If you’re ever invited to a party at the Milton School, say “yes.”

 

 

By Sarah Varney

 

 

If you’re ever invited to a party at the Milton School, say “yes.”

 

On January 23, Milton fifth graders held their yearly Art Across America event replete with singing, dancing, and a buffet of homemade foods including pulled pork and authentic Boston baked beans. For dessert there were red, white, and blue cupcakes with a dollop of fruit salad on the side.

 

 

Teacher Kristin Castaldi led the art effort, while Milton mom Margaret Mead oversaw the food. The fifth graders sat at tables of six, decked out with tablecloths, napkins, and fresh flower centerpieces. The annual event celebrates art, prominent Americans of the past, and plain old patriotism. It’s also really fun.

 

Wearing red, white, or blue Lincoln-style top hats, the children sang and danced. Several students said later that the Cotton-eyed Joe song and dance was their favorite. In one or two numbers, the students got to dance with canes — a brave decision on the part of the organizers. As one boy put it, “They do take them away before we can do any harm.”

 

 

Some of the standout artistic endeavors included Nicole Sganga’s portrait of Eleanor Roosevelt, Francesca Valsania’s Albert Einstein, Dominic Sculti’s portrait of Harriet Tubman, and Lee Barnes’ watercolor of the Navajo Valley National Monument.