Classroom Conversations: Ms. Bigley and Juliet
At the end of the first trimester, The Huddle had the opportunity to sit down with United Preparatory Academy - State St. art teacher, Ms. Bigley, and her 4th-grade student, Juliet. On November 16th, during the specials block, the two met up in the art studio on the second floor.
Connection is a hallmark of USN culture, and this is a glimpse into the dialogues that define our campuses. Below, Ms. Bigley and Juliet interview each other and talk about all things art, creativity, holiday fun, and the best gifts they’ve ever received.
The Huddle: So, who are you two? Where are we right now? How do you guys know each other?
Ms. Bigley: Yeah, I’m Ms. Bigley! I’m the art teacher here at UPrep-State St., and I’ll turn it over to you, Juliet. Do you want to tell us who you are?
Juliet: Juliet, I’m in fourth grade, and we’re in the art room!
The Huddle: Awesome, awesome. Why don’t we start with Ms. Bigley, do you have a good starter question to get this little conversation going?
Ms. Bigley: Juliet, so you know I’ve been here one year. This is my first year here! How many years have you been here at State Street?
Juliet: Third grade and fourth.
Ms. Bigley: Third and fourth? So, this is your second year here?
[Juliet nods.]
Ms. Bigley: Very cool, very cool.
Juliet, nodding: And my first year… it was kind of, like, a half year!
Ms. Bigley: What would be your favorite thing about school? Your everyday school day?
Juliet: Hmm, social studies!
Ms. Bigley: Social studies? Awesome. What do you like about social studies?
Juliet: Sometimes, we have partner work, and I get to work with my partners.
Ms. Bigley: Who do you usually partner with?
[Juliet names her friends in that class.]
Ms. Bigley, smiling: That’s cool — you guys hang out often in my class, too.
Ms. Bigley: What do you think about specials? What’s your favorite specials class? And it doesn’t need to be my class! Just be honest!
Juliet, immediately: ART.
Ms. Bigley, laughing: Okay, so it is my class? Thank you! That makes me feel very special. What do you like about art class?
Juliet: We get to paint and make different things.
Ms. Bigley: All right, well, that’s the second thing I wanted to ask about art class… what’s your favorite thing we do in art class so far?
Juliet: Paint! The water paint, the water pencils…
Ms. Bigley: What would you say has been your favorite paint so far?
Juliet: The pumpkins!
Ms. Bigley: Oh, the pumpkins — so the watercolor pencils, yeah. Those ones are really cool since you get to use them as pencils and turn them into paint. We’ll have to touch those again soon!
Juliet: What’s your favorite way to get creative?
Ms. Bigley: My favorite way to get creative is just to sit down with watercolor paper and just go. I like to abstract watercolor.
Juliet: Art is one of my favorite activities because in my other house in North Carolina, my old house, I used to grab paint and paper and paint fake dollars — cut up the paper and paint it green — and put them in my little wallet that my mom got with this pink and white striped purse that she got me.
Juliet: Do you have any fun holiday break plans?
Ms. Bigley: Yeah, so I have a holiday plan to go with my husband to Pennsylvania, which is where a lot of my family lives!
And we’re actually going to do some glassblowing because Pittsburgh, specifically, in Pennsylvania, does a lot of glassblowing. So, it’s a very special art form where you heat the glass up super hot and blow into this long, metal pipe to make different things with the glass.
What about you? Do you have any fun holiday or break plans?
Juliet: I’m going to North Carolina for Thanksgiving and my older brother’s birthday!
Ms Bigley: That sounds very fun. Do you have anything you’re going to give your older brother?
Juliet: A hug! [Ms. Bigley: That is the best present ever.] And I was going to give him my big fluffy jacket because he has a jacket, but our dog chewed up the zipper!
Ms. Bigley: Maybe someday, in the future, we could have a sewing class here and teach you how to sew up a zipper.
Juliet: My mom knows how to sew! She learned a little bit from her best friend, who’s in North Carolina — who we’re going to see for Thanksgiving.
Ms. Bigley: Very cool, that’s awesome. I used to live in North Carolina!
Juliet: We used to live there, too, and then we moved here! [Juliet explains that they go to either New York at Grandma’s or North Carolina for Thanksgiving and Christmas.] We don’t fly because my dad’s scared of heights.
Ms. Bigley: Yeah, flights can be scary! They’re not always the most fun. But long car rides can be really cool, actually. Do you like seeing the scenery? Do you think that, when you go on that long car ride, you could see something you’d want to paint here in class?
Juliet: Yeah! On the highway last year, when we went to New York and North Carolina, we saw a whole bunch of lights and a lot of tall buildings.
Ms. Bigley: That would be a really cool painting. We’ll get into drawing and painting some buildings — maybe in trimester two, but if not, definitely in trimester three — when we learn about perspective.
Juliet: What’s the best gift you’ve ever received?
Ms. Bigley: The best gift I ever received would have to be a set of watercolors…
Juliet, side-eyeing: Art supplies?
Ms. Bigley, laughing: Yeah, art supplies. Is that too obvious? But I received these watercolors as a graduation gift when I graduated from high school.
Juliet: I was going to say the best gift you’d ever received was your earrings!
Ms. Bigley, gasping and grabbing at the funky shapes hanging from her ears: My earrings are really good, I do love my earrings. Which ones are these… I actually got these for myself, like a self-gift. What about you? What’s the best gift you’ve ever received?
Juliet: It was my birthday a few weeks ago, and it was a bracelet maker! I also got these temporary hand tattoos that you put on your hands with water and glitter and brushes and glue… but I lost it… and when I came home from school one day, there was glitter all over my baby sister and my dog… [Ms. Bigley, eyes narrowing: Hmmm….] So I think one of them found it and got into it.
[Ms. Bigley, Juliet, and The Huddle all share a laugh at the thought.]
The Huddle: How was your experience chatting with each other, and what is one thing you really appreciate about each other?
Juliet: One thing that I really appreciate about Ms. Bigley is she is probably one of the nicest teachers in the school.
Ms. Bigley, immediately tearing up: Ah, stop, I’m not going to cry. That’s really nice. Thank you, Juliet. That’s so nice.
Juliet: And you’re probably one of the best teachers.
Ms. Bigley: That’s so nice, Juliet, to hear; it’s so lovely being here. What do I appreciate about Juliet? Oh my gosh, where do I start?
Juliet is, first of all, just so cool. It’s always great; whenever I see you, you’ll always say “hi” or at least come up and give me a hug. [Juliet: Every morning, I come upstairs, and I give you a hug.] You do! You’re great to have in class; even on your low days, you still try your best, you know? You never let anything stop you, and that’s one of the things I really appreciate about you, Juliet.
The Huddle: What do you hope for your students in the work you do?
Ms. Bigley: The reason I wanted to be an art teacher is that I really want to give students the ability to communicate visually. I think it’s so important and really undervalued. Especially now, half of what you’re getting is [visual, usually digital]. I want my students to be able to make their own stuff, put it out there, and understand what they’re seeing. That’s what I hope!
It’s time for Juliet to head off to music class. The two creatives share a hug, Ms. Bigley still a bit tearful. The Huddle thanks them again for showcasing the depth of connection and learning happening at the end of this first trimester.
