put into their artwork. With each project, improvement of your their skills will happen. Keep trying, don't give up and remember to have FUN!!!

In case you are wondering why your child has not brought home any artwork, all of the artwork is being collected by me ,so all can participate in the art show at St . Matthias in the month of May. After the show is over ,students will bring home their artwork and share their creativity with you.

Congratulations to the following 4th grade students for being chosen finalists in the anti- drug art contest sponsered by the Partnership of a Drug-Free America....Paige Bandong, Austin Chukrallah, Ezra John and Valentina Mosquera. I am proud of your accomplishments ,as well as all of the 4th graders that created for this contest. Keep up the good work...remember you need to be in it to win it!

We are still awaiting the results of the Christmas Card Contest for this December 2023 ,as well as the Respect for Life  contest that we had many entries created. Hopefully ,we will find out soon. Please encourage your child in the Arts. Practicing drawing and coloring in one direction will allow them to improve over time. Have a blessed Easter holiday!

April 14,2023
We have been recently informed that two of our students were winners in The Respect for Life art contest that is sponsered thru the Metuchen Diocese. Congratulations to Isaac Osho-Grade 2 and David Otvos-Grade 3 ,for a job well done. Their work will appear on a calender for the coming year. I appreciate all the students that created work for this contest...in my eyes all of you are winners. Please keep up the creative work!!

April 24,2023
We are presently preparing the artwork for the Celebration of the Arts on May 9, 2023. I look forward to seeing you there to view the artistic masterpieces from our talented students.
May 16,2023
It was nice to see the students and their families at The Celebration of the Arts on May 9, 2023 at SMS. I am proud of all the creative masterpieces of all the students. A very special thank you to the students in Middle School who assisted in hanging the artwork.