Imagine school at Lakewood Ranch showcases students' artistic talents

Live musical performances, an art gallery, and a short play all showcased the electives that are available at Imagine School at Lakewood Ranch during a special event April 3. 

Instructional Coach Caitlin Johnson said the art projects represent the school’s core values, which are self-discipline, honesty, open-mindedness, and respect.

Gina Gretz has been teaching art at Imagine School at Lakewood Ranch since November 2024. She said the projects took a lot of planning and were all based around the Shark Pledge. The school's mascot is the shark.

First graders made sea creatures using bright colors with markers and stencils. Second graders made 2-dimensional artwork of sunsets and sea creatures using materials including tissue paper and felt. This was to represent open-mindedness, which broadens horizons. 

Third graders made lighthouses out of cardboard and acrylic paint. In the Shark Pledge, honesty shines as a guiding light. 

Fourth graders created sharks out of clay. 

Thira Pompa is a fourth grader who’s project was made of clay, but she decided to make an octopus and crab instead of a shark.

“I couldn’t find the right position I wanted my shark to be in, so I made an octopus instead,” Pompa said. 

Pompa along with her mother Ashley Pompa moved from South Dakota. Thira Pompa has been attending since February. 

Ashley Pompa said that she appreciates that the school has specific curriculums for specific students. 

“They don’t feel like they’re getting left behind,” Ashley Pompa said. 

Fifth graders and middle schoolers created paper machet anchors to represent self-discipline. 

Principal Ashley Allen said that the event was a way for families who are signed up for the next school year to start getting immersed in the school instead of waiting until August. 

“We work to show that we’re very proud. We’re not very loud but we’re very proud,” Allen said.