Saratoga, Kloefkorn students bring heroic stories to life with art projects

April 15, 2026

Saratoga Elementary School and Kloefkorn Elementary School students came up with heroic ideas this winter when they explored the concept of role models in their art classes.
 
The Stars and Cubs created artwork representing what the theme of “Heroes” means to them. Students in kindergarten through fifth grade began making sculptures, posters, paintings and comic books of their favorite real-life or fictional heroes in January. They developed ideas, established plans of action and found creative solutions to their artistic assignments throughout the third quarter.
 
Fifth graders Lydia and Acacia worked together at one of the tables in Saratoga’s art room. Acacia decorated a Wonder Woman poster with paint, glitter and pencil markings, and Lydia designed clothes to place on a figurine of the famous superhero. Lydia said it was exciting to work on a project about a character she looks up to.
 
“I chose her because she’s a role model for all the girls and women to do whatever they want,” Lydia said.

 
Across the room, Ka’Avontae sketched the outline of a ninja stick man who saves people from disasters. He liked using his imagination to come up with his custom-made superhero.
 
“I’ve mostly liked the drawing and how I get to create it,” Ka’Avontae said. “It’s fun to do.”
 
Shelby Swanson said she has enjoyed watching Stars from all grade levels participate in the project. Swanson leads art classes at both Saratoga and Norwood Park. She said fifth graders are old enough to analyze the who, what, when, where, why and how questions about their heroes.
 
“The best thing is seeing them being creative and reflecting on the whole concept of heroes,” Swanson said. “What makes a hero? Is it a superhero that you see in the movies? Is it someone at home, like a parent or a sibling? This class has come up with some big ideas about that, and it’s really fun to see them take those ideas and run with them.”
 
Kloefkorn fourth graders Kwaku, Coralee, Madison and Desiree explored similar themes with art teacher Audrey Jurek. They said it was fun to realize that everyone they met could become a role model for other people.
 
“I learned that anyone can be a hero,” Kwaku said.
 
“I learned that we all have different stories, and we can all be heroes,” Coralee said.

 
Madison and Desiree both decided to make glitter-covered trophies and medals. Madison placed the word ‘determined’ on her medal and created a first-place trophy to go with it. Desiree engraved the words ‘number one’ and ‘brave’ on her artworks.
 
“First, I thought of superheroes, and then I thought that all superheroes have to be determined to do what’s right,” Madison said. “Everybody deserves a first-place trophy because everybody does something right in their life.”
 
“My trophy has ‘number one’ on it, because everybody can be a first-place winner, and then ‘brave,’ because everybody can be brave,” Desiree said.
 
Jurek updated the heroes unit for LPS art teachers last summer. She said her favorite part of the project is when students present their thoughtful artworks to their classmates, peers and families. Kloefkorn held a schoolwide art show in late March that let the Cubs showcase their ideas to hundreds of people.
 
“It’s super rewarding,” Jurek said. “I get to learn so much about my students.”
 
Jurek said her top educational goal is teaching students about the importance of process over product during the year. Each Cub has the freedom to pick their own artistic designs that fit the overall theme. They then produce personal statements giving details about how and why they developed their plans.
 
“My students in third, fourth and fifth grade, especially, have access to all of the materials in the art room all the time, so they’re coming up with their own project ideas that are connected to the theme,” Jurek said. “The basis for this is student voice and student choice, because their artwork is more meaningful when it’s connected to them and their lives and their interests. It’s also teaching them how to make meaningful art and how to talk about it.”

 
Saratoga students Olivia said she gained several life skills through a similar organizational method. She and her friends Elainna and Kailani made clay artworks of Superman, Superwoman and fellow comic book character Deadpool. They looked up information about their superheroes, found digital logos for each person and shared encouragement at their table.
 
“I learned that you kind of have to work together, or else everything won’t work out,” Olivia said.
 
Lydia and Madison said they also realized how much persistence matters. Lydia spent one class period experimenting with different styles of fabric before settling on her clothes for Wonder Woman. Madison overcame her initial hesitation about putting glitter on her medal before deciding it would make a better product.
 
“I’ve learned that if you do anything, you get better at it,” Lydia said.
 
“Some people are nervous to do things that they believe in, and you just have to go for it sometimes,” Madison said.

 
Swanson and Jurek said they were proud to watch the Stars and Cubs bring artistic heroes to life in their classrooms.
 
“They’ve been really passionate about this, which has been fun for me to see,” Swanson said. “I think it’s been a good project for them to work on.”
 
“Students are doing so much more in art classrooms than people realize,” Jurek said. “Students are capable of so much if given the tools, space and guidance.”
 
Discover how LPS art classes help students achieve their academic and creative goals.
 
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