NSA’s new art teacher, Ms. Ebla, has made a splash this year! Even though she’s only taught a few art lessons so far, many students love her and her lessons. “She lets us use our full potential,” said 6th grader Steffen B. “She makes it fun, no matter the capability.” 

Ms. Ebla has a deep background in art. She received her BFA from the College of Fine Arts, in Damascus, Syria. She also attended the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth for her graduate studies in Fiber Arts. When she was a graphic designer, Ms. Ebla also used to work as a museum educator and a teacher of art classes at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. She’s had plenty of experience with both art and education, and it shows! 

     “She’s good,” said Ms. Snyder, a 5th grade teacher. “She was really good at going around and connecting individually with the students.” Ms. Snyder said that Ms. Ebla was doing a great job of teaching them techniques, not just giving them projects. 

     Ms. Ebla has a great approach to teaching. “Definitely lots of visual examples and also finished artwork,” she said. “Once you see something, usually you’re more likely to remember it.” This method is very effective, and helps the students execute the techniques. 

      Ms. Ebla says she believes that art is a universal language, something that students can use to figure out how to express themselves in any medium. “It’s a fun experience learning to draw in 3D, 2D, everything,” said Steffen B. The students love her techniques and they seem to be emphasizing the fact that Ms. Ebla is flexible, helping people that are struggling and encouraging those with an already developed artistic skill. “If you’re good at drawing, she lets you go ahead…” Steffen says, “…she went in depth about how to make faces.” Meanwhile, other students appreciate the difference of style and the change in techniques. 

     “She’s very nice and kind and helpful…It was pretty fun. I really liked how we got to draw someone instead of a bowl of fruit,” said Minna A., an 8th grader. 

     Suren S., a 7th grader, strengthens this opinion, stating, “It was fun drawing my friend’s face very badly.” Ms. Ebla is accepting of any skill level, and makes sure her lessons are fun for everyone!

     Other students, like 4th grader Megan P., think of the difficulty of their art lessons and everything that is behind the stroke of the pencil. “You have to get the thing exactly right if you want it to look good,” she continues.

     The days when she isn’t at NSA, Ms. Ebla is pretty busy. “I teach at another school on the days that I’m not here,” she said. She also added, “I enjoy listening to music and cooking. I spend a lot of time with my family, doing kid-friendly stuff.” No wonder she’s such a great teacher–Ms. Ebla has young children herself!

     It also seems that teaching comes to her naturally. She stated, “I just always knew, spending time with my older cousins…I knew I liked to help people see new things. So I always knew I’d be doing something related to teaching…[and] a lot of the things that I see at the beach or the park inspire me.” Clearly, becoming an art teacher was the right choice. 

     Although Ms. Ebla hasn’t been here for long, she’s been fully welcomed into the North Star community. When asking the students if they wanted more art lessons, there was a resounding “Yes”.